Rays In “Advanced Talks” About Potential Sale Of Team

12:18pm: The Rays have issued the following statement acknowledging the negotiations but declined to provide further comment or details:

“The Tampa Bay Rays announced that the team has recently commenced exclusive discussions with a group led by Patrick Zalupski, Bill Cosgrove, Ken Babby and prominent Tampa Bay investors concerning a possible sale of the team. Neither the Rays nor the group will have further comment during the discussions.”

11:40am: Rays owner Stuart Sternberg is in “advanced talks” with Jacksonville real estate developer Patrick Zalupski about a sale of the franchise for approximately $1.7 billion, per a report from Scott Soshnick and Kurt Badenhausen of Sportico. Zalupski has signed a letter of intent to purchase the club, the Sportico pair adds, though that does not signify that a deal will definitely cross the line. Still, Joel Sherman off the New York Post hears similarly, reporting that talks between the two parties are serious and that the Zalupski-led group is the only buyer with which the Rays are negotiating at the moment.

Sternberg purchased the Rays franchise for $200MM back in 2004 and has spent years unsuccessfully attempting to secure public funding for a new stadium in or around the St. Petersburg/Tampa area. A deal finally looked to be well on its way toward completion a year ago, but Hurricane Milton wrought catastrophic damage on Tropicana Field, derailing those plans and pushing the Rays to temporarily relocate to Tampa’s George M. Steinbrenner Field — home to the Yankees’ Florida State League affiliate and their annual home park during spring training.

Zalupski is the CEO of Dream Finders Homes, a publicly traded, Jacksonville-based developer that has built more than 31,000 homes across ten states. Forbes estimates his net worth at $1.4 billion, while his company’s valuation rests at $3.4 billion.

Per Sportico, Zalupski is the lead investor in a larger group that counts Ken Babby and Bill Cosgrove among several potential minority stakeholders. The former holds majority stakes in the Marlins’ Triple-A affiliate and the Guardians’ Double-A club and is the son of prominent NBA agent (and former Phoenix Suns president of basketball operations) Lon Babby. The latter is the CEO of Union Home Mortgage Group. Other investors are involved and figure to come to light if the sale process indeed continues toward completion.

More to come.