Trip Miller has never been shy about his ambitions to buy the Tampa Bay Rays. The Memphis-based hedge fund manager is making a play for the big seat, publicly, loudly, and with a vision he believes can transform the franchise. But that bold approach may be backfiring.
In a recent interview with WFLA News Channel 8, Miller laid out plans for a battery-style ballpark district in Tampa, modeled after the Atlanta Braves’ wildly successful mixed-use development. He talked timelines, stadium sites, even relocation options, all before owning a controlling stake.
In the tight-lipped world of Major League Baseball ownership, where deals materialize behind closed doors, Miller’s media blitz is turning heads, and not in the way he’d hoped. Former Miami Marlins president David Samson, a veteran of the front-office trenches, just fired off a public warning that could upend Miller’s chances before they truly begin.
“You are going to get voted down. You are not going to get put up to a vote,” Samson said on his podcast Nothing Personal. “When you’re trying to buy a team—shh. Don’t give interviews, don’t talk to the press. Baseball owners don’t like that.”
That wasn’t all. Samson didn’t just question the timing; he questioned the credibility as well. He pointed out that Miller isn’t part of the reported $1.7 billion deal that current owner Stu Sternberg is already negotiating.
The more Miller talks, the more Samson believes he’s torpedoing any real shot of being taken seriously. “Stop hurting your chances to get approved by giving interviews,” the ex-Marlins president continued. “Hold on, dude. This is a guy who doesn’t even own the team.”
Miller, for his part, has insisted he’s doing his due diligence. He’s spoken about having the liquidity to close the deal and promised a “thoughtful approach” to both stadium planning and franchise development if given the opportunity. But when he veered into public-private partnership talk and left the door open to possible relocation, Samson bristled.
The subtext is clear: in MLB’s world, discretion isn’t just preferred, it’s required. While Miller may be trying to win over the public and position himself as a visionary alternative to Sternberg, he’s also potentially alienating the only group that matters: the league’s current owners. And in Samson’s eyes, the outcome is already written: “Wait to see. The Tampa Bay Rays will not be sold to Trip Miller.”
With the Rays’ future still tangled in real estate, legal battles, and relocation whispers, Trip Miller’s candidacy has become the wildcard in an already unpredictable saga. But the question is whether he’s already talked himself out of the chance.
Who’s in and who’s out? Rays’ investment group shake-up
Trip Miller isn’t new to this game, but the players around him have changed. Back in 2023, the Memphis-based hedge fund founder put together a group that offered $1.85 billion to purchase the Tampa Bay Rays from current owner Stuart Sternberg. That bid didn’t stick, but Miller’s ambition never faded. Now, in 2025, he’s back with a new team under the banner Epping Forrest Diamond Partners, signaling a renewed push to take control of the franchise if the current deal on the table falters.
But not everyone from his earlier campaign is along for the ride. Dan Doyle Jr., CEO of Tampa-based DEX Imaging and a key part of Miller’s 2023 effort, has reportedly flipped sides. He’s now believed to be aligned with Patrick Zalupski’s Jacksonville-based group, the leading bidder in the current $1.7 billion transaction discussions.
Miller, however, has made it clear that he’s a serious contender with his new group. “We are financially prepared if needed to bid more,” he told The Tampa Bay Times.
It’s a power struggle between two very different visions for the Rays’ future. While Zalupski’s group seems closely tied to St. Petersburg and the Tropicana Field redevelopment plan, Miller is pitching flexibility, innovation, and a stronger link to Tampa or even Central Florida as a whole.
Miller’s message is unmistakable: if Zalupski’s deal crumbles, he’s ready to step in and ready to pay up.
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