SALT LAKE CITY — Salt Lake City has the desire for Major League Baseball. Salt Lake City has plans for a Major League Baseball stadium. The only thing Salt Lake City doesn't have at the plate... an actual Major League Baseball team.
But... there's an MLB team a few hundred miles away that was put up for sale on Thursday. And while there has been absolutely nothing to even remotely suggest a move to the Wasatch Front, just dreaming that Santa could make the Salt Lake Padres happen is enough to make the season bright for local baseball fans.
According to the Associated Press, the family of the late San Diego Padres owner Peter Seidler is exploring the possibility of selling the franchise that sits about 11 hours to the southwest of Utah.
Of course, if the Padres do get sold to the highest bidder, they'll likely remain in Southern California as they continue to draw millions of fans to beautiful Petco Park in downtown San Diego.
However, crazier things have happened.
Two years ago, who would have thought the Arizona Coyotes would turn into the Utah Mammoth?
How Utah is positioning itself for MLB expansion:
Instead of Ryan and Ashley Smith, this time it's the Larry H. Miller family looking to bring baseball to Salt Lake City. Last month, the Miller Company broke ground on its new multi-billion-dollar Power District, which currently has plans to include a Major League Baseball stadium despite having no assurances of a team.
The most logical plan for bringing an MLB team to the Wasatch Front has always been through expansion, where Salt Lake City is considered one of the favorites, along with Nashville, to land a team. But if the Millers had the money, the desire, and, honestly, the ruthlessness to pry the Padres from San Diego, who's to say Manny Machado and Fernando Tatis Jr. won't soon be donning the uniform of the Salt Lake (fill in the blank)?
It's not too late for baseball fans to fill out their wishlists for Santa.
