Baseball Wiretap

Different paths took Andruw Jones, Carlos Beltran and Jeff Kent to Cooperstown, but on Sunday they joined the team every player wants to be a part of: the fraternity of Hall of Famers.

Jones, Beltran and Kent accepted baseball's highest honor Sunday during the Hall of Fame's annual induction ceremony on the grounds outside of the Clark Sports Center.

The three speeches all included messages of gratitude and recognition for those who helped them along the way. Each found his own way to sound his own notes on an ideal afternoon in the idyllic setting of the green lawn surrounded by hills and trees.

Former pitcher Chan Ho Park became the first Korean to purchase a stake in a major league club, the second significant addition in the past week to the Athletics' ownership structure as they prepare to move to Las Vegas in 2028.

Park, the first Korean major league player who pitched 17 seasons (1994-2010), going 124-98, also will take on the title of senior adviser to owner John Fisher.

The investment group, Team61, announced Sunday night its investment will total $70 million, of which $55 million is committed with another $15 million if Major League Baseball approves the deal.

Atlanta Braves right fielder Ronald Acuña Jr. will be activated from the injured list prior to Monday's game against the New York Mets, sources told ESPN's Buster Olney.

Acuña was placed on the injured list with a left hamstring strain on June 9, the second time this season it prompted a trip to the IL. Acuña missed 15 games in May with the same injury.

The New York Mets acquired Freddy Peralta in late January for games like Sunday against the Los Angeles Dodgers. They envisioned a frontline starter capable of slaying the deepest lineup in baseball with the stretch run to October around the corner. Peralta was supposed to be a piece to a World Series puzzle. Instead, after four months of frustration, his tenure in Queens is just about over.

With the Aug. 3 trade deadline looming and New York's postseason chances dashed, Peralta, a free agent this offseason, knew he probably took the mound Sunday for the final time in a Mets uniform.

Athletics All-Star catcher Shea Langeliers could miss the remainder of the 2026 season after suffering a torn meniscus in his right knee, sources told ESPN, another blow to a team already ravaged by injuries.

Langeliers, 28, suffered the injury on the basepaths and will decide whether to undergo surgery to repair the tear. If he does so as expected, he would be sidelined through the end of the year.

Veteran pitcher Lance McCullers Jr. has been designated for assignment by the Brewers less than two weeks after they acquired the right-hander from the Astros.

The Brewers announced the move before their game Sunday against the Colorado Rockies. They recalled right-handed pitcher Garrett Stallings from Triple-A Nashville.

Tarik Skubal made clear Thursday that he would prefer not to be traded before the Aug. 3 deadline, reaffirming his confidence in the Detroit Tigers' championship potential.

"I think we have a chance to win a World Series," said Skubal. "I've said that since spring training. That's never changed. That belief in this team has never changed throughout the season. … Going into spring training, the whole offseason, I've never been more motivated to try to win a World Series for this city, the team that drafted me in 2018 and helped develop me. That's always been the goal, and that will never change unless I'm told I'm on a different team."

Skubal also addressed how his relationship with the Tigers' front office shifted following his high-profile arbitration case in January.

"Of course when you take a player to arbitration there's not a ton of positive things that come out of that process, relationship-wise," said Skubal. "That's pretty obvious. But my relationship with the coaching staff and the players and my teammates, it's the same as it always is. That's how it's supposed to be."

Skubal, the back-to-back American League Cy Young Award winner, won that arbitration case, setting a record with a $32 million salary. The case remains a topic of conversation months later, particularly after Skubal told The Athletic that the arbitration process may have influenced his decision not to get an MRI in January despite elbow discomfort.

Given the public reaction to those comments, Skubal offered further clarification Thursday.

"I think that's just hindsight," said Skubal. "That's just common sense. I thought we were trending in the right direction throughout this whole process. I had a hiccup in January (where) I didn't know what was going on. I thought it was just a different soreness. I had never dealt with anything like that before. We were trending the right way. That's the reason there was no MRI, there was no discussion of an MRI. We were trending the right way. I continued to make starts and I continued to be a good player … I had that incident in Atlanta and the next two days weren't great. That's when I decided to have an MRI and have a surgery."

Skubal, who missed more than a month after having surgery to remove a loose body from his elbow, pushed back on suggestions that he acted selfishly by not disclosing his discomfort sooner.

"A lot of things that are said about me are not true," said Skubal. "It is what it is. I understand it. But of course, in hindsight, I would have got an MRI in January if I knew that this thing wasn't going to get better. But it didn't. I thought it was getting better for three months, until it wasn't."

Skubal is scheduled to start Friday night against the Royals, a game that could mark his final home outing as a Tiger depending on how Detroit handles the coming days. The Tigers entered Thursday at 26-16 since June 1 but sit 6.5 games behind the White Sox in the AL Central and 4.5 games out of a wild-card spot.

Skubal said he does not expect direct communication with the front office regarding his future.

"Those questions are not for me," said Skubal. "I don't know how they handle the business on that side. Been around it a couple times and (other players) didn't have any idea until about five minutes before you guys did. I assume that's how it's going to be handled because that's how most things are handled."

When a reporter suggested his World Series odds might improve elsewhere, Skubal reiterated his belief in Detroit's current roster.

"I don't know if I believe that," said Skubal. "I don't know if I believe the odds. I've been on a team where we had a 0.2 percent chance to make the playoffs and we did it. So I'm not going to speculate on percentages. I think once you get there it's really hard to win a World Series. It's really hard to get in, and I think this team has all the pieces to be able to do that."

The Boston Red Sox lost for the first time in three weeks Wednesday, falling 5-1 to the Baltimore Orioles in the second game of a doubleheader. The defeat snapped Boston's win streak at 15 games, denying the team a chance to set a new franchise record.

Baltimore jumped on Red Sox rookie starter Eduardo Rivera for four runs in the first inning, and Boston was unable to produce one of the comeback rallies that had become common during its recent surge. Rivera recorded just two outs before being pulled and booed off the field, with right-hander Brayan Bello covering long relief.

Earlier in the day, a 6-3 win over Baltimore had tied the Red Sox with the longest win streak in franchise history, matching a 1946 Ted Williams-led team that reached the World Series. Boston had won every game since July 1, sweeping road series against the Los Angeles Angels, Chicago White Sox and New York Mets before the All-Star break, followed by a four-game sweep of the division-leading Tampa Bay Rays and the first two games of this series against Baltimore.

Rivera started in place of veteran Ranger Suarez, who was expected to return from the injured list Wednesday after recovering from a groin strain, but was sidelined by illness earlier in the week that disrupted his return timeline. Rivera had pitched well before the All-Star break but struggled in his previous outing Friday, a trend that continued Wednesday.

Bello, who had been demoted to Triple-A earlier this season after a difficult start before returning as a long reliever, had not pitched since July 12. He tossed 5⅓ scoreless innings Wednesday to keep Boston within reach of a comeback.

Six of Boston's 15 wins during the streak came from behind, including rallies in four of its previous five games. That trend did not continue Wednesday. Willson Contreras hit a ground-rule double in the fourth inning and scored on a Masataka Yoshida single, but that was the extent of Boston's offense against Orioles starter Kyle Bradish, who allowed just one run over six innings.

The 15-game streak marked the longest in the MLB since the St. Louis Cardinals won 17 straight in 2021. Boston entered the stretch with the worst record in the American League at 32-46 on June 24, but has since gone 20-3 to move into third place in the AL wild-card race.

With 11 days remaining before the Aug. 3 trade deadline, the Red Sox have positioned themselves as a team worth reinforcing. Boston is off Thursday before opening a three-game series this weekend against the struggling Toronto Blue Jays.

The Tampa Bay Rays signed Grady Emerson for $9.75 million Wednesday, setting a new draft record for signing bonuses awarded to a high school player. Emerson, selected second overall by Tampa Bay in the 2026 draft, surpasses the previous record of $9 million set by Ethan Holliday with the Colorado Rockies last year.

Emerson earned Gatorade National Player of the Year honors after batting .532 with a .648 on-base percentage and 1.013 slugging percentage during his senior season at Fort Worth Christian in Texas, adding seven home runs and 50 RBIs. He also became just the second high school player in 20 years of prep eligibility to be named a semifinalist for the Rawlings Golden Spikes Award, joining Bobby Witt Jr., whom Emerson considers a mentor.

Rays scouting director Chuck Ricci addressed expectations for the young infielder earlier this month.

"A player of this caliber, you never want to limit, but you never want to put expectations on, either," said Ricci. "I think if Grady Emerson is Grady Emerson, that's all we can ask. He doesn't try to have to be somebody he's not. We're pretty happy with who he is."

Emerson, a four-time Team USA player who was named to the All-World Team at age 17, stole 31 bases during his senior season and is expected to stick at shortstop, the position he played throughout high school. 

The signing comes amid ongoing labor tension between MLB and the players' union regarding the future eligibility of high school players in the draft. MLB's initial proposal last month called for significant reductions in amateur signing bonuses and the elimination of high school draft picks entirely. The MLBPA formally rejected that proposal Tuesday, instead offering a counterproposal that would largely preserve the current draft structure.

Kansas City Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. was placed on the 10-day injured list Wednesday, retroactive to Tuesday, marking the first IL stint of his five-year career. The move comes as Witt deals with lower back tightness.

Witt sat out Sunday's game against the San Diego Padres before exiting Monday's contest against the San Francisco Giants due to the injury. He did not play Tuesday. The Royals called up infielder Andrew Velazquez from Triple-A Omaha and transferred right-hander Stephen Kolek to the 60-day injured list as corresponding roster moves.

Witt described the extent of the issue to reporters.

"It's just kind of one of those things where the type of way I play, I couldn't be myself out there," said Witt. "And I couldn't even be 50% of myself."

Witt, 26, is batting .279 with 13 home runs, 39 RBIs and a league-leading 30 stolen bases this season. He played in his third consecutive All-Star Game earlier this month, scoring during the American League's four-run win.

Velazquez replaced Witt at shortstop for Wednesday's game against San Francisco. He last appeared in the majors with the Los Angeles Angels in 2023 before bouncing between several organizations' Triple-A affiliates. Kolek last pitched July 2 and is dealing with a right flexor strain after exiting a rehab start Saturday.