MLB trade rumors and news: Team employees and players to be subjects for COVID-19 antibody study

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.

• 10,000 members of the MLB community ranging from team employees to concession workers and ushers to players and their families will participate in the United States’ first and largest COVID-19 antibody study, as The Athletic’s Molly Knight reported Tuesday. The study will not have any effect on whether or how quickly the 2020 MLB season begins, but it will assist the medical community in discovering how much COVID-19 has spread in the US and how many individuals have built up the antibodies that make them immune to the virus.
• In what could be a positive sign for the chances of the 2020 MLB season taking place, Arizona governor Doug Ducey says he’s “open-minded” to the idea of hosting some or all MLB games at empty spring training ballparks in the Phoenix area, provided that it’s safe to do so.
• Yankees co-owner Hank Steinbrenner passed away Tuesday at age 63 after an extended illness. Hank had stepped back from the spotlight in the past decade or so after initially serving as the face of the ownership group when his father, George, fell ill last decade. His brother, Hal Steinbrenner, has been more front-facing in recent years and will lead the team moving forward.
• MLB has committed to paying league employees through at least the end of May, with Rob Manfred and other senior staff members taking major pay cuts for 2020.
• Pirates reliever Nick Burdi could be poised for a comeback if this season ever kicks off, Mike Perzak of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports. Burdi suffered a devastating injury mid-game last April when, immediately after delivering a pitch, he collapsed to the mound in pain. An MRI determined the pitcher had strains in his bicep tendon and flexor and eventually needed surgery for neurogenic thoracic outlet syndrome. As Perzak reports, the 27-year old’s fastball has come back with a vengeance, and he could be a solid anchor for Pittsburgh’s bullpen if the season begins any time soon. While his health is a delicate thing, it’s unclear yet if this rehabbed success could linger into 2021 if we don’t see baseball this year.
• We know you’re missing baseball, so we’re here to help fill the void as best we can. Former minor league player turned author Jake Gronsky shares one of the highlights of his career: a bench clearing brawl.
• Josh Hamilton’s fall from grace and subsequent redemption have been covered heavily over the years. His drug abuse and nearly leaving baseball altogether only to return and claim the AL MVP award and be one of the league’s more feared hitters was a lovely success story. However, since then, Hamilton has fallen on some other setbacks in his life, and now he finds himself facing some serious charges involving assaulting his eldest daughter.
• Here’s something heartwarming: 30 MLB players are participating in MLB The Show tournament that benefits charity.
• There has been a lot of optimism surrounding the return of baseball this year even if it has appeared to be misplaced given the events around the world. However, it looks like MLB has an actual plan to possibly make it happen as there is currently a plan in the works to start play in Arizona with players sequestered in hotels as soon as May.
• Due to, well, *gestures at everything*, MLB is considering realigning into Grapefruit and Cactus Leagues for 2020 season. It walks back a little of the original plan to play exclusively in Arizona, which would certainly help in the crowding department of trying to have all 30 teams, their players, staff, and etc all crammed into a “bubble” of containment and safety. But even with the added tweaks, it still begs the question: is it practical?
• The Jose Bautista-Rougned Odor beef featured an iconic bat flip and an equally iconic face punch.
• With the prospect of players and ballpark personnel potentially being cooped up in hotels for months on end, the reported plan to begin the season in empty Arizona stadiums has obviously provoked a multitude of reactions. While some players surveyed by The Athletic’s Andy McCullough expressed concern about the idea, there appears to be a lot more enthusiasm from players and coaches than many fans and media members expected.
• The world didn’t need more bad news, but unfortunately that didn’t stop it from happening as we lost Hall of Famer Al Kaline last week. “Mr. Tiger” was 85 years old and leaves behind not only an impressive legacy from his 22-season Hall of Fame career, but also a reputation as a humble and wonderful man who represented the Tigers with grace over his many years. He will be missed.
• Need some additional drama to add to this pandemic situation? According to a report from Zach Buchanan of The Athletic, three minority owners of the Diamondbacks have joined forces to sue Ken Kendrick, the team’s managing general partner. The suit stems from a letter Kendrick sent owners that instructed anyone with less than one percent of the team either increase their shares of the franchise or sell them back to the team at a price that will be determined by an appraiser. While Kendrick feels this ultimatum was fair and square, this trio of owners are saying this act of backing them into the corner was illegal. Cue soap opera music.
• There is a lot of potential weirdness surrounding the current COVID-19 situation and what the loss of regular season games or even the whole season could mean for various players and team employees. However, one such area of weirdness has already been ironed out as it has been reported that even if the 2020 season doesn’t happen, the punishments handed down to the Astros’ Jeff Luhnow and AJ Hinch will be considered served. This was likely to be a necessary move given how the league is planning on handling MLB service time, even though it doesn’t necessarily feel great.
• Here’s some good news: Fanatics is making masks instead of MLB jerseys to help medical personnel fight coronavirus.
• According to a report from the New York Post’s Joel Sherman, MLB executives and players are increasingly open to the idea of playing in empty stadiums in an attempt to play as many games as possible in 2020.
• Thanks to the upheaval of amateur baseball caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the MLB Draft will be dramatically shorter for at least the next two seasons — and if that’s a sign of things to come, it could be a really bad thing for the sport.
• While he hasn’t yet written an official report on the matter, Rob Manfred says the investigation into the Red Sox sign-stealing scandal is finished.
• At this point, no one really knows if there will be a 2020 MLB season. But if there is, Noah Syndergaard won’t be part of it. The Mets right-hander recently underwent Tommy John surgery.
• Shin-Soo Choo is pledging $190K to help Rangers minor league players.
• There has been and will continue to be not-so-great news surrounding the spread of the coronavirus for the next several weeks and even months. However, there are also going to be reminders that human beings, in the face of a crisis and/or when shown people in need, can be really, really good, too. Pittsburgh Pirates players, for example, got together on their own to buy 400 pizzas from a couple local pizzerias and had them delivered to area hospital staff. Good on them.
• Let’s all take a moment to be disappointed, but not surprised: Red Sox pitcher Chris Sale underwent Tommy John surgery. This comes after a 2019 that started out promising for the ace. A five-year, $145M extension was how Sale started off the season, but rough starts followed by elbow inflammation ended his venture prematurely. Props to him on picking the right timing though, considering there might not even be a season to miss.
• MLB has announced a financial support plan for minor-league players amid (it’s a buzzword so get used to it) the COVID-19 outbreak. But don’t let this incredible testament to peer pressure and public outcry distract you from the fact that writer for The Athletic and angel of baseball Emily Waldon was the first and biggest advocate for minor league players once this crisis hit.
• The White Sox have, for lack of a better term, not been good over the last several years. The product of that futility has been that they have had lots of international money and high draft picks to help turn their fortunes around. Now, with an exciting young core in the major leagues and more help coming from the minors (looking at you, Luis Robert), it seems like Chicago is a team on the rise. In order to make sure it stays that way, the team has been locking up its core pieces and continued that trend with a contract extension for Yoan Moncada that bought out two free agent years worth an estimated $70 million with a chance for more if a club option is exercised down the road.
• The Red Sox announced that have signed free-agent right-hander Collin McHugh to a one-year deal. McHugh had some very good stretches while spending the last six seasons with the Astros, contributing out of the rotation and the bullpen, but he was held back by an elbow issue for most of 2019. That injury required surgery, so he just began throwing again and likely won’t be ready for Opening Day. With David Price gone and Chris Sale’s status uncertain, McHugh should provide a bit of stability to the back of the Red Sox’s rotation whenever he’s healthy.
• Coronavirus distract you long enough to forget that this season is laden with dirty workings and controversy? Well, break is over. The Angels have fired a longtime employee for allegedly tampering with baseballs.
• When you’ve seen a major-leaguer spend well over a decade with one team, you usually expect him to ride into the sunset and finish his career with that club. That won’t be the case for Félix Hernández, who was competing for a rotation spot with the Braves at the time of the suspension of the season following 15 years with the Mariners. It likewise wasn’t so for these 20 MLB greats who ended their careers in unfamiliar destinations.
• The Cubs’ brazen use of MLB’s service time rules in order to gain an extra year of control over Kris Bryant was about as obvious of a case of service time manipulation as a team can do without outright saying that they were holding him down in the minors for that purpose. As a result, a decision on Bryant’s grievance regarding the matter took longer than expected, but he still came out on the losing side.