SAN DIEGO — The Padres’ new ownership group has been on the job for only a few weeks, and apparently it has already figured out one of the job requirements in San Diego: take a shot at the Dodgers whenever possible.

José E. Feliciano and Kwanza Jones were speaking with reporters on the field before Game 2 of the NL Wild Card Series against the Cubs when Feliciano was asked by the Associated Press about the Dodgers and owner Mark Walter.

“I don’t know,” Feliciano initially replied, before asking the AP reporter if they were “off the record.”

San Diego Padres CEO Erik Greupner, left, and new owners Kwanza Jones, center, and José E. Feliciano, right, speak at a news conference at Petco Park in San Diego, Calif., Monday, August 24, 2026. AP Photo/Greg Beacham

There was only one problem.

They were standing on a baseball field surrounded by a gaggle of reporters, cameras and photographers.

Smiling and laughing, Feliciano delivered the line anyway.

“The owner of the Dodgers owns a lot of dinosaurs,” Feliciano said before walking away with Jones.

“On the field?” the AP reporter shot back, prompting Jones to turn around and laugh.

Exactly what Feliciano meant was unclear, though Dodgers fans quickly interpreted “dinosaurs” as a dig at an aging Los Angeles roster featuring several prominent veterans in their mid-to-late 30s.

That was enough to pour gasoline on a rivalry that rarely needs lighter fluid.

“We’re living rent free in their head,” became a common refrain among Dodgers fans on social media. Another joked Dodger Stadium should be renamed “Jurassic Park,” while others warned Feliciano about tempting baseball’s notoriously unforgiving gods.

Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Blake Snell of the Los Angeles Dodgers celebrate a 10-4 win over the San Francisco Giants with Mookie Betts at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, Saturday, Sept. 19, 2026. Getty Images

Padres fans certainly remember the last time San Diego poked the bear. In the 2024 NLDS, the Padres famously displayed a crying Clayton Kershaw meme before blowing a 2-1 series lead to Los Angeles, which won Games 4 and 5 and eventually the World Series.

There is another wrinkle here, too: Feliciano, the Clearlake Capital co-founder, recently purchased Walter’s stake in Chelsea Football Club.

And if October cooperates, perhaps the two will have another matter to discuss.

Padres vs. Dodgers in the National League Championship Series with the World Series on the line.

Dinosaurs included.

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