Steve Cohen Expected To Reenter Mets Bidding
Move over, A-Rod/J.Lo? Steve Cohen, whose prior deal with the Mets collapsed, is evidently lurking for a second attempt. Thornton McEnery of the New York Post reports that the billionaire is preparing to participate in the first round of bidding.
Cohen had an agreement all but locked up with the existing Wilpon ownership group. But the unusual accord left substantial control rights with the Wilpons for a period of time and the sides ultimately came to disagree over how the transition would occur.
That original pact fell apart in early February, making for an inopportune timeline for the Wilpons. Cohen was (and is) a minority owners of the club; talks with him occurred without a broader bidding process. So when things collapsed, there wasn’t another party to turn to. And then came the coronavirus pandemic.
While there are multiple parties showing real interest in pursuing the franchise, there’s no indication to this point that a serious bidding war is underway. Cohen is said to have been “monitoring” the situation and still seems to be far and away the most qualified bidder. The Wilpons are reportedly asking for $2B — well less than what they would’ve originally received from Cohen — and don’t appear to have much hope of reaching that figure unless he jumps back into the picture.
MLB Releases 2020 Schedule
Even as it deals with early coronavirus testing stumbles, Major League Baseball has unveiled significant aspects of its 2020 schedule. You can find the full slate at MLB.com.
As is evident from a brief scan of the schedules, this won’t be a typical season. Even beyond the shortened format, there’s a notable realignment of the regular season. Opening Day is July 23rd.
Two-thirds of the contests will occur against division rivals, but each of those series will be unbalanced in terms of the home-park mix. The remainder of the contests are interleague affairs between teams of corresponding geographic divisions.
Teams are releasing information in a bit of an ad hoc manner, it appears, with MLB Network revealing the series matchups and clubs following up with specific dates and times. Obviously there could be quite a lot of modification as the season goes on, depending upon the course of the coronavirus pandemic in various localities.
Jimmy Nelson To Undergo Back Surgery
Dodgers righty Jimmy Nelson is slated to undergo lower back surgery tomorrow, the team announced (h/t J.P. Hoornstra of the Southern California News Group, via Twitter). Precise details of the procedure aren’t yet known, but it’s expected to sideline Nelson for all of the 2020 season, per MLB.com’s Ken Gurnick (Twitter link).
Nelson had signed on with the Los Angeles organization in hopes of launching a comeback. Once a high-quality young hurler, he had fallen prey to arm issues in recent years. The 30-year-old dealt with some back and groin issues during camp and evidently was not able to overcome them during the leaguewide shutdown.
The deal that Nelson inked with the Dodgers certainly contemplated both upside and downside scenarios. He was promised just $750K in the pact, but could’ve earned another $2MM in roster bonuses alone. His deal came with a floating-value club option that will now end up being priced at the minimum $2MM.
It seems unlikely that the Dodgers will end up picking up that option at that price, but perhaps that can’t be ruled out entirely. If not, he’ll end up going back onto the open market after rehabbing yet another significant injury. Odds are, Nelson will be looking at minor-league offers over the coming offseason.
Dombrowski, La Russa, Stewart Join Nashville Franchise Effort
A trio of heavy-hitting veteran MLB executives is looking for a new angle back into the game, per Bob Nightengale of USA Today (Twitter links). Dave Dombrowski, Tony La Russa, and Dave Stewart are all now united in a potential bid for a new venture.
That notable group is said to be joining Music City Baseball, LLC to aid in a dedicated effort at bringing Major League Baseball to Nashville, Tennessee. Precisely what role each will occupy at this point isn’t clear, but the long-time baseball insiders certainly bring some gravitas and connections to the bid. They’re currently listed as advisors to the undertaking, with Stewart also tabbed as a board member.
The group is said to be attempting to compile an African American majority ownership group. Negro League Hall of Fame president Bob Kendrick is another board member of note. R.A. Dickey, Barry Zito, and Vanderbilt head coach Tim Corbin also rank as “baseball advisors.” The organization lists real estate executive John Loar as managing director and former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales as Chairman of the Board.
Nashville is currently home to the Triple-A Sounds, the top affiliate of the Texas Rangers. That club has also engaged in talks with MLB about potentially hosting a satellite league for unsigned players in 2020. Nashville, of course, already hosts the NFL’s Titans and NHL’s Predators.
There certainly appears to be some upcoming opportunity for Nashville to grab a MLB franchise. Some existing clubs are dealing with ballpark issues and could conceivably be candidates to move. More likely is the possibility of expansion, particularly as the league looks for ways to boost revenue to help deal with the lost opportunity this year. Nashville would appear to rate as one of the most desirable potential landing spots for a new ballclub if the league decides to add another pair of outfits.
MLB Issues Statement On Testing Delays
Major League Baseball has released a statement regarding the delays in COVID-19 testing that have hamstrung the efforts of several teams to prepare for the season. The league acknowledged the issue but says it expects to iron things out moving forward.
While several teams are presently missing or delaying workouts owing to testing delays, MLB claims that “more than 95% of the tests under the Intake Screening period have been conducted, analyzed, and shared.” That leaves a not-inconsequential number of players and others that still haven’t passed the initial gate.
The league defended its overall handling of the early rounds of testing. On those samples that haven’t yet been tested, the league offered an explanation that seemed to contain a bit of an internal contradiction: “Unfortunately, several situations included unforeseen delays. We have addressed the delays caused by the holiday weekend and do not expect a recurrence.”
No doubt the league tried its best to avoid these testing snafus. And MLB notes its appreciation for “the great cooperation from the players as well as the hard work of the Clubs and many internal and external staff members under these challenging circumstances.”
But this is a results-oriented matter. While some early difficulties aren’t surprising, that doesn’t minimize the concern with the halting lab work. Preparing for and playing the 2020 season in a safe and logistically workable manner will require a smooth and efficient management of the coronavirus. It’ll be necessary to settle into a groove sooner than later.
Rockies Sign Matt Kemp
July 4: The club has announced the move, which is now official. Kemp has been added to the Rockies’ 60-man player pool.
June 30: The Rockies have struck a deal with veteran outfielder Matt Kemp, according to Bob Nightengale of USA Today (via Twitter). It’s a minor-league pact.
Kemp had spent the spring with the Marlins, but was left out of the Miami organization’s 60-man player pool. The Fish evidently cut him loose to pursue other opportunities, opening the door to Kemp joining his third NL West outfit.
This move simply wouldn’t have happened in late March, but intervening developments made it possible. We learned last night that right-handed-hitting Rockies veteran Ian Desmond would opt out of the 2020 season, leaving a potential roster spot. And the Rockies are newly in need of designated hitter options, given the expansion of the hitter-only spot to the National League for 2020.
The 35-year-old Kemp is coming off of a rough 2019 season in which he struggled with injuries and hit poorly in a 20-game run with the Reds. He wasn’t exactly tearing the cover off the ball in Grapefruit League action, with a .143/.200/.143 slash and 11 strikeouts in thirty plate appearances.
That said, it wasn’t long ago that the former superstar was mashing MLB pitching. In 506 trips to the plate with the Dodgers in 2018, he launched 25 home runs and carried a .290/.338/.481 batting line.
It’ll be interesting to see whether and how Kemp is utilized by the Rox. The club presumably won’t find it hard to carry him on the expanded early-season roster, having found space even last year for Mark Reynolds. The question is whether Kemp will be given a shot to take on a bigger role than that previously occupied by Reynolds. At present, the Colorado roster skews heavily towards lefty bats in the outfield mix, but Kemp’s defensive abilities have waned notably over the years.
Willians Astudillo, Miguel Sano, Two Other Twins Test Positive For COVID-19
July 4: The Twins have revealed that Miguel Sano was the fourth player to have tested positive for the coronavirus, as reported by Betsy Helfand of the St. Paul Pioneer Press. As of yesterday, we were aware that Astudillo, Gordon, and Colina were among those who had received positive test results. Evidently, Sano is the fourth player who will be barred from participating in team activities until recording two negative tests. It’s worth mentioning that two other Twins, Cody Stashak and Byron Buxton, will also be absent from camp, but not for health-related reasons; both are on paternity leave.
July 3: Twins utilityman Willians Astudillo has tested positive for COVID-19, the Twins announced today. Dan Hayes of The Athletic was among those covering the news on Twitter.
Fortunately, it does not appear as if Astudillo has had a worrying reaction to the disease to this point. He’s said to be symptom-free at the moment.
The Twins reported three other players that have active coronavirus infections. Edwar Colina and Nick Gordon are among them, having previously tested positive. Both are in the 60-man player pool; Gordon is on the 40-man. Neither player has to this point debuted in the majors.
It would certainly be unfortunate should the Twins open the season without Astudillo. He’s one of the game’s most offbeat players — and not only because of his barrel-chested figure and high-energy approach to the game. Astudillo is not just bemusing but also legitimately interesting as a player, owing to his blend of positional versatility (including catcher, his primary position) and unusual proclivity to put the ball in play (career 2.3% walk rate, 3.7% strikeout rate). Though he was not as effective last season as in his brief 2018 debut, Astudillo was and is expected to be an important part of the Minnesota roster this year.
2020 Amateur Draft Signings: 7/3/20
Here are the latest draft deals …
- The Dodgers have agreed to a $1,622,500 bonus with third-rounder Jake Vogel, Jim Callis of MLB.com tweets. That’s over a million north of the slot value of the 100th overall pick, so clearly the high-school outfielder represented a draft priority for his home-state club. Vogel had been ticketed for UCLA. Keith Law of The Athletic was most bullish on his outlook, rating him the 77th overall prospect. Law emphasized Vogel’s speed, defense, and quality hitting outlook while noting that he’ll likely always be limited by a lack of power.
- Likewise, the Indians struck a big deal with a California outfielder plucked in the third round. Petey Halpin inked for $1.525MM, well north of the $610,800 pool allocation. He had been slated to play at the University of Texas. Eric Longenhagen of Fangraphs placed Halpin as the 59th-best prospect in the draft class while Law ranked him 50th. While there’s obviously a good deal of talent, it seems scouts are still a bit unsure exactly how Halpin will develop in the long run. Law calls him a “high school outfielder who might move to a corner but doesn’t have clear corner-outfielder power.”
- A true two-way prospect, second-round draft choice Casey Schmitt has agreed to a $1,147,500 bonus with the Giants, Callis reports on Twitter. The San Diego State product is said to have possible routes to the majors as a power-hitting third baseman and/or solid relief arm. Baseball America ranked him 76th overall on its board. Also landing with the Giants is supplemental second-rounder Nick Swiney. Callis tweets that he’s set to earn $1.2MM ($976,700 slot value). Law was the high man by Swiney by a fair sight, grading him the 22nd overall talent in the draft pool. It’s all a question whether you believe in the strides Swiney showed before the 2020 collegiate campaign was cut short.
Luis Madero Tests Positive For COVID-19
Giants right-hander Luis Madero has tested positive for COVID-19, as Andrew Baggarly of The Athletic was among those to cover via Twitter. He consented to the release of the medical information.
Madero, 23, was claimed and outrighted back in the pre-coronavirus days of Spring Training. That familiar grab-and-stash roster tactic has worked for the Giants since Farhan Zaidi came to town, though it’s expected to be utilized less frequently in 2020.
The Giants previously revealed that outfielder Hunter Bishop had tested positive as well. He’d have been a part of the 60-man player pool. Otherwise, Madero is the only player that was identified as being infected upon reporting for the launch of Summer Camp.
Fortunately, there’s no indication at this point that Madero is dealing with particularly concerning symptoms. He’ll need both to recover physically and register two negative tests before he’s able to get back to the 60-man activities.
Madero likely didn’t have a real shot at earning a big-league gig out of the gates, but he surely could be a candidate for a chance at the majors at some point this season if he performs well. He has at times looked like a legitimate MLB prospect, but has also endured some rough patches. One of those came last year at Double-A, where he worked to a 5.72 ERA with 7.5 K/9 and 2.4 BB/9 in 89 2/3 innings.
Cleveland Indians To Consider Name Change
In the wake of the potential forthcoming name change of the NFL’s Washington Redskins, the Cleveland Indians appear to be approaching a reckoning of their own. The organization issued a statement on the matter, first disclosing it to Zack Meisel and Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (subscription link) and then publishing it on Twitter.
While the “Indians” moniker hasn’t drawn quite as much ire as the Washington football club’s nickname, there has been pressure on the baseball club for quite some time. Much of the scorn focused on the team’s “Chief Wahoo” logo, which was finally sidelined for its offensive depiction of Native Americans.
No doubt the Cleveland organization saw the writing on the wall and recognized the merits of moving now. High-visibility corporate pressure finally forced the hand of the long-time D.C. NFL institution, but the obvious financial motivation left the club looking all the more craven.
The Indians attempted to walk a line in their official statement, hinting that the name change was already under consideration while also acknowledging that the immediate impetus was tied to “recent social unrest”:
“We have had ongoing discussions organizationally on these issues. The recent social unrest in our community and our country has only underscored the need for us to keep improving as an organization on issues of social justice. With that in mind, we are committed to engaging our community and appropriate stakeholders to determine the best path forward with regard to our team name.”
There’s no commitment just yet, but The Athletic cites “a source familiar with the club’s thinking” for the proposition that the organization is “prepared to consider changing the team name more seriously than they have before.”
Certainly, it would be difficult to walk this back now and hang onto the moniker for the long haul. Taking this approach does perhaps have the advantage of buying some time and avoiding the sudden crunch facing the Washington football club. It sounds as if the Cleveland organization will launch a process of some kind to make a final determination on the old nickname and a potential replacement.