MLBTR Podcast: The Pohlads Aren’t Selling The Twins, Nathaniel Lowe, And Service Time Manipulation
The latest episode of the MLB Trade Rumors Podcast is now live on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts! Make sure you subscribe as well! You can also use the player at this link to listen, if you don’t use Spotify or Apple for podcasts.
This week, host Darragh McDonald is joined by Steve Adams of MLB Trade Rumors to discuss…
- The Pohlad family taking the Twins off the market and what that could mean for the club’s future (2:10)
- Nathaniel Lowe getting released by the Nationals and signing with the Red Sox (18:35)
- The Astros losing Josh Hader due to a shoulder capsule sprain (29:25)
- The Phillies losing Zack Wheeler due to a blood clot (32:20)
- Why late August/September is prospect promotion season (36:00)
Plus, we answer your questions, including…
- Are there some notable relievers who could be on waivers this month? Also, what happens to a player when he is on waivers? (44:55)
- If I told you that the Dodgers signed Kyle Tucker, would you believe me? (52:40)
- What’s the craziest out-of-nowhere team to make the playoffs and could a team do it this year? (56:35)
Check out our past episodes!
- Walk-Year Performances, Roman Anthony’s Extension, And More! – listen here
- Sifting Through The Trade Deadline Deals – listen here
- Megapod Trade Deadline Preview – listen here
The podcast intro and outro song “So Long” is provided courtesy of the band Showoff. Check out their Facebook page here!
Photo courtesy of Bruce Kluckhohn, Imagn Images
MLB, Apple Reportedly Discussing Broadcasting Rights
According to a report from the New York Post’s Andrew Marchand, Major League Baseball has recently engaged in “serious” and “substantial” talks with Apple with regard to weeknight broadcasting rights, specifically to the Monday- and Wednesday-night package previously aired by ESPN. Should a deal be reached, Apple would presumably broadcast the games on Apple TV+, the company’s subscription streaming service that competes with Netflix, Hulu, Disney+, and Amazon Prime Video, among others. Apple, the world’s most valuable publicly traded company, recently attained a $3 trillion market valuation.
Though the move wouldn’t exactly represent something wholly new for MLB — regular-season games have been carried on YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter in recent seasons, and speculation that MLB might seek to sell the games ESPN had dropped has been rampant since the network’s new deal was announced — it would reflect a shifting sports media landscape. Amazon, a direct competitor with Apple in several arenas, recently reached a deal with the NFL to poach Thursday Night Football from Fox to the tune of $1 billion per season, and NBC has made many Premier League soccer matches available exclusively on Peacock, its own streaming service. MLB also operates its own highly successful streaming service, MLB.tv, which logged a record 10 billion minutes of viewership in 2021, per an October press release. Neither Apple nor MLB have yet commented on the reported talks.
Though the size and scope of a potential deal are presently unclear, it’s unlikely the package would approach the $1 billion mark that Amazon agreed to pay the NFL. While the approximately 60 MLB games ESPN has relinquished dwarf the 18 NFL games Amazon will receive, national viewing habits (and consequent broadcast values) differ greatly between the sports. For reference, per Tom Bassam of SportsPro Media, ESPN paid MLB $700MM annually for the right to a 90-game package and from 2022 will pay an annual fee of $550MM to retain Sunday Night Baseball (roughly 30 games) as well as the Little League Classic, the opening night game, the Home Run Derby, and either all Wild Card series games (should the new CBA include a playoff format similar to 2020’s) or one of two Wild Card games and eight additional regular-season games (should the existing playoff format remain in place).
Still, should a deal be reached, it would almost certainly represent a substantial cash infusion for a league presently at a standstill in CBA negotiations that center largely on the share of revenue retained by owners and that paid to players. In any event, should such a deal come to fruition, it’s very unlikely to be the last of its kind.