“I’m certainly not going to give them more money” - Florida commissioner slams Rays owner amid MLB’s push for Stu Sternberg to sell

Tampa Bay Rays owner Stu Sternberg is facing pressure from Major League Baseball to sell the franchise. Other team owners, as well as MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred, reportedly want new ownership leading the Rays.

There are a few possible ownership groups lined up and waiting. However, the MLB does want the team to remain in Florida and not move to another state.

Chris Latvala, a commissioner in Florida’s Pinellas County and a loud critic of Sternberg, said via The Athletic that there's a deal on the table and that he's going to stand firm against Sternberg.

“I don’t know what there would be left to negotiate," Latvala said on Monday. "We have a deal, and it’s on the table. I’m certainly not going to give them more money, so I don’t really know what’s left to negotiate with them.”

Latvala also said that the MLB will step in if Sternberg doesn't take one of the deals on the table. He added that the league would see Sternberg's "unwillingness" to build a new stadium in Tampa Bay or that he's not financially capable of doing it. The Florida-based commissioner firmly believes a sale is coming and the Rays will have new ownership soon.

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Rays president denies money issues amid pressure for Stu Sternberg to sell

The MLB wants the Tampa Bay Rays to land in a new and better stadium in Florida. The league is aware that it may require a sale from Stu Sternberg to happen but Rays president Matt Silverman believes Sternberg has access to the money necessary for a new stadium.

MLB wants the Rays to be sold (Getty)

“It’s not a question of whether we have the funds," Silverman said on Sunday, via The Athletic. "We do. The question is whether it’s a good use of those funds to commit us and MLB to this ballpark for the next 30 years.”

Tampa Bay, according to the report, doesn't think it should commit to a stadium in a place it isn't confident it can thrive in. The Rays also reportedly feel they are called out as a small-market team even though they've been more successful than other clubs, namely their neighbors, the Miami Marlins.