Report: Rob Manfred, Several MLB Owners 'Pressuring' Rays' Stu Sternberg to Sell Team

Tampa Bay Rays owner Stu Sternberg has a big decision to make soon as he decides whether to take a stadium deal in St. Petersburg.

As he considers whether to take the deal, he's reportedly receiving pressure from MLB commissioner Rob Manfred and other owners to sell the team, per The Athletic's Evan Drellich.

While "a sale is not close," according to Drellich, there is interest in the team. Drellich noted that the family of Edward DeBartolo Jr., the San Francisco 49ers owners, are among the interested groups.

Joe Molloy, a minority owner of the New York Yankees from 1988 to 1998, is also interested in the team, though his interest "does not carry the same financial weight as DeBartolo."

Drellich also noted that Tampa businessman Dan Doyle Jr. is part of an interested group. Doyle was part of a group looking to buy the Rays in 2023, though he reportedly pulled out of the buying process.

Several minority investors are being courted by Sternberg, per Drellich.

MLB wants to keep the team in Florida, according to Drellich, and has specifically eyed the Ybor City neighborhood outside of Tampa if the team doesn't stay in St. Petersburg. Drellich also noted that the franchise moving to Orlando is a possibility.

Should Sternberg sell the team, the Rays would be the fourth team to be sold since 2019. The Baltimore Orioles, New York Mets and Kansas City Royals have all been sold in the last six years.

The Rays, who reached the World Series in 2020 but haven't advanced past the division series since, went 80-82 and missed the postseason last year. The team will play the 2025 season at the New York Yankees' spring training home, Steinbrenner Field after Hurricane Milton ripped the roof off of Tropicana Field in the fall.