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Mexican League Cancels 2020 Season

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Following yesterday’s decision of Minor League Baseball to cancel the 2020 season, the affiliated Mexican League has followed suit. In an official announcement, the 16-team circuit says it will not attempt to launch play this year.

While it’s obviously disappointing to see Mexico’s top league on ice, the announcement makes clear the decision was made for good reason. Health and safety priorities rendered a campaign untenable, the league says.

No doubt this decision was driven in large by an anticipated inability to generate significant revenue without regular paid attendance. Expanding the income possibilities through television and other media initiatives rates as a priority for the league, the announcement goes on to specify.

Despite the bad news, the Mexican League sounded a rather upbeat tone. Players and umpires will receive financial support, though to what extent isn’t specified. And the league says it’ll use the time off to work on various changes to secure the long-term viability of the business.

Giants Agree To Terms With First-Rounder Patrick Bailey

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The Giants have agreed to a $3.8MM bonus with first-round selection Patrick Bailey, according to MLB.com’s Jim Callis (via Twitter). He was selected 13th overall, a position that came with a $4,197,300 slot allocation.

This represents the first big draft strike for the San Francisco organization, which has quite a bit of signing left to do. The savings on this selection will presumably be rolled over to later-drafted players.

Bailey, a backstop out of N.C. State, will slot in behind recent top selection Joey Bart in the long-term catching pipeline. If and when the club ends up with some tough decisions to make involving those two players and long-time star receiver Buster Posey, it’d surely consider it a good problem to have.

Entering the draft, all major pundits graded Bailey as one of the twenty best players available. ESPN.com and Fangraphs each rated him within the top dozen. The switch-hitter isn’t exactly hyped for his endless ceiling, but prospect watchers seem to agree he has solid all-around skills and real potential to become a regular backstop at the game’s highest level.

Rockies Release Zac Rosscup

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The Rockies recently released southpaw Zac Rosscup, according to the latest Baseball America transactions log. It seems the organization determined he would not be a part of the 60-man player pool and was not otherwise worth keeping under contract.

Also cut loose by the Rox were fellow lefty Evan Grills and infielder Carlos Herrera. The BA report also mentions that the Colorado organization parted ways with Kelby Tomlinson, a transaction that MLBTR recently reported.

Rosscup, 32, has seen action in six of the past seven MLB campaigns. But he has really never held down a consistent job in a big-league bullpen. Rosscup appeared with three teams in 2019 alone.

All told, the former 28th-round draft pick has compiled a 5.16 ERA in 83 2/3 innings at the game’s highest level. While he owns an excellent 12.2 K/9 over that run, he has also surrendered 5.9 free passes and 1.6 home runs per regulation game. Through 115 career frames at Triple-A, he owns a similar K/BB mix but has found much greater success (2.74 ERA) by avoiding the long ball (0.5 per nine).

Eppler On Possibility Of 2020 Debut For Jo Adell

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Top Angels prospect Jo Adell won’t have a chance to force his way into the big leagues this year through his play at Triple-A, but that may not be altogether necessary. GM Billy Eppler says that he anticipates Adell will have the opportunities he needs to show the team he’s ready, as Maria Torres of the Los Angeles Times was among those to report.

That’s certainly far from a guarantee that Adell is going to debut in 2020. But Eppler says the Halos intend to structure their second preparatory camp in such a way that the talented 21-year-old will see plenty of competitive action.

“There’s some upside to the intrasquad format,” says Eppler, who explained that the organization anticipates staging contests between its major and minor-league participants. “We’ll just have to keep getting [Adell] at-bats. There’s going to be talented pitchers over there for him to face and we’ll go from there.”

Adell is by most accounts one of the five best overall prospects in baseball. On the whole, he has done nothing but impress since the Angels took him out of high school with the tenth overall pick of the 2017 draft. But having only just turned 21, Adell does probably have a few more boxes to check before he’s handed the keys to an outfield spot alongside Mike Trout.

Last year, after working through some early-season injuries, Adell laid wasted to High-A and Double-A pitching but showed his age a bit after moving to the highest level of the minors. All told, he finished with 340 plate appearances of .289/.359/.475 hitting. Adell was productive, but not overwhelmingly so, in a 24-game Arizona Fall League stint (.273/.351/.444).

It was never likely that Adell would force his way onto the Opening Day roster, with legitimate remaining developmental goals alongside service-time consideration. Any faint hope dissipated as he struck out 13 times in his 26 Cactus League plate appearances.

With an odd and uncertain 2020 season now on the docket, the Angels will surely take a flexible approach to handling Adell. The plan, clearly, is to get him as many reps as possible. If there’s a need and opportunity at the MLB level, and Adell seems ready, there’s not much reason for the Halos to hold back on a promotion. (Service time will be pro-rated. So long as Adell spends a few days off of the active roster, he won’t qualify for a full year of MLB service.) Making a surprise run at the division in a short-season format may well hinge upon the ability to call upon such a special talent.

Cubs Pitching Coach Tommy Hottovy Details COVID Bout

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Players and staff members are reporting today in order to re-launch the 2020 season. The first order of business will be coronavirus check-in testing.

One important member of the Cubs organization won’t be anxiously awaiting the results of his test. Pitching coach Tommy Hottovy has already endured a bout with COVID-19, he tells 670 The Score’s Mully and Haugh (h/t Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune, via Twitter).

While Hottovy is no longer positive for the virus, he says he is still not fully back to himself. He’s through the worst of it, which required some time in the hospital, but is still struggling with lung function and cardiovascular fitness.

In yet another reminder of how insidious this particular disease can be, Hottovy says he had acted quite cautiously in public before coming down with it. Fortunately, he was able to self-isolate and avoid transmitting it to his family.

Hottovy was able to work with Cubs pitchers remotely even while battling the infection, so he’s ready to hit the ground running. He says the organization’s hurlers worked hard during the lockdown and should be well-prepared to tackle the 2020 campaign.

KBO Preparing For Return Of Fans

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JULY 1: The return of live fans will have to wait at least a bit longer, per Yoo (via Twitter). Governmental approval still hasn’t been issued, though it still seems likely to come before long — except, perhaps, in the Kia Tigers’ home city of Gwangju, where there has been an uptick in coronavirus cases. (It’s still a much smaller number than most U.S. cities are dealing with.)

JULY 30: The Korea Baseball Organization has thus far successfully followed Taiwan’s top league in launching a 2020 season. Now, the KBO hopes to join the CPBL in re-introducing live attendance.

Jeeho Yoo of Yonhap News reports (Twitter link; full story) that fans could be in the seats within days. The plan is to open at approximately thirty percent capacity, with careful precautions in place to limit the potential for coronavirus transmission.

All of the planning is obviously occurring in concert with Korean authorities, who’ll need to sign off on the final plan. The league is working up a variety of protocols, according to Yoo.

While it may seem like a fairly rapid development to go from no fans to nearly one-third attendance, it seems the KBO has been hard at work all this time preparing for a re-launch. Among the measures being taken:

  • Tickets must be purchased online in advance.
  • Utilization of QR codes at entry to limit contact and enable tracing if transmission is suspected.
  • Modified entrance and spaced seating protocols.

It’s obviously quite important to understand that the KBO (like the CPBL) is operating in a nation that has far lower current COVID-19 prevalence than does the United States. Korea’s top league has already provided a model for relaunching play, but its strict standards for maintaining its schedule — the league says it will shut down for at least three weeks if any member of a team tests positive — would almost certainly be unworkable for MLB. If and when it comes to considering the reintroduction of fans on this side of the Pacific, it’ll be important to learn from the KBO while also recognizing the very different public health situation.

Hoyer On Cubs’ Roster Plan

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Like all of their competitors, the Cubs have just launched into a whole new world of roster management with the introduction of a 60-man player pool for the 2020 season. The Chicago organization elected to open with just fifty slots filled — a decision that GM Jed Hoyer discussed with reporters including MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian. (Links below to Twitter.)

Different teams took differing approaches, with the Cubs among those wary of getting stuck with an over-stuffed 60-man unit. Hoyer says the Cubs elected to leave so many openings now to remain nimble as an unusual season unfolds. The idea is to have capacity to add depth as needed in a 60-game sprint. Ensuring adequate support for the active MLB roster is obviously the top priority, but Hoyer did note that the Cubs may ultimately add some more prospects to the pool for developmental reasons.

[RELATED: Explaining The 2020 MLB Roster Rules]

Of course, it may ultimately also be necessary to have prospects on the 60-man in order to structure deals for big league talent. Hoyer plainly believes there’s quite a lot of uncertain waters yet to be navigated. “I just don’t think we know what this is going to be like,” he said when asked about the August 31st trade deadline. 60-man pool flexibility could come in handy if the Cubbies end up being active in dealmaking, which Hoyer left open as a possibility. He says “it’s way too early to tell” how much mid-season player movement we’ll experience.

At the moment, anyway, it doesn’t seem the Cubs are holding spots open for any particular targets from outside the organization. Hoyer says the team is “not down the road” on bringing in any new talent.

That’s true even though the team now has a previously unknown need: filling out a DH spot. Flexibility will be the name of the game there as well, Hoyer indicates. While some National League clubs have added veteran hitters, the Chicago GM says his team intends to utilize its existing depth. Hoyer says the Cubs can manage the position in “a lot of different ways.” He specifically mentioned the possibility of rotating outfielders Kyle Schwarber and Stephen Souza and catchers Willson Contreras and Victor Caratini through the DH slot.

Nelson Cruz Discusses Future Plans

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Wednesday is Twins designated hitter Nelson Cruz’s 40th birthday, but that doesn’t mean the six-time All-Star is closing in on retirement. On the contrary, Cruz suggested to Phil Miller of the Star Tribune that he still has enough gas in the tank to play beyond the 2020 campaign.

“I don’t see it [soon],” Cruz said of calling it quits sometime soon, and he went on to state that “my body is in good shape, and I’m doing everything I can to keep it that way. Why would I retire?”

Indeed, based on the eye-popping offensive numbers he has put up over the past few seasons, Cruz doesn’t look like someone who’s anywhere near the finish line. Cruz was a force with the Mariners from 2015-18 over 2,558-plate appearance tenure in which he slashed .284/.362/.546 (147 wRC+) with 163 home runs, and he only got better a year ago.

Owing to his age and his inability to factor in as a defender, Cruz didn’t secure a multiyear guarantee in free agency after his time in Seattle ended. He instead inked a one-year, $14.3MM deal with the Twins, though that contract did come with a $12MM club option for 2020. The Twins exercised it this past offseason, which was a no-brainer in light of the production Cruz posted in Year 1 in Minnesota. While Cruz only played in 120 games, his fewest since 2013, he still managed to amass 41 home runs across 521 PA and slash .311/.392/.639 – good for a personal-high wRC+ of 163. His HR total played a major role in the Twins setting a single-season record with 307.

Although Cruz is seemingly dead set on playing past 2020, that doesn’t mean he’ll continue to don a Twins uniform. Cruz is a pending free agent, and if he turns in another banner year and the National League keeps the DH going forward, he could encounter a robust market for someone his age. The Twins have shown interest in extending Cruz, though, so perhaps those talks will pick back up now that the league has lifted its freeze on transactions.

Padres Chairman Ron Fowler On Finances, 2020 Season, Union

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With few to no fans in the stands during a 60-game season, Major League Baseball teams are undoubtedly going to suffer a financial hit this year. The Padres are among the teams in line to take a beating in that regard, executive chairman Ron Fowler explained to Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune.

“People don’t want to believe we’re going to lose, cash on cash, well over $100 million. I can assure you we are,” said Fowler, who added: “We’ve already borrowed $100 million. We are looking to increase our loan availability, and we are looking to make a significant capital contribution — more money into the team.”

Despite his disappointment, Fowler stressed to Acee that he doesn’t want to come off as a whiner. He’s instead trying to look forward to a baseball season and hoping the Padres will end their 13-year playoff drought or at least finish above .500 for the first time since 2010. San Diego went just 70-92 last year, which Fowler called an “embarrassing” campaign in September. However, in the wake of an active offseason, Fowler’s optimistic about the roster general manager A.J. Preller has assembled for 2020. He told Acee, “If we catch a couple breaks, we might be looking at a wild card.”

Regardless of what happens on the field this year, though, Fowler expects to enter 2021 with concerns about teams’ financial states, including his own club’s. Because it’s unclear how many (if any) fans will be allowed to attend games then, “We are planning for restricted revenue next year and doing what is necessary to be able to operate in that environment,” Fowler said. “We will adjust accordingly. To expect we are going to return to 2019 in terms of business is not real, I don’t expect that to be the case at all.”

Of course, after the 2021 season, the owners and players could be in for a labor war centering on the expiration of the collective bargaining agreement. The fact that the two sides spent the past couple months in a public spat over the 2020 campaign could signal trouble going forward. It remains to be seen whether the league and the players will get on the same page in the next year-plus. For his part, Fowler’s not thrilled with the union’s chief negotiator, Bruce Meyer. Fowler, a key member of MLB’s labor committee, said of recent talks with the MLBPA and Meyer:“They had someone new who had a different view of how things should be done. That created a number of problems. We often thought we were negotiating with ourselves, and that’s not a good thing to do.”

Although he’s dissatisfied with Meyer, Fowler’s hope is obviously that the owners and players will achieve peace in CBA negotiations. For that to happen, though, he observed: “We definitely have to do it without it being negotiated in the press. We have to make sure we are communicating with our players what’s real and what’s not.”

NL Notes: Braun, Mets, Betances, Dodgers, Phillies

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Some news and notes from the National League…

  • Concerns over the coronavirus have helped lead four notable major leaguers – the Nationals’ Ryan Zimmerman and Joe Ross, the Diamondbacks’ Mike Leake and the Rockies’ Ian Desmond – to opt out of the 2020 season this week. Brewers outfielder Ryan Braun hasn’t joined them, though he is leery of playing amid a pandemic, per Mike DiGiovanna and Arash Markazi of the Los Angeles Times. The six-time All-Star told the LA Times “there’s some nervousness and apprehension,” adding, “My biggest priority is being a father first and a husband second, so to leave three young children and my wife to go into an environment where I don’t know what it will look like or when exactly I will come back or how safe it will be, it’s a little bit scary and completely different than anything I’ve experienced.” Although the season’s scheduled to start in a few weeks, Braun isn’t convinced the league will be able to finish or even start it, DiGiovanna and Markazi report.
  • The Mets are “extremely excited” about the progress reliever Dellin Betances has made, and they expect him to be a full participant in summer camp, according to general manager Brodie Van Wagenen (via Anthony DiComo of MLB.com). Betances, whom the Mets signed to a $10.5MM guarantee during the winter, missed almost all of last season as a Yankee because of shoulder problems. In his lone appearance of the year, on Sept. 15, the right-hander struck out both batters he faced before suffering a partial left Achilles tear while hopping off the mound. If Betances returns to his typical form this season, though, he should be an enormously helpful pickup for the Mets. The 32-year-old’s a four-time All-Star who has logged a 2.36 ERA/2.31 FIP with 14.64 K/9, 4.01 BB/9 and 117 holds during his 381 2/3-inning career.
  • More on the Mets, who have had one player on their 40-man roster test positive for the coronavirus, Van Wagenen told Deesha Thosar of the New York Daily News and other reporters Monday. They’ve also had positive tests among minor leaguers. But the 40-man player is recovering well, and Van Wagenen believes the Mets have been been “incredibly fortunate” to have so few positive tests to his point.
  • We now know there won’t be a minor league baseball season in 2020. Nevertheless, two more teams have stepped up to pay their minor leaguers over the next couple months. The Dodgers have made the $400 weekly commitment through August, according to one of their own farmhands, righty Ryan Moseley. The Phillies, meanwhile, will pay their minor leaguers through the season, Matt Gelb of The Athletic tweets.

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