Athletics Rumors & News

USA Today "As Cody Bellinger waited out Major League Baseball’s coronavirus-driven shutdown in his native Arizona, he saw the evolution of facial coverings firsthand. Arizona moved quickly through its reopening phases, complete with images of packed bars and patios over Memorial Day..." July 11

The Comeback "Ahead of Major League Baseball’s planned July 23 start of its season, MLB teams have been doing training camps at their stadiums (following the shutdowns of their Florida and Arizona training camps amidst surges in those states), and they’ve been conducting both..." July 10

San Francisco Chronicle "Matt Chapman, silent throughout baseball’s coronavirus shutdown as he “went off the grid” to work out, hasn’t lost his ability to speak his mind forcefully. Chapman expressed dissatisfaction with the A’s late report date to spring training 2.0 in a video..." July 10

The Score "During the customary 162-game marathon that Major League Baseball teams endure, there are very few avenues for bad teams to sustain enough good luck to squeeze into the incredibly exclusive postseason. However, in a 60-game sprint, the possibilities are a lot wilder. Of course, the..." July 10

USA Today "There were opt-outs, failed tests, missing delivery trucks, angry emails, cancelled workouts, terse statements, retirements, World Series ring deliveries, and two seasons worth of schedules released 72 hours apart. “It seems like every day we’ve seen something we’ve..." July 09

The Big Lead "Joe West has been spouting off about COVID-19 and regurgitating unfounded talking points over the last few days. On Thursday, the Major League Baseball Umpires Association distanced itself from the veteran umpire's comments without mentioning him by name. West has now claimed he..." July 09

The Score "Major League Baseball didn't test any of its players for COVID-19 before they flew from the Dominican Republic to Miami, according to Jesse Dougherty of The Washington Post. Many of the players on board the two charter flights later tested positive for the virus. Some of them..." July 09

MLB.com "Major League Baseball on Thursday announced its master 2021 Major League regular season schedule, which will begin with all 30 Major League Clubs playing on Thursday, April 1. The 2021 season will mark the fourth consecutive season in which all 30 Clubs are scheduled to play on traditional..." July 09

ESPN "Major League Baseball's plan to play through a public health crisis is outlined in a handbook that encompasses more than 100 pages, every single one of which emphasizes the notion that professional baseball in 2020 will be unlike anything anybody has ever experienced. Players are..." July 09

The Big Lead "Major League Baseball is well-known for its annoying blackout policy and they have no intention of doing anything differently in a pandemic-shortened season. Buster Olney reported that even though fans will not be allowed in the stands, MLB will still black out local games on..." July 09

Hardball Talk "Last month we learned that Major League Baseball will be implementing a new extra innings rule aimed at reducing the length of games: each extra inning will start with the batting team placing a runner on second base. The runner, which will be the player who made the final out of the..." July 09

Bleacher Report "The MLBPA reportedly informed players Tuesday that the intake round of COVID-19 testing returned 66 positive results, split between 58 players and eight staff members, according to Marly Rivera of ESPN.   A total of 3,740 tests were conducted...." July 08

Yahoo! Sports "Holding a shortened MLB season in the middle of a global pandemic is going to present challenges. More than any other sport, baseball is a grind. Over the course of a 162-game season, the best teams usually rise to the top. But over a 60-game stretch, anything can..." July 08

Larry Brown Sports "Things are a bit different in MLB summer camps, with players wearing facemasks during some workouts. The Oakland Athletics are determined to have fun with it. Several A’s players wore custom facemasks that emulated the bizarre facial hair pitcher Mike Fiers donned last..." July 08

ESPN "To find Bruce Maxwell's America, you first have to leave it, as he did, by crossing over into another country, into an exile both self-imposed and voluntary. It is to journey 165 miles southwest of the U.S. border at Laredo, Texas, into the Mexican city of Monclova, and look back at..." July 08

Yardbarker "Major League Baseball might get a little more diverse...provided a specific team can be added in Nashville.  Music City Baseball LLC is trying to acquire a team, either through expansion or relocation, in Nashville. According to USA Today's Bob Nightengale, the team..." July 08

Sportsnaut "The Truncated 2020 MLB season is slated to get going on July 23 with a doubleheader that will feature the Los Angeles Dodgers, San Francisco Giants, New York Yankees and Washington Nationals. Whether the season actually gets going remains to be seen. But things are not..." July 08

NBC Sports Bay Area "Jake Diekman was happy to finally be back on the field with position players on Tuesday. It had been the first time he’s thrown off of a dirt mound against hitters in four months.  The A’s reliever threw 10 pitches to outfielder Ramón Laureano, who was..." July 07

MLB Trade Rumors "Athletics left-hander Jesus Luzardo has tested positive for the coronavirus, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports (Twitter links). He’ll go into self isolation and need a pair of negative tests, separated by at least 24 hours, before he can return to the..." July 07

Sportsnaut "The San Francisco Giants announced they are suspending workouts pending the results of COVID-19 tests conducted last weekend. This news comes on the heels of multiple teams having to take the same action on Monday as MLB’s attempt at starting the 2020 season continues..." July 07

SI "Seven days into MLB’s restart, Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen has not reported to camp. Neither has A’s righty Mike Fiers. Neither has Phillies utilityman Christian Bethancourt. Their teams will not tell us why, or when they’ll be back in uniform. They could be suffering from..." July 07

Hardball Talk "Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic spoke to everyone’s favorite umpire, Joe West. He reports that even though West is considered high-risk for COVID-19, and even though he has the right to opt-out with full pay because of it, West is not opting out of the 2020 season. West, who is 67..." July 07

MLB Trade Rumors "In a typical MLB season, many former big leaguers are kicking around in the upper minors and independent leagues, ready to grab an opportunity when one arises. In a 2020 campaign that won’t feature any minor-league play, that won’t quite be the case. While many players will be..." July 07

New York Post "Alex Rodriguez believes MLB can learn a thing or two from Kim Kardashian and her famous family. During a recent appearance on ESPN’s “First Take,” the former Yankees slugger and potential Mets buyer suggested how additional exposure can help..." July 07

CBS Sports "The 2020 MLB schedule has arrived. Major League Baseball revealed the 60-game schedule Monday night during a live MLB Network broadcast. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has forced MLB to play a shortened season -- 60 games will be tied for the shortest MLB season ever with the 1877..." July 06

Sportsnaut "The baseball world waited months for the 2020 MLB schedule to begin with Opening Day. After a lengthy delay due to the COVID-19 pandemic, MLB teams celebrated the release of the 2020 schedule on Monday. " July 06

MLB.com "The 2019 postseason ended with the Nationals lifting the first World Series championship trophy in franchise history. On July 23, the 2020 regular season will begin with Washington starting its title defense. The 2020 schedule, which Major League Baseball unveiled live on MLB Network..." July 06

Sportsnet "Former Detroit Tigers and Boston Red Sox executive Dave Dombrowski has joined Music City Baseball LLC, a group that is looking to bring a major league team to Nashville. Dombrowski is joining a group that also includes three-time World Series champion Dave Stewart..." July 06

MLB Trade Rumors "COVID-19 test results haven’t come in at an acceptable rate for several Major League Baseball teams early in Summer Camp. The slow process has negatively affected the Athletics, Angels, Astros and Nationals, though MLB expressed confidence Monday that it..." July 06

MLB Trade Rumors "Major League Baseball has released a statement regarding the delays in COVID-19 testing that have hamstrung the efforts of several teams to prepare for the season. The league acknowledged the issue but says it expects to iron things out moving forward. While several teams are..." July 06

The Big Lead "We're mere hours from Major League Baseball trotting out the big guns for a made-for-television schedule release in which each team will be tasked with times and dates for 60 games to be played by the end of summer. But it doesn't take the most observant person on planet to..." July 06

Sportsnaut "As MLB attempts to get its 2020 season off the ground, things aren’t exactly going swell. Now, we’re hearing more bad news on this front. ESPN’s Buster Olney reported Monday morning that “Some players are reporting privately their teams are not adhering closely..." July 06

Larry Brown Sports "Major League Baseball is preparing to embark on a season unlike any other. The game is going to look different, and there may not be fans in the stands for many, if not all teams. The biggest change is probably the most fundamental one: all 30 teams will play just 60 regular season games, a..." July 06

MLB Trade Rumors "While most teams are already hosting full workouts and beginning to schedule intrasquad games at “summer camp,” multiple clubs are still experiencing delays in their COVID-19 test results that are preventing them from taking the field just yet. The Athletics are in a particularly..." July 06

San Francisco Chronicle "A’s left-hander Sean Manaea could look like a different pitcher if and when he takes the mound for a game in 2020. For one thing, Manaea said Sunday he is considering pitching while wearing a mask — at least to begin the shortened season scheduled to begin late this..." July 06

USA Today " It was a gut-wrenching decision, one that weighed on Los Angeles Dodgers starter David Price for months, finding a balance between health concerns for his young family and the responsibility to his new teammates and fanbase. Price couldn’t bear the thought of contracting..." July 05

12 Up "Sports aficionados based in the states will soon have the luxury of witnessing the long-awaited resumptions of its most prominent leagues that, of course, have been on hiatus in light of the coronavirus outbreak. Major League Baseball will be the first to return and will thereby give fans their..." July 05

The Score "For the 60-game MLB season, teams will play two-thirds of their games against division rivals, with the balance being played against interleague counterparts from the corresponding division. Today, theScore editors rank the teams in the western..." July 05

Bleacher Report "Major League Baseball is reportedly planning to release the 60-game schedule for each of its 30 teams Monday. Per USA Today's Bob Nightengale, the schedule is expected to feature the New York Yankees at Washington Nationals and San Francisco Giants at Los Angeles Dodgers..." July 04

CBS Sports "Since 1944, the name of Kenesaw Mountain Landis -- the most power commissioner in the history of Major League Baseball -- has adorned the MVP trophies of both leagues. Now, though, there's a movement afoot to remove Landis' name from those trophies. That's because Landis,..." July 04

USA Today "It’s the Fourth of July, and there will be no Major League Baseball and really, that’s OK. For the better part of a month, there’s been plenty of hand-wringing over baseball “blowing” its chance for a powerful and symbolic return to..." July 04

12 Up "The MLB is gearing up to restart the season after months on hiatus due to the coronavirus, and the league has remained remarkably healthy in the 3.5 months without baseball. Of the 3,185 coronavirus test samples among MLB players and staff, there were only 38 positive tests,..." July 04

MLB Trade Rumors "MLB and the MLB Players Association have jointly announced the results of the initial round of coronavirus testing. The league says that 31 players and seven staff members tested positive out of 3,185 total people tested. At first glance, the ~1.2% rate of positivity is lower than..." July 03

Hardball Talk "Jon Heyman reports that a MLB player had a birthday party in mid-June which is believed to have led to people getting infected with novel coronavirus (COVID-19), spreading in that player’s clubhouse as well. The identity of the player, his team, and any of the other people who got..." July 03

MLB.com "Major League Baseball announced today that the 2020 All-Star Game presented by Mastercard, which was scheduled to be hosted by the Los Angeles Dodgers and the City of Los Angeles, is being cancelled. With the Atlanta Braves already named as host of the 2021 All-Star Game in Atlanta, the Dodgers..." July 03

USA Today "Whatever we’re calling the next few weeks in Major League Baseball – spring training or “summer camp” – the resumption of on-field activities signals the beginning of what might be the strangest season in the history of the game. The..." July 03

ESPN "The past three months, baseball has given us 1,000 reasons to hate it. In the middle of the coronavirus pandemic, the players and owners have acted like petulant children bickering over money, settling scores and improving bargaining position for future negotiations instead of..." July 03

USA Today "Milwaukee Brewers veteran outfielder Ryan Braun kissed his wife and three kids good-bye this week, took a flight to Milwaukee, drove to Miller Park, and entered the great unknown. Spring Training 2.0 officially starts Friday across the United States as Major League Baseball will..." July 02

12 Up "The Boston Red Sox announced their initial player pool for the 2020 season over the weekend, but only named 47 of a possible 60 players. The reveal featured a surprise omission in catcher Jonathan Lucroy, but it was always speculated that the club would eventually extend an..." July 02

USA Today "While the Twitterverse thought MLB commissioner Rob Manfred accidentally confessed Wednesday on the Dan Patrick Show that it was always MLB’s intention to play a 60-game season, Manfred clarified Thursday what he meant. “My point was that no matter what happened with the..." July 02