Rays owner responds to sale rumors amid team’s hot start

MLB

By Andrew Crane

May 21, 2023 | 5:44pm

The Tampa Bay Rays owner doesn’t plan on going anywhere despite reports to the contrary.

The Athletic reported Sunday that the Rays have drawn interest from buyers, but principal owner Stuart Sternberg said that he plans “on remaining the Rays owner,” according to the Tampa Bay Times.

The Athletic story said that a local option — Dan Doyle Jr. — and other “groups that would relocate the club” have expressed interest, but Sternberg refuted the reporting, especially related to relocating the franchise that has been in St. Petersburg since its inaugural season in 1998.

“I expect we will build a ballpark in Tampa Bay that will keep the Rays here for generations to come,” Sternberg said, according to the Tampa Bay Times.

Doyle Jr. serves as the CEO of DEX Imaging, which describes itself as, according to The Athletic, “the nation’s largest independent provider of office technology with a local touch.”

The Rays have also weighed options in St. Petersburg and Tampa for a new stadium since their lease at Tropicana Field expires after the 2027 season, according to The Athletic.

The buzz around the Rays comes as the Athletics also appear on the verge of leaving Oakland for Las Vegas, as the latter entered a binding agreement centered around a ballpark with a retractable roof in Las Vegas.

The Athletics’ move would have a target date of 2027, team president Dave Kaval said.

The Rays, in their 25th season, have emerged as MLB’s top team through the first quarter of the year, leading the league in batting average (.273), home runs (90), RBIs (275) and hits (436), while sitting second in team ERA (3.32) entering their loss Sunday against the Brewers.

They recently spent a week in New York City, dropping four of seven games to the Yankees and Mets, but their season began with 13 consecutive wins — against the Tigers, Nationals, Athletics and Red Sox — and 20 in their first 23 games.