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Brewers Reach New Broadcast Deal With Diamond Sports Group

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The Brewers announced on Tuesday that they’ve reached agreement with Diamond Sports Group to handle in-market broadcasting for the 2025 season. Unsurprisingly, the team did not reveal how much they’ll make in rights fees.

It’s a reversal from plans announced in October. At the time, Major League Baseball announced that it would take over in-market broadcasting for Milwaukee. That came shortly after Diamond, the parent company of FanDuel Sports Networks (formerly the Bally Sports Networks), announced that it was abandoning its contract with the team. Diamond subsequently finalized a plan to avoid liquidation and emerge from bankruptcy to continue operations for at least one more year.

Evidently, Diamond and the Brewers had kept open communications even though Milwaukee initially intended to turn broadcasts to the league. They’ve found a mutually agreeable price point — presumably below what Diamond would have owed under their previous agreement — to stick with the company for another season.

Brewers business operations president Rick Schlesinger tells Adam McCalvy of MLB.com that the team could turn the rights to MLB as soon as the 2026 season. “Long term, whether it’s 2026 or thereafter, I do think MLB Media is the place where we’re ultimately going to land, and I think that’s going to be in the best interest of the fans and the teams and the league to get a model that provides for the widest possible distribution across the most number of platforms with the highest technology and the best economics for the league and the teams,” Schlesinger said. “But we are comfortable with the quality of the production that Diamond Sports, Ballys and now FanDuel are operating under, and we like the continuity. Our fans will find the games the same places they found it last year.”

It isn’t known if this will have any impact on Milwaukee’s player payroll. The Brewers have only made one major league free agent addition this offseason, signing lefty Grant Wolfram to a deal that presumably landed around the league minimum. RosterResource calculates their payroll around $118MM, narrowly above the approximate $116MM mark at which they ended the ’24 season.

Diamond is back up to eight MLB teams for which it’ll carry in-market broadcasts: the Angels, Braves, Brewers, Cardinals, Marlins, Rays, Royals and Tigers. The Guardians, Reds and Twins are turning broadcasts over to MLB. They’re following in the footsteps of the Diamondbacks, Padres and Rockies — each of whom was broadcast by MLB this past season. Diamond has also dropped its deal with the Rangers. The Texas organization is not expected to return to Diamond or to sign on with MLB. Mac Engel of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram wrote this month that the Rangers were exploring ways to negotiate individual deals with various cable providers rather than contracting with an RSN.

Wolfe: “Market Size Isn’t A Factor” In Sasaki’s Decision

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Wasserman’s Joel Wolfe, the agent for NPB star Roki Sasaki, tells SNY’s Andy Martino that “market size isn’t a factor either way” in the player’s decision. At the Winter Meetings, the agent opined that Sasaki may prefer going to a smaller market after clashing with media members in Japan. However, Wolfe stressed at the time that was his own opinion and that he and Sasaki had yet to discuss the matter in depth. It seems the pitcher isn’t giving that any weight.

Sasaki has conducted initial meetings with at least seven teams, most of whom are big-market franchises. Previous reports indicated he met with Dodgers, Rangers, Yankees, Mets and Cubs. The Giants are believed to have gotten a meeting as well. Jeff Sanders of the San Diego Union-Tribune reports today that the Padres were also granted a meeting during Sasaki’s trip to the U.S. earlier this month.

Wolfe met with various reporters (including Tim Healey of Newsday and Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register) this evening to provide details on the process. He indicated that all in-person meetings occurred at Wasserman’s offices in Los Angeles. Wolfe declined to specify how many teams were involved. He said that 20 clubs sent initial presentations via PowerPoint, video or books to express interest.

It seems that each meeting followed specific protocols. According to Wolfe, Sasaki specifically requested that teams did not bring any players. He also limited each conversation to the same amount of time (less than two hours), ostensibly to keep every team on an equal footing. As planned, Sasaki then returned to Japan for the holidays.

It isn’t clear if any teams beyond the reported seven have met with Sasaki. Tigers president of baseball operations Scott Harris said last week that Detroit made an initial pitch, though as of Friday, they hadn’t heard back on whether they’d get a meeting. Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow said this morning that Boston was in a similar position (relayed by Alex Speier of the Boston Globe).

Wolfe did not close the door on granting another team or two an initial sit-down, though the agent indicated that they’d soon start to narrow the field (via Chris Cotillo of MassLive). Sasaki has not visited any team’s cities — aside from his stay in L.A. because Wasserman is headquartered there — but could do so after the New Year.

The signing period for international amateur free agents opens on January 15. That’s the date at which Sasaki is first eligible to sign. His 45-day posting window runs through January 23, however. Wolfe indicated that Sasaki may not have made a decision by the opening of the signing window and could take things right up to the posting deadline. While the agent didn’t highlight this as a reason, that would give MLB teams just over a week to trade for international signing bonus allotments that’d increase what they’re able to offer Sasaki. Teams can acquire up to 60% of the initial value of their respective bonus pools. Teams have varying initial pool allotments, all of which land between $5.1462MM and $7.5555MM.

Lenny Randle Passes Away

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Former major league utility player Lenny Randle has passed away at 75. The National Baseball Hall of Fame confirmed the news on Monday evening.

Randle was a multi-sport collegiate star at Arizona State. He played on the Sun Devils football team in addition to his work as ASU’s second baseman. He stuck with baseball after being drafted by the Washington Senators in 1970. Randle jumped right to Triple-A after the draft and made his big league debut by his first full season. He remained with the franchise when they relocated to Texas and rebranded as the Rangers going into the ’72 campaign.

After a few seasons in a utility role, Randle broke through in 1974. He hit .302 and stole 26 bases (albeit with 17 times caught stealing) across 151 games. Randle played multiple positions and was a valuable enough part of the Texas roster to receive down-ballot MVP support. He had another strong season in 1975, hitting .276 with 24 doubles across 676 plate appearances. He divided that season mostly between second base and center field.

Randle didn’t play as well in ’76. He lost his hold on the starting second base job the following spring. Randle threatened to leave camp, which led to public criticism from manager Frank Lucchesi (link via MLB.com). Randle confronted Lucchesi and, after a brief exchange, punched the manager multiple times. Lucchesi was hospitalized with a fractured cheekbone. Randle would eventually plead no contest to battery charges, leading to a fine.

While teammates and Texas beat reporters said that kind of outburst was out of character for the generally soft-spoken Randle, the Rangers made the obvious decision to move on from him. Texas suspended him for a month and traded him to the Mets before the ban was lifted. Randle moved to third base in Queens, where he had a strong first season. He hit .304 with a career-high 33 steals. His numbers dropped again in ’78, after which he bounced around the league.

Randle had a cameo with the Yankees in 1979, played somewhat regularly for the Cubs the following season, then finished his MLB career with two seasons in Seattle. During his stint with the Mariners, Randle had the humorous play in which he blew a slow roller down the third base line into foul territory after realizing he didn’t have a play on the ball. Umpires awarded the hitter first base.

Over a 12-year big league career, Randle hit .257/.321/.335. He was never much of a power threat and only connected on 27 home runs. The switch-hitter picked up 145 doubles and 40 triples while stealing 156 bases. He collected just over 1000 hits and scored nearly 500 runs. MLBTR joins others throughout the game in sending our condolences to Randle’s family, loved ones, friends and former teammates.

Lucas Giolito Expects To Be Ready For Opening Day

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Lucas Giolito is going into what he hopes will be a rebound year. His first season with the Red Sox was wiped out by a Spring Training elbow injury that required an internal brace procedure to repair his UCL.

The internal brace is generally a less invasive operation than a full Tommy John surgery. That can shave a few months off the projected recovery timeline. Giolito underwent his surgery in the middle of March. With Spring Training opening one year later, the right-hander expects to be on the mound in exhibition play.

“I’m going to be ready for a full Spring Training and a full season,” Giolito told WEEI’s Rob Bradford on the Baseball Isn’t Boring podcast. “I find it funny when I see stuff online saying that I’ll be coming back in June. I don’t know where that came from. I have no idea. … Everything’s going great. I look forward to a full year.”

Giolito said he is towards the tail end of his rehab process at the team’s complex in Fort Myers. He indicated he expects to progress to throwing off a mound soon. Giolito added that teammate Garrett Whitlock, who underwent the same procedure in late May, is at a similar stage in his own rehab work.

Chief baseball officer Craig Breslow spoke with reporters (including Alex Speier of the Boston Globe) this morning. Breslow wasn’t as firm as Giolito had been about the pitcher being ready for the start of exhibition play, but he said that the team indeed expects to have both Giolito and Whitlock available for “the bulk of 2025 if not all of it.” Breslow added that reliever Liam Hendriks, who’ll be a year and a half removed from August ’23 Tommy John surgery, will be a full go for Spring Training. That’s the expected outcome, as Hendriks had a chance to return at the end of this past season before minor arm discomfort led the Sox to shut him down in September.

Giolito conceded that he may need to compete for a rotation spot in what is shaping up as a new-look pitching staff. The Sox have added Garrett Crochet and Walker Buehler this offseason. They’re likely to lose Nick Pivetta, who remains unsigned after rejecting a qualifying offer. Crochet and Buehler join Tanner Houck, Brayan Bello and Kutter Crawford in the projected starting five. If Boston prefers to open the year with a five-man rotation, Giolito (assuming he’s indeed on track for Opening Day) may compete with Crawford for the #5 job. Crawford has experience working out of the bullpen but took all 33 turns through the rotation this year.

In any case, the Sox will likely need to rely on all six pitchers to start games over the course of a 162-game schedule. Whitlock, who has yet to reach 80 MLB innings in a season, could be a candidate to head back to the bullpen. Boston moved Whitlock into the rotation to start the ’24 campaign, but he went on the injured list with an oblique strain after four appearances. He injured his elbow during a minor league rehab assignment. Given the durability questions, a return to a two- or three-inning relief role may be appropriate.

Giolito will play next season on a $19MM player option. The Red Sox hold a $14MM club option for the 2026 season. Giolito would convert that to a mutual option valued at $19MM if he’s able to log 140 innings next year. If he opens the year on the active roster, that’s a reasonable target even though he didn’t pitch this past season. Durability had been one of the righty’s biggest pluses coming into this year. Giolito had made 29+ starts in each of the preceding five full schedules. He tossed a career-high 184 1/3 innings with a combined 4.88 earned run average between the White Sox, Angels and Guardians in 2023.

Astros, Miguel Castro Agree To Minor League Deal

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The Astros are in agreement with reliever Miguel Castro, as first reported by Jon Heyman of the New York Post. Ari Alexander of KPRC 2 specifies that it’s a minor league contract with a non-roster Spring Training invite. Castro, a client of Premier Talent Sports and Entertainment, would lock in a $1.5MM base salary if he makes the MLB roster, according to Alexander.

Castro, who turned 30 last week, is aiming to pitch his way onto an MLB roster for an 11th straight year. The well-traveled righty has suited up for six different teams. Castro carries a 4.20 earned run average in nearly 500 MLB innings. He’d generally posted an ERA in the low-4.00s, including a 4.31 mark through an NL-high 75 appearances for the Diamondbacks in 2023. That triggered a $5MM vesting option for the ’24 season.

That didn’t work out well for Arizona. Shoulder inflammation sent Castro to the injured list midway through April. He was shelved until the All-Star Break. Castro made 11 appearances and surrendered nine runs over 13 2/3 innings. Arizona designated him for assignment just before the trade deadline. They released him at the start of August. Castro spent the rest of the season in free agency.

Houston has a thin relief group that should give Castro a real chance to earn a roster spot out of camp. Josh Hader, Bryan Abreu and (barring a late-offseason trade) Ryan Pressly will be at the back end. Tayler Scott is out of options and pitched well enough to lock down a middle relief job. That leaves as many as four spots up for grabs. Even if the Astros bring in a veteran on a low-cost MLB deal, Castro could vie with Shawn Dubin, Forrest Whitley and Kaleb Ort for low-leverage work.

Rangers Designate Grant Anderson For Assignment

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The Rangers announced they’ve designated reliever Grant Anderson for assignment. The move opens the necessary 40-man roster spot for Joc Pederson, who has officially signed his $37MM free agent deal.

Anderson has been on the roster since May 2023. The low-slot righty has made 49 big league appearances as an up-and-down reliever. His major league work hasn’t been great, as he has allowed 6.35 earned runs per nine over 62 1/3 innings. Anderson’s respective strikeout (21.5%) and walk (8.8%) rates aren’t far off league average. He has had massive home run issues, though, giving up 16 longballs (2.31 per nine innings) in his major league career.

That hasn’t been as big a problem in the minors. Anderson didn’t allow a single homer over 27 2/3 Triple-A innings this year. He fanned 28.3% of minor league opponents and turned in a sub-3.00 ERA in the Pacific Coast League. Anderson has a 3.87 mark over parts of three seasons for the organization’s top affiliate in Round Rock.

After the New Year, the Rangers will have a week to trade Anderson or attempt to run him through waivers. The 27-year-old has just over one year of major league service. He has one option remaining, so another team could keep him in Triple-A next season if they’re willing to carry him on the 40-man roster.

Tigers, Dietrich Enns Agree To Minor League Contract

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The Tigers agreed to a minor league contract with left-hander Dietrich Enns. The 33-year-old southpaw announced the news on social media last week.

Enns is trying to work his way back to the majors for the first time since 2021. He tossed 22 1/3 innings across nine relief appearances for Tampa Bay that season. Enns turned in a 2.82 earned run average in that limited sample. That caught the attention of the Seibu Lions in Japan. Seibu finalized a deal to purchase his contract. Enns spent two seasons there, combining for a 3.62 ERA through 176 1/3 innings at the NPB level.

The Central Michigan product changed countries but stayed in Asia for the ’24 season. Enns signed with the Korea Baseball Organization’s LG Twins. He started 30 times and logged 167 1/3 frames of 4.19 ERA ball. Enns struck out 22% of opponents against a 7% walk rate. After the season, the Twins brought in Yonny Chirinos and re-signed Elieser Hernández to serve as their foreign-born pitchers for 2025.

Enns figures to open the season with Triple-A Toledo. He can start or work in long relief on a Detroit staff that’ll place a premium on flexibility. A.J. Hinch used plenty of openers and bulk relievers behind Tarik Skubal this past season. That’ll presumably continue in the final two rotation spots after Skubal, Reese Olson and Alex Cobb.

Tigers Moving Colt Keith To First Base

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Tigers president of baseball operations Scott Harris met with reporters this afternoon, shortly after the team finalized its one-year deal with Gleyber Torres. The team provided video of the 16-minute media session.

Harris confirmed the Tigers will play Torres at second base. Colt Keith will move to first base. Harris indicated that Keith could return to the keystone in future years but noted that “for 2025, our best team has Gleyber at second base and Colt at first base.” Keith spent the entire ’24 campaign at second base, where he logged nearly 1100 innings as a rookie.

Keith’s defensive grades were mixed. Statcast rated him as a slightly above-average second baseman. Defensive Runs Saved was a lot less enthusiastic, estimating he was eight runs below par. Scouting reports on the 6’2″, 211-pound infielder have pegged him as a bat-first player. Keith may be a capable defender at the keystone but wasn’t likely to develop into a Gold Glove winner.

That was the youngster’s first full season as a second baseman. Keith was drafted as a third baseman and continued playing the hot corner until midway through the ’23 campaign. Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free-Press wrote this morning that the Tigers weren’t willing to move Keith back to third base because of concerns about a prior labrum injury in his throwing shoulder.

Keith’s bat guarantees him a spot in the starting lineup. The lefty hitter had a .260/.309/.380 slash with 13 homers. Those numbers are weighed down by a terrible first few weeks. Keith had a .154/.222/.165 showing through the end of April. He hit .282/.328/.426 in 457 plate appearances from the start of May onward. Keith managed solid production against pitchers of either handedness. He should be in the lineup against almost all right-handed pitchers. Skipper A.J. Hinch could shield him from a few lefties, but the Tigers are unlikely to relegate Keith to a strict platoon role.

If the Tigers aren’t willing to play Keith on the left side of the infield, the Torres deal essentially forced him to first base. Torres has been a full-time second baseman since the Yankees moved him off shortstop in 2022. The Nationals showed interest in moving him to third base. Jon Heyman of the New York Post reported last night — before Torres signed with Detroit — that the infielder rebuffed Washington because he didn’t want to change positions.

Between the infield shakeup and some early offseason chatter about the Tigers potentially pursuing a veteran first baseman, it’s fair to wonder if former first overall pick Spencer Torkelson still has a role on the roster. Unsurprisingly, Harris suggested publicly that remains the case. Detroit’s front office leader said he spoke with Torkelson before the Tigers announced the Torres signing. “My message to Tork was: ’if you have a big offseason and a big spring training, there’s a role for you on this team.’ This team needs more right-handed power and we’ve seen Tork do that in the past,” Harris said.

The Tigers have sought right-handed hitting since the start of the offseason. Torres addresses that to some extent, though he’s more a solid hitter than a great one. His 38-homer showing from 2019 looks like a clear outlier. Torres respectively hit 24 and 25 homers in 2022 and ’23. That dropped to 15 round-trippers this year, in part because of an ice cold April in which he didn’t hit a single home run.

Torkelson connected on 31 homers with a .233/.313/.446 slash line in 2023. A strong second half provided optimism coming into this year. Instead, he stumbled to a .219/.295/.374 mark with 10 homers through 92 games — struggles that led the Tigers to option Torkelson to Triple-A Toledo for a stretch. A change-of-scenery trade still seems a distinct possibility.

Kerry Carpenter should get the bulk of playing time at designated hitter. The lefty-swinging Carpenter will be in the lineup at either DH or in the corner outfield against all righty pitching. He’ll probably be shielded from left-handers, but carrying Torkelson as a short-side platoon bat with limited defensive value isn’t a great use of a roster spot. Harris said today that the Tigers don’t view Torkelson as a candidate for any reps at third base or in the corner outfield, though he opined that “with the DH plate appearances and opportunity at first base, there are still plenty of plate appearances for him.”

Justyn-Henry Malloy, a righty hitter, is also in the DH/first base mix. Malloy has been a high-OBP bat in the minors. He hit just .203/.291/.366 with eight homers in 71 MLB games as a rookie. He still has a full slate of minor league options, but he’s another hitter without a clear defensive fit and a limited major league track record.

The Tigers are one of a handful of teams that has been recently linked to the top unsigned position player, Alex Bregman. While the Torres signing doesn’t directly impact third base, it deepens the infield more generally. Harris declined comment on Bregman, as the CBA prohibits team personnel from saying whether they’re in or out on specific free agents.

He indicated there’ll be more moves on the horizon while suggesting he’s encouraged by how the roster is shaping up. “The roster isn’t done yet. It’s not even 2025 yet. There’s still some time in the offseason to fully flesh out our roster. But when I stare at our group right now, this is the deepest we’ve ever been — on both sides of the ball,” Harris said.

Since signing Alex Cobb, the Tigers have downplayed their desire for another starting pitcher. The exception is their pursuit of NPB star Roki Sasaki, who’ll be limited to a signing bonus below $10MM because of his status as an international amateur. Harris said that the Tigers have presented an initial presentation to Sasaki’s representatives at Wasserman. He indicated that the Tigers are awaiting a response from Sasaki’s camp as to whether they’ll get an in-person meeting after the holidays.

Agent Joel Wolfe suggested at the Winter Meetings that Sasaki, who took preliminary meetings with a handful of teams last week, would begin narrowing the field after returning to Japan for the holiday. The Tigers don’t seem a likely landing spot for Sasaki, but they’d certainly welcome an opportunity to make a pitch to the 23-year-old righty.

Phillies Sign Guillo Zuniga, Nabil Crismatt To Minor League Deals

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The Phillies signed relievers Nabil Crismatt and Guillo Zuñiga to minor league contracts earlier this month. Both deals are reflected on the team’s transaction log at MLB.com and the players’ respective social media accounts.

Both pitchers logged limited major league action in 2024. Crismatt, who turned 30 on Wednesday, made five appearances for the Dodgers early in the year. He spent the remainder of the season in Triple-A, which he divided between three organizations. Crismatt pitched in the minors between Los Angeles, San Diego and Texas. He had a tough showing in the Pacific Coast League, allowing 5.81 earned runs per nine through 79 innings. Crismatt struck out a slightly below-average 20.7% of batters faced against a decent 7.5% walk rate.

The Colombian-born hurler has struggled over six Triple-A seasons. His major league track record is quite a bit better. Crismatt owns a 3.71 earned run average through parts of five MLB campaigns. Most of that production came during a strong two-year run in San Diego between 2021-22. He has logged 20 major league innings over the past two seasons.

Zuñiga, 26, debuted with two appearances for the Cardinals in 2023. St. Louis dealt him to the Angels in a cash deal in February. Zuñiga made 15 appearances for the Halos. He tossed 17 2/3 innings, allowing 10 runs with 12 strikeouts and eight walks. Zuñiga pitched 26 innings at the Triple-A level, where he turned in a 5.19 ERA with a well below-average 14.3% strikeout rate. The Angels designated him for assignment when they acquired Travis d’Arnaud and released him a few days later.

This year’s drop in strikeouts marked a bizarre change from the bulk of Zuñiga’s minor league career. He’d fanned a quarter of batters faced over 29 appearances in Triple-A during the ’23 season. His strikeout rate frequently pushed 30% during his time in the low minors. Zuñiga averaged 97 MPH with his four-seam fastball this year and sat just under 99 MPH during his limited MLB stint with the Cardinals in 2023.

Red Sox, Noah Davis Agree To Minor League Deal

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The Red Sox agreed to a minor league contract with right-hander Noah Davis last week. The former Colorado pitcher announced the news on social media on Saturday.

Davis has pitched in the majors in each of the last three seasons. That included a career-high nine outings for the Rockies this year. Davis tossed 20 1/3 innings of 5.85 ERA ball with a below-average 15.6% strikeout rate. The 6’2″ righty owns a 7.71 earned run average across 51 1/3 frames in his major league career. He has started six of 18 appearances.

The UC Santa Barbara product has also worked in a swing role at the Triple-A level. Davis has started 23 of 34 outings for the Rockies’ top minor league team. He has a 5.06 ERA across 133 1/3 innings in the Pacific Coast League. Davis has fanned just under 20% of batters faced against a higher than average 11.3% walk percentage.

While the numbers aren’t especially impressive at either stop, Davis has had the misfortune of pitching in difficult environments. He averaged nearly 94 MPH on his sinker in a multi-inning role for the Rox. That hasn’t resulted in huge swinging strike or ground-ball numbers. The Red Sox will try to translate that repertoire into more consistent results in a new setting.

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