Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Mets Designate Michael Tonkin For Assignment

By | at

The Mets have made their signing of right-hander Julio Teheran official today, announcing the move today. Fellow righty Michael Tonkin designated for assignment as the corresponding move, with Anthony DiComo of MLB.com among those to relay the move.

Tonkin, 34, was signed by the Mets to a major league deal in December. That pact came with a modest guarantee of $1MM, just a bit north of the $740K league minimum. One week into the season, the Mets have already used their bullpen a lot, with Tonkin tossing four innings over three appearances. He allowed two earned runs on six hits and one walk, striking out three.

Just about everyone in the Mets’ bullpen was used in yesterday’s doubleheader and most of them can’t be optioned to the minors, giving them little flexibility back there. They also needed a 40-man roster spot for Teheran, who was signed to bolster the rotation after the recent injuries to Kodai Senga and Tylor Megill. Those two factors have seemingly nudged Tonkin off the club and into the DFA gulf.

The Mets will now have one week to trade Tonkin or pass him through waivers. He’s coming off a solid bounceback season in 2023 after a bit of a journey in the wilderness. He pitched for the Twins from 2013 to 2017, then spent a few years traveling to pitch in Japan, Mexico, the Atlantic League’s Long Island Ducks and various minor league clubs.

He resurfaced with Atlanta last year and tossed 80 innings over 45 relief appearances with a 4.28 earned run average. He struck out 23.1% of batters faced in that time while giving out walks at a 7.1% clip. If any club is interested in adding a well-traveled veteran to their bullpen, Tonkin should be available to them in the next few days.

If Tonkin were to pass through waivers unclaimed, he would have the right to reject an outright assignment as a player with more than three years of major league service time. However, he lacks the five years of service necessary to both elect free agency and retain his salary, so perhaps he would decide to report to Triple-A and keep that $1MM flowing if that scenario comes to pass.

Brewers Claim Vladimir Gutierrez

By | at

The Brewers have claimed right-hander Vladimir Gutierrez off waivers from the Marlins, tweets Adam McCalvy of MLB.com. He’s been optioned to Triple-A Nashville. Miami designated Gutierrez for assignment earlier in the week.

Gutierrez, 28, was a high-profile prospect out of Cuba who signed for a $4.75MM bonus (plus a 100% tax on that sum) with the Reds back in 2016. He wound up pitching just 150 2/3 innings between 2021-22 in Cincinnati, logging a 5.44 ERA with worse-than-average strikeout and walk rates of 17.3% and 10.4%, respectively. As a prospect, he was touted as having a solid heater with a potentially plus slate of secondary offerings (curve, slider, changeup) — but he’s yet to find much consistency in the majors.

Were it not for a ligament tear that necessitated Tommy John surgery, Gutierrez might’ve gotten more of a look in Cincinnati. He briefly returned to throw a few minor league frames late last year but became a minor league free agent after the season and signed a minors contract in Miami. The Marlins selected him to the roster to add some length to an overworked bullpen but designated Gutierrez for assignment after he tossed three innings of long relief. The Fish needed to clear roster space for another fresh arm, lefty Kent Emanuel, who followed nearly the same track: three innings of long relief in his first appearance followed by an immediate DFA to bring in yet another fresh arm (Matt Andriese).

Francys Romero tweets that the Brewers plan to get Gutierrez two or three starts down in Nashville to further stretch him out. At that point, they’ll consider him for starts at the big league level. Milwaukee’s rotation is more unsettled than at any point in recent memory, as Brandon Woodruff required September shoulder surgery that’ll cost him most of the 2024 season and Corbin Burnes was traded to the Orioles in a late-offseason blockbuster. Veteran Wade Miley, who returned on a one-year deal, has been slowed by a shoulder impingement. Prospect Robert Gasser, arguably the top minor league arm in the system, is currently on the injured list due to a bone spur in his elbow.

At the moment, the Brewers are going with Freddy Peralta, Jakob Junis, Colin Rea, DL Hall (acquired in the Burnes trade) and Joe Ross in a patchwork rotation. The return of Miley will help solidify things for the Brew Crew, but Gutierrez will give them another option with some MLB experience who could potentially work his way into the rotation mix.

White Sox Select Robbie Grossman, Designate Alex Speas

By | at

The White Sox on Friday announced that they’ve placed Eloy Jimenez on the 10-day injured list with an adductor strain, selected the contract of veteran outfielder Robbie Grossman, and designated right-hander Alex Speas for assignment in order to open a roster spot for Grossman. Jimenez’s IL placement is retroactive to April 2.

Sox GM Chris Getz suggested earlier this week that Grossman, 34, could soon be added to the big league roster. The veteran switch-hitter spent the 2023 season with the World Series champion Rangers and batted .238/.340/.394. He’s been an average or better hitter in six of the past eight seasons, collecting 3552 plate appearances and delivering a combined .245/.350/.387 batting line. Grossman is a career .282/.381/.426 slash against left-handed pitching (126 wRC+). He’s been below-average, albeit not egregiously so, against right-handed pitching.

Grossman has played a bit of center field in his career, but the vast majority of that experience came back in 2013. He’s primarily a corner outfielder and designated hitter, with the bulk of his outfield work coming in left field. He played 553 innings on the grass for Texas last season but turned in well below-average defensive marks. He can offer the Sox a veteran bat to step in for the injured Jimenez at designated hitter and could also spell left-handed-hitting corner outfielders Andrew Benintendi and Dominic Fletcher against left-handed starting pitchers on occasion.

Speas, 26, joined the White Sox via waiver claim last October. The flamethrowing righty sits 99-100 mph with his heater and can climb higher than that. As one would expect, that’s led to some prodigious strikeout totals in the minors, but Speas struggles to command his power arsenal and has alarming walk rates in the upper minors. He pitched two big league innings for the Rangers last year but split the bulk of the season between Double-A and Triple-A. Speas fanned a ridiculous 41% of his Double-A opponents and nearly 35% of his Triple-A opponents, but he also walked a combined 15.5% of his opponents.

Speas was with the Sox during spring training and walked six of his 26 opponents. He’s begun the season in Triple-A Charlotte, where he was tagged for four runs in two innings as he walked another two of the 11 batters he’s faced there. The 2016 second-round pick has electric stuff but has walked more than 18% of the opponents he’s faced in pro ball. The White Sox will have a week to trade Speas, attempt to pass him through outright waivers or release him.

Jimenez exited the White Sox’ game back on Sunday due to soreness in his adductor muscle and hasn’t played in a game since. He’s out to a 2-for-11 start on the season, with both hits being singles. The 27-year-old slugger has shown at times that he has the upside to be one of the game’s most dangerous hitters. Jimenez belted 31 homers as a rookie in 2019 and as recently as 2021, he slashed .295/.358/.500 with 16 homers in just 84 games.

Injuries have been far too frequent for the Dominican-born slugger, however. He’s been on the injured list due to ankle, elbow/forearm, and hamstring injuries (twice), in addition to the current adductor strain and a 2023 appendectomy that kept him out for about three weeks. Jimenez has never topped the 122 games he played as a rookie, and that 2019 season is the only one of his career in which he’s reached 500 big league plate appearances.

Orioles Trade Diego Castillo To Twins

By | at

The Orioles announced Friday that they’ve traded minor league infielder/outfielder Diego Castillo to the Twins in exchange for cash. He’s not to be confused with veteran reliever Diego Castillo — the former Mariners/Rays closer and setup man who also joined the Twins on a minor league deal last week.

This latest trade will bring the younger, 26-year-old Castillo to the Twins. It was an eventful offseason for the versatile utilityman, who bounced from the D-backs, to the Mets, to the Yankees, to the Phillies, to the Orioles via the DFA carousel in a span of about two months. The Orioles finally succeeded in sneaking Castillo through waivers back in February, retaining him without needing to dedicate a spot on the 40-man roster. He’ll now join an incredible sixth organization in the past four months. Since the O’s outrighted Castillo back in February, he won’t need to go onto the Twins’ 40-man roster and can head right to their Triple-A affiliate in St. Paul.

Castillo spent the 2023 season with the D-backs organization but only appeared in one big league game and went hitless in his only plate appearance. He’d picked up 283 plate appearances with the Pirates a year prior but managed only a .206/.251/.382 batting line in what was his MLB debut effort.

The majority of Castillo’s 2023 season was spent with the Diamondbacks’ Triple-A affiliate in Reno, where he posted an excellent .313/.431/.410 slash with more walks (17.4%) than strikeouts (14.2%) in 556 plate appearances. He played second base, shortstop, third base and left field in Reno. Castillo has played 177 career games in Triple-A and is a .296/.410/.407 hitter.

Castillo doesn’t have much power but has long drawn praise for his plus hit tool, which is evidenced by his minimal strikeout rates. He pairs that with a keen eye at the plate, a bit of speed and plenty of defensive versatility, even if he’s not regarded as a plus defender anywhere on the diamond. The Twins recently lost third baseman Royce Lewis to a quad strain, and top infield prospect Brooks Lee is out until late April due to a back injury. They recalled prospect Austin Martin to replace Lewis on the big league roster, and his departure from St. Paul, coupled with Lee’s injury, likely pushed the Twins to acquire some additional depth in the form of Castillo.

Brewers, Francisco Mejia Agree To Minor League Deal

By | at

The Brewers have agreed to a minor league contract with free agent catcher Francisco Mejia, reports Kiley McDaniel of ESPN. The 28-year-old switch-hitter spent time with the Angels and Rays during spring training but was released by Tampa Bay last week. He’ll head to Triple-A Nashville and add some depth while top catching prospect Jeferson Quero is injured.

Mejia was once not just one of the game’s top catching prospects but one of the top-ranked prospects in the entire sport, regardless of position. He peaked at No. 20 on Baseball America’s top-100 list and No. 11 at MLB.com heading into the 2018 season. He was on the verge of joining the Brewers way back in 2016 before then-Milwaukee catcher Jonathan Lucroy used his no-trade clause to veto a trade to Cleveland. (Lucroy explained his rationale for that decision not long after the fact.) The Brewers wound up trading Lucroy to the Rangers instead. Mejia also wound up on the move, going to the Padres in a deal for Brad Hand.

Despite his prominent placement on national prospect rankings, Mejia has yet to hit much in the big leagues while racking up more than five years of big league service between Cleveland, San Diego and Tampa Bay. In just shy of 1100 trips to the plate, he’s a .239/.284/.394 hitter. He’s been far better in Triple-A, where he touts a very strong .306/.350/.519 batting line in 633 plate appearances.

Beyond his struggles at the plate, Mejia has also had a rough time behind the dish. He’s long posted sub-par framing number, and his throwing took a major hit in 2023, when he thwarted just four of the 42 runners who tried to steal against him. Statcast also ranks him as one of the least-effective catchers in the game when it comes to blocking balls in the dirt.

Clearly, things haven’t panned out as hoped for the once ballyhooed young catcher. But he’s still just 28 and has shown little problem handling Triple-A pitching. The Brewers don’t have an immediate need behind the dish, with William Contreras and Gary Sanchez on the big league roster and the recently outrighted Eric Haase likely ahead of Mejia on the depth chart down in Triple-A as well. Mejia offers a relative veteran to help share that workload with Haase, and in the event of multiple catcher injuries he’s a fine third or fourth option for the organization to hand.

Yankees, Rougned Odor Agree To Minor League Deal

By | at

The Yankees have agreed to a minor league deal with veteran infielder Rougned Odor, reports Jon Heyman of the New York Post. The BHSC client can opt out of the contract on July 1 if he hasn’t been added to the roster by that point. Odor had signed a deal with the Yomiuri Giants in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball back in January, but the league announced just a couple days ago that he’d been released.

It’s the second Yankees stint for Odor. The now-30-year-old infielder spent the 2021 season in the Bronx and batted .202/.286/.379 with 15 homers in 361 trips to the plate. He’s suited up for the Orioles and Padres since that initial run with the Yankees. Presumably, he’ll head to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and hope to play his way into a return to the big league level.

While Odor has a trio of 30-homer seasons under his belt, his offense has tailed off considerably since his run with the Rangers early in his career. The former top prospect hit .238/.295/.445 (95 wRC+) from 2015-19, offsetting much of his above-average power with a free-swinging approach that led to frequently anemic on-base percentages. It was still decent production on the whole, however, and Odor paired that all-or-nothing approach with solid glovework and baserunning skills.

Since the 2020 season, things have taken a swift downturn. Odor has tallied 1138 plate appearances in that time, hitting just .199/.274/.371. He’s begun to walk a bit more and slightly improved his strikeout rate from the 30% at which it sat in 2019. But Odor’s 7.3% walk rate and 25.7% strikeout rate since 2020 are still worse than average, and his baserunning and defense have begun to decline as well. He still clearly has power against righties, but that comes with low average and OBP marks. His numbers against lefties in this stretch (.187/.273/.337) render him nearly unplayable against same-handed opponents.

The Yankees’ infield is banged up at the moment, however, and it seems they’ll be without DJ LeMahieu for longer than expected after he was eventually diagnosed with a fracture in his foot. Back in early March, Oswald Peraza was shut down entirely for six to eight weeks due to a shoulder strain. Even if he’s able to resume baseball activity at the end of that 6-8 week shutdown, he’ll then need to slowly build back up and head out on a minor league rehab stint. We’re not even four weeks from that original shutdown; his return is still quite a ways off.

That pair of infield injuries surely contributed to the Yankees’ late acquisition of utilityman Jon Berti from the Marlins — a trade that occurred on the eve of Opening Day. That’s helped soften the blow, but another injury would leave the Yankees relatively thin on infield options. Well-traveled utility infielder Josh VanMeter is in Triple-A at the moment, as are former prospects like Jordan Groshans, Kevin Smith and Jeter Downs. None are on the 40-man roster, however, and none have had any big league success to this point. Odor will give the Yanks some additional depth that has more big league experience and some success — even if it’s been several years since his last productive MLB campaign.

Blue Jays Designate Wes Parsons For Assignment

By | at

The Blue Jays have selected the contract of right-hander Paolo Espino from Triple-A Buffalo and designated right-hander Wes Parsons for assignment in a corresponding move, the team announced Friday.

Parsons, 31, has spent the past two seasons with the Jays after a two-year run in the Korea Baseball Organization. He’s logged just nine innings over three appearances at the MLB level with Toronto dating back to a spot start last October. The results haven’t been pretty. Parsons was tagged for nine runs in four innings against the Rays in that spot start, and this season he’s served up another six runs in five innings of relief. On the whole, he’s yielded 15 runs on 16 hits and five walks with five strikeouts in nine frames for the Jays.

Rough as that showing has been, Parsons pitched decently for the Jays’ Triple-A club in 2023, tossing 81 2/3 frames over 17 starts and recording a 4.52 ERA, 27.6% strikeout rate and 12% walk rate. He was effective for the KBO’s NC Dinos as well, making 32 starts and turning in a 3.68 ERA while striking out more than a quarter of his opponents. In his limited time with Toronto, Parsons has shown five pitches — four-seamer, two-seamer, curveball, slider, changeup — averaging 94.7 mph on his four-seamer and 93.5 mph on his sinker. The right-hander, who’s in his final minor league option year, will either be traded, placed on outright waivers or released within the next week.

Espino, 37, spent the 2020-23 seasons in the Nationals organization, oscillating not only between the big leagues and Triple-A but also between starting and bullpen roles. He pitched 233 innings with the Nats in the majors, working to a 4.91 ERA with a below-average 19.5% strikeout rate but an excellent 5.4% walk rate.

Espino doesn’t throw hard, sitting just 88-89 mph with his fastball, and his extreme fly-ball tendencies could be a tough fit in the American League East. That said, he excelled in spring training, tossing 17 innings with a 2.65 ERA, 36.4% strikeout rate and 3% walk rate. That brilliant showing earned him a look with the Jays, and he can now add some length to their bullpen in the event of a short start or a game getting out of hand.

Yankees Place Jonathan Loaisiga On 60-Day IL, Select Dennis Santana

By and | at

8:57am: Loaisiga first felt discomfort in his elbow near the end of his most recent outing on Wednesday, manager Aaron Boone explained to the Yankees beat this morning (X link via Greg Joyce of the New York Post). He called the injury “concerning,” noting that an MRI conducted last night revealed a “significant” strain. Loaisiga and the team are gathering more information on the injury and will determine next steps for the right-hander once they’ve received additional opinions.

7:35am: The Yankees have placed right-handed reliever Jonathan Loaisiga on the 60-day injured list with a right flexor strain, the team announced. In a corresponding move, the team has selected the contract of right-hander Dennis Santana. He’s joining the big league bullpen.

Loaisiga, 29, has all the makings of a high-end leverage reliever but hasn’t been able to stay healthy enough to establish himself in that role. He showed just how dominant he could be back in 2021 when he pitched 70 2/3 innings of 2.17 ERA ball with an above-average 24.4% strikeout rate, a very strong 5.4% walk rate and a sensational 60.6% ground-ball rate. The Nicaraguan-born righty averaged a blazing 98.4 mph on his sinker that season, notched an excellent 13.7% swinging-strike rate and posted a mammoth 41.1% opponents’ chase rate on pitches off the plate.

Unfortunately for both the Yankees and for Loaisiga, that’s the only season in which he’s ever thrown even 50 big league innings. Loaisiga has only reached even 20 appearances in two seasons. Since committing to a bullpen role in 2020, he’s delivered 163 1/3 innings with a 2.98 ERA (3.34 FIP, 3.42 SIERA), 20.3% strikeout rate, 6.5% walk rate and 58% grounder rate. There’s little doubting the raw talent is there to make him a star bullpen arm, but he’s missed time due to a shoulder strain, subsequent shoulder inflammation, elbow inflammation (twice) and now a flexor strain that’ll sideline him into at least the early summer months.

If Loaisiga’s absence extends further than that 60-day minimum, it’s feasible this could spell the end of his time in the Bronx entirely. The right-hander has five-plus years of major league service time and is slated to become a free agent at season’s end.

Santana, 27, signed a minor league pact with the Yankees back in early December. Like Loaisiga, he features a power sinker and strong ground-ball rates when at his best, but he hasn’t found nearly the same success and consistency that Loaisiga has when healthy.

Once one of the Dodgers’ top-ranked pitching prospects, Santana has bounced to the Rangers, Mets and now Yankees since leaving Los Angeles. He’s pitched just 149 2/3 innings in the big leagues and has a pedestrian 5.17 ERA to show for it (though a 4.26 FIP and 4.47 SIERA are a bit more favorable). Santana has averaged just under 96 mph on his sinker in his career and has kept the ball on the ground at a nearly 50% clip since adopting that as his primary offering. But he’s walked more than 12% of his big league opponents and struggled with men on base, resulting in a well below-average strand rate that’s helped to inflate his ERA.

Santana has regularly missed bats at a high level in the upper minors, and his power sinker fits a mold that the Yankees tend to prefer out of their late-inning relievers. He’ll need to improve his command, but Santana wouldn’t be the first relatively obscure arm to break out with the Yankees if he can get himself on track in the Bronx. He’s out of minor league options, however, so it could be a short stint on the 40-man roster if the Yankees feel they need to open another spot in the near future. If he gets a decent leash and can find some success, he’s controllable through the 2026 season via arbitration.

The Opener: Grichuk, MiLB Appearances, Home Openers

By | at

As the weekend fast approaches, here are three things to keep an eye on around Major League Baseball:

1. Randal Grichuk to make D-backs debut:

Outfielder Randal Grichuk is expected to join the Diamondbacks today in Atlanta, according to John Gambadoro of 98.7FM Phoenix. The veteran outfielder signed a one-year, $2MM deal with Arizona this winter but missed spring training after undergoing ankle surgery in January. The D-backs, who recently lost center fielder Alek Thomas to the 10-day IL with a strained hamstring, could certainly use the help in the outfield. Grichuk plays all three outfield positions.

2. MiLB appearances for Edward Cabrera, Justin Verlander, J.D. Martinez:

After making his first rehab appearance for Triple-A Jacksonville last week, Marlins starter Edward Cabrera is set to make his second start for the Jumbo Shrimp this evening (per Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald). He is expected to throw four innings today; he went three in his first appearance.

Meanwhile, Justin Verlander is headed for a minor league rehab assignment, according to the transaction log at MLB.com. He is scheduled to make his first appearance at Triple-A on Sunday (per Brian McTaggart of MLB.com), but he was officially sent to join the Sugar Land Space Cowboys this morning.

Finally, Mets DH J.D. Martinez could make his first minor league appearance of the season today, according to Anthony DiComo of MLB.com. Martinez agreed to be optioned after signing his one-year, $12MM deal with the Mets, so this would not be a rehab assignment. However, it would essentially serve the same purpose, giving Martinez a chance to ramp up before getting back to big league action.

3. Home openers on the schedule:

After the Cardinals and Twins played their home openers on Thursday, a whole slate of teams will begin their first series at home today. That includes the Yankees, Tigers, and Angels in the American League, and the Braves, Giants, Pirates, and Rockies in the National League. Meanwhile, the Blue Jays, Red Sox, and Guardians will have to wait until next week before finally kicking things off at their home stadiums.

Athletics To Play 2025-27 Seasons In Sacramento Ahead Of Scheduled Move To Las Vegas

By | at

11:20am: Lindsey Adler of the Wall Street Journal reports that the A’s will not have a city associated with their name for the next three seasons. Rather than the “Sacramento Athletics,” they’ll just be referred to as the Athletics or the A’s, with no city designation.

11:05am: The Chronicle’s Eli M. Rosenberg reports that the City of Oakland’s final offer to the A’s was a three-year, $60MM lease of the Coliseum (X thread). That’s a notable step down from the previous $97MM price point but still apparently didn’t move the needle for Fisher and Athletics ownership.

10:12am: The 2024 season is officially the Athletics’ last year in Oakland. The team announced this morning that they’ll spend the 2025-27 seasons playing their home games in Sacramento’s Sutter Health Park ahead of their planned 2028 move to Las Vegas. There’s an option on the agreement for the A’s to spend a fourth year in Sacramento, presumably in the event that the construction of their new Las Vegas stadium is not completed on time.

Sutter Health Park is home to the Sacramento River Cats — the Giants’ Triple-A affiliate. It seems the two teams will share the stadium for at least the next three seasons — or at least that such an arrangement is under consideration. The press release announcing the Sacramento decision states: “Not only will fans be able to experience Major League Baseball in West Sacramento, but they will also still get to enjoy the beloved tradition of Minor League Baseball and the Sacramento River Cats.”

However, that’s not necessarily set in stone. John Shea, Susan Slusser and Steve Kroner of the San Francisco Chronicle report that the A’s and River Cats sharing Sutter Health Park is “one option.” The Chronicle trio further reports that there’s also been some consideration that the River Cats could play home games across multiple sites, including the Coliseum and the Giants’ Oracle Park.

River Cats president Chip Maxon told KCRA 3’s Michelle Dapper last week: “We are Sacramento’s team, we’re not going anywhere. If someone else were to play here, we’ve made it clear we want to play all 75 home games for the River Cats for the foreseeable future.”

Maxon’s comments notwithstanding, the NBA’s Sacramento Kings are the majority owner of the River Cats. Kings president and CEO Vivek Ranadivé issued the following statement:

“I’m thrilled to welcome the A’s to Sutter Health Park, where players and fans alike can enjoy a world-class baseball experience and create other unforgettable memories. Today marks the next chapter of professional sports in Sacramento. The passion of our fans is second to none, and this is an incredible opportunity to showcase one of the most dynamic and vibrant markets in the country.”

Said A’s owner John Fisher:

“We look forward to making Sutter Health Park our home through our move to Las Vegas. We extend our appreciation to the Kings and the City of West Sacramento for hosting the A’s while we work to complete our new ballpark in Las Vegas.”

There are, as one would expect, some logistical hurdles that need to be cleared. Sutter Health Park’s capacity is just over 14,000; it’s well smaller than the size of a standard big league stadium. While that invites plenty of jokes about the Athletics’ attendance, concerns regarding the size of the stadium extend beyond its sheer seating capacity. A’s players voiced concerns to the Chronicle about the size of the clubhouse and training room, the standards of the batting cages, and the lights at a Triple-A stadium. Right-hander Paul Blackburn also noted the location of the clubhouses, which are beyond the outfield wall as opposed to the MLB standard of being connected to the dugouts, as another issue.

On top of the facility itself, the A’s will need to sort through television broadcast specifics with NBC Sports California. Shea, Slusser and Kroner report that the A’s made $67MM from their television contract last year but will likely revise that deal and receive less revenue now. However, the move to Sacramento allows the A’s to avoid the City of Oakland’s proposed $97MM fee for the extension of the current Coliseum lease. It also allows Fisher to retain a 50% stake in the Coliseum property itself.

Suffice it to say, there are ample hurdles yet to be cleared and plenty of unknowns to be determined. As The Athletic’s Melissa Lockard points out, the fact that the A’s are endeavoring to play their home games in West Sacramento — rather than at their own Triple-A stadium in Las Vegas — speaks to the difficulties of making an arrangement like this work for all parties involved. That the A’s are even announcing this despite ostensibly not having a concrete plan outlined for where the River Cats will play only adds to the disjointed and disorganized feeling that has been emblematic of their entire relocation saga.

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

hide arrows scroll to top