A contentious two-year process to sell the San Diego Padres could cross the finish line with Chelsea owner Jose E. Feliciano reportedly placing a winning bid to purchase the team for a record $3.9 billion.

According to multiple reports, the framework of the agreement has been agreed to and the transaction only needs the approval of 75 percent of MLB owners to formally finalize the deal.

If approved, the sale price would shatter the previous record for an MLB franchise established when Steve Cohen purchased the New York Mets for $2.42 billion in 2020.

Feliciano, the founder of Clearlake Capital and part owner of Chelsea FC, and his wife Kwanza Jones were in the pool of bidders engaged by the Seidler Family to buy the team.

Longtime owner Peter Seidler died in 2023 and family was split on control of the team. John Seidler, currently chairman of the Padres, said in November the franchise would be sold. Forbes’ valuation of the Padres entering the 2026 season was $3.1 billion.

Feliciano and Clearlake Capital own more than 60 percent of Chelsea. The ownership group also includes Mark Walter, Todd Boehly and Hansjorg Wyss.

Also in the running to purchase the MLB club were Joe Lacob, owner of the NBA’s Golden State Warriors, the WNBA’s Valkyries and the Chase Center in San Francisco; Dan Friedkin, principal owner of three European soccer clubs; and Tom Gores, who is the owner of Platinum Equities and the NBA’s Detroit Pistons.

The Wall Street Journal reported sources confirming the sale agreement have been told the Padres would like to fully finalize the sale by June.

–Field Level Media

The Arizona Diamondbacks will return home as one of the hottest teams in baseball, set to open a three-game series with the Toronto Blue Jays on Friday night in Phoenix.

Since a 9-6 win over the Detroit Tigers on March 30, the Diamondbacks have won 11 times. Only the San Diego Padres (12) have won more in that stretch. Arizona completed a 6-3 road trip by winning all three series — against the New York Mets, Philadelphia Phillies and Baltimore Orioles.

Arizona has eight comeback victories this season and has won six of 10 one-run games. The Diamondbacks have not lost a series since being swept by the Dodgers to open the season, winning four and splitting the other series.

“That’s our identity, to do what the at-bat calls for,” Arizona manager Torey Lovullo said. “That’s the type of baseball we play here. It’s gritty and helps you stay in games.”

Arizona right-bander Michael Soroka (3-0, 2.87 ERA) is scheduled to face Blue Jays left-hander Eric Lauer (1-2, 7.82) in the series opener.

The injury-depleted Blue Jays have lost four of the past five games and 10 of 13. They have lost five straight series while playing without premier hitters George Springer and Alejandro Kirk and starting pitchers Jose Berrios, Shane Bieber, Trey Yesavage and Cody Ponce.

The Blue Jays are coming off a series defeat to the Milwaukee Brewers, in which Toronto lost two 2-1 games. The Jays have not seen the anticipated production from offseason free-agent acquisition Kazuma Okamoto, who was 0-for-4 on Thursday and has just two hits in his past 23 at-bats. After hitting a home run in two of the first four games of the season, he has no homers and two RBIs since.

“Over the long course of a season, I know there are going to be ups and downs, and that’s not different from playing in Japan,” Okamoto told MLB.com through an interpreter. “I think this is just a little lull right now, and hopefully I can get it going soon.”

Arizona is receiving help from perhaps unexpected sources.

Catcher Adrian Del Castillo had five RBIs in an 8-5, 10-inning victory at Baltimore to complete the trip Wednesday. His two-run homer in the 10th was the decider, and he also had a two-run triple in the third and an RBI groundout in the seventh. He has 10 RBIs, one behind team leader Corbin Carroll.

“Honestly, we’ve had some crazy wins and some good wins,” Del Castillo said in a TV interview. “We all work together. We just keep having fun. I think we have to feed off these wins and take it home and keep doing it.”

Utility player Ildemaro Vargas has hit in all 12 games he has played, a franchise record to start the season. He has played at first, second and third bases and also left field. He has five doubles, two homers, eight RBIs and a .383 batting average.

Soroka has won all three of his starts and has two 10-strikeout games in just 15 2/3 total innings. Soroka, 28, who spent the 2025 season playing for the Washington Nationals and Chicago Cubs, and Randy Johnson are the only two pitchers in franchise history with 10 or more strikeouts in two of their first three appearances with the team.

Against the Blue Jays, Soroka is 1-2 with a 5.09 ERA in five career games (four starts) but has faced them only twice since 2019.

Lauer beat the Athletics 5-2 on March 29 to open his season but has lost his past two starts, and he gave up seven runs on five hits and two homers in a 7-4 loss to the Minnesota Twins on Saturday.

Lauer is 4-4 with a 2.38 ERA in 10 career starts against Arizona. He gave up one run and struck out eight in five innings in an 8-1 victory over the D-Backs last June 18, his only start against them since 2022. He played for the Brewers that season.

–Field Level Media

Winning on getaway day sure beats the alternative.

The Texas Rangers know that feeling after scoring four runs in the ninth inning on Thursday to beat the Athletics 9-6 in West Sacramento, Calif.

The Rangers practically glided to Seattle, where they’ll meet their American League West rival, the Mariners, in a three-game series beginning Friday night.

It appeared the Rangers were going to lose Thursday after Nick Kurtz’s wind-aided double with the bases loaded in the bottom of the eighth inning fell in front of left fielder Wyatt Langford, clearing the bases and giving the A’s a one-run lead.

But the Rangers rallied in the ninth, with Joc Pederson’s RBI single and Ezequiel Duran’s two-run single as the key blows.

“I just think that they played nine innings no matter what,” Rangers manager Skip Schumaker said. “They play hard, and it doesn’t matter what the score is. There’s always a fighting chance. I’m just proud of these guys. They just never give up. It was pretty demoralizing, how that was going. It could have been a demoralizing flight, quite honestly. That’s not easy to do, so this is a much happier flight, for sure.”

Josh Jung, who went 3-for-5 with a double, homer and two RBIs, credited Langford, who took out his frustration between the eighth and ninth innings by lobbing some water jugs around the visiting dugout.

“He kind of did it for all of us, probably,” Jung said. “We were frustrated, but then we’re just laughing. It’s like one jug goes, and then the next goes, too.”

The Rangers and A’s split their four-game series to remain tied atop the AL West.

The Mariners, meanwhile, were swept in a three-game series in San Diego, losing 5-2 Thursday to drop to 1-8 on the road and into a tie with Houston in the division cellar. The Mariners also were swept in a three-game series early last week in Texas vs. the Rangers, having been outscored 8-3.

“We just need to continue to set the table,” Mariners star Julio Rodríguez said. “Somebody’s gonna eat at some point.”

Seattle is starving for its Nos. 2-4 hitters — Cal Raleigh, Rodriguez and Josh Naylor — to break out of their early season slumps. The trio has combined for a .162 batting average with five home runs and 24 RBIs.

“We play a really hard game. Sometimes we’re not gonna come through there. Sometimes you’re gonna come through,” Rodriguez said. “I feel like if you play good baseball you can win at home, on the road, everywhere.”

The series opener will feature a pair of ace right-handers in the Rangers’ Jacob deGrom (1-0, 2.87 ERA) and the Mariners’ Logan Gilbert (1-2, 4.18).

DeGrom got his first victory of the season Sunday at the defending World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers, when he allowed one run on four hits over six innings, with three walks and nine strikeouts, in a 5-2 decision.

In his start previous to that, on April 6, he got a no-decision in a 2-1 victory against the Mariners. The only hit he allowed over five innings was a solo homer by Raleigh.

In eight career starts against Seattle, deGrom is 2-2 with a 3.26 ERA.

Gilbert is 5-3 with a 2.90 ERA in 17 career starts against Texas. He took the loss in that April 6 matchup with deGrom despite giving up just two runs in six innings.

Gilbert also is coming off his first victory of the season, defeating visiting Houston 6-1 Sunday when he allowed one run on four hits over seven innings, with one walk and seven strikeouts.

–Field Level Media