Another buyer has made offer for Rays in potential twist

Another potential Rays buyer has thrown a hat in the ring.

Trip Miller, the founder of a Memphis hedge fund, is the latest to join the billionaire race to own the Rays as he created a group that made an all-cash offer to Rays owner Stu Sternberg, according to The Athletic.

“We made an offer last week,” Miller said, per The Athletic. “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.”

It was reported Wednesday that Sternberg was in “advanced talks” to sell the franchise with a group led by Jacksonville homebuilder Patrick Zalupski having executed a letter of intent to purchase the club.

Zalupski’s group’s offer was reported to be $1.7 billion, according to Sportico.

As for Miller’s offer, he did not reveal the number but included that he and his group are willing to raise the number if necessary.

The Rays are currently in need of a new stadium as they can’t play at Tropicana Field after the stadium sustained damage from Hurricane Milton in October 2024. 

Tampa Bay has instead played at George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa — home to the Yankees’ spring training and Low-A team.

The stadium issue is something that MLB is hoping a new owner would solve, as Sternberg had a deal in place to begin building a new 30,000-capacity stadium in downtown St. Petersburg before the plans ended because of financing delays.

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

While finding a new stadium is a priority, relocating out of Central Florida is seemingly not an option.

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

Miller said that Orlando is not out of the realm of possibilities for relocation and that, all in all, the total investment for the team and a new stadium will be more than $3 billion.