Minor League Baseball Owner Part of Group in 'Advanced' Talks to Buy Tampa Bay Rays

While Zalupski is the leader of this group, there are connections to Minor League Baseball in the group as well.

Known limited partners in Zalupski’s group include Ken Babby—who owns a pair of Minor League Baseball teams: the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp and the Akron RubberDucks—as well as Bill Cosgrove, CEO of Strongsville, Ohio-based Union Home Mortgage

The Jumbo Shrimp are the Triple-A affiliate of the Miami Marlins and the RubberDucks are the Double-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians.

This potential sale should mean good news for fans of the Rays, who have been dealing with talks of possible relocation for years. Commissioner Rob Manfred has said he wants to keep the team in the Tampa/St. Petersburg market, and perhaps this sale will open up the ability to do that, and get the ballpark that the Rays have long coveted in the area.

The Rays enter play on Wednesday at 40-33 and in second place in the American League East. They'll match up on Wednesday with the division-rival Baltimore Orioles at 7:35 p.m. ET. Right-hander Taj Bradley is going to pitch for the Rays while Trevor Rogers pitches for Baltimore. Bradley is 4-5 with a 4.35 ERA. Rogers is making his first start.

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