Seattle, WA
Sounders group completes Seattle Reign purchase
The $58 million sale of Seattle Reign FC to a new ownership group that includes MLS’ Seattle Sounders FC is finally complete.
The Reign, along with former French owners OL Groupe, announced the news on Monday.
The Sounders are joined by private equity firm the Carlyle Group in the new ownership group. Carlyle Group is investing more than 50% of the joint venture, but the Sounders were “instrumental” in getting the deal done, said Alex Popov, Carlyle’s head of private credit.
The $58 million price tag is a dramatic increase in valuation of the team. OL Groupe bought the Reign for about $3.5 million in late 2019.
“It’s all about the potential going forward,” Popov told ESPN. “And frankly, our starting point was off. You know, that’s what attracted a lot of us to, including ourselves here at Carlyle, to think about investing in women’s sport. We have seen the potential.”
Team valuations have grown exponentially across the NWSL recently. San Diego Wave FC, which first joined the NWSL as an expansion team in 2022, is in the process of a two-part transaction that values the team between $113 million and $120 million.
NWSL commissioner Jessica Berman said last year that she hoped the sale of the Reign would close around the new year. OL Groupe previously announced the deal in March, but exact details of the new ownership group were not shared.
The Reign’s sale to a group that includes the Sounders finally gives Seattle’s NWSL side a sense of true stability in the Emerald City. The Reign have won three NWSL Shields since the club’s inception in 2013, but the team has historically struggled to find its footing off the field.
Seattle previously played at Memorial Stadium downtown, but uncertainty around the venue’s future at the end of 2018 put the Reign’s future in the market in doubt.
The team moved to Tacoma in 2019 and removed “Seattle” from its name.
Less than a year later, OL Groupe, which owned the successful Lyon women’s side at the time, bought a majority stake in the Reign and the team was rebranded as OL Reign. The team made Lumen Field its permanent home in 2022 and averaged crowds of 13,610 fans per game in the 68,000-plus seat stadium last year.
Maya Mendoza-Exstrom, who spent 10 years with the Sounders and will now serve as the Reign’s chief business officer, said Lumen Field is unequivocally the Reign’s home.
“It feels a little bit like we have the gritty startup mentality of an expansion franchise in this exciting moment, but we have this benefit of having a dedicated fan base that has been dedicated to this club, even though it has moved a ton and changed a ton over the last few years,” she told ESPN. “So, I think the opportunity just to root this club in place — Lumen is our home. The club’s not moving anywhere.”
Filling the lower bowl of Lumen Field consistently is a realistic target for the Reign, but Mendoza-Exstrom and Popov both understand that what works for the Sounders might not be the right approach for the Reign. The Sounders averaged over 32,000 fans per game last year.
“We’ll figure out where our gaps are, and we’ll figure out where our synergies are, and then we will invest in the resources,” Mendoza-Exstrom said. “And that includes human resources to make sure that the Reign are resourced in a way that’s commensurate with what we need to do to grow. And that could be any number of human beings, that could be technology, that could be facilities. It’s all on the table.”
The Reign’s new ownership structure formally unifies Seattle’s MLS and NWSL teams after over a decade of operating independently. Sounders owner Adrian Hanauer became a minority owner in the Reign upon the team’s move to Tacoma, but exited when OL Groupe bought the team. Hanauer will now be part of the Reign’s ownership group again and serve as governor on the NWSL board, with Popov as the alternate.
“Today is a milestone day for soccer in our city and I am humbled to be a part of it,” Hanauer said in a statement. “This announcement is about keeping one of the top women’s teams in the world locally rooted in our community for generations of fans to enjoy.”
The Seattle Mariners have a new pitcher, and it’s one they’re quite familiar with.
Cal Raleigh has soreness in side, out of Mariners’ lineup again
Longtime former Los Angeles Angels left-hander José Suarez was claimed by the Mariners on Sunday off waivers from the Atlanta Braves. To make room on the 40-man roster, Seattle designated Triple-A outfielder Rhylan Thomas for assignment.
The Mariners (16-18 entering Sunday) and the MLB-leading Braves (24-10) are set to begin a three-game series at Seattle’s T-Mobile Park on Monday night.
The 28-year-old Suarez is in his eighth MLB season, the first six of which were with the Angels. Because of his long tenure playing for a Mariners AL West rival, Suarez has played against the Mariners (14 games, 10 starts, 59 1/3 innings) more than any other MLB team.
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Suarez had a 6.61 ERA in eight games (one start) and 16 1/3 innings for the Braves this season. He first joined the Braves last year.
The Braves designated Suarez for assignment on Friday.
The best seasons of Suarez’s career were in 2021 and 2022 with the Angels, both years in which he went 8-8 with an ERA below 4.00 and WHIP under 1.25.
The Mariners had to scramble to fill a spot in the bullpen this week when right-hander Matt Brash went on the injured list with right lat inflammation. They initially called up left-hander Josh Simpson from Triple-A Tacoma just before their game against Kansas City on Friday night, then replaced Simpson by calling up Nick Davila from Double-A Arkansas on Saturday.
Thomas, 26, made his MLB debut last season, appearing in three games for the Mariners. This year in Triple-A, he’s has a .260/.313/.328 slash line for a .641 OPS with two home runs in 31 games. Thomas was an 11th-round MLB Draft pick in 2022 out of USC by the New York Mets.
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Seattle Mariners slugger Cal Raleigh is day-to-day with “general soreness” after being pulled from the lineup before Saturday’s game, manager Dan Wilson told reporters after a 3-2 loss in 10 innings against the Kansas City Royals.
Wilson said Raleigh underwent imaging, though he did not specify what on, and the team will assess their star catcher’s status Sunday.
“We’re trying to be as cautious as possible,” Wilson said.
Raleigh was originally slated to start at catcher and bat second in the middle game of the three-game series, but he was scratched from the lineup about 90 minutes before first pitch.
Mitch Garver got the start in place of Raleigh and went 1 for 4 at the plate and struck out three times, including to lead off the 10th inning.
Saturday’s game was the first Raleigh has missed this season. He had started 32 of the previous 33, including 25 at catcher, and came in as a pinch-hitter in the only game he didn’t start.
Raleigh is batting .186 with a .652 OPS, seven homers and four doubles this season. He has hit five home runs in his past 10 games.
Raleigh finished as the American League MVP runner-up during a record-setting campaign in 2025. He led baseball with 60 home runs, setting single-season MLB records for most home runs by a catcher and switch-hitter, as well as the Mariners’ single-season homer mark. Raleigh also drove in an AL-best 125 RBIs while hitting .247 with a .948 OPS.
The Mariners added a third catcher to their 26-man roster shortly after Raleigh was scratched from the lineup. Jhonny Pereda was called up from Triple-A Tacoma and infielder Will Wilson was placed on the 10-day injured list with fractured left thumb.
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Reliever Nick Davila is making the jump from Double-A to the big leagues to join the Seattle Mariners.
The Mariners announced they selected Davila’s contract from Double-A Arkansas on Saturday.
Joel Sherman of MLB Network and The New York Post first reported the right-hander was being promoted to the major leagues earlier in the day.
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In a corresponding move, left-hander Josh Simpson was optioned to Triple-A Tacoma.
Davila filled the last open spot on the Mariners’ 40-man roster.
Davila, 27, has pitched in eight games with the Travelers this season, posting a 2.00 ERA and 0.78 WHIP with 10 strikeouts to one walk over nine innings of work. He’s held opponents to a .182 batting average.
Davila also pitched in seven games for the Mariners during spring training, compiling 6.75 ERA and six strikeouts over 5 1/3 innings.
Davila, who signed a minor league contract with the Mariners in March 2023, is in his fourth year in the organization. He pitched across three levels of the minors in 2023, including making three starts for Triple-A Tacoma, his only experience above Double-A during his pro career.
In 2024, the Hialeah, Fla., native pitched in 13 games with a 4.98 ERA over 18 2/3 innings for High-A Everett.
Last season, Davila appeared in 39 games at Double-A. He had a 3.55 ERA over 50 2/3 innings.
Davila went undrafted out of South Florida in 2020 before signing a minor league deal with the Detroit Tigers a month after the draft. He made his pro debut the following season with Detroit’s Single-A affiliate.
Simpson, 28, was called up by the Mariners on Friday when right-hander Matt Brash was placed on the 15-day injured list with right lat inflammation. He has yet to pitch in a big league game this season.
In nine appearances with Tacoma prior to be called up, Simpson had a 0.96 ERA and 0.96 WHIP with 12 strikeouts and six walks allowed over 9 1/3 innings.
Simpson pitched in 31 games as a rookie for the Miami Marlins last season, posting a 7.34 ERA over 30 2/3 innings.
The Mariners continue a three-game series with the Kansas City Royals on Saturday at 6:40 p.m. Radio coverage on Seattle Sports 710 AM and the Seattle Sports app begins with the pregame show at 5:30 p.m.
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