Sportscaster boldly predicts victor of Peter Seidler's widow Sheel vs. her brothers-in-law legal battle for Padres ownership

Former San Diego Padres owner Peter Seidler’s widow, Sheel, is expected to settle the legal battle with her brothers-in-law out of court, sportscaster Lee Hacksaw Hamilton predicts. During Thursday's edition of his podcast, Hamilton discussed the direction of the ongoing legal battle for control of the Padres MLB franchise.

Here’s what Hamilton had to say about the pending litigation:

“I don’t think she’s going to win this lawsuit, this will get settled out of court, but this is really, really ugly.”

Hamilton’s reasoning lies in how Peter Seidler reportedly set up his estate before his death, indicating that his brothers, not his widow, were to continue with the franchise’s operations.

Moreover, Hamilton ventures into asserting the direction the situation could take by saying:

“The sidebar story are the Seidlers doing this to prepare to sell the franchise. That could very well happen.”

In Hamilton’s assessment, the eventual settlement of the ongoing lawsuit would culminate in selling the franchise. If and when that happens remains to be seen. There is no indication that’s where the team is heading at this point.

Check out Hamilton’s full analysis below:

In the meantime, the lawsuit has impacted the Padres’ offseason as baseball operation decisions continue with the specter of the team’s potential sale looming on the horizon.

Lawsuit leading to concerns about Padres’ baseball operations

An article published on Friday in The Athletic echoed Hamilton’s concerns about baseball operations in San Diego.

In the piece, co-authors Ken Rosenthal and Dennis Lin explored how the ongoing legal strife has impacted the team’s ability to land key free agents. In particular, the Padres have been rumored to be heavily interested in landing Japanese phenom Roki Sasaki.

But given the club’s tumultuous ownership situation, Sasaki and other big-name free agents, for that matter, may not be interested in joining the club. Moreover, the contentious legal battles may lead to the franchise’s sale, further leaving players’ futures hanging in the balance.

San Diego settled contracts with Luis Arraez and Dylan Cease ahead of the arbitration filing deadline. But that situation doesn’t guarantee they will remain with the ballclub. With the team over the luxury tax threshold and a potential sale on the horizon, its baseball operations may be inclined to sell off pieces by the trade deadline.

Of course, that is only speculation from industry experts at this time. Nevertheless, the uncertainty surrounding the Padres this offseason could have cost them an opportunity to land franchise players.

If the lawsuit is settled amicably, and the ownership situation stabilizes, the Friars could remain a significant contender in the NL West.