MLB Trade Rumors and News: Tom Seaver to retire from public life after dementia diagnosis

The MLB Daily Dish is a daily feature we’re running here at MLBDD that rounds up roster-impacting news, rumors, and analysis. Have feedback or have something that should be the shared? Hit us up at @mlbdailydish on Twitter or @MLBDailyDish on Instagram.

• Some truly heartbreaking news came out yesterday when Hall of Famer Tome Seaver announced that he was going to stop making public appearances after being diagnosed with dementia. Our thoughts are with him and his family as they work together to focus on Tom’s health and well-being.
• Steven Wright will not be a factor for the Red Sox for at least half the season, as the knuckleballer has been suspended 80 games without pay after testing positive for a performance-enhancing substance.
• The Royals already had the odds stacked against them in their bid to contend for the AL Central title this year, but those slim hopes were dealt a massive blow on Tuesday, when it was announced that six-time All-Star Salvador Perez will undergo Tommy John surgery. They’ll turn to the inexperienced catching tandem of Cam Gallagher and Meibrys Viloria for now, though it’s possible — if not probable — that they’ll acquire a veteran backstop before Opening Day.
• The Mets have hired ESPN Sunday Night Baseball analyst Jessica Mendoza as a special advisor to the baseball operations department. While this position may help prepare her for a full-time front office role down the road if she so desires, she’ll also remain in her existing role at ESPN for the foreseeable future.
• After a truly ugly incident over the weekend where Giants president and CEO Larry Baer was videoed wrestling a cell phone out of his wife’s hand, resulting in her falling to the ground and calling out for help, the Giants released a statement that Baer will be taking a leave of absence as the team charts their path forward.
• Don’t think the free-agent market is totally dried up just because the Harper/Machado Tour-De-Force. Here are some of the best MLB free agents still available, so you can mentally persuade your team’s GM into some exciting contracts to close out the offseason.
• It finally happened. We now know where Bryce Harper is going to play baseball in 2019 and beyond as he signed a record 13-year, $330 million deal with the Philadelphia Phillies. Harper’s deal includes the most guaranteed money in American sports history and, more surprisingly, includes no deferred money or opt-outs.
• Remember all those teams that were reported to be saving up to sign Nolan Arenado next season? Looks like they’ll have to resort to Plan B. Arenado, who was widely believed to be the best player in the 2019-20 free-agent class, signed a new eight-year deal with the Rockies that could keep him in Colorado through 2026. It’s certainly great news for the Rockies and their fans, as Arenado will be able to continue building his legacy as one of the best players in franchise history.
• The Rockies have one of the best players in baseball on their roster in Arenado and a really interesting young core of players that helped them make it to the playoffs last year. It appears as though they know who they want at the helm in the coming years, as they gave manager Bud Black a three-year extension.
• While not the high-profile move that many Yankees fans hoped for, the Bronx Bombers did sign a player to a long-term deal last week, signing Aaron Hicks to a seven-year extension worth a reported $70 million.
• Do free agents lose value when they remain on the market deep into the offseason? We took a look at the data, and let’s just say it usually helps them to sign sooner than later.