The San Diego Padres, a team that spent a lot of money last winter, has reportedly taken out a $50 million loan to pay its players’ salaries.
The San Diego Padres took out a loan of about $50 million in September to resolve short-term cash flow issues and fulfill player salary payments, according to the U.S. newspaper The Athletic.
San Diego CEO Eric Groupner said, “The Padres are utilizing all resources, financial and otherwise, to maintain a championship-caliber team. We have developed a 2023 capital plan with our ownership group and lender partners and are operating within that plan.” Another official added: “We expected to need a loan at some point this year. We are not in crisis. We’re managing our business responsibly,” evolving the financial deterioration narrative.
However, many observers are concerned about San Diego’s financial situation. In September, a third-party lender was willing to lend the team $100 million, and the team asked the secretariat to approve the full amount, but was denied. The commissioner’s office capped the loan at $50 million.
San Diego had 61 sellouts this year, totaling 3.275 million in attendance. The club’s second-highest attendance total in franchise history. Regular-season attendance revenue ranked sixth in the league. Despite the box office success, questions have been raised about the organization’s finances.
“They have a lot more assets, they have a lot more fans, I don’t know what the problem is,” said a senior executive at a rival club who was unaware of San Diego’s loan. An unnamed San Diego official said, “I’m not sure why we need to borrow more money despite the increase in revenue. The level of player salaries is probably beyond what we can support.”
In late May, the San Diego Padres, who are not a big-market team, were cut off from broadcasting rights, a big part of the team’s revenue. The Diamond Sports Group, which operated the exclusive broadcasting company, Valley Sports, declared bankruptcy after being unable to handle more than 1 trillion won in debt. In late May, its broadcast rights deal with San Diego was terminated for non-payment. The rights deal was originally a 20-year, $1.2 billion deal from 2013 to 2032 that averaged $60 million a year in revenue, but the loss of the rights will hurt San Diego’s finances.
San Diego had a total team payroll of $248.9 million as of Opening Day this year, the highest in franchise history. It was the third-most expensive team in the entire league, and the team payroll has more than doubled in four years from 2019 ($97.2 million).
There has been no shortage of big contracts under general manager A.J. Preller. After signing Fernando Tatis Jr. to a 14-year, $340 million extension in February 2021, the team signed pitcher Joe Musgrove to a five-year, $100 million extension last August. They followed that up with free-agent shortstop Xander Bogaerts (11 years, $280 million) after the season and then continued to splash the cash by signing pitcher Darvish Yu (six years, $108 million), third baseman Manny Machado (11 years, $350 million) and infield utility Jake Cronenworth (seven years, $80 million).
After running to Winnau without looking back, the team failed to make it to fall ball this year and will have to tighten its belts next year amid concerns about its finances. Early last month, it was reported that the team’s total payroll would be reduced to around $200 million. This will likely result in some changes to the roster. Outfielder Juan Soto, who is in the final year of his salary adjustment before free agency, is expected to make more than $30 million next year, making a trade even more likely.
According to CBS Sports, “Given his current payroll total, San Diego will likely receive trade offers for Soto in the offseason. Trading Soto would be the quickest way to shed salary and receive a young prospect,” and “Big names like Bogut, Darvish, Machado and Musgrove have trade veto rights, making it difficult to unload them. Cronenweth and Kim are due to make about $7 million next year, which would certainly be attractive to some teams. 카지노사이트
With so many big-money long-term contracts, San Diego can’t easily reorganize its roster. Kim, who is one year away from free agency with a salary of $8 million next year, is a good trade target for the club. “MLB.com” also listed Kim as one of the Dodgers’ trade candidates on Jan. 1, saying, “He had the best year of his career and, like Soto, will be a free agent after next season. It’s unlikely he’ll be traded, but it’s not impossible.” “Trading either Kim or Cronenwirth would alleviate the redundancy in center field, but the downside is clear. Both players are solid offensively, play great defense, and are popular in the clubhouse,” he said.
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