Under The Knife 4/29/24
Don't Wanna Discuss It
Dominos are starting to fall. When the Athletics decided to move out of Oakland before they could get to (maybe) Las Vegas, the temporary home became a big issue. Play two teams in San Francisco? A quick stop in Salt Lake, just as they’re getting a hockey team to add to their hypergrowth? No, they’re going to Sacramento, mostly for TV money reasons and partially because a billionaire, Vivek Ranadive, likes the idea and has designs on a baseball team of his own.
While John Fisher isn’t selling, to the Salt Lake consortium or Ranadive, or even to Vegas locals as was discussed at one point, there are some changes coming in Sacramento. Maybe. There’s still a lot of things that have to line up and there’s likely money that’s going to change hands to make things go a bit smoother. Add in that minor league players are unionized now and this can’t just be pushed through as it would have in the past. Still, this is likelier to come through than having two teams playing in one park.
The issue is that the River Cats still exist. The Triple-A team that’s normally home at Sutter Health Field has to play somewhere in 2025 and beyond as well. The idea that two teams at two levels could play in the same stadium has always been a stretch and multiple sources tell me that MLB has come to that conclusion as well. But where could Sacramento play, if not at their own darn home?
I’m told the likeliest answer is Fresno. It’s not far and it has a Triple-A class stadium. Though the Grizzlies were dumped to Single-A in the One Baseball reshuffle, moving over there where the Rockies’ affiliate currently is should be good for everyone, if temporary. Of course, Fresno would need a new home and I’m told it would shift closer to the Rockies. In fact, they would play in Colorado Springs, where the Rockies used to have an affiliate.
Rocky Mountain Vibes - it’s a weird sounding name - got shuffled down to the Pioneer League in the reorganization, so it’s a fine enough Single-A club, and close to the affiliate. If two teams play there, the shorter Pioneer League schedule makes sense and frankly, I’m not sure which of those actually makes more money. One downside is that the Cal League doesn’t have a huge travel ask, but Colorado Springs isn’t brutally out of the way, even if it’s at altitude. Also, UCHealth park was built as a Triple-A park, so again, the quality of the stadium is solid.
The theory is that by 2028, everything would go back to “normal”, with the A’s in Vegas and baseball’s expansion far enough along that places like Fresno and Colorado Springs might get wink-nudged into better placement for the necessary minor league expansion that would follow adding two teams to MLB. Don’t forget that Vegas (Triple-A version) may need a new home as well, so there’s plenty of possibilities, as well as the first time the ten-year current affiliate agreements go up, though with team and Diamond Holdings in place (and buying up more teams), there’s not likely to be a lot of shifting then.
Van Morrison could probably write a song about all these shifting sands and conspiracies since those are his thing these days, but for now, let’s get to the injuries:
JESUS LUZARDO, SP MIA (inflamed elbow)
The Marlins are awaiting test results to see what caused the irritation and tightness in Jesus Luzardo’s elbow. The starter was scratched ahead of his start with the team showing an abundance of caution for the talented but fragile pitcher. They pushed him to the IL, going even further down the depth chart and the fourth of the five top starters the team should have, injuries not withstanding.
It would be easy to let the Marlins off on this one. Luzardo has had injury issues his entire career and getting him healthy and productive for even a short period should be a credit rather than losing him for another IL stint. I’m not sure that’s the case. No one’s ever said Luzardo wasn’t good, but the big increase last year in workload was notable, especially for a pitcher with such a high risk profile.
There’s still no clarity on what’s going on and likely won’t be until later Monday, if then. While the media has said that Luzardo says he thinks it’s not serious, taking players at their word is often ill informed. Players want to be positive, even ones with experience with arm issues. Even if this is a minimum stay, the Marlins are going to have to figure out how to get what’s left of their rotation through the next couple weeks, let alone the rest of the season.
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