The Tampa Bay Rays say they are in “exclusive discussions” with a Florida investment group for a potential sale of the team.

The Rays are valued at $1.25 billion, according to Forbes magazine. Stuart Sternberg bought the Major League Baseball club for $200 million in 2004.

“The Tampa Bay Rays announced that the team has recently commenced exclusive discussions with a group led by Patrick Zalupski, Bill Cosgrove, Ken Babby and prominent Tampa Bay investors concerning a possible sale of the team,” the club said Wednesday while declining further comment.

The potential sale comes at a precarious time for the Rays and their home ballpark. They are playing this season at the spring training home of the New York Yankees in Tampa after the roof of Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg was heavily damaged during Hurricane Milton last October.

Before the hurricane, the Rays and the city had agreed on a plan for a $1.3 billion stadium development project next to Tropicana Field. In Marc Devers is determined to leave his own lasting mark on the franchise in what is a much-needed fresh start for him and a monumental midseason acquisition for Buster Posey and San Francisco’s front office.

Devers met Bonds and Posey for the first time and said he hopes to have legacies like theirs, even if Devers is still buidling up the courage to talk hitting with Bonds.

And whatever went wrong in Boston, Devers is done discussing any issues he had with the Red Sox and eager to move forward across the country with the Giants.

“That’s in the past now. I’m looking ahead and focusing on what I have here being a San Francisco Giant,” Devers said. “I’m eager to go out there and play and see what I can do.”

With a bright smile to match his bright new No. 16 jersey, Devers insisted he will play anywhere and do whatever manager Bob Melvin and his staff ask.

“I really like his answers, by the way,” said Posey, in his first year as president of baseball operations.

h, Sternberg said the club was withdrawing from that agreement.

St. Petersburg is spending about $55 million to repair Tropicana Field with a plan for the Rays to return there in 2026. The city and the club have a three-year agreement to play there. Beyond that, the club’s future in the Tampa Bay area is uncertain.

When the Rays withdrew from the project, the city noted that it was possible the club would have new owners.

“If in the coming months a new owner, who demonstrates a commitment to honoring their agreements and our community priorities emerges, we will consider a partnership to keep baseball in St. Pete,” Mayor Ken Welch said in March. “But we will not put our city’s progress on hold as we await a collaborative and community-focused baseball partner.”

Devers says he’ll play any position for Giants

Rafael Devers is determined to leave his own lasting mark on the San Francisco Giants in what is a much-needed fresh start for him and a monumental midseason acquisition for Buster Posey and San Francisco’s front office.

Whatever went wrong in Boston, Devers is done discussing any issues he had with the Red Sox and eager to move forward across the country with the Giants when he spoke during an introductory press conference on Tuesday.

“That’s in the past now. I’m looking ahead and focusing on what I have here being a San Francisco Giant,” Devers said. “I’m eager to go out there and play and see what I can do.”

With a bright smile to match his bright new No. 16 jersey, Devers insisted he will play anywhere and do whatever manager Bob Melvin and his staff ask.

“I really like his answers, by the way,” said Posey, in his first year as president of baseball operations.

Royals’ Ragans shut down for four weeks

Kansas City Royals left-hander Cole Ragans will be shut down for four weeks from the last time he threw because of a mild rotator cuff strain.

“No surgery. No injection. Just rest,” manager Matt Quatraro said Wednesday.

The 27-year-old Ragans, an All-Star for Kansas City last season, was recently reevaluated after being placed on the 15-day injured list last Wednesday. That happened six days after he returned from an IL trip for a left groin strain and allowed five runs in only three innings at St. Louis.

Ragans is 2-3 with a 5.18 ERA in 10 starts this season. He was acquired in a June 2023 trade with Texas and went 11-9 last season with a 3.14 ERA, ranking fifth in the majors with 223 strikeouts.