Jeff Moorad Close to Takeover of San Diego Padres

Former Arizona Diamondbacks CEO Jeff Moorad is on the edge of taking over Major League Baseball (MLB) team the San Diego Padres.

Moorad, a former sports agent and previous part owner and chief executive of the Diamondbacks, has been buying stakes in the Padres from majority owner John Moores.

MLB.com and the Padres’ official website have reported a deal for Moorad to own 100 percent of the baseball franchise is almost complete, and will be sent to other baseball owners for approval at their next meeting.

MLB.com puts the Padres sale to Moorad at $530 million but may be closer to $480m according to Forbes. Moores has owned the team since 1995. Moorad is now its vice chairman and CEO.

Moorad has plenty of other former Diamondbacks with him at Petco Park in San Diego.

Former D-backs General Manager Josh Byrnes is now GM of the Padres. Former D-backs Manager A.J. Hinch is a team vice president and assistant GM. Byrnes and Hinch were fired from the D-backs in 2010.

Padres President and Chief Operating Officer Tom Garfinkel was the D-backs’ COO before making the move to San Diego with Moorad. The Padres connduct their spring training in Peoria.

Moorad fired Kevin Towers as Padres general manager in 2009. Towers became the D-backs’ GM last year.

Moorad was previously a sports agent, with clients including Steve Young, Manny Ramirez,Troy Aikman, Thurman Thomas, Warren Moon and Ivan Rodriguez.