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Astros To Select Bligh Madris

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The Astros are going to select the contract of outfielder Bligh Madris, reports Chandler Rome of The Athletic (Twitter links). Madris will take the active roster spot of catcher César Salazar, who has been optioned to Triple-A. Madris isn’t currently on the 40-man roster so a corresponding move will be required, but the club is off today so that may not come until tomorrow.

Madris, 27, came to the Astros from the Tigers via a cash deal this offseason. He didn’t make the club out of Spring Training and was designated for assignment, clearing waivers shortly thereafter. He’s been in Triple-A for all of this year so far, getting 281 plate appearances in 60 games. He’s struck out in 25.3% of those but walked at a 15.3% clip and hit 10 home runs. His .249/.363/.446 batting line looks strong at first glance but actually amounts to a wRC+ of 93 in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League. But he’s also stolen 10 bases while playing first base and the outfield corners.

The fact that Madris can play first base could be why he’s getting the call today. The Astros have gotten dismal production from the position this year thanks to the immense struggles of José Abreu. Signed to a three-year, $58.5MM deal in the offseason, the veteran is hitting just .225/.279/.308 so far this year. That production is 37% worse than the league average hitter, as evidenced by his wRC+ of 63. That’s the lowest figure among all qualified hitters in the league this year.

Needless to say, the Astros were hoping for much more when they gave Abreu that hefty contract, but now they are scrambling for backup plans. Yesterday, Abreu got a day off while utility player Mauricio Dubón was put at the cold corner for the first time in his professional career. Perhaps the recall of Madris will lead to him getting a chance to get some playing time at the position instead. The fact that he’s a left-handed hitter could also give a bit more balance to a roster where Kyle Tucker is currently the only player who hits lefty.

Prior to joining the Astros, Madris made his major league debut with the Pirates last year but hit just .177/.244/.265. He got squeezed off Pittsburgh’s roster in September but continued to get interest from other clubs around the league. He was claimed off waivers by the Rays and Tigers before coming to Houston in the aforementioned cash deal.

As for the 40-man move, that should be too challenging for the Astros. Michael Brantley has already been on the injured list all year, so he can be transferred to the 60-day IL and still be eligible to be reinstated whenever he’s ready.

Kevin Herget Accepts Outright Assignment With Reds

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The Reds announced to reporters, including C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic, that right-hander Kevin Herget has cleared waivers and accepted an outright assignment to Triple-A Louisville. Herget had been designated for assignment earlier this week when Joey Votto was reinstated from the 60-day injured list.

Herget, 32, signed a minor league deal with the Reds in the offseason and had his contract selected in the first week of the season. He was able to toss 22 innings over 13 outings but with a 5.73 ERA in that time. His 6.3% walk rate was a few ticks below league average but his 11.5% strikeout rate was well below par.

Since Herget has a previous career outright, he could have rejected another such assignment in favor of free agency. But it seems he’s comfortable with the Reds and has decided to stick in the organization. He’ll now return to the Triple-A level, where he’s posted a 4.35 ERA over six different seasons. He’ll provide the Reds with a bit of non-roster depth as he tries to work his way back to the majors.

Ohtani’s Dominant Start Not Enough Against Dodgers

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Shohei Ohtani had his best start in two months Wednesday night against the Dodgers. The Japanese superstar went seven sharp innings and struck out 12 while allowing one run on five hits, including a solo shot to Freddie Freeman. 

Ohtani has been in a slump on the mound since recording a 0.64 ERA in his first five starts of the season, but he may be slowly finding his groove again. The 2021 AL MVP has now posted back-to-back solid outings against two strong offenses in the Rangers and the Dodgers. 

“If I can keep this up it’s obviously good, but doing it again is the difficult part,” Ohtani said. “I want to maintain the feel that I have right now for the next outing.”

On the season, Ohtani has a 3.13 ERA with a 32.3 K% and 10.3 BB% and is holding hitters to a .179 batting average in 89 innings pitched. 

Although he walked two batters, Ohtani’s sharp command particularly stood out Wednesday night, as he threw 77 of his 101 pitches for strikes and was consistently working ahead in counts. Unlike the last outing against the Rangers where he struggled to put hitters away and got just five whiffs, Ohtani recorded 20 whiffs against the Dodgers.

Ohtani cruised through the first three frames, fanning six and allowing just one hit on a weak grounder to first. His only mistake came in the fourth inning when Freeman turned on a hanging 85 mph cutter. 

“I wanted to throw it a little lower,” Ohtani said. “I was trying to get a swing and miss on a ball but I left it up, and you can’t do that against a good hitter. That was a mistake on my part.”

Ohtani barely faced trouble on the rest of the outing, never allowing a runner to reach third base despite giving up a few hits and walks. 

It was a four-seam and cutter-heavy gameplan for Ohtani, who threw the two pitches 79% of the time (50% four-seam, 29% cutter). 

The Dodgers are one of the heavily rumored suitors for Ohtani this offseason, and he was asked about his thoughts on the team after the game. 

“I’m grateful to all the teams that made the effort to sign me when I decided to come here,” Ohtani said. “But it doesn’t matter who I’m playing, and I’m focused on the season.”  

Ohtani’s next projected start is at home against the White Sox on Wednesday, June 28 at 9:38 PM ET/6:38PM PT.

Best Deadline Rental Returns In Recent History, No. 1: Twins Land A Rotation Cornerstone

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With the trade deadline now less than two months away, we at MLBTR are setting our sights backwards for a bit to highlight past trades of rental players to provide a loose guideline of what sort of returns fans can expect with their teams’ current rental players. With an arbitrary cutoff point of 2017-21, we’re counting down the top 10 returns that a team got when selling a rental player. We’ve already published some honorable mentions as well as entries No. 10, No. 9, No. 8, No. 7, No. 6, No. 5, No. 4, No. 3. and No. 2. If you disagree with our rankings, let us know! It’s all part of the subjective fun! Now for the top spot in our series…

The 2021 season was a disaster for the Twins. Fresh off a division title in the shortened 2020 season, they entered the year as the team to beat in the American League Central but faceplanted with a 9-15 showing in the season’s first month and never recovered. Offseason signings of Andrelton Simmons, J.A. Happ, Alex Colome and Matt Shoemaker all flopped. Top prospect Alex Kirilloff, expected to be a key contributor, was limited to 59 games thanks to a torn ligament in his wrist. Kenta Maeda followed up his Cy Young runner-up season with an injury-shortened year that ended with him undergoing Tommy John surgery. Jose Berrios was the only pitcher who even reached 110 innings on an injury-ravaged Twins staff.

Berrios was also one of several veterans the Twins wound up trading once they waved the white flag on their 2021 season. After years of failed extension efforts, he was traded to the Blue Jays in exchange for prospects Austin Martin and Simeon Woods Richardson. That trade was one of the headline moves of the entire 2021 trade deadline, but it wasn’t the defining move of the summer for the Twins.

That distinction goes to the first trade they made, jumping the market to send designated hitter Nelson Cruz to the Rays in a trade that brought back a pair of pitching prospects: the since-DFA’ed Drew Strotman and a near-MLB-ready right-hander by the name of Joe Ryan. The Twins also sent minor league righty Calvin Faucher to the Rays as part of the deal — he’s since made his debut but hasn’t pitched particularly well — so it can be argued that this wasn’t a pure rental, but the heart of the trade was a half season of Cruz for the aforementioned prospects.

Regardless of how things play out with Faucher, there’s no getting around the fact that the trade didn’t work out as the Rays hoped. Cruz was hitting .294/.370/.537 with 19 homers in 346 plate appearances at the time of the trade, and Tampa Bay hoped they were acquiring a heart-of-the-order slugger who could deepen their lineup and provide some needed thump in the postseason. Cruz kept hitting for power (13 homers, 238 plate appearances), but his strikeout rate spiked as his walk rate plummeted.

The end result was a .226/.283/.442 slash, plus a 3-for-17 showing in an ALDS loss to the Red Sox. One of those hits was a solo home run, but Cruz’s well below-average OBP and dramatic rise in strikeouts (from 18.2% in Minnesota to 26.5% in Tampa Bay) fell shy of expectations. Cruz hit free agency following the season and went on to sign a one-year deal with the Nationals.

The now-26-year-old Strotman’s time with the Twins lasted barely a year. He was hit hard in Minnesota’s Triple-A rotation following the trade and moved to the bullpen the following year, which did little to quell his long-running command issues. He’s since bounced to the Rangers and Giants via waivers, the latter of whom was able to pass him through waivers unclaimed. He currently has a 6.54 ERA in Triple-A Sacramento. Strotman was an upper-level pitching prospect who had a chance to debut in the Majors in relatively short order, but his half of the trade (quite clearly) hasn’t panned out.

The other half of the Twins’ return is another story entirely.

At the time of the trade, Ryan had only just begun to sneak onto the back-end of top-100 prospect rankings around the industry. He was in the midst of a strong season with Triple-A Durham, pitching to a 3.63 ERA with a 34.9% strikeout rate against a 4.7% walk rate. Ryan’s lack of velocity — he averages under 93 mph on his fastball — perhaps created some skepticism about his ability to continue missing bats at that level in the big leagues, but his atypical release point has allowed him to continually befuddle hitters despite his pedestrian velocity.

Ryan’s time in the minor leagues with the Twins was brief, to say the least. Minnesota had the right-hander make just two starts in Triple-A following the trade before summoning him for his Major League debut. In his next four starts, Ryan held opponents to a 2.45 ERA with a 25-to-3 K/BB ratio in 22 innings. He was hit hard in his final outing of the year, finishing out the season with a 4.05 ERA and 30-to-5 K/BB ratio in 26 2/3 innings.

The Twins had seen enough to not only pencil Ryan into their 2022 rotation, but make him their Opening Day starter after just five big league appearances. Ryan’s 2022 campaign, his age-26 season, marked a significant step forward. The right-hander made 27 starts, pitched to a 3.55 ERA and fanned a quarter of his opponents against a tidy 7.8% walk rate. If there was any doubt about his status as a surefire big league starter, it’d largely been eliminated.

Continuing on at that pace would’ve made Ryan a clear building block for the Twins, but he’s taken his game to another new level so far in 2023. Long an extreme fly-ball pitcher, Ryan has added a splitter that’s helped him up his ground-ball rate and further neutralize left-handed opponents. Ryan’s 35% ground-ball rate is still lower than average by nearly 10 percentage points, but it’s a huge increase from the 27.7% mark he posted in 2022. Lefties weren’t effective against him in the first place, hitting just .202/.288/.348 in 2022, but they’ve flailed away at a .199/.242/.281 clip in 2023. The addition of that splitter has helped out against righties, too; they’re hitting just .225/.257/.373 against Ryan this year. Statcast credits the newly implemented splitter with a .196 “expected” opponents’ batting average and a .283 expected slugging percentage.

Ryan entered play today with a 3.30 ERA, 27.1% strikeout rate and 4.5% walk rate in 84 1/3 innings. After averaging just over 5 1/3 innings per outing last year, he’s been given a longer leash by the Twins in 2023 and averaged a bit better than six innings per start. The mustachioed righty has already surpassed his 2022 total of 2.1 FanGraphs wins above replacement, and his 1.8 WAR over at Baseball-Reference is rapidly approaching last year’s mark of 2.3. He’s a candidate for a 2023 All-Star bid, and if he can sustain this pace, he’ll likely find himself on the periphery of Cy Young voting later this season.

Because Ryan fell well shy of a full year of service time in 2021, he didn’t accrue a full year of service until the completion of the 2022 season. He’ll finish the 2023 campaign with two-plus year of service and won’t be eligible for arbitration until after the 2024 season. The Twins control him all the way through the 2027 season, though his performance through his first 46 career starts certainly makes him a logical extension candidate for the Twins if the two sides can find a palatable middle ground.

It’s difficult for teams marketing rental players to command any degree of highly ranked prospects, let alone a near-MLB ready arm who can step into a big league rotation just weeks after the swap is completed. The Twins’ willingness to jump the sellers’ market — Cruz was traded more than a week before the deadline — and his status as perhaps the top bat available on the market created the right circumstances for Minnesota to strike gold and set a new benchmark for modern-day rental returns.

It’s probably not realistic for fans hoping their teams can cash in on a high-end rental player to expect a return this good, but the Twins surely don’t mind Ryan’s status as a best-case scenario for a return in this type of swap. Their decision to re-sign Cruz for a third year netted them a half season of excellent offense and, quite possibly, six-plus years of a pitcher who’s increasingly looking like a front-of-the-rotation arm. It’s the type of return any GM or president of baseball operations dreams of every July but the type that is rarely achieved.

Images courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Red Sox Acquire Tayler Scott From Dodgers

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The Red Sox announced that they have acquired right-hander Tayler Scott from the Dodgers in exchange for cash considerations. Scott had been designated for assignment by the Dodgers on the weekend. To make room on the 40-man roster for Scott, the Red Sox transferred righty John Schreiber to the 60-day injured list.

Scott, 31, was signed by the Dodgers to a minor league deal in the offseason. He’s posted strong results in Triple-A this year, with a 1.37 ERA in 19 2/3 frames. His 12.5% walk rate is definitely on the high side but he’s paired that with a 31.3% strikeout rate. He was able to get added to the club’s 40-man roster but struggled in six big league innings, allowing six earned runs in that time. He was designated for assignment when the club added Bryan Hudson to the roster.

Prior to this year, Scott had seen some big league time with the Mariners, Orioles and Padres. He now has 34 1/3 innings of major league experience but with a 10.75 ERA in that small sample. That’s obviously less than ideal, but he’s generally fared much better in the minors. In 188 Triple-A innings over five separate seasons, he has a 4.02 ERA. He’s punched out 26.7% of batters faced at that level while walking 9.6%.

Scott has one option year remaining, which will likely be used here in 2023. A player has to spend 20 days on optional assignment before they burn one of their options and Scott is at 11 for the year so far. The Sox can move him from the majors to the minors fairly freely for the rest of the season, but he will likely be out of options for 2024. Though he hasn’t had much major league success yet, he’s shown flashes of promise in the minors and they will see if he can unlock that in the big leagues for them.

As for Schreiber, he’s been on the injured list since May 16 due to a right teres major strain. He’ll now be ineligible to return until 60 days from that initial IL placement, which would be mid-July. A recent report from MLB.com indicated that he had yet to advance to mound work. Since he still needs to ramp up and go on a rehab assignment, he may not have been in line to return before the middle of July anyway.

Twins Sign Dallas Keuchel To Minor League Deal

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10:49am: Twins manager Rocco Baldelli confirmed the signing, tweets Do-Hyoung Park of MLB.com. “We’re glad to have him in the organization and to give him an opportunity to go out there and pitch and show all the things that he’s been working on,” said Baldelli.

9:43am: The Twins have agreed to a minor league deal with left-hander Dallas Keuchel, reports Jon Heyman of the New York Post (Twitter link). The WME client has recently been working out with Driveline Baseball and, as Driveline director of pitching Chris Langin recently noted (Twitter thread), has restored some of the velocity on his heater and movement on his sinker and revamped sweeper. He’ll presumably wind up with the Twins’ Triple-A affiliate in St. Paul, though he might first require a tune-up at a lower-level affiliate.

The 35-year-old Keuchel’s past two seasons have been a nightmare, as the former AL Cy Young winner was shelled for a 6.35 ERA in 222 2/3 innings between the White Sox, D-backs and Rangers. That includes a particularly calamitous 2022 campaign in which he was tagged for 62 earned runs on a whopping 94 hits and 31 walks in just 60 2/3 frames. Keuchel’s fastball averaged a career-worst 87.8 mph in 2022, and his 10.2% walk rate was his highest since a 10.3% mark as a rookie way back in 2012.

That said, Keuchel had strong results back in 2020 (1.99 ERA in 63 1/3 innings) and from 2014-20 was a high-end starting pitcher for the Astros, Braves and White Sox. During that time, the lefty piled up 1126 1/3 innings of 3.25 ERA ball (3.55 FIP, 3.63 SIERA). Keuchel has long posted below-average strikeout rates but, at his best, will offset them with excellent command and one of the top ground-ball rates in the Majors. Opponents have averaged just an 87.4 mph exit velocity against him since Statcast began tracking it in 2015, and even in his recent disastrous seasons Keuchel was only slightly below average in terms of limiting hard contact.

Certainly, it’s beyond optimistic to expect Keuchel to recapture his 2015 Cy Young form. The Twins would likely be thrilled if the lefty were able to even emerge as a viable back-of-the-rotation starter or perhaps a multi-inning reliever. Langin notes that Keuchel has been sitting 89 mph with his fastball and 88.9 mph with his sinker in workouts — down slightly from peak levels but roughly in line with Keuchel’s 2016-19 seasons, when he posted a 3.77 ERA over 102 starts.

Fortunately for the Twins, they can look at Keuchel as a pure depth option rather than someone they’ll realistically need to turn to before long. Minnesota recently optioned fifth starter Louie Varland to Triple-A, but the expectation is that Kenta Maeda will be returning from the injured list in his place. Sonny Gray, Pablo Lopez, Joe Ryan and Bailey Ober give the Twins a strong top four in their rotation anyhow, and the club is hoping for Chris Paddack to finish off his rehab from Tommy John surgery later this summer as well.

Keuchel will merely add to that stockpile of rotation options. If he looks to be in pre-2021 form in Triple-A, that’ll be a major bonus for the Twins, but if he continues to struggle as he has over the past two seasons, they can move on without feeling they’ve placed a major strain on their rotation depth.

Red Sox Make Several Roster Moves

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The Red Sox announced a slate of roster moves this morning, recalling left-hander Brandon Walter and selecting the contract of catcher Caleb Hamilton from Triple-A Worcester. In corresponding 26-man roster moves, Boston placed outfielder Alex Verdugo on the bereavement list and placed catcher Reese McGuire on the 10-day injured list due to a strained oblique. Additionally, infielder Yu Chang was transferred from the 10-day injured list to the 60-day injured list in order to open a spot for Hamilton on the 40-man roster.

The looming promotions of Walter and Hamilton were both reported last night, though the corresponding moves needed to get that pair on the roster weren’t clear until this morning. It’ll be the MLB debut for the 26-year-old Walter, who posted a 2.88 ERA with a ludicrous 68-to-3 K/BB ratio in 50 Double-A innings last year but has struggled so far in Triple-A — both in a late promotion there in ’22 and in a full season so far in ’23. Through his first 69 1/3 innings at the Triple-A level, Walter carries a 6.49 ERA, although a .362 average on balls in play hasn’t helped his cause.

Hamilton, meanwhile, will be on the roster and possibly suit up against the team for which he made his MLB debut last year, when the Red Sox wrap up their series against the Twins in Minneapolis. The 28-year-old went just 1-for-18 in his debut season with Minnesota, though that one hit was a big fly. Hamilton also drew four walks and scored each time, giving him the rare distinction of having come around to score every time he’s reached base in the Majors. He’s hitting .180/.285/.310 through 116 plate appearances in Worcester this season.

The Red Sox haven’t yet revealed how long McGuire will be sidelined, though oblique strains tend to require absences greater than the 10-day minimum and can often last upwards of a month. The 28-year-old McGuire, acquired from the White Sox last year, earned a look at a prominent role in Boston when he hit .337/.377/.500 down the stretch following a trade. He’s fallen well short of that in 2023, however, batting .267/.313/.352 (80 wRC+) and throwing out just two of the 26 runners who’ve attempted to steal against him. Connor Wong will take on an even larger role in McGuire’s absence.

As for Chang, his transfer to the 60-day IL is a procedural move that doesn’t impact his eligibility to return to the club. The “60-day” minimum stay on that list is retroactive to his original placement on the IL, which happened back on April 25. He originally went out on a minor league rehab assignment earlier this month, but that was paused due to continued discomfort in his surgically repaired hand. He’ll likely need another rehab stint before he can return anyhow, and since he’s already spent 58 days on the injured list anyway, the move to the 60-day IL amounts to little more than a formality.

The Opener: Giants, Red Sox, Calhoun

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Typically, The Opener (and MLBTR in general) focuses purely on baseball. Today, however, we’re making a rare pivot to the larger sports world as the NBA will hold its draft this evening at 7pm CT. Given that, unlike MLB, the NBA allows trading of draft picks, draft day often serves as the catalyst for a bevy of deals and rumors. Our sister site, Hoops Rumors, is set to provide the same type of coverage we at MLBTR offer during peak transactional periods in the baseball calendar, such as the trade deadline and the winter meetings. Yesterday, a three-team deal between the Celtics, Wizards, and Grizzlies saw Kristaps Porzingis, Marcus Smart, and Tyus Jones change teams. With more sure to come in advance of this evening’s draft, basketball fans who enjoy MLBTR’s content should check in at Hoops Rumors for up-to-the-minute coverage and analysis of the moves and rumors throughout the day.

As we approach the halfway point in the 2023 regular season, here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world throughout the day today:

1. Giants looking to tie Reds’ streak:

The Giants have won their past 10 games, catapulting them to second place in the NL West, just two and a half games behind the division-leading D-backs. Now in possession of the top Wild Card spot in the National League, they’ll look to extend their winning streak to 11 games, tying a Reds club that has Thursday off for the longest active streak in the Majors. In order to do so, San Francisco will need to topple red-hot Padres lefty Blake Snell, who’s allowed just two runs in his past five starts — a total of 30 innings that has seen the former AL Cy Young winner post a hearty 45-to-13 K/BB ratio. They’ll also likely do so without outfielder Mike Yastrzemski, who’s headed for an MRI on his ailing left hamstring today, per Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area (Twitter link).

2. Transactions loom in Boston:

The Red Sox are poised to have a busy day before this afternoon’s game against the Twins, as reports indicate that pitching prospect Brandon Walter will make his MLB debut in Minnesota today. That’s not the only expected movement on the club’s roster, however, as catcher Reese McGuire suffered a strained oblique during yesterday’s game, prompting reports that Boston plans to select catcher Caleb Hamilton to the roster today. A 40-man roster move will be necessary to make room for Hamilton, though only an active roster move will be required to clear space for Walter.

Hamilton made his MLB debut with the Twins last season, spending time at catcher, first base, and DH. He struggled in that brief call-up to the big leagues, slashing just .056/.227/.222 in 23 plate appearances. In the minors, the 28-year-old has fared better, though he still posts below-average offensive numbers with a slash line of .206/.316/.377 in 114 games at the Triple-A level. Hamilton figures to back up Connor Wong for the Red Sox while McGuire is on the shelf. As for Walter, the 26-year-old lefty dominated Double-A hitters last season with a 2.88 ERA in 50 innings, though he’s failed to do the same in Triple-A. In 69 1/3 innings at the minor leagues’ highest level, Walter has posted a worrisome 6.49 ERA, albeit with a slightly more palatable 4.74 FIP in 2023.

3. Calhoun headed to the IL:

Yankees outfielder Willie Calhoun is likely headed to the injured list today, as Calhoun himself told reporters (including MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch). While the team hasn’t made a timetable for his return official, Calhoun compared his current injury to one he’s had in the past, which he said required a PRP injection and 3-4 weeks on the shelf, a timeline which would leave Calhoun out past the All-Star break. Hoch speculates that infielder Oswaldo Cabrera could replace Calhoun on the active roster.

Calhoun’s been a roughly league average bat for the Yankees this season, slashing .239/.309/.403 with a 96 wRC+ in 149 plate appearances. Even with those mediocre numbers, however, New York still figures to miss Calhoun’s presence on an offense that’s already scuffling badly without team captain Aaron Judge. Only Anthony Rizzo, Gleyber Torres and Jake Bauers, have posted above average seasons by measure of wRC+ in at least 100 at-bats besides the injured Judge. Even that group has struggled recently, with only Bauers posting an OPS above .800 in June. The Yankees figure to try and right the ship against the Mariners this evening.

MLBTR Trade Rumors Podcast: Exciting Youth Movements in Cincinnati and Pittsburgh, Bad Central Divisions and the Dodgers Want Pitching

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The latest episode of the MLB Trade Rumors Podcast is now live on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts! Make sure you subscribe as well! You can also use the player at this link to listen, if you don’t use Spotify or Apple for podcasts.

This week, host Darragh McDonald is joined by Steve Adams of MLB Trade Rumors to discuss:

  • the Pirates promote Henry Davis (1:20)
  • the scorching-hot Reds designate Wil Myers for assignment (7:35)
  • Guardians promote Gavin Williams (10:40)
  • White Sox want to sell rental pieces only (16:20)
  • Dodgers need pitching (19:15)

Plus, we answer your questions, including:

  • Do you think the Cubs will deal Christopher Morel at the deadline? (22:45)
  • What are the chances the Diamondbacks promote Jordan Lawlar later this season? (25:50)
  • If Rangers make a blockbuster trade who would you think it would be? Obviously bullpen is a need but what is something blockbuster worthy? (29:45)

Check out our past episodes!

A’s Preparing Application To MLB For Relocation

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The Athletics have begun the process to officially apply to Major League Baseball for relocation, writes Mick Akers of the Las Vegas Review-Journal. It’s unclear how long they’ll need before they can officially put their relocation efforts up for a vote.

This is no surprise, of course. Nevada lawmakers signed off on the A’s request for $380MM in public funding last week as part of their efforts to construct a $1.5 billion stadium on the Vegas Strip. That permitted the A’s to turn their attention to MLB, the last step in their move to depart Oakland for Southern Nevada.

Once finalized, the application will go in front of a three-owner relocation committee. After review, that committee makes its recommendations to league officials and other owners for a vote. If 75% of ownership groups sign off, the A’s will finalize their move to Las Vegas. That’s all expected to be an easy final hurdle for the organization. With commissioner Rob Manfred backing the A’s efforts and indicating the league is prepared to waive the franchise’s relocation fee, there’s little intrigue about the results of the forthcoming vote.

The A’s lease at RingCentral Coliseum runs through the end of next season. Akers wrote last week the club had not yet made any efforts to break the lease, suggesting they’re likely to play in Oakland for one more year. The permanent Las Vegas facility isn’t expected to be ready until the start of the 2028 campaign, leaving the franchise to figure out temporary options for home games between 2025-27.

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