As the calendar flips to August, here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world throughout the day today:
1. Diamond Sports Group/Comcast deal goes into effect:
As noted by ESPN’s Alden Gonzalez earlier this week, Diamond Sports Group reached a carriage deal with Comcast that is set to go into effect today. The deal applies to each of Diamond’s regional sports networks, meaning that Angels, Braves, Brewers, Cardinals, Guardians, Marlins, Rangers, Rays, Reds, Royals, Tigers, and Twins games will be available on the Xfinity Ultimate TV package starting today. Comcast stopped carrying Diamond networks back in May amid negotiations between the sides. Going forward, Diamond networks will be carried as part of a more expensive subscription tier. Per Gonzalez, existing Xfinity customers who upgrade their package by August 30 will receive the upgrade free of charge for three months, meaning baseball fans can watch their team’s games for no extra charge though the end of the season.
2. Deadline to sign 2024 draftees:
The deadline to sign players selected in this year’s draft looms today at 5pm ET. The overwhelming majority of 2024 draftees have already signed with their new clubs, but there’s still a handful of names who’ve yet to put pen to paper. A pair of first-rounders remain unsigned at this moment: East Carolina righty Trey Yesavage, whom the Blue Jays selected at No. 20 overall, and North Carolina outfielder Vance Honeycutt, whom the Orioles selected two picks later.
Jim Callis of MLB.com runs through the remaining players from the top 10 rounds who’ve not yet signed, noting that prep lefty Tyler Bell (taken by the Rays 66th overall), prep shortstop Chris Levonas (No. 67 to the Brewers), Texas A&M lefty Ryan Prager (No. 81, Angels) and Houston righty Jaxon Jelkin (No. 263, Mets) have all yet to sign and are not expected to do so. Callis’ piece also looks at the tough signs in rounds 11-20 who could be pursued late deals with the money that likely will not be spent on those picks in the top 10 rounds.
3. Gregory Santos to undergo MRI:
Just six appearances into his Mariners career, right-hander Gregory Santos exited yesterday’s game against the Red Sox due to injury. Manager Scott Servais told reporters (including Daniel Kramer of MLB.com) following the game that Santos was dealing with a biceps injury and will undergo an MRI today following the club’s return to Seattle. Acquired from the White Sox in a trade this offseason, Santos’ debut with his new club was delayed until last month due to a lat strain. He finally returned to the mound in early July but hasn’t looked quite like himself, posting a 6.75 ERA in 5 1/3 innings of work while striking out just 20.8% of batters faced. Now, it appears he may be at risk of returning to the IL. The acquisition of Yimi Garcia had already pushed Santos out of the role of primary set-up man for closer Andres Munoz, but his absence could afford arms like Collin Snider and Tayler Saucedo additional late-inning opportunities.
4. Luis Rengifo dealing with “flare-up” in wrist:
Angels infielder Luis Rengifo spent three weeks last month on the IL due to inflammation in his right wrist, and Anaheim manager Ron Washington told reporters (including Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register) yesterday that the injury hasn’t entirely gone away as Rengifo suffered a “flare-up” of the same injury. The club plans to re-evaluate Rengifo today before deciding on next steps, but an absence would be the latest in a long and frustrating line of injury news for the Halos. Rengifo has only been back in action for eight games. Since then, Mike Trout’s short-lived rehab assignment has been halted amid a setback in his return from meniscus surgery, and Anthony Rendon returned to the injured list due to back inflammation. If Rengifo also misses additional time, the Angels will likely use Luis Guillorme and Michael Stefanic at the hot corner alongside Brandon Drury at second base, and Zach Neto at shortstop.
Diamond Sports or Rendon, which story is more sad?
Ren-done
Sad for whom?
Rendon is very un-sad. The Angels, well, they’re use to it.
Didnt Diamond Sports overpay for rights to most of the MLB teams, and one by one are losing them.
Viewers get Bally Sports/Diamond Sports for free for 3 months then it will cost $20 a month here in Michigan. I switched to Fubo in order to watch the Tigers at the beginning of the season. I am going to stick with Fubo. Comcast Internet and expanded tv was costing me $250 a month.
I don’t know why but I think Trout has given up. Between the losing years, that one Angels player being lazy (Rendon) and seeing Ohtani finally in a winning team, all those factor can truly break a man spirit.
Anything’s possible, but I take it face value – the man just can’t remain healthy any longer.
He’d ask for a trade before “giving up.”
seeing Ohtani finally in a winning team,
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No sympathy there. I was never any good, but I played every play, even when games were hopeless.
And he can always ask for a trade. He’s the one that wanted the ‘no-trade’ clause put in there.
Trout in the lineup is a remarkable thing these days. The most the Angels can genuinely expect going forward is for him to play a maximum of 2 weeks out of the season, and if anyone disagrees, just look at how much he’s played the past several years. Reality gets in the way of many, many dreams.
*check that – 2 months, not 2 weeks
But when Trout plays, it’s extraordinary. Definitely worth the wait. And the “setback” is just scar tissue breaking up. Very common, not serious.
Good post
Trout giving up again, sitting out the rest of the season again. “Shocker!” He had one minor league at bat, struck out, and removed himself from the game. And of course the MRI didn’t show anything. Of course it didn’t. Always the longest possible healing time for Trout, always delays, always the same story. He is either staying on the IL to avoid playing, or he has one of the worst/most fragile bodies in the history of sports, or his body is breaking down from long term steroid use (he does have the quintessential steroid user build), or it’s a combination. It’s one of those explanations, and no matter what it’s not good.
“Ron Washington said. “It’s Mike, you have to talk to Mike. It’s all on Mike. How he feels, and if he can go out there. We can’t force him out there.” Wash said trainers aren’t holding him out.”
This is a very telling quote and shows how much Trout has given up on the team. Basically stealing money from the organization at this point. He is paid more than $100,000 for every single day of the year, yet he tries his best to ride the IL as hard as possible every chance he gets. He sucks. Anaheim should publicly offer Trout for nothing in exchange, and when no team picks up Trout’s albatross contract, he will know his place.
Wow. That’s Savage. Ye-savage.
Headliner: Unless you have factual proof that Trout has ever taken steroids, then you don’t know if that’s true or not. You seem to be basing your opinion on what you see, the “quintessential steroid user build.” By your criteria most of the players in the NFL and NBA are on steroids.
“Basically stealing money from the organization at this point.”
Trout has generated 86.1 bWAR. As recently as last season, 1 WAR had a value of about $5 million.
To this point in his career, Trout has generated $430 million worth of value and has thus far made just under $268 million
The Angels have thus far received $162 million worth of value from Trout that they haven’t paid for yet. He isn’t stealing from them yet.
If he sees out the rest of his contract but never plays again, then yes, he will eventually be ‘stealing’ money. But it’s going to take 4 more years like this year before Trout starts being ‘overpaid’.
You can try to contort yourself through whatever convoluted mental “bWAR” gymnastics you want to. The fact of the matter is that he is willfully avoiding playing for the sake of not wanting to play and the team isn’t even really trying to cover for him anymore about it- that’s the point it has gotten to.
He’s a fraud now. He sucks.
Or, ya know, he’s an elite athlete whose body isn’t rebounding back the way he would like from injury and doesn’t want to play until he can meet his personal standards.
The contract is on Arte. He offered it to a guy who was always going to suffer decline due to age and injury.
Canuckleball, no matter how broken down his body is, he received a $426,500,000.00 Contract Extension. If his great-great grandkids want to be astronauts, unless someone in the 3 generations between him and those great great grandkids royally screws up, his family will have enough money to make that happen
There is no explaining away “My knee hurts,” especially after the trainers and Ron Washington have said nothing is wrong, to me making about $60,000/year or anyone else who will never come close to that much money.
Mike, get your ass out there and stop being a baby. You haven’t qualified for a batting title since 2019 (excusing 2020). Earn your contract.
Washington said flat out that the trainers have given Trout the green light to be on the field.
“until he can meet his personal standards”
He’s paid $37 million dollars a year, he should “want to play” so long as the trainers have given him the green light, which they have. Also, he has been declining in general for years and declining drastically as a hitter since the beginning of last season. So by your logic, he can decide to sit out the rest of his career, since he will never be able to come close to meeting his prime standards ever again.
Maybe this is Trout’s despicable way of demanding a trade, but even someone as ‘less than intelligent’ as Trout has to know that Angry Arte could offer him for no players in exchange and that no team would be willing to pick up his albatross contract even in that situation. Unless he’s so deluded that he actually believes that Angry Arte should both offer him for nothing AND cover around $100+ million of his albatross contract on top of being given away for nothing. Maybe he really thinks that.
You sure do have a lot of BS shoved up your cornhole, Ms. Headliner!
The fact of the matter is that he is willfully avoiding playing
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That’s a bad take. You have no idea how he feels. RS “fans” use to say that all the time about Papi. It turns out his feet were shot and it was like running on stubs.
@joebrady; then Papi, Rendon’, Trout and any other players in all sports should retire!But they won’t, making millions for doing nothing. IMO, everyone in the entertainment business, actors, singers athletes are extremely overrated & overpaid prima-donnas!
129812 days ago
The fact of the matter is that he is willfully avoiding playing
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You feeling maybe a little stupid by now?
“Quintessential steroid user build.” You do realize most guys that have been caught using PEDS are pitchers then UTIL players?
If the trainers aren’t keeping him out then he should be playing. I like and respect him but he’ll never get to 130 games played in the rest of his career. He needs to ask for a trade to a contender. I bet his injuries get much better. He deserves the rejuvenation a trade can give him. I guarantee he wouldn’t be injured as much playing with a contender. That said, he’s been very loyal and probably won’t ask.
This whole story of only “Trout is keeping himself out, it’s not the trainer” is BS. It was discovered Trout has another meniscus tear and needs surgery again. These people are idiots.
I’m guessing that the lingering wrist soreness is why Rengifo wasn’t traded.
What is the lingering hang-up of Baltimore adding Eloy Jimenez to the roster? When will that happen and why has it taken so long?
He probably hasn’t reported to the team yet. There are a number of recently traded players who haven’t been activated by their new teams because of travel, etc.
Thank you
And not to single out Eloy, he’s just the one that I had noticed isn’t rostered yet
As it so happens, he was activated today.
Yesavage seems to have been counting on going a bit earlier in the draft and getting more $$ than Toronto offering. no idea what the Jays have spent already and how much they have left. he was someone was thinking boston may take at #12 and surprised he fell to #20 as it is.
Saw on 1 site yesterday only like 6 picks from rounds 10 league wise unsigned as of yesterday, so good job overall by most. Shame Jays don’t get this guy inked.
He’s signed, Long John
Following a torrid affair, Rendon’s back and Trout’s knee have finally run off together.
In the 8th inning of the BOS v SEA game yesterday for a brief moment, I thought- “Gregory Santos looks much more in control.” Then much like the 10 game lead the Mariners held over their AL West Rivals that feeling of hope vanished. Quick like!
Gregory Santos is not a rental, the M’s have him (plus Brash and Muńoz*) in the back end of their BP through 2028. But….If the Mariners want to win a Division Title this yr the rest of the team needs Santos to be healthy down the stretch. Yimi Garcia was a fantastic pickup and even JT Chargois will help but imo the fate of their season could very well come down to whether G Santos is healthy or not.
I’m afraid the improved offense will still not score enough runs to rest 2 high leverage RPers. The Mariners cannot continue to rely on just Munoz and Garcia to hold slim leads down the stretch. The M’s have lost a half dozen 1 Run games just in the last month. Some of that was failing to drive in RISP but most of it was from losing leads in the 7th and 8th inn.
Just like last year the AL West will likely be decided in the head to head series vs HOU and TX in the last 2 weeks of the season. A healthy BP with A Munoz Y Garcia and G Santos gives them as good chance to win. It will be terribly challenging to win it with just 2 high leverage RPers
My Mariners are becoming the All-MRI team this year. The Seattle MRIners?
If you watch a lot of baseball each year you begin to realize how injuries play a major part in the narrative of each season. I wonder how many Mariners fans like me thought this season might be cursed before it began when all 3 RPers Brash, Santos and Jackson Kowar went on the IL before OD?
Or how many Mariners fans like myself during those heady days in June when the team had a 10g lead thought- …”HOU and TX each have had many injuries that have dramatically altered their Rosters during this season. I feel a little uneasy about the Mariners comparative lack of injuries up to this point!”
Sure enough….a little after that our CF and our SS go down!
I hope we get to see them both in the lineup before Sept begins. At least both of our Rivals are flawed teams this yr
The Angels rushed back Rengifo just to try and get traded! I think he injured it on a hard grounder that went off his wrist. They said he injured it swinging the bat several games after. They’re so full of it. But other teams didn’t fall for it. You can’t believe a word they say regarding injuries anymore.
Ichiro, please teach Santos, including all of his teammates, how to stretch before each game. Good stretching will not prevent injuries, but it can reduce them.