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 March, 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.

Castellanos returns to Phillies lineup: Nick Castellanos returned to the Phillies lineup for their game against the Marlins after being benched the day before for “an inappropriate comment” the outfielder made when he was pulled for a defensive replacement on Monday.

Castellanos doubled and singled Wednesday before catching Nick Fortes’ flyball at the right-field wall in the ninth to end the game.