Did an active lawsuit between late Padres owner Peter Seidler’s wife and brothers cause San Diego to lose out on signing free agent Roki Sasaki?
In a response filed in Texas court Tuesday by Matthew Seidler, Peter Seidler’s brother, he sharply criticized his brother’s widow for “recklessly suggesting” that Matthew and and his brother Robert “were plotting to relocate the Padres elsewhere” during “a crucial time when Padres management was in late negotiation stages with a star pitcher.”
The Padres were one of three finalists for Sasaki, who last week finalized his contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
At the same time the Padres were courting Sasaki, Sheel Seidler (Peter Seidler’s widow) filed a lawsuit in Travis County (Texas) probate court alleging Seidler’s brothers might have prevented her from taking control of the team amid what “may well be … efforts to sell, and perhaps relocate, the team, over Sheel’s strident objections.”
In Matthew Seidler’s official response, obtained Tuesday by Newsweek Sports, he claims that “any person who had any insight into the Padres business as Sheel claims she does would know this statement was absurd and without any foundation whatsoever. It was a total fabrication made recklessly to alarm fans, sponsors, players, employees, and MLB.”
Setting aside the merits of the litigants’ respective arguments, there are threads of evidence to both support and refute the idea that Sasaki was intimidated by the Padres’ ownership turmoil.
Sasaki, 23, said in his introductory remarks at Dodger Stadium last Wednesday that “the number one thing that stood out (about the Dodgers) was the stability of the front office.”
On the other hand, Sasaki’s agent said the Dodgers also had a “home-field advantage” of sorts in Japan. Dodger games are broadcast every there morning and rebroadcast at night, so Japanese fans can watch hometown heroes Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto play for Los Angeles.
Against this backdrop, it’s possible that Sasaki counts as the most obvious collateral damage of the Seidler lawsuit. It’s also possible the right-hander would have chosen to sign with the Dodgers no matter what.
After Peter Seidler died on Nov. 14, 2023, Eric Kutsenda — a business associate and friend of the late owner — was appointed interim control person of the Padres by Major League Baseball.
Robert Seidler became successor trustee upon Peter’s death and served in that role until his resignation in 2024 due to health situations in his immediate family. Matthew Seidler accepted his appointment as successor trustee, and serves in that capacity today.
Sheel Seidler’s lawsuit alleges that the brothers engaged in various breaches of fiduciary duty in the management of the Peter Seidler Trust and its assets — including the Padres — which Robert and Matthew Seidler deny.
