The upcoming group, led by real estate developer Patrick Zalupski, is expected to formally purchase rays from the ownership group of Stuart Sternberg in the coming weeks, and some major organizational changes are coming soon. Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times said longtime team presidents Matt Silverman and Brian Auld will leave their current roles. Auld maintained consulting capabilities throughout the ownership transition, and Silverman’s only remaining involvement would be part of the advisory board representing the Sternberg team’s business group, as Sternberg’s group still has 10% rays.
Although the two executives shared the “President” title without any modifiers, Auld focused more on the business side, while Silverman focused more on the baseball side. Silverman has been the team president since 2005 (when he was only 29 years old) and has served as president of baseball operations after Andrew Friedman set out for the Dodgers during his three-year vacation. After the 2016 season, Erik Neander was promoted to head of baseball operations, and Silverman moved back upstairs to serve as president.
Silverman first started working with the Rays in 2004, boarding the boat before Sternberg (his former Goldman Sachs colleague) bought the team. Auld joined the organization in 2005 as Director of Planning and Development and held various positions before being promoted to president 11 years ago. The connection between Silverman and Auld also existed before their time in Tampa Bay, when the duo first met in high school.
Topkin wrote that Silverman’s departure seemed to have some will, and Silverman “had a talk with the upcoming owner about possible important roles but chose to leave the team.” Silverman said that due to another job opportunity, he did not leave, but instead “Just a simple personal decision, for me, it’s a good time to put down my pencil, hold my breath and figure out what’s next…. Before the dialogue on the future roles that truly develop, I expressed my preference for serving on this ownership committee and they welcomed this participation. ”
As far as he is concerned, Auld looks forward to being with his family, away from everyday grinding while still helping the light in this chapter in team history.
“My hope is that we can have a long-term partnership with me and be my counselor [likely incoming CEO] Ken Babby and others in need,” Alder said.Major League Baseball in Tampa Bay is not a simple business, and I’m really looking forward to doing this in the range I can help…. I look forward to some different styles and learning from a new group. I think this is one of the reasons why major changes are needed. I’m not sure this will be what I want to do and to get to know this ownership group, and Ken feels really good. I think this may be a good thing, a very positive thing. ”
Past reports show that Zalupski did not plan to make any major changes to the team’s structure and thus lost more than 40 years of organizational experience, which is undoubtedly far from the original idea. Given the long-term link between Sternburg and the Silverman/Old combination, it may not be surprising that Zalupuski hopes to fill the president’s role through his own hiring, or if he continues to hire for the trend of independent presidents for baseball and commercial purposes.
Therefore, changes in the presidential office are not necessarily seen as hint that Zalupski may be considering a larger change. Neander and manager Kevin Cash signed a contract extension before the 2024 season, after at least 2028 in the case of Neander until the case of Cash. Eating a lot of leftover money on these contracts may be a factor in Zalupski, but the bigger problem is that both Neander and cash are highly regarded around baseball, and both are widely considered as two main reasons why Tampa Bay remains competitive despite continued modest wages.
The tradition of competitive baseball really started with Silverman, whose recruitment Friedman, Neander and several other executives helped establish the ray as a talent factory both on-site and off-field. Over the years, multiple teams have hired former Ray executives, coaches and consultants to try to capture Tampa’s low-budget magic for themselves, and overall they are somewhat different. Perhaps Silverman’s most obvious legacy is the “ray” name itself, as he lags behind the convoy’s name from “Devil’s Ray” and the new uniforms and colors associated with the remodeling.
