Major League Baseball owners unanimously voted to approve John Seidler as the San Diego Padres' new control person on Thursday, commissioner Rob Manfred told reporters.

If appointed, John Seidler will simultaneously succeed Matt Seidler as trustee and Eric Kutsenda as Padres chairman. Seidler, 65, could soon oversee a team that won 93 games last season and took the eventual World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers to the brink in the National League Division Series.

The San Diego Padres are at the center of a family legal dispute, with some speculating that the matter could affect the team both on and off the field. Sheel Seidler, the widow of the late Padres owner Peter Seidler, is suing two of her brothers-in-law, Bob and Matt, in her bid to take control of the team.