Padres owner brushes off criticism: Winning in San Diego is 'sustainable'

If critics of the San Diego Padres' recent spending habits think their comments may alter how owner and chairman Peter Seidler runs his franchise, they can think again.

Seidler said he pays no mind to those questioning how he's running his ballclub, or whether the bubble of playing in a small market might burst at some point soon.

"Putting a great and winning team in San Diego year after year is sustainable," Seidler told reporters Tuesday, according to Bob Nightengale of USA Today.

The Padres' offseason shopping spree, coming on the heels of their first NLCS appearance since 1998, was one of the offseason's biggest stories. General manager A.J. Preller spent over $500 million on roster upgrades, most notably by inking star free-agent shortstop Xander Bogaerts to an 11-year, $280-million extension and extending Yu Darvish. All the new additions joined a superstar-laden roster that already featured the likes of Darvish, Juan Soto, Josh Hader, Manny Machado, and Fernando Tatis Jr.

If Preller and Seidler had their way, they would have spent even more money. San Diego was a finalist to sign both Trea Turner and Aaron Judge before each opted for megadeals with the Phillies and Yankees, respectively.

But the small-market club's new habits have garnered some criticism within the baseball world. In January, Colorado Rockies owner Dick Monfort said he didn't "100% agree with" their methods. Commissioner Rob Manfred recently expressed skepticism about how long the Padres could maintain this level of spending, although he applauded Seidler's commitment.

"I don't spend too much time, if any, thinking about what other people are thinking," Seidler said. "Truly, I care about what we're thinking in this room in San Diego. To me, it just feels great."

Seidler, who took over full control of the team in 2020, doesn't see any downside to how he's chosen to run the Padres. With San Diego now a one-team town, he feels that the franchise is taking advantage of a "unique" situation to put an annual contender on the field. The city has clearly bought in, with demand so great that season-ticket sales were capped for the first time in team history.

"We have a very sports-oriented and hungry fan base. We believe that if we continue to build that trust, they will continue to come," Seidler said. "It's about winning. It's about being exciting. And it's about our fans, young and old, knowing that they're going to be able to watch great, exciting players, year after year after year."