Trip Miller Says He Made All-Cash Offer to Buy Rays Amid MLB Rumors on Sale

Trip Miller, who is the founder of Memphis hedge fund Gullane Capital Partners, revealed to Sam Blum of The Athletic that he has formed a group that made an all-cash offer to buy the Tampa Bay Rays.

“We made an offer last week,” Miller told Blum. “We have had contact with the club over the past month, specifically about our offer. If there is an exclusivity period that expires soon, and I don’t know when it expires, we would welcome the opportunity to have a deeper discussion with the Rays about our offer.”

Per Miller, the group is willing to increase the offer. He did not reveal to Blum how much the initial bid was, nor who else was in the group, citing a non-disclosure agreement.

Sportico's Scott Soshnick and Kurt Badenhausen previously reported that the Rays were in "advanced talks" regarding a sale valuing the team at $1.7 billion. That article mentioned Patrick Zalupski, the CEO of Jacksonville-based Dream Finders Homes Inc., as a leader of a group that would purchase the franchise.

A sale almost seemed inevitable after The Athletic's Evan Drellich reported in March that principal owner Stu Sternberg was being pressured to sell his team by MLB commissioner Rob Manfred and some other owners."

Not only is the team always near the bottom of the MLB payroll chart on a yearly basis (Tampa Bay checks in at No. 28 this season), but there's also the stadium fiasco the team currently finds itself in.

In essence, the Rays already played in one of the league's worst stadiums (if not the worst) in Tropicana Field, but that park became unusable after damage via Hurricane Milton.

However, the Rays appeared to have a lifeline via a proposed $1.3 billion stadium project that would be ready in time for the 2028 season.

However, the Rays announced on March 13 that they would no longer go through with the project.

"Local government agencies had approved the sale of bonds to pay their share, but the Rays had until March 31 to meet specific conditions to gain public financing, including showing proof that they could meet their minimum $700 million obligation -- not including likely cost overruns -- toward the project," ESPN News Services reported at the time.

"Financing delays, however, led to Sternberg's decision to not proceed."

At this juncture, it appears the Rays are going to change hands.

Miller has looked to purchase the Rays in the past. Per Mike Ozanian, then of Forbes, a Miller-led group was looking to buy the Rays for $1.85 billion, but Sternberg turned down a sale.

Miller told Blum he thinks the team will sell for over $1.5 billion but that the overall investment will necessitate at least $3 billion when including funds for a new stadium.

“This is not a relocation play to another state,” Miller told Blum. “You won’t see the Rays relocating out of Central Florida, whether it was our group or another group. 

“The league, that’s what they’re looking for. Someone who can not only buy the club, but solves the stadium problem.”

For now, the Rays are playing in George M. Steinbrenner Field, the spring training home of the New York Yankees. Despite the odd season, Tampa Bay has fared well, currently sitting in second place in the AL East at 41-34.