Notes

Rockies Notes: Grichuk, Cron, Blackmon, Gilbreath

By Darragh McDonald | March 19, 2023 at 8:55am CDT

Outfielder Randal Grichuk has been ruled out for Opening Day, reports Danielle Allentuck of The Denver Gazette. The 31-year-old underwent sports hernia surgery in early February and was given a six-week estimated recovery timeline. That would have meant that he could have been back in action prior to the March 30 opener, but Allentuck relays that he’s only recently started doing full-day workouts. Once he gets into games, he’ll need a couple of weeks or so for his spring ramp-up and to get his timing down. He expects to be back in the middle of April.

There’s a couple of other issues in the club’s lineup, as Allentuck adds that outfielder Charlie Blackmon and first baseman C.J. Cron are each dealing with back issues. Blackmon left a game on March 10 with mid-back stiffness and it has lingered longer than expected. Cron, meanwhile, was scratched from Thursday’s game with back spasms. Allentuck reports that neither player is in jeopardy of missing Opening Day at the moment, but there’s also no timeline on their respective returns.

While none of these three players seems to be facing a significant absence, it will be a situation worth monitoring for the club in the early parts of the season. They are already down a couple of players, as second baseman Brendan Rodgers and outfielder Sean Bouchard each recently underwent surgeries that have the potential to be season-ending. With Grichuk slated to miss the first couple weeks of the schedule, the outfield will be without a second member. If Blackmon’s back issue doesn’t clear up soon, it might make the timing a bit awkward with Opening Day now just 11 days out.

Kris Bryant and Yonathan Daza should have two of the outfield jobs spoken for, with Blackmon perhaps in line for the third. Even if he’s healthy, the club will likely need someone else to take regular time out there, as Blackmon made more starts as the designated hitter last year than he did in the outfield. While Grichuk is out, it perhaps opens up a spot for someone like Nolan Jones, though he’s also in the mix for the third base job, with Ryan McMahon moving to second to cover for Rodgers. Michael Toglia is on the roster and could be an option, but the club could also look to selecting a non-roster invitee such as Harold Castro. The club’s 40-man roster is full but they could easily make room for someone like Castro by moving one of their injured players to the 60-day IL, such as Rodgers, Bouchard or Lucas Gilbreath.

Speaking of Gilbreath, the lefty recently spoke with Allentuck about his upcoming year. He won’t be able to participate as a player as he underwent Tommy John surgery this month, but he already seems to have plans for how to make use of the downtime. In addition to documenting his rehab process on social media, he’s going to work with the Rockies’ research and development team, learning analytics.

“I think for me being able to learn from them and even help them out would be fun,” Gilbreath said. The southpaw says he has a desire to work in a front office after his playing career is over. That’s likely a few years off as he’s only 27 and has had some solid results so far. He made 94 MLB appearances over the past two years with a 3.78 ERA. His 13.2% walk rate is certainly on the high side, but he also struck out 25% of batters faced and got grounders at a 45.7% clip. He should still have plenty opportunities ahead of him once he’s healthy, but it seems he’s using this setback to lay some groundwork for future opportunities.

AL East Notes: Manoah, Bautista, Yankees’ Injuries

By Simon Hampton | March 18, 2023 at 2:23pm CDT

The Blue Jays made a “contract suggestion” to star right-hander Alek Manoah this winter, but apparently the sides were not close, according to Jon Heyman of the New York Post. Manoah is part of a young core, alongside Bo Bichette and Vlad Guerrero Jr., that have been speculated as possible targets for long-term extensions.

Manoah, 25, put up a quality season last year, working to a 2.24 ERA over 196 2/3 innings and finishing third in AL Cy Young voting. That followed on from a strong rookie year in 2021, and cemented Manoah as one of the sport’s brightest young starting pitchers. As such, it’s not a huge surprise that the Blue Jays would have some level of interest in locking up the former eleventh overall pick long term. For his part, Manoah is still five years away from free agency but four of those should be arbitration-eligible, as Manoah is likely to qualify as Super Two player at the end of the season.

Here’s some more notes from around the AL East:

The chances of Orioles closer Felix Bautista making the Opening Day roster appear to be growing, with manager Brandon Hyde looking to get Bautista into three or four more games before the team breaks camp, according to Roch Kubatko of MASN. He’s been highly effective in his two outings to date, displaying his triple-digit fastball. Bautista’s camp had been slowed by shoulder and knee injuries to start, but he looks to be on track now. That’s a huge positive for the Orioles, as the closer worked to a 2.19 ERA over 65 appearances last season.
Bryan Hoch of MLB.com provides an update on some of the injured Yankees in camp. Starting with the bad news, reliever Tommy Kahnle has been unable to throw as scheduled as he battles biceps soreness. Kahnle re-signed with the Yankees this winter on two-year, $11.5MM deal after a few seasons with the Dodgers. He had been projected as a vital late-inning member of the Yankees’ bullpen, but it appears the start of his season will be delayed. It’s not known yet when Kahnle is next scheduled to pitch, but obviously it’s not great news for his recovery timeline.
Left-hander Carlos Rodon returned to throwing yesterday and was feeling good, according to Hoch. There were plenty of fears after the Yankees announced that the oft-injured starter would be shutdown for 7 to 10 days with a forearm strain, but an MRI showed no UCL damage and it seems Rodon is back on track to start ramping up for the season. It’s already been confirmed that Rodon will start the season on the injured list, but a positive return to throwing for the six-year, $162MM free agent signing hopefully means it won’t be a long wait before he can make his Yankees debut.
Hoch also reports that Harrison Bader is doing “better than anticipated,” relaying a quote from manager Aaron Boone. It’s a rather vague statement and there’s no indication that Bader is on track any sooner than the initially projected six week recovery timeline (three weeks of regular season action), but it’s at least a positive development as the Yankees look to overcome a number of injuries early in the season. Bader impressed in the playoffs for the team after coming over from the Cardinals at the deadline last year, crushing five home runs in nine games before the team was eliminated in the ALCS.

Injury Notes: Blackburn, Pina, Morejon, Garcia, Szapucki

By Anthony Franco | March 17, 2023 at 8:00pm CDT

The A’s will open the season with both starter Paul Blackburn and catcher Manny Piña on the injured list, manager Mark Kotsay told reporters this afternoon (link via Matt Kawahara of the San Francisco Chronicle). Blackburn still can’t throw at full strength after ripping the nail on his middle finger a couple weeks ago. Piña, meanwhile, was diagnosed with left wrist inflammation after meeting with a specialist yesterday. His wrist is currently in a brace and there’s no timetable for his return to baseball activity.

Neither development comes as a surprise. Kotsay said a few days ago both players were questionable for Opening Day. Blackburn’s absence doesn’t figure to be a long-term concern but will require an adjustment to the starting five. Blackburn would have been assured of an Opening Day rotation spot, joining Drew Rucinski and Shintaro Fujinami in that regard. James Kaprielian seems as if he’ll join them, as Kotsay indicated today the righty is on track to be ready for the season after offseason shoulder surgery. The A’s will need to make a move at catcher in the next two weeks, as Shea Langeliers is the only healthy backstop on the 40-man roster.

More injury updates around the game:

Padres southpaw Adrián Morejón went for an MRI after departing a weekend Spring Training game with elbow discomfort. Manager Bob Melvin provided a generally positive update this afternoon, telling the media that Morejón’s MRI came back clean of structural damage (video provided by 97.3 FM The Fan). Imaging did reveal some inflammation in the joint and the young hurler will be shut down from throwing until symptoms subside. That could be within a matter of days, according to Melvin. While Morejón may still need to open the season on the 15-day injured list, that there’s no structural damage warrants a sigh of relief considering his injury history. He lost most of 2021 and the first half of last season rehabbing from Tommy John surgery. The Friars used Morejón exclusively out of the bullpen last year. They’ve floated the possibility of moving him back to the rotation at some point, though it remains to be seen if his latest elbow discomfort will affect the club’s usage plan.
The Pirates announced last week that reliever Jarlín García was being shut down after experiencing some discomfort in his throwing arm. Director of sports medicine Todd Tomczyk provided an update yesterday, telling reporters the southpaw has a nerve injury in the biceps area (via Justice delos Santos of MLB.com). He’ll remain shut down from throwing for at least four to five weeks before going for more testing late next month. It’s clear García is in for an extended absence to start the season, as even a best-case scenario in which he can start throwing again in mid-April will require a ramp-up period lasting into May. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see Pittsburgh place him on the 60-day injured list at some point. García signed a $2.5MM free agent deal over the winter after being non-tendered by the Giants despite a 3.74 ERA in 65 innings last season.
Giants reliever Thomas Szapucki will meet with a thoracic outlet syndrome specialist next week, tweets Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. He’d been sidelined of late by discomfort in his elbow area and there’s evidently some concern it’s related to the condition. Thoracic outlet syndrome has become a fairly prevalent issue for pitchers in recent years, typically requiring a surgical procedure that involves the removal of a rib to reduce nerve pressure in the arm. The track record for players returning from that issue is mixed. While players like Merrill Kelly have come back better than ever, the likes of Stephen Strasburg and Matt Harvey have never regained their pre-surgery form.

Phillies Notes: Strahm, Suarez, Plassmeyer

By Steve Adams | March 17, 2023 at 11:33am CDT

The Phillies are stretching lefty Matt Strahm out to handle a multi-inning relief option, tweets Scott Lauber of the Philadelphia Inquirer. Manager Rob Thomson said this week that the organization’s goal is for Strahm to be built up to the point that he can handle three-inning stints by the end of camp, Lauber notes. He’s slated to start one of the Phillies’ split-squad games today.

Stretching Strahm out is of particular note given the lefty’s previous work as a starter, his five-pitch repertoire, and his previously vocal stance about wanting to return to that role at some point in his career. As The Athletic’s Matt Gelb further writes, Strahm is open to any and all roles with the Phils this season.

Strahm’s career 3.11 ERA as a reliever trounces his shaky 5.08 mark as a starter, though that’s come in a sample of just 25 starts spread across four seasons. Whether he emerges as a legitimate rotation option for the Phillies at some point over the course of his current two-year, $15MM deal will likely depend greatly on the health of the team’s other options. With that in mind, it’s notable that the move to stretch Strahm out comes in conjunction with Andrew Painter’s month-long shutdown due to a UCL sprain and Ranger Suarez’s delay due to forearm tightness.

Thomson told reporters yesterday that Suarez is back on a throwing program and feeling good (Twitter link via Gelb), but he won’t be fully built up by the time the season gets underway. The Phils aren’t planning to place Suarez on the injured list to begin the season, however. As such, it seems likely his per-start workload would be capped for at least his first few turns through the rotation. Having Strahm stretched out to three or more innings would allow the Phillies to piggyback the two if they choose to go that route, and there’s obvious benefit in having Strahm stretched out in the event that the Philadelphia rotation sustains an injury of note.

For now, the likely plan in the event of another injury in the rotation would be to give 26-year-old southpaw Michael Plassmeyer a chance, Corey Seidman of NBC Sports Philadelphia writes. The 2018 fourth-rounder, acquired in the trade that sent catcher Austin Wynns to the Giants, made his MLB debut with the Phils last season (three runs in 7 1/3 innings) and posted a 2.41 ERA in 16 starts with their Triple-A affiliate following that swap. Plassmeyer has tossed seven scoreless frames this spring, though he’s issued six walks and punched out just four hitters in that time.

As it stands, the Phillies still project to have one of the NL’s stronger rotations. Each of Aaron Nola, Zack Wheeler, Taijuan Walker and Bailey Falter have been healthy this spring, and it seems the forearm tightness that sent Suarez home from the World Baseball Classic has proven to be minor in nature.

Beyond Strahm and Plassmeyer, top prospects Mick Abel and Griff McGarry will open the season in the upper minors, but both have limited innings above A-ball to this point in their young career (23 for Abel, 40 2/3 for McGarry). Lefty Cristopher Sanchez and righty Nick Nelson are both on the 40-man roster but were both shut down earlier this week due to triceps and hamstring injuries, respectively. The Phils did receive one positive injury update yesterday, as backup catcher Garrett Stubbs told Lauber and others that he’s dealing with only a minor knee sprain and expects to be ready for Opening Day.

Cubs Notes: Madrigal, Wesneski, Leiter Jr.

By Darragh McDonald | March 16, 2023 at 2:56pm CDT

Cubs infielder Nick Madrigal has only played second base in his big league career thus far, but he’s not likely to see a lot of time there this year. The club’s major investment this offseason was signing shortstop Dansby Swanson, thus pushing Nico Hoerner over to second base. That nudged Madrigal into a competition for time at third base this spring, one in which he seems to have held himself well.

“He’s got to hit,” manager David Ross tells Patrick Mooney of The Athletic. “He still has to perform. That goes for just about everybody. He has missed a lot of time, but he looks really good and his timing looks good. We’ll see how camp plays out, but I definitely think he’s answered questions at third base. There’s no hesitation to put him in there.”

For his part, Madrigal also feels good about how things are going. “I’m focused one day at a time,” Madrigal said. “I’m feeling really good at the plate. Defensively, I feel like it’s all coming together. My body’s in a completely different spot this year compared to last year. I’m just looking forward to what’s ahead.”

Madrigal was hitting .305/.349/.425 for the White Sox in 2021 when a significant hamstring injury ended his campaign. Nonetheless, the Cubs acquired him in the Craig Kimbrel trade at that year’s deadline. Unfortunately, injuries hampered him yet again in 2022, as he made multiple trips to the IL and hit just .249/.305/.282. As noted by Ross, Madrigal will have to hit to hold onto that third base job, but it sounds like the club is fine with him from a defensive standpoint. Should he struggle at the plate, he’ll likely be fending off challenges from players like Christopher Morel, Zach McKinstry and Miles Mastrobuoni. Patrick Wisdom could also be a factor, though he might be getting some more time in the outfield corners with Seiya Suzuki set to begin the season on the IL.

More news out of Cubs camp…

The Cubs will also be deciding who their fifth starter is, with Marcus Stroman, Jameson Taillon, Drew Smyly and Justin Steele taking the first four spots. It’s viewed by many to be a race between Hayden Wesneski and Adrian Sampson, but Mooney reports that Wesneski is pulling away right now. Sampson, 31, had a nice season for the Cubs in 2022, posting a 3.11 ERA in 104 1/3 innings. However, he’s struggled badly so far this spring, giving up eight home runs in 8 1/3 innings, leading to a 14.04 ERA. Wesneski, 25, has been much better, throwing 8 2/3 scoreless frames with 11 strikeouts. Spring stats tend not to mean too much in the grand scheme of things, but it could be enough to push Wesneski ahead in this case. He also has the higher upside of the two, given he’s younger, has six remaining years of club control and is generally considered one of the club’s top prospects.
Another decision the Cubs will have to make is whether or not to give right-hander Mark Leiter Jr. a roster spot. Meghan Montemurro of the Chicago Tribune reports that Leiter has an opt-out in his contract that would allow him to return to free agency if he’s not added by March 30, which also happens to be Opening Day. The righty has a solid season for the Cubs last year, tossing 67 2/3 innings over 35 appearances with a 3.99 ERA. However, he exhausted his final option year and had reduced roster flexibility, perhaps contributing to getting outrighted off the roster in January. He elected free agency but returned to the Cubs on a minor league deal.

Astros Notes: Gurriel, McCullers, Bullpen

By Steve Adams | March 15, 2023 at 11:08pm CDT

As Yuli Gurriel’s free agency lingered into the late stages of the offseason, many Astros fans wondered whether there might be potential for a reunion between the two parties. Houston GM Dana Brown candidly acknowledged last month that while the organization loved Gurriel as both a person and a player, it would be difficult to get him at-bats with the current construction of the roster, however. Gurriel, who signed a minor league deal with the Marlins last week, spoke further about his former team’s interest — or lack thereof — in an interview with Matt Young of the Houston Chronicle. The Astros, according to Gurriel, never made an offer for him to return for an eighth season.

The 38-year-old Gurriel told Young that “leaving my teammates behind after seven years is something that truly affects you” but added that he’s looking forward to starting a new chapter with a new club. The Astros, of course, signed Jose Abreu to a three-year contract early in the offseason, apparently deciding that it was simply time to move on from Gurriel after a down year in 2022.

Yankees Notes: Kiner-Falefa, Volpe, Trevino

By Nick Deeds | March 14, 2023 at 9:32pm CDT

Yankees infielder Isiah Kiner-Falefa has been at the center of plenty of speculation this spring. That’s both revolved around whether he’d hold onto the starting shortstop job with youngsters Oswald Peraza and Anthony Volpe on the horizon and whether he could be traded to an infield-needy team like the Dodgers or Rockies. Now, Kiner-Falefa’s role for the Yankees may be coming into focus as he has begun taking reps in center field, as noted by MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch.

Kiner-Falefa doesn’t offer much with the bat, as demonstrated by his career 82 wRC+, indicating he’s been roughly 18% worse than league average for his career. Despite that, he’s still been a valuable player throughout his career due to his defense. In the infield, he’s won a Gold Glove at third base while also playing a quality shortstop and the occasional second base. He even caught 586 innings for the Rangers early in his career and now could add center field to his positional versatility.

For a Yankees team already utilizing versatile players such as DJ LeMahieu and Oswaldo Cabrera, Kiner-Falefa seems poised to provide yet another versatile bench piece in the Bronx, allowing manager Aaron Boone to mix and match as he sees fit in his infield. The Yankees lost center fielder Harrison Bader to an oblique strain last week. It’s generally expected that Aaron Judge will slide over from right field until Bader returns, but Kiner-Falefa taking well to center field would give Boone some additional flexibility if he wanted to slide Judge back to the corner on certain days.

Nationals Notes: Ruiz, Arano, Harris

By Steve Adams | March 14, 2023 at 10:13am CDT

The Nationals’ eight-year, $50MM contract extension with catcher Keibert Ruiz was, somewhat incredibly, the first time the team has agreed to a long-term deal with a pre-arbitration player, Andrew Golden of the Washington Post points out. General manger Mike Rizzo noted at the press conference over the weekend that while it was the first such time the team had reached a deal, it was not the first time they’d attempted to get a contract of this nature worked out (Twitter link via MASNsports.com’s Mark Zuckerman).

As Golden writes, Ruiz drew praise from Rizzo, manager Dave Martinez and teammates (including Cade Cavalli) for his leadership prowess in addition to his tools behind the plate. Perhaps of greater note for Nats fans, Golden notes that Rizzo suggested there are other candidates for this type of deal on the roster and said that there’s no real limit to the number of these type of deals the team can pursue. The team’s unsteady ownership situation and years-long battle over television rights fees with the Orioles loom over any major financial decisions, but that didn’t stand in the way of Ruiz’s eight-year deal. Only time will tell whether subsequent extensions for the Nats’ young core will follow, but it’s a notable shift for an organization that has previously been unable to hammer out this type of early-career pact with key players.

A bit more on the Nats…

The Nationals are shutting righty Victor Arano down for 10 days due to an impingement in his right shoulder, tweets Golden. He’ll be reevaluated at that point. The 28-year-old Arano returned to the Majors in 2022 after a three-year layoff that was partially attributable to elbow surgery. He tossed 42 frames for the Nats, working to a 4.50 ERA but posting much more promising rate stats: a 23.5% strikeout rate, a 6.4% walk rate, a 51.6% grounder rate and 1.07 HR/9. Fielding-independent metrics like FIP (3.71) and particularly SIERA (3.14) felt he was vastly better than his earned run average would otherwise indicate. Arano was very likely ticketed for a spot in Washington’s Opening Day bullpen, but his availability for the season is now clearly in doubt. Notably, his 2022 season ended in early September due to a strain in this same shoulder.
Any open spots in the bullpen could create opportunities for the remaining non-roster pitchers in camp. One who’s garnered some attention from Nats brass thus far, per Jessica Camareto of MLB.com, is right-hander Hobie Harris. The former Yankees 31st-round pick is on his fourth organization in pro ball after signing with Washington on a minor league deal this offseason, and he’s tossed five shutout innings with one hit, no walks and six punchouts. Martinez spoke with Camareto about Harris’ impressive splitter, his game-planning and his command so far in spring training. “I love the fact that he comes in there and pounds the strike zone,” said Martinez. “When you’re in the bullpen, I always tell them all the time, ’Walks are not your friends. Those walks kind of beat you up.'” Command has been an issue for Harris in the past, evidenced by a 12.5% walk rate in two Triple-A seasons, but he still pitched to a pristine 2.04 ERA with a 27% strikeout rate in 53 innings for the Brewers’ Triple-A club in 2022.

Blue Jays Notes: Stripling, Jansen, Kirk, Tiedemann

By Anthony Franco | March 13, 2023 at 10:10pm CDT

Ross Stripling played two and a half campaigns in Toronto after being acquired from the Dodgers in a 2020 deadline trade. The right-hander had a quality second full season as a Blue Jay, throwing 134 1/3 innings of 3.01 ERA ball over 32 outings (24 starts) last year. It was a well-timed return to his early-career form, as Stripling hit free agency for the first time this offseason.

That set the stage for a two-year, $25MM pact with the Giants — one which allowed him to opt out and retest the market next offseason after collecting half that sum. Stripling tells Shi Davidi of Sportsnet the incumbent Jays were among four teams that remained in the bidding throughout the process and said the club was willing to match the $25MM guarantee. However, he indicated the Giants’ willingness to include the opt-out was a decisive factor in his call to head to San Francisco. “I loved my time in Toronto and they were in the mix to the very end,” he told Davidi. “Essentially what it came down to was the Giants offered me an opt-out after the first year and the Blue Jays wouldn’t. That made it a no-brainer, really. … Once (the opt-out) was on the board, it was like, man, you can’t walk away from that. It’s as simple as that.”

The 33-year-old Stripling pointed to the three-year, $63MM deal which Toronto gave Chris Bassitt headed into his age-34 season as an example of the kind of earning power he could have next winter if he pitches well in San Francisco. Stripling began last year in a swing role after struggling between 2020-21. Replicating last season’s production over a full rotation workload could position him as one of the more intruding mid-rotation options in next winter’s class.

In other Toronto news:

Manager John Schneider discussed the team’s catching duo, telling reporters the club isn’t planning to utilize the likes of Danny Jansen and Alejandro Kirk at designated hitter as often as they did last season (link via Keegan Matheson of MLB.com). While Jansen was only penciled into the DH spot three times, Kirk was in the lineup for 50 such contests. Curtailing that workload isn’t too surprising considering the Jays signed Brandon Belt away from San Francisco to work as the primary DH. Belt’s 2022 season was cut short by a knee procedure but Toronto nevertheless rolled the dice on a $9.3MM free agent deal. With Vladimir Guerrero Jr. locked in at first base, Belt is likely to log the vast majority of his work at the bat-only position. That’d keep Kirk and Jansen behind the dish, with Schneider estimating there’ll be a “pretty even split” at the position. Matheson notes that Kirk figures to be behind the dish for Alek Manoah’s starts. An injury to Belt could change the calculus but the current plan seems to be for the Jays to use their backstops a little less often to keep them fresher. Toronto’s enviable depth at the position allowed them to deal top prospect Gabriel Moreno to Arizona to add Daulton Varsho to the outfield.
Moreno’s departure vaulted left-hander Ricky Tiedemann to the top of the Jays’ farm rankings at Baseball America. The 6’4″ hurler had a breakout showing in his first fill professional season, reaching Double-A at age 20. Now one of the top pitching prospects in the sport, Tiedemann has been in MLB camp as a non-roster invitee. The youngster recently experienced a bit of soreness in his throwing shoulder, Schneider told reporters (including Hazel Mae). It doesn’t seem the club is particularly concerned, as the manager indicated Tiedemann could throw a side session on Wednesday after being shut down for a few days. The former third-round pick isn’t a candidate to break camp with the big league club; he figures to start the season at Double-A New Hampshire if healthy.

Diamond Sports Planning To File For Bankruptcy; MLB Planning To Stream Games For Free Temporarily

By Darragh McDonald | March 13, 2023 at 8:36pm CDT

Diamond Sports Group, the corporation that owns 14 Bally Sports regional sports networks, is expected to file for bankruptcy March 17, according to a report from Josh Kosman of The New York Post. The timeline will be awkward for Major League Baseball since the 2023 season opens on March 30, but the league plans to step in and broadcast the games themselves.

It had been reported for some time that Diamond is in financial trouble and they forewent interest payments worth roughly $140MM to creditors last month. MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said at that time that the league was monitoring the situation, hoping that Diamond would make its payments but also drawing up contingency plans. It was subsequently reported that the league had hired multiple former RSN executives for a newly-created Local Media department, seemingly to get in position to take over broadcasting duties where necessary.

The problem stems from continued cord-cutting as fewer customers are paying for cable bundles these days, opting instead to use streaming services. That leads to decreased revenue from ad sales and cable contracts, creating situations where RSNs are paying teams more for rights fees than they are able to make back from those revenue streams. Per Kosman’s report, there are at least four teams where Diamond plans to reject the contracts via the bankruptcy proceedings. The teams in question are the Reds, Diamondbacks, Guardians and Padres, with the San Diego deal currently $20MM in the red on an annual basis.

The report goes on to state that MLB’s plan is to take over the local TV broadcasts of those teams, as well as streaming them for free in those local markets as they negotiate lower deals with cable companies. It’s not yet clear if fans in blacked-out markets would be able to access those streams in the short-term. If deals are reached, the league plans to offer over-the-top service for around $15 per month. As Kosman notes, that’s lower than some other streaming deals, with the Red Sox charging $29.99 per month. The league also already tried to acquire the rights to all 14 teams currently controlled by Diamond but were turned down. Those clubs are the Angels, Braves, Brewers, Cardinals, Diamondbacks, Guardians, Marlins, Padres, Rangers, Rays, Reds, Royals, Tigers, and Twins.

A similar situation has arisen with Warner Bros. Discovery, which owns AT&T SportsNet and is a minority owner of Root Sports. It was reported last month that Warner was planning to get out of the RSN business, which would have implications for the Rockies, Astros and Pirates, though not the Mariners. Warner only owns 40% of Root Sports Seattle with the Mariners owning the other 60%. Kosman’s report indicates the league plans to take over those broadcasts eventually as well, though not by Opening Day.

This is a fluid situation and many of the details are still being worked out, but it’s possible there is a sea change approaching in how Major League Baseball delivers its broadcasts to its fans. Most out-of-market games are available to paying subscribers via MLB TV, though these RSN deals have always taken precedent, leading to blackouts that prevent fans from watching their local club on the platform. Many fans have been critical of the way these blackouts are applied, with some subscribers saying that their home is covered by various overlapping blackout areas. The people of Iowa, for instance, have often complained that they can’t watch games featuring the Cubs, White Sox, Cardinals, Twins, Royals or Brewers. That’s an extreme example but highlights the sorts of issues with the current system. Manfred has expressed a desire to move to a new system that would allow customers to purchase broadcasts regardless of where they are, though it’s unclear how long it would take to get such a model in place.

Whenever that new system is in place, it will also have implications for the finances for teams. These RSN deals have long been a significant source of club revenue that seems to now be drying up. Streaming will present new revenues sources, of course, and already has. The league has previously agreed to lucrative deals with streaming platforms like Apple and NBC and may strike other deals in the future.

For now, it seems the immediate concern is making sure that the broadcasts for the 2023 season are maintained. Kosman reports that the league plans to retain current local announcers for any broadcasts that it takes over and it doesn’t seem as though there are any current concerns of games being missed. Assuming the league is successful in all of these plans, it’s possible that fans won’t notice much difference in their baseball consumption here this year, but the field may be wide open for changes down the line.

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