A former Tampa Bay Rays star took to Twitter Thursday night to weigh in on the team's owner Stu Sternberg as well as the team's future.
BJ Upton, who played centerfield for the Rays from 2004-2012, tweeted his thoughts during Tampa Bay's 5-0 victory over the Boston Red Sox in Game 1 of the ALDS.
Stu needs to sell
— BJ Upton (@MelvinUptonJr) October 8, 2021
Upton started off by saying Sternberg needs to sell the team. In the next tweet he said the Rays' owner tried to use the playoffs as a bulls*** plan, likely referring to the idea of advertising the split-city plan during the playoffs.
The split-city plan involves the Rays playing half of their home games here and the other half in Montreal.
RELATED: Rays owner backs down from plans to display Montreal sign at Tropicana Field
Y’all wanna start a petition…I’m down, we worked too hard to build this and he wants to walk out on a city
— BJ Upton (@MelvinUptonJr) October 8, 2021
The former Ray then offered to start a petition to keep the team here, saying "we worked too hard to build this and he wants to walk out on a city."
The Montreal plan has been widely criticized by Rays fans, particularly Rays fans that are hoping the team moves to Tampa.
In that same hour, Upton said he "had a buyer" if Sternberg would sell the team, something he has said he does not plan to do.
He also took a shot at Rays President Brian Auld, saying "First off who listens to Brian Auld."
This the same team that took me to arbitration over 300k
— BJ Upton (@MelvinUptonJr) October 8, 2021
In one final jab, Upton said "this is the same team that took me to arbitration over 300k," seemingly accusing the organization of not being willing to spend money.
He also retweeted a statement from a group called "Move the Rays to Tampa." You can read that thread below:
Members of the Tampa Bay Rays fanbase have issued the following joint statement:
(1/8) #MoveTheRaysToTampa pic.twitter.com/KlHe3CnsAQ
— Move The Rays To Tampa (@MoveRaysToTampa) September 2, 2021
Upton wrapped up his night on Twitter by celebrating the Rays win and mentioning that he already has tickets should the series with Boston go to Game 5, and that he still wants to support the team.
Tampa Bay leads the series 1-0 with Game 2 at Tropicana Field Friday night.
