Padres Chair John Moores is back in control of the Padres after Vice Chair Jeff Moorad withdrew his offer to purchase the team, but what Moores "will do next with the franchise is unknown, perhaps even to Moores himself," according to Dan Hayes of the NORTH COUNTY TIMES. Four scenarios "seem possible." Sources said that the prospective ownership group formerly run by Moorad "still has until March 2014 to purchase the team." A source said that the group is "now headed" by Padres investor and Liquid Investments Chair & CEO Ron Fowler. Alternatively, Moores and Moorad's group "could decide to co-exist, with Moores running the operation." In a third scenario, the two sides could "agree to find one buyer to purchase the team outright." Finally, Moores could "attempt to purchase back" the remaining 49% of the team. Hayes noted it is clear the Padres are "once again an attractive commodity." With a lengthy TV broadcast rights deal with FS San Diego worth potentially $1B, one of the "top farm systems in baseball and a 40-man roster devoid of overpriced contracts, the Padres should be able to attract buyers if they're put back on the market." There also remains a chance that Fowler or Padres investor and former Seltzer Companies President & Founder Wayne Seltzer "could try to buy the team from Moores." Moores could also "hang onto the team and see whether one of the groups that didn't get the Dodgers ... is interested in buying the Padres" (NCTIMES.com, 3/27). In San Diego, Tim Sullivan writes the Padres "need new ownership with the means to make things happen and the time to set things straight." The club needs "someone who can anchor a franchise that has been adrift for far too long." MLB has "bungled its responsibility in San Diego." If Moorad was "incapable of being approved as the Padres’ 'control' person ... he should have been blocked at the beginning and not on the cusp of closing the deal three years later." Selig "owes it to the city to screen prospective suitors this time as if he were selecting a son-in-law." Since suspicions "persist that Moorad’s intention was to flip the franchise after selling its local television rights, his partners will need to produce a persuasive and unimpeachable frontman (and possibly additional funds) if they expect to complete their acquisition." Baseball sources said that Fowler is the "ideal candidate for that role" (SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE, 3/28).
