Former San Diego Padres outfielder Jurickson Profar mentioned problems with ownership as the reason why he didn’t return to the team this winter.
“Obviously the Padres have some issue with the ownership and all that,” Profar said in a video call with the Atlanta media, via Jeff Sanders of the San Diego Union-Tribune. “It was difficult to go back (to San Diego), but [Braves general manager] Alex [Anthopoulous] showed a lot, a lot of interest in me and I loved that. He gave me a lot of confidence to come to a team and to perform.
“People show confidence like that, it gives you a boost.”
It’s confirmed — there is trouble in paradise.
There were doubts the Padres were experiencing issues early in the offseason, but there has recently been an overwhelming amount of evidence pointing toward a tumultuous situation in San Diego.
The widow of former owner Peter Seidler, Sheel Siedler, penned a letter to fans the first week of January saying she filed a complaint against Matthew Seidler and Robert Seidler for “irreconcilable conflicts of interest.” The Seidler brothers refuted many of her claims in a letter shortly after.
But it didn’t stop there.
During his introductory press conference, Roki Sasaki cited the stability in the Los Angeles Dodgers’ front office as the thing that stood out most to him throughout his selection process.
Profar’s comments certainly don’t bode well for the Padres, either.
The outfielder made a huge impact on the field and in the clubhouse, but San Diego couldn’t hold on to him. In fact, the two parties were never close to a reunion deal, per reports.
Profar will be at Petco Park to start the season, but in another uniform. He will be playing for his new team, the Atlanta Braves.
Nevertheless, he wrote a nice farewell to San Diego.
“San Diego will always hold a special place in my heart,” he wrote on Instagram. “Thank you to my teammates, coaches, the medical staff, ownership, and everyone else who has been a part of this journey. I will miss the relationships I made on a personal level, and the unwavering support you all showed me during my time in San Diego. To the fans, thank you for making me one of your own. I can still hear the “Pro-far” chants echoing throughout Petco Park. Those chants motivated me to work hard and do my best to achieve great things for the city. The way you embraced my family, and made us feel at home, truly means the world to me.”
Where the Padres go from here remains a mystery.
