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The Opener: A’s, Rays, Depth Starters

By Nick Deeds | July 18, 2024 at 8:41am CDT

As the All-Star break continues, here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world throughout the day today:

1. A’s stadium plans to be revealed:

The Athletics are preparing to take a noteworthy step toward their long-term goal of moving to Las Vegas. According to Mick Akers of the Las Vegas Review-Journal, the Las Vegas Stadium Authority will meet today to discuss the development agreement drafted by the A’s, which will impact how the stadium will be financed as well as construction plans. As Akers notes, the agreement being discussed today is the final one the club needs to reach with the stadium authority in order to unlock the public funding the club secured in negotiations with Nevada lawmakers in May of last year.

2. Rays stadium funding vote:

The Rays’ proposal for a new stadium in St. Petersburg is scheduled for 11:00am local time today, as noted by Colleen Wright of the Tampa Bay Times. Today’s vote among members of the St. Petersburg City Council, should it pass, will approve a combined $429.5MM in spending for both the new stadium as well as an assortment of community benefits such as housing and an African American history museum. That’s not the entirety of the public funding the Rays’ stadium plan involves; they’ll still need the Pinellas County Commission to approve $312.5MM in funding on July 30, which coincidentally is the day of this year’s trade deadline. The Rays announced their plans for a new stadium back in September, which expected a total contribution of $600MM in public spending between St. Petersburg and Pinellas County.

3. Depth starters hitting free agency:

Yesterday saw veteran left-hander Dallas Keuchel and veteran right-hander Domingo German return to the open market after Keuchel cleared waivers following his recent DFA by the Brewers while German opted out of his minor league deal with the Pirates. Both hurlers have enjoyed success in the big leagues previously but have struggled in recent years. Keuchel won the AL Cy Young award back in 2015 and pitched to a 3.25 ERA with a 3.55 FIP between the Astros, Braves, and White Sox from 2014 to 2020. German, who tossed a perfect game against the A’s just last season, has generally been a reliable back-end starter throughout his career with a lifetime 4.41 ERA and 4.50 FIP at the big league level — although that production came with a number of off the field issues.

The recent track record for both pitchers is less encouraging. Keuchel has been picked up a handful of starts for the Twins and Brewers over the past two years, pitching to a 5.80 ERA and 4.88 FIP in a combined 54 2/3 innings of work. German hasn’t pitched in the majors this year and owns a lackluster 5.13 ERA in 11 minor league starts, though his 3.60 ERA in the past month is far more palatable. With the trade deadline just around the corner, both Keuchel and German are candidates for minor league deals. Either would at least provide an innings-eating depth option for teams that miss out on more impactful arms on the trade market.

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The Opener

MLBTR Podcast: Top Trade Candidates, Hunter Harvey To KC And The Current State Of The Rays And Mets
Main
Twins Looking Into Rental Starters
View Comments (54)
Post a Comment

54 Comments

  1. This one belongs to the Reds

    1 year ago

    I’m sure there will be a casino attached where you can bet on the games courtesy of BetMGM or DraftKings.

    Managed by Pete Rose.

    7
    Reply
    • Acoss1331

      1 year ago

      That is Jerry Reinsdorf’s dream in Chicago with the White Sox. He is salivating at the thought.

      2
      Reply
      • lesterdnightfly

        1 year ago

        The Pale Hosers should have really moved to Tampa Bay, instead of just using it as a threat.

        Actually, moving to Vladivostok would be a better choice for Reinsdorf and gang.

        2
        Reply
  2. Gumby82

    1 year ago

    F@ck John Fisher

    8
    Reply
    • Acoss1331

      1 year ago

      John Fisher makes Jerry Reinsdorf look benevolent…

      6
      Reply
      • seamaholic 2

        1 year ago

        A first class jerk, but I don’t think pleasing baseball fans is really his goal.

        4
        Reply
  3. Dice 66

    1 year ago

    Baseball will never make it in Florida. Both those teams need to relocate. Nashville and Charlotte!

    4
    Reply
    • Karensjer

      1 year ago

      It will make it in Florida. Just needs to move to Orlando and get an owner who isn’t a penny pinching cheapskate.

      3
      Reply
    • lesterdnightfly

      1 year ago

      Neither Nashville nor Charlotte could support an MLB franchise. They’d be gone in 10 years to greener pastures.

      Pay back Montreal for Bud Selig’s r*pe of the Expos.

      2
      Reply
      • Dice 66

        1 year ago

        It would make, people are moving in groves to both areas.

        Reply
  4. JoeBrady

    1 year ago

    I passed by the old Trop last week. The building is pretty gutted, but not blown up. A bit sad, since that was a nice looking joint in its day.

    But still looking forward to the day when I can catch a RS game there.

    1
    Reply
    • Canuckleball

      1 year ago

      It took me a second to realize you were talking about the Tropicana hotel in Vegas, not the Rays home field.

      10
      Reply
    • Jason Hanselman

      1 year ago

      The nice thing about the Trop is that it doesn’t smell like nickel beer night at a college bar nor has it had to deal with rat infestation problems for a hundred years like Fenway. Hopefully, the next stadium will find a way to hoodwink fans and authors into thinking catwalks are a cute quirk that never come into play like how people perceive the Green Monster, which impacts half a dozen or more balls every single game.

      Reply
      • User 4245925809

        1 year ago

        A bit careful when comparing parks. Trop, with it’s phony grass, sometimes 10′ high bounces on balls from rock hard surface underneath that is comparable to old Olympic stadium in Montreal. Not many places in the league worse.

        Fenway, with it’s unique angles in the OF, brought about by the addition of Bullpens 70y ago we don’t hear many complaints of, nor the infamous 100yo LF wall. We also never heard to many of the boxes overhanging the playing field in the upperdeck in RF, old Tiger stadium, nor the massive flag pole.. On the playing field itself in center field there..

        We don’t here many complaints regarding weeds growning all over the walls at wrigley field.. Which has been going on for decades.. Hint.. Ivy is a in the wild growing weed..

        Rats in a stadium? Puhlease.. Old Astrdome and old Yankee Stadium were the 2 players always complained about the most with the most and biggest running about and those not scared of anything.

        Reply
    • CCCTL

      1 year ago

      They literally can’t blow it up. They have to tear it down floor by floor, with asbestos remediation at every step of the way.

      Las Vegas was not accepting of “blow up the building and spread asbestos dust all over greater Las Vegas.”

      1
      Reply
      • Philly A's

        1 year ago

        They said they are keeping the name, but they have lied before. If they change the name, I’m out as a fan.

        I dont live in Oakland or California so them leaving doesn’t affect me as much as it does other fans, in fact them playing in Vegas is a plus since I cover that area.

        1
        Reply
      • JoeBrady

        1 year ago

        They’ve gutted the inside, presumably removing the asbestos, but I believe blowing up the skeleton is still in place.

        Reply
    • Steinbrenner2728

      1 year ago

      I know, JoeBrady, I can’t wait to see the rival Red Sox play (and hopefully get beat) at the Trop when I visit St. Petersburg as well.

      1
      Reply
  5. slowcurve

    1 year ago

    Have they announced if they are keeping the Athletics team name / brand? Would be tragic to lose such a storied franchise, on top of leaving Oakland.

    2
    Reply
    • lesterdnightfly

      1 year ago

      The A’s name should remain in Oakland, to be used for a new and viable franchise.
      Let Vegas and Fisher market some trendy vapid name instead. How about the Interruptuses: pull out and leave a mess.

      1
      Reply
      • Hammerin' Hank

        1 year ago

        The name should stay with the team no matter where they go. It didn’t remain with Philly or KC when they left those two cities.

        5
        Reply
        • slowcurve

          1 year ago

          Agree, franchises unfortunately move… but they should stay consistent with their brand/mascot/etc. The Green/Gold is iconic, so I’m hoping it stays.

          Reply
  6. Slider_withcheese

    1 year ago

    An owner asking for a publicly financed stadium is just a legal Ponzi scheme. It’s quite brilliant actually.

    8
    Reply
    • Jason Hanselman

      1 year ago

      Take this level of umbrage to the defense contractors making billions of dollars off taxpayers. Wish we got a vote on whether or not innocents all over the world were to be incinerated or left alone.

      6
      Reply
      • Hammerin' Hank

        1 year ago

        Well said, Jason.

        Reply
      • JoeBrady

        1 year ago

        I’m not sure anyone gets alone. Oftentimes it is a choice between the lesser of two evils. Do you want Putin taking over your country, or do you want 100,000 dead with a decent amount of physical destruction.

        1
        Reply
    • JoeBrady

      1 year ago

      A ponzi scheme is when you pay off previous investors’ money with new investors’ money. Not sure how public investments qualify.

      3
      Reply
      • VegasMoved

        1 year ago

        Yeah, people seem to think Ponzi scheme means any financial decision they disagree with. Using taxpayer dollars to finance a sports stadium is dumb, but under no interpretation of the term could it be called a “Ponzi scheme.”

        Reply
        • JoeBrady

          1 year ago

          There is no doubt in my mind that NYC is better off with the city and the Yankees coming to an agreement.

          Reply
        • Steinbrenner2728

          1 year ago

          Not entirely sure about the “no doubt” part, JoeBrady, as I’d rather ask a Yankees fan in New York City how the Yankees agreeing with city officials impacts them more than a Bronx-born Las Vegas resident who’s also a Red Sox fan… but that’s just me.

          Reply
  7. cwizzy6

    1 year ago

    So much public money… stop giving money to the rich!

    7
    Reply
    • Hammerin' Hank

      1 year ago

      Corporate welfare is the American Way!

      2
      Reply
    • JoeBrady

      1 year ago

      Would you rather be Oakland, with the lost jobs and prestige, or LV in this scenario?

      1
      Reply
      • cwizzy6

        1 year ago

        With that owner? Oakland by a mile.

        2
        Reply
  8. Old York

    1 year ago

    Quite unfortunate that the A’s aren’t moving back to Philly. Rebuild Connie Mack Stadium as well.

    3
    Reply
    • Hammerin' Hank

      1 year ago

      But seriously, that would be truly awesome.

      Reply
  9. Jacksson13

    1 year ago

    I thought Max Kepler was the only GERMAN in MLB.
    Come to find out now that Domingo is also a GERMAN !!

    3
    Reply
  10. Karensjer

    1 year ago

    If the Rays are building a new stadium in the parking lot of the old one, it means that they don’t think the location is the problem with getting fans to buy tickets. Why not just remodel the old park?
    The real problem is that Florida is mostly retired old farts who lived elsewhere and are fans of other teams. There have also been studies that show that 90% of ticket sales come from a 50 mile radius of the park. With a ballpark in St. Pete or Tampa , it will always have half of that radius in the Gulf of Mexico. The answer is to move the team to Orlando/Kissimmee near Disney. It will still draw true Rays fans from Tampa/St. Pete as it’s less than an hour drive. It will attract fans from Orlando, and other cities within an hour drive like Daytona. People on vacation going to Disney will come out for a game as well. You’ll always have the problem with retired farts not being fans, but the longer the team stays in Florida, the more of a fan base they will get. They could also do a way better job branding the team. I’ve been to Shea Stadium, Comiskey, Fenway, Houston, Wrigley, Detroit, Washington, and Pittsburgh, and all of those stadiums had tons of team-related signs within a few blocks of the park, they had block parties in the same area with tons of venders selling jerseys and stuff. In Tampa you finally start seeing Rays signs maybe 100 yards from the park. Not exactly pimping out their brand. Spend some money $ternberg!!!!!

    4
    Reply
  11. geotheo

    1 year ago

    In reference to the Athletics-how the stadium will be funded and construction plans. Shouldn’t this have been ironed out before MLB approved the relocation? And isn’t Fisher still looking for sources for private funding? Seems a lot of questions still need to be answered. This should have been worked out before Manfred allowed the move. While I expect the A’s will get their funding what happens if it falls through? They will be like the Coyotes and evicted from their own stadium

    4
    Reply
    • Rsox

      1 year ago

      As much as i disliked Bud Selig this would have all been done before ever announcing a move. The thing Manfred cares about is putting clocks on everything

      1
      Reply
    • CCCTL

      1 year ago

      It has been at least a year since they said they were talking to Goldman-Sachs, known as ‘large-scale lender of last resort’ because GS won’t loan unless it’s sure to make money (or applicant has enough seizable collateral to cover it).

      They haven’t mentioned them since, which means Goldman-Sachs looked at the lending risk and collateral, made a judgement, and showed Fisher the door.

      So far, the only known funding is what NV is giving them *contingent on approval of construction and financing plans much more detailed than “guess I’ll ask Mom if she’ll cover the rest.”*

      1
      Reply
      • JoeBrady

        1 year ago

        That doesn’t sound right. First, GS is a top-tier lender, not a lender of last resort. Secondly, unless he’s already taken out loans against the A’s stock, then the ~ $1.2M market value of the A’s should be enough collateral. And there is usually an interest rate that will make any transaction profitable.

        1
        Reply
        • NashvilleJeff

          1 year ago

          Hope for the A’s sake they’re worth more than $1.2M. Guessing you meant “B?”

          1
          Reply
        • JoeBrady

          1 year ago

          LOL! Yeah, maybe it should’ve been a “B”.

          1
          Reply
        • CCCTL

          1 year ago

          He has ALREADY borrowed against the A’s and Earthquakes, and those loans haven’t been repaid.

          2
          Reply
        • CCCTL

          1 year ago

          And new information on how (part) of the team’s contribution is to be acquired:

          Personal Seat Licenses

          Yes, really, that’s part of their ‘plan’ along with “we’ll contribute a total amount to be determined … later-ish.”

          Reply
  12. missing the moustaches

    1 year ago

    Mick Akers is not a credible source, his reporting on this has been biased beyond belief. His company is also active defending the public money which when it came out Mick was unable to comment on any stadium/A’s news for a long period of time. My prediction is that documents introduced in today’s meeting will not include financial information which is the primary hurdle that needs to be overcome.

    If EVERYTHING is complete and final sign off can be achieved today then I have been wrong about Mick the whole time, but let’s see how this plays out.

    5
    Reply
  13. lesterdnightfly

    1 year ago

    Of course all that should have been done beforehand. But Mighty Manfred doesn’t wait on any money grabs.

    3
    Reply
    • JoeBrady

      1 year ago

      IMHO, construction was the priority. If Fisher can’t find investors, Manfred will replace him tomorrow.

      Reply
  14. Candlestoked

    1 year ago

    Eat the rich!

    1
    Reply
  15. Chuck from Uniontown

    1 year ago

    Sports gambling is a nuisance at best, a plague in more realistic terms. It should not be tolerated.

    250 years from now, the precipitous rise of value in sports will be seen as one of the early indicators of the decline of America. The pairing of gambling with those sports will be seen as an accelerant on the flames.

    1
    Reply
    • JoeBrady

      1 year ago

      Gambling used to be illegal and it was used to grow the mob. Outlawing vices that people are in favor of doesn’t usually work. Same as alcohol and pot.

      ps-I just returned from LV and had a great time.

      Reply
      • Chuck from Uniontown

        1 year ago

        Counterpoint- prohibition does work. The average American age 15+ consumed over 7 gallons of pure alcohol every year. Post-prohibition and the culture shifted enough that we will never reach that level again.

        And you can’t tell me that it’s better for the people with gambling addiction to have gambling in their pocket and advertised everywhere than it was back when you had to know a guy who did books and had to play on the scale they offered.

        Even beyond gambling addiction, the constant short term gratification of quick bets is just hitting the Dopamine button too much, man. That’s the kind of thing that leaves you a husk.

        2
        Reply
  16. UWPSUPERFAN77

    1 year ago

    Will the Rays fans show up even with a new stadium. This column is unique: Both teams play in the worse dumps in Baseball. The Loyal fan’s of both teams have been taken advantage of for years!

    Reply

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