ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — A group led by Florida-based real estate developer Patrick Zalupski closed on its purchase of the Tampa Bay Rays on Tuesday, finalizing the sale of the team from former owner Stuart Sternberg.

Major League Baseball owners unanimously approved the transaction last week. The price was not disclosed.

“It’s an incredible honor to become the stewards of the Tampa Bay Rays, a franchise with a proud history and a bright future,” Zalupski said in a statement. “We’re all energized by the responsibility to serve Rays fans everywhere and this great game. … We will work hard to earn the respect and confidence of our fans and new MLB partners, and we are excited about the upcoming challenge to deliver a world-class experience on and off the field.”

Zalupski’s group, which also includes Bill Cosgrove and Ken Babby, is expected to restart the search for a new ballpark. The Rays in March withdrew from a $1.3 billion project to construct a new ballpark adjacent to Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, citing a hurricane and delays that likely drove up the proposal’s cost.

“Major League Baseball is pleased to welcome Patrick and his partners to the ownership ranks,” MLB commissioner Rob Manfred said. “Their collective experience and passion for the game will serve the Rays well as they enter this exciting new chapter.”

Sternberg took control of the team from founding owner Vince Naimoli in November 2005 and rebranded it the Rays from the Devil Rays after the 2007 season. The Rays won AL East titles in 2008, 2010, 2020 and 2021 and twice reached the World Series, losing to Philadelphia in 2008 and to the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2020.

Ron Washington, who missed the majority of the 2025 season after undergoing quadruple bypass heart surgery, will not be returning as manager of the Los Angeles Angels in 2026, he told The Athletic on Tuesday.

Interim manager Ray Montgomery also will not get the full-time manager role in 2026, a source confirmed to ESPN, as the Angels will search for their sixth manager in nine years.

Washington told The Athletic that general manager Perry Minasian told him that the team’s decision to not pick up his contract option was based on the team’s performance — the Angels went 36-38 prior to him leaving — rather than the manager’s health.

“You know, when you’re a competitor, and you’re in charge, none of that stuff comes into play,” Washington told The Athletic. “Sometimes you’ve got to make chicken salad out of chicken s—.

“I have to accept that. I can’t go back to argue with them to try and tell them different when they’ve made a decision. … We were starting to perform better.”

Washington told The Athletic that he never had the opportunity to talk about the team’s decision with Angels owner Arte Moreno.

The Angels finished with a 72-90 record, accounting for their 10th consecutive losing season. They’ve made the playoffs just once since 2009.

After Mike Scioscia stepped down at the end of the 2018 season, ending a 19-year run that included the franchise’s only World Series championship, the Angels went through Brad Ausmus, Joe Maddon and Phil Nevin as managers over a five-year stretch. None produced more than 77 wins.

Washington, the former Texas Rangers manager and highly regarded infield instructor, was brought in ahead of the 2024 season in hopes that he could mentor a young nucleus headlined by Zach Neto, Logan O’Hoppe, Nolan Schanuel and Jo Adell. However, the team finished with a franchise-record 99 losses.

The 2025 team showed some promise but wound up finishing last in the American League West for the second straight year, 25½ games out of first.

“I think I had the team going in the right direction, I really did,” Washington told The Athletic. “And it was just too bad that my health came into play. There’s nothing that I can do about that.

“It was my team. I think the team took on my personality. We were definitely showing that. In this business, this is the kind of stuff that happens to you. When everything goes not the way people wanted, you take the blame for it. And I’m OK.”

Washington, who turns 74 in April, was the oldest manager in the majors this past season and last managed a game on June 19, when he left the Angels after experiencing shortness of breath and appearing fatigued during a four-game series against the New York Yankees.

He eventually underwent quadruple-bypass surgery but stressed last month that he was in good health and wanted to return as the Angels’ manager in 2026.

“What happened to me saved my life,” Washington said earlier this season, adding that he has quit smoking, changed his eating habits and is sleeping better.

Overall, Washington was 99-137 in two seasons with Los Angeles.

Montgomery’s option also will not be picked up. The rest of the Angels’ coaching staff also had 2026 options, but their status is not yet known.

Perry Minasian, who just finished his fifth season as the Angels’ general manager, is under contract through 2026, though the team has not made a formal announcement about his status.

Albert Pujols and Torii Hunter, two decorated former Angels who currently serve as special assistants with the team, are considered strong candidates to become the next manager — unless owner Arte Moreno seeks someone with more experience.

Washington was the winningest manager in Rangers history, compiling a 664-611 record from 2007 to 2014. He led them to their first two World Series appearances, in 2010 and 2011. After initially returning to the Athletics organization for the 2015 and 2016 campaigns, Washington joined the Atlanta Braves‘ staff from 2017 to 2023 and was part of their 2021 World Series championship team.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

ST. LOUIS — Chaim Bloom says the St. Louis Cardinals will be sticking to their roots to get back to October baseball.

Bloom, who has been in line since last year to become the organization’s president of baseball operations, spoke to the media Tuesday as he takes over a team that finished the season 78-84, fourth in the NL Central and missing the playoffs for a third consecutive season.

“The Cardinals win first and foremost with players we develop,” Bloom said. “That operating model that has sustained this organization for decades is still sound. But for it to develop the results that we need, we have to be elite at acquiring and developing baseball talent in every aspect.”

Bloom said he will retain manager Oli Marmol.

“As far as our field staff, there are still some things that we need to sort out,” Bloom said. “I expect a lot of continuity. It’s a good group of people that really cares.”

Bloom served as an advisor to the organization this season. He is taking over for John Mozeliak, who said last year he had advocated for bringing Bloom in to get a fresh look at where the Cardinals were at as a team.

“We’re not where we want to be,” Bloom said Tuesday. “We’re not where we need to be. We’re not where our fans expect us to be. We are not where we expect ourselves to be.”

St. Louis has won 11 World Series. Only the New York Yankees have won more. Their most recent title came in 2011 in Tony La Russa’s last season managing the club.

“Our goal is to field a team every year and compete for this division and a World Series championship,” Bloom said. “In this competitive business, the front of the line is always moving. We’re not going to concede anything. We need to be focused on our ultimate goal.”

Bloom, a 2004 graduate at Yale, spent 15 years (2005-19) with the Tampa Bay Rays, including the final three as senior vice president of baseball operations. He was chief baseball officer for the Boston Red Sox from Oct. 28, 2019, through Sept. 14, 2023, when he was fired. The Red Sox advanced to the American League Championship Series in 2021.

Bloom could explore trades for Nolan Arenado, Sonny Gray, and Willson Contreras. Those three veterans all have no-trade deals.

Arenado, 34, has two years remaining on his contract and is owed $42 million. Gray, 35, has one year left on his deal. He is owed $35 million in 2026. And Contreras, 33, has two years left on his contract. He is owed $36.5 million and a $5 million buyout for the 2028 season.

“I don’t like to draw a line and say these guys are in and these guys are out,” Bloom said. “The game is too hard for that.”

In the past three years, the Cardinals’ farm system has failed to produce impact players. Fans have shown their displeasure with that.

“I understand their frustration,” CEO Bill DeWitt Jr. said. “They love their Cardinals. They love their Cardinals winning. We’re going to make every effort to get back to that.”