Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Korea’s Kiwoom Heroes To Sign Addison Russell

By | at

In a surprise move, longtime Cubs infielder Addison Russell has found a landing spot in Korea’s top league. He’s joining the Kiwoom Heroes on a $530K contract, per Jeeho Yoo of Yonhap News (via Twitter).

Once a top prospect and promising young big leaguer, Russell is best known now for off-field malfeasance. Russell was suspended under the league’s domestic violence policy after his ex-wife detailed serious allegations of abuse.

The Cubs still gave Russell another shot, keeping him through arbitration in 2019 and bringing him back to the majors after the suspension was served. But Russell was not able to take advantage of the second chance, as he continued to produce middling offensive numbers.

All told, since the start of the 2017 season, Russell carries only a .243/.310/.379 batting line. While he’s a quality defensive performer, that wasn’t enough output to merit another trip through arbitration this past offseason.

Though the Cubs had already absorbed the public relations hit of retaining Russell, other organizations declined to bring him aboard this past winter. He was waiting for an opportunity even while Spring Training neared completion.

The lack of a big league deal may ultimately have helped Russell secure his next chance. Unlike most players of his ability levels, the 26-year-old was not under contract when the Heroes went looking for another foreign player. Russell will have a chance to get his career back on track in the KBO, which is playing at full tile (albeit still sans fans) while MLB tries to get its own season underway.

Two Angels Players Have Contracted Coronavirus

By | at

At least two players in the Angels system have tested positive for coronavirus, GM Billy Eppler tells Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register (Twitter link). This becomes the latest instance of infection in MLB ballplayers.

Eppler did not divulge any further details regarding the identities of the players in question, including whether or not they are on the team’s 40-man roster. But he did make clear that they had not been at the team’s facilities during the pandemic shutdown, so it seems there’s no reason to worry about further spread within the organization.

We have now seen multiple teams now acknowledge actual or potential COVID-19 diagnoses within their organizations. The information has hit the news wire even as labor negotiations seemingly reached a new impasse.

MLB decided earlier this evening that it will close off team facilities for a period of time. Players and other personnel will not be allowed access unless they have tested negative for coronavirus.

MLB Closes Spring Camps To Establish New Protocols

By | at

9:32pm: This policy is going into effect immediately, per Bob Nightengale of USA Today (via Twitter). No players or staff members will be allowed into spring facilities until they have had a coronavirus test come back negative.

6:09pm: Major League Baseball is “strongly considering” shuttering all thirty of its member teams’ Spring Training facilities, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post (Twitter link).

Obviously, that’s startling news to hear when the league is supposed to be readying for Spring Training Part II to get underway. But it certainly seems sensible given the eye-opening reports that emerged today regarding the spread of coronavirus at some facilities.

Per Sherman, the idea would be to close things down, perform a deep clean, and then establish a clear and uniform protocol for accessing these sites. That seems like a wise course of action if a 2020 season is going to be possible at all — regardless of precisely how many games the league and union can agree upon scheduling.

After months of negotiating, there isn’t much wiggle room to work with in squeezing in a campaign. It’s already rather apparent that there will be rolling coronavirus hot spots even over the summer, with real concern that things could get worse in the fall.

The avoidance of major disruptions to the schedule will be as important as it will be difficult. It’s frankly surprising that greater attention wasn’t paid to that effort in the first place.

Astros Report COVID Infection; Rangers Close Spring Facility

By | at

As Texas reports a growing barrage of coronavirus infections, its two MLB franchises each were in the news in relation to the virus. Fortunately, in both cases it seems there’s no particular cause for alarm.

Astros GM James Click said today that the team had a player at the team’s spring facility in West Palm Beach, Florida test positive for COVID-19. (Via MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart, on Twitter.) The player is said to be doing just fine at the moment.

Per Click, the team’s procedures helped avoid any spread beyond the lone player. (It was not specified whether he was a major or minor leaguer.) “There were no other positive tests,” Click says.

The Nationals share the recently constructed complex but have not opened it to their players. AP’s Howard Fendrich tweets that the Nats did have one minor-league player in the Dominican Republic test positive. The player was not at the team’s facility there and those that were have tested negative, Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post reports (Twitter link).

As for the Rangers, they’ve decided to halt the activities they had been overseeing in their spring home in Arizona, Tim Brown of Yahoo reports on Twitter. Though there haven’t been any positive tests or presumptive coronavirus cases, the organization decided to hit pause while the league sorts out testing and related protocols.

It seems that approach could be adopted more broadly. Today’s revelations of coronavirus concerns in several camps, in particular that of the Phillies, emphasizes the point that baseball needs to get its house in order if it is to put on any kind of 2020 season.

MLB Will Not Make Counter-Proposal On 2020 Season

By | at

6:36pm: An MLBPA announcement confirms the news. Per the release, the league informed the union that it will not schedule a season of over sixty games.

6:30pm: MLB has informed the MLB Players Association that it will not make a new proposal to the union in an effort to resolve the sides’ disagreement over the financial structure of the 2020 season, per Ken Rosenthal and Evan Drellich of The Athletic (via Twitter).

Just what that means for the potential resumption of play remains to be seen. One might think that commissioner Rob Manfred will simply declare a season length at full pro rata pay — the option that the league has long held in its back pocket, but which brings with it the potential for an open-ended grievance action.

Last we had heard, the league preferred not to take this step. Whether there may be an alternative means of resolving the matter is not immediately clear. Per the report, the league will consider its options over the weekend, which is perhaps yet another indication that the league believes it is well served by allowing time to trickle away.

This latest development comes on the heels of today’s run of worrisome indications that the coronavirus has already made inroads into MLB facilities even before the league has undertaken a resumption effort in earnest. Those reports reflect truly concerning developments. They also play into the hands of the owners that have evidently decided to take a hard line on the 2020 season.

It seemed just days ago that we were finally headed toward resolution on an attempted restart of the MLB campaign. Now, there’s as much uncertainty as ever — greater, perhaps, given the urgent need to launch a season in the immediate future if one is to take place at all.

Dodgers Sign First-Rounder Bobby Miller

By | at

The Dodgers have agreed to terms with first-round draft choice Bobby Miller, MLB.com’s Jim Callis reports on Twitter. He’s slated to receive a $2.2MM bonus, a bit under the $2,424,600 slot allocation that came with the 29th overall pick.

Miller, a standout righty out of Louisville, drew late first-round grades from several pundits. They generally cited his big frame, loud fastball, and generally promising mix of secondary offerings. Baseball America, for instance, lauds Miller’s “size and explosive stuff” while also acknowledging some concern he could end up in the bullpen over the long haul.

Other observers weren’t convinced, viewing Miller as more of a second-round talent. The concern, as Keith Law of The Athletic put it, is that Miller has “a pretty high-effort delivery” and “hasn’t shown average control at any point in his college career.”

The Dodgers obviously feel they can mold Miller’s physical tools into a compelling package. The Los Angeles organization has now reached agreement with its first and its final selected players, but still has four unsigned draftees to negotiate with.

Giants Close Spring Facility Over COVID Concerns

By | at

The Giants are the latest MLB team to shutter a Spring Training facility due to concerns over the spread of the coronavirus. Andrew Baggarly of The Athletic reports on Twitter that the organization is taking the precaution while awaiting test results.

It’s important to understand that there’s no confirmed infection from a person associated with the team. But “one person who had been in the facility and one family member exhibited mild symptoms,” per president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi.

Hopefully, the tests on those two individuals will come back negative. The team has also recommended testing for anyone else that had been through the facility. Regardless of the outcome, the fact that these steps were required serves to highlight the magnitude of the challenges still facing Major League Baseball.

We heard earlier today about worrisome developments at spring facilities in Florida, a state that has seen a notable uptick in infections. But the virus is tearing through Arizona, the locus of the other half of the league’s primary training sites, at an even faster rate.

MLB Reconsidering “Bubble” Approach To 2020 Season

By | at

As if there weren’t enough moving parts already, Major League Baseball is now re-thinking its fundamental approach to putting on the coronavirus-altered 2020 campaign, Jared Diamond and Ben Cohen of the Wall Street Journal reports.

MLB had previously contemplated naming a host city that would house all of the season’s games. There were various permutations of the concept, some involving multiple cities. At base, the idea was to limit travel and keep players (and other key personnel) from interacting with the broader world.

While the league had moved on from such an approach, it now seems the creation of a “bubble” is back on the table. The worrisome rise in cases in several states has surely had an impact. Today’s news regarding the spread of COVID-19 at some organization’s facilities may well have influenced the thinking as well. Indeed, Diamond says eleven players on 40-man rosters have tested positive for infection over the past two weeks.

It’s rather discouraging to see this possibility back on the table at this juncture. Even as MLB and the MLB Players Association seek to bridge their final disagreements on the economics of the season, the basic logistics of safely holding a campaign seemingly remain in doubt.

Nationals Agree To Terms With Cade Cavalli, Sammy Infante

By and | at

The Nationals announced Friday that they’ve officially signed first-round pick Cade Cavalli. The Oklahoma right-hander was the No. 22 overall pick in this year’s truncated draft.

Washington has also agreed to terms with compensation pick Sammy Infante, per Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post (Twitter links). He’ll receive $1MM, Jim Callis of MLB.com tweets, which is slightly more than his No. 71 overall slot value of $884,200.

The Athletic’s Keith Law was the most bullish on Cavalli among most prominent pre-draft rankings, listing him as this year’s No. 13 prospect. Cavalli landed 17th at FanGraphs and 22nd (matching his actual draft position) at both Baseball America and MLB.com. ESPN placed him 24th.

A clear consensus first-rounder, the 6’4″, 225-pound righty was a two-way player for part of his college career but will focus on mound work as a pro. Law writes that Cavalli has been up to 97 mph with the fastball and has pair of power breaking pitches to complement that heater — ultimately tabbing him as a potential No. 2 starter should things go well for the 21-year-old.

Infante, a shortstop out of Florida’s Monsignor Edward Pace High School, had been committed to the University of Miami but will forgo college to begin his pro career. He didn’t rate among the top 100 prospects on any draft boards, but did feature among the next hundred names on several. ESPN.com was most bullish, ranking him 122nd. Baseball America opines that Infante stands out for his “nice collection of above-average tools.”

Blue Jays Shut Down Spring Facility

By | at

The Blue Jays have shut down their Spring Training facility in Dunedin, Fla. after a player displayed symptoms of COVID-19, Jeff Passan of ESPN.com reports (Twitter thread). There’s no positive test yet, but Passan notes that the player in question is on Toronto’s 40-man roster and had recently spent time with players in the Phillies’ system. The Jays’ Dunedin complex is just six miles from the Phillies’ spring facility in Clearwater, where eight people — five players and three staffers — have tested positive for the coronavirus over the past three days. Another 32 tests of Phillies players and personnel are still pending results.

Scott Mitchell of TSN tweets that about 20 players have been working out at the Jays’ spring facility, including about 10 players who are on the 40-man roster. Passan adds, however, that multiple players have yet to even be tested at all — despite GM Ross Atkins telling him the team has been “overly precautious with testing.” Should reopening the Dunedin facilities untenable, that’d create problems for the Jays even if a 2020 season can come together. As Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith points out, Dunedin has been a fallback option in the event that government regulations prevent the Jays from hosting games at Toronto’s Rogers Centre.

The Blue Jays’ Dunedin closure adds to a growing list of concerns as professional sports teams have sought to begin play after months of shutdowns. Beyond the positive tests in Clearwater and the symptoms in Dunedin, it’s also important to note that the NHL’s Tampa Bay Lightning have shut down their facilities after three players and a pair of staff members tested positive for COVID-19. The NFL’s 49ers also had a player test positive in Nashville, Tenn. earlier today, per NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo. A member of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ coaching staff has also tested positive.

Taken together, it’s all a sobering reminder that the largest roadblock to return to regular-season play in any sport is not (and has not been) finances or length of season but the ongoing pandemic. Even if the players in question make full recoveries — which obviously is not a given — they still have families to consider, more at-risk members of the coaching and training staffs surrounding them, umpires, team personnel, etc. Scott Lauber of the Philadelphia Inquirer reported this morning that positive infections have already spread to multiple members of the infected members of the Phillies organization. Similar instances of spreading are likely to occur — particularly with positive cases on the rise not only in Florida but also in Arizona, Texas and California, among other states.

MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

hide arrows scroll to top