MLB commissioner Rob Manfred said in a letter to Republican Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri that the San Francisco Giants failed to properly explain to players that they were allowed to decline to wear rainbow-themed caps during the club's annual Pride Night earlier this month.
Several members of the Giants, including starting pitcher Landen Roupp, added Bible verses to the themed cap, prompting a warning from the league that writing on the caps is a violation of league policy.
The Marlins designated infielder Christopher Morel for assignment before their game against the San Francisco Giants on Sunday.
Expected to provide a power bat when he signed a $2 million, one-year contract in the offseason, Morel struggled with injuries and production in his short Miami stint. He was batting .162 and didn't have a home run in 22 games. Although on the active roster, Morel had not played since June 10.
"Chris is a real pro. He handled himself well through the difficult tenure here and wish him the best," Marlins manager Clayton McCullough said.
Baltimore Orioles legend and part-owner Cal Ripken Jr. is taking a more hands-on role in the team's player development.
It marks the first time Ripken, who retired as a player in 2001, has been this directly involved within the organization. His expanded role follows last November's hiring of former big-league manager Mike Shildt as the Orioles' coordinator of instruction in the minor leagues, a newly created position focused on fundamentals.
Orioles president of baseball operations Mike Elias has increasingly leaned on Ripken's baseball knowledge, according to those briefed on the matter. Ripken and Shildt share a relationship dating back to 1980 and both emphasize cutoffs, relays and bunt plays as fundamentals the organization wants to rebuild.
The push for sharper fundamentals extends to the major-league roster under first-year manager Craig Albernaz, who recently sat rookie catcher Samuel Basallo for three straight games to stress the importance of playing through minor ailments.
"The issues we're trying to address are the small, stupid little mistakes that younger teams make," said pitcher Chris Bassitt. "We're a team that tends to give away outs. We're a team that tends to give the other team extra outs with errors or mental mistakes. We need to clean up the way we're playing the game."
Baltimore entered Thursday at 35-40, sitting 11.5 games back in the AL East and two games out of a wild-card spot. The Orioles ranked among the worst teams in MLB in defensive efficiency this season, despite the additions of veterans Pete Alonso, Bassitt, Ryan Helsley and Taylor Ward over the offseason.
Elias, Albernaz and Ripken all declined comment for The Athletic's report.
Major League Baseball proposed widespread changes to its amateur-entry system that would cut signing bonuses by more than $150 million annually, make high school players ineligible for the domestic draft and institute an international draft, sources told ESPN.
The proposal, made at a collective bargaining meeting with the MLB Players Association on Thursday, called for the domestic draft to be shortened from 20 to 12 hard-slotted rounds and the amateur signing bonus pool to be nearly halved to $200 million, according to sources.
The international draft, which would cover all amateur players outside of the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico, would also be 12 rounds with a $200 million bonus pool, sources told ESPN.
Detroit Tigers ace Tarik Skubal warned that the club must improve its play or risk being broken up at the trade deadline, as the team continues to slide further out of playoff contention.
Skubal, the two-time reigning American League Cy Young Award winner, made the comments to The Detroit News in a story published Thursday. The left-hander is scheduled for free agency after this season and could command a record-setting contract.
"The reality is we need to play better baseball or else, come the deadline, you give the front office an option to reassess where this team is," said Skubal. "And if they don't think what we have is a World Series- or playoff-caliber team, then the whole team is going to look different. That's just the nature of the beast."
The Tigers entered Friday at 30-44, sitting 9½ games behind the Chicago White Sox in the AL Central and 6½ games out of the final wild-card spot. Detroit opens a three-game series against Chicago this weekend, with MLB's trade deadline set for Aug. 3.
Skubal is set to make his second start Friday since undergoing a procedure on May 6 to remove bone fragments from his elbow.
"The future for a lot of people in this room, not just myself, the outlook could look very much different in two months and it all comes to an abrupt end," said Skubal. "We still control our destiny a little bit. We still do.
"We play the team this weekend that's winning our division. It's another big series. You don't want to be playing playoff baseball in June, but it feels like we're playing playoff baseball. We don't have very much room for error, and everyone understands that. Everyone understands there has to be a sense of urgency. There has to be. Not panic. But there has to be a sense of urgency to try to win every game we play."
Detroit's other pending free agents this offseason include Kenley Jansen, Casey Mize, Gleyber Torres and Jack Flaherty.
The San Francisco Giants have begun testing the trade market on several players, signaling they may move toward selling ahead of the deadline, according to people briefed on the discussions.
The Giants have not fully committed to becoming sellers, but they are inching closer to that decision. The trade deadline remains more than seven weeks away, leaving time for the team to push toward contention.
San Francisco currently holds a 29-43 record, the second-worst in the National League ahead of only the Colorado Rockies. Their playoff odds sit at 2.5 percent, according to FanGraphs, with the team trailing by 16 games in the NL West and nine games back in the wild-card race.
Second baseman Luis Arraez and left-hander Robbie Ray, both potential free agents, are viewed as the most likely players to be moved. The Giants have no plans to trade ace right-hander Logan Webb, one source said, and quality offers for veterans Rafael Devers and Willy Adames are considered unlikely given their contracts and recent performance.
Third baseman Matt Chapman is another possible trade candidate, though he holds a full no-trade clause and is in the second year of a six-year, $151 million contract. Chapman, 33, has rebounded from a slow start to lead the team with 3.2 bWAR. Moving him would create payroll flexibility and clear a path for Casey Schmitt at third base.
Arraez, 29, has been the Giants' top performer this season, hitting .319 with a .787 OPS. He ranks second in Outs Above Average among second basemen, behind only the St. Louis Cardinals' JJ Wetherholt. Any acquiring team would owe him the remainder of his $12 million salary.
Ray, 34, projects more as a back-end rotation arm than a postseason starter at this stage. He has averaged just over five innings per start, and his 5.16 expected ERA exceeds his actual 4.42 mark. He is owed the balance of his $25 million salary, limiting his potential trade return.
San Francisco entered the season with a $197.1 million payroll, the 11th highest in MLB and third highest in franchise history, according to Cot's Baseball Contracts. The team hired manager Tony Vitello from the University of Tennessee aiming to produce just its second winning season since 2016, but has fallen well short of that goal so far.
In an interview on WEEI on Thursday, Boston Red Sox president Sam Kennedy called the team's play this season "embarrassing and unacceptable," but said there's been no consideration of removing Craig Breslow from his role as chief baseball officer.
The Red Sox have been mired in a season-long slump. They fired Alex Cora on April 25 but that's done little to jolt the team, which entered Thursday 27-39, in last place in the AL East and 5.5 games out of the final wild card spot.
Two-time American League Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal will return from the injured list Saturday against the Cleveland Guardians, Detroit Tigers manager A.J. Hinch announced Thursday. Skubal has not pitched in the majors since April 29.
The left-hander underwent surgery on May 6 to remove a loose body from his left elbow. Initial projections called for a two-to-three month absence, but Dr. Neal ElAttrache employed the NanoNeedle Scope 2.0, a smaller arthroscope never previously used on a major league pitcher. The less invasive procedure allowed Skubal to resume throwing within days and advance rapidly to full bullpen sessions.
"I don't know if it will be a normal start or if it will be abbreviated," said Hinch. "But just getting him back into the routine and into the fold is a tremendous boost for this team and this rotation and our organization."
Skubal tuned up Sunday on a rehab assignment at High-A West Michigan, throwing five scoreless innings on 54 pitches. His fastball reached 99 mph, and he threw an estimated 15 additional pitches in the bullpen afterward.
"If anything, we're being conservative," said Skubal. "Four weeks after surgery was four or five days ago. Technically, if we wanted to, I could have been back then. I think we've taken this with the right approach. Not aggressive. If anything, we're being conservative."
Skubal's return carries significant implications beyond the mound. The Tigers sit 12 games below .500 following a 6-22 May, though Detroit has won six of its past eight. If the club cannot climb back into contention, Skubal could emerge as the top available asset ahead of the August 3 trade deadline. He is also in a contract year and widely expected to command a record-setting payday this offseason.
"I'm obviously happy with modern technology, modern medicine and the ability for him to do his work step by step," said Hinch. "I'm thrilled this was on the best-case scenario side of things, getting him back so quickly."
Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo went to bat for Ketel Marte on Tuesday, saying any idea that the star second baseman is fracturing the Arizona clubhouse "couldn't be further from the truth."
Lovullo's comments came in the wake of a USA Today report over the weekend that Marte is again frustrating some members of the organization by taking days off.
But Lovullo said that was untrue.
The White Sox called up outfielder Braden Montgomery, their top hitting prospect, prior to Tuesday's game against the Atlanta Braves.
Montgomery is in the starting lineup, playing right field, and will hit sixth against the Braves as he becomes the 12th player to make his MLB debut for Chicago this season.
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