NEW YORK (AP) — Major League Baseball owners voted unanimously Monday to approve the sale of the Tampa Bay Rays to group headed by real estate developer Patrick Zalupski, allowing the transfer from Stu Sternberg's group to close.

The Rays said on Sept. 17 they expected the sale to close within two weeks.

Sternberg took control of the team from founding owner Vince Naimoli in November 2005 and rebranded it the Rays from the Devil Rays after the 2007 season. The Rays won AL East titles in 2008, 2010, 2020 and 2021, and twice reached the World Series, losing to Philadelphia in 2008 and to the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2020.

The Rays in March withdrew from a $1.3 billion project to construct a new ballpark adjacent to Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, citing a hurricane and delays that likely

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