What would MLB look like with a salary cap? Everything you need to know about the wide-ranging, game-changing effects, from free agency to, yes, competitive balance MLB wants an NHL-style hard cap. $240m ceiling, $160m floor could be target www.nytimes.com/athletic/704...

“There shouldn’t be any sort of source of discord between these two institutions,” Naftali said of baseball and the White House. “They’re both national institutions. One has nuclear weapons, the other one does not.” www.nytimes.com/athletic/703...

What's the deal with baseball games on TV? www.nytimes.com/athletic/701...

Explaining the World Baseball Classic insurance denials fiasco, with @ken-rosenthal.bsky.social www.nytimes.com/athletic/701...

“A 100 percent certainty” that the owners will push for a salary cap in wake of Kyle Tucker deal with the Dodgers, ownership source says. “These guys are going to go for a cap no matter what it takes." www.nytimes.com/athletic/698...

New pod: @theathletic.com's @evandrellich.bsky.social on what MLB's offseason tells us about the sport's coming labor battle. open.spotify.com/episode/02yA...

FanDuel Sports Network is offering three-year deals to MLB teams to return. The offers depend, however, on FanDuel SN finding a buyer. The latest on the fate of a major sports broadcasting company: www.nytimes.com/athletic/697...

“The league and owners say they want to avoid missing games but at the same time they appear to be dead-set on trying to force players into a system that, the last time they proposed it, led to the most missed games ever and a cancelled World Series.” www.nytimes.com/athletic/696...

“I’ve never been in a negotiation where, before the first piece of paper went across the table, I, or anyone I represented, was out there saying, ‘This, we absolutely will not talk about.’ I just think it’s a hard way to begin a negotiation.” www.nytimes.com/athletic/696...

“But if their true interest is to blow up the very system on which our streak of uninterrupted seasons has been built — with the game reaching record heights and poised to go even higher, no less — that would be a self-defeating miscalculation of massive proportions” www.nytimes.com/athletic/695...

Rob Manfred wants a free agency signing deadline in baseball: "a great marketing opportunity for the game" Brent Rooker: "pretty close to the most anti-player idea you could possibly have" Tony Clark and agents Joel Wolfe, Scott Boras weigh in: www.nytimes.com/athletic/695...

Last winter Rob Manfred had luxury-tax money — up to $15m per team — to give clubs that took haircuts on their TV deals: a “media disruption distribution.” But it was a 1-year deal that MLB did not bring back this winter. The problems, though? They’re back. www.nytimes.com/athletic/694...

Hello, I’d like to share some opinions to commemorate the new year! I may do this annually! Cheers!

John Fisher and David Forst on the State of the A’s after Year One in Sacramento. Fisher and Forst are in extension talks, the owner said www.nytimes.com/athletic/691...

Before betting probe, MLB caught Emmanuel Clase breaking cell phone rules built for sign-stealing era. With @zackmeisel.bsky.social www.nytimes.com/athletic/690...

The winter meetings could well wind up canceled next year. But in an era when it’s easy to communicate digitally, MLB and participants still see value in the annual convention www.nytimes.com/athletic/688...

A former MLB general manager is now an agent — to coaches and execs, who have fewer options www.nytimes.com/athletic/687...

MLB formed a fan council. It wasn’t long before the league made its pitch on labor issues www.nytimes.com/athletic/685...

"Mr. Manfred’s comments suggesting there’s ‘nothing to see here’ both mischaracterize the facts & are extremely revealing of the league’s general approach to labor negotiations. There is nothing 'business as usual’ about ... a ‘mole’ for the commissioner’s office" www.nytimes.com/athletic/682...

Rob Manfred talks prop betting restrictions: "I’m glad we’ve done something about it" www.nytimes.com/athletic/682...

MLB is flying high. Why does it seem to be barreling toward a work stoppage? www.nytimes.com/athletic/681...

“But I think to try to get too cute with that, you’re probably just asking for trouble.” GMs and agents on how the potential lockout after next season is affecting the market: www.nytimes.com/athletic/680...

“F the players,” Murray responded, according to the MLBPA documents. “I’m still so pissed off I can’t see straight.” “We need them to be kissed (sic) off at their leadership,” Courtney replied. “Believe me, it is priority for me,” Murray said. www.nytimes.com/athletic/676...

The Cleveland Guardians will not grant Emmanuel Clase, who is under MLB investigation, permission to play winter ball in Venezuela, sources say. www.nytimes.com/athletic/674...

‘Bad actors’ are stealing, reselling fan tickets swiped from MLB’s Ballpark app, MLB acknowledges www.nytimes.com/athletic/664...

Sources: Stu Sternberg is to remain a minority owner of the Tampa Bay Rays as part of the team's sale — for a time. Sternberg's group will retain about 10% of the team at the outset. Sale expected to go final at end of regular season. With @ken-rosenthal.bsky.social www.nytimes.com/athletic/661...

The Savannah Bananas’ owner doesn’t like the Globetrotters comparison. He thinks he’s building UFC and MLB is boxing. What does MLB think? “One’s a league and one’s an exhibition” www.nytimes.com/athletic/657...

The Atlanta Braves' revenues are up 12 percent through the first six months of the year. Terry McGuirk said the team could have added payroll at the trade deadline. “What we have built in Atlanta is the model that every other MLB franchise is chasing" www.nytimes.com/athletic/654...

The 2028 LA Olympics schedule just came out. Major League Baseball would prefer it look different. www.nytimes.com/athletic/649...

Source: sale of Rays to Patrick Zalupski's group for about $1.7B expected to go final as soon as September. Team likely to remain in Tampa area. With @ken-rosenthal.bsky.social www.nytimes.com/athletic/649...

“There’s a good degree of uncertainty. Is it 5,000? Is it 10,000? Is it 1,000?” A big question in Cooperstown this month: how many fans are going to travel from Japan to see Ichiro Suzuki's Hall of Fame induction? www.nytimes.com/athletic/648...

“There seems to be kind of a mismatch between what we see at the union leadership level and what the players are thinking,” Manfred said. “The strategy is to get directly to the players” Candor and criticism on labor we haven’t seen from Manfred in years www.nytimes.com/athletic/646...

An official at the NFLPA said that implementing the plan could mean that labor officials serving on OneTeam’s board of directors were attempting to make a change that could lead to their own financial gain. Full story, via @evandrellich.bsky.social: www.nytimes.com/athletic/art...

Something’s up with the ball again. Long fly balls aren’t flying as far in 2025, about four feet shorter — a change MLB acknowledges. With Eno Sarris www.nytimes.com/athletic/642...

Two baseball agents were poached for a combined $25 million. The problem: they were already under contract. Massive punishment followed. A 70-page ruling—meant to be confidential—reveals incredible detail of the agent world. The story of Excel vs. WME: www.nytimes.com/athletic/637...

The oral history of Nomo-mania, 30 years after Hideo Nomo's MLB debut, May 2, 1995. Were it not for a failed physical, it might have all happened in Seattle instead of Los Angeles. www.nytimes.com/athletic/632...

For two baseball-loving sisters, major-league careers honor a family history

What A's owner John Fisher had to say before Opening Day in Sacramento: “Am I nervous about all of this? No, actually, I really am — I’m confident, without being overconfident, and I’m excited about where we’re going.” www.nytimes.com/athletic/624...

A final dispatch from Tokyo: MLB is trying to expand in Japan. But what about in the other direction... Can Japan’s NPB grow in America? www.nytimes.com/athletic/622...

“It was like the Powerball got to $1.5 billion and all of a sudden the entire league wanted to drive down to the corner store and buy a lottery ticket. But they soon realized that it didn’t work that way for this kid, and most Japanese players." — Joel Wolfe www.nytimes.com/athletic/621...

Sources: Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred and some owners are pressuring Stu Sternberg to sell the Tampa Bay Rays. Revenue sharing money could be at stake. Several groups have expressed interest, including the family of Edward DeBartolo Jr. www.nytimes.com/athletic/618...

The A's will wear Las Vegas patches on their arms for the next three years, while they play in Sacramento. The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority is paying the team $2.5 million in 2025, $2.75 million in 2026 and $3 million in 2027. www.nytimes.com/athletic/618...

News: The Athletics have hired a new president whom fans in Oakland and Las Vegas will recognize. Marc Badain, who oversaw the Raiders' move from Oakland to Las Vegas, is reprising the role in baseball. Badain left the Raiders amidst controversy in 2021. www.nytimes.com/athletic/618...

“So a team outside a top-5 media market without a massive local TV deal can run a $280 million payroll... and still make a $40 million profit?" Tony Clark said. "Never mind that their overall franchise value has gone up over $900 million in just 3 years.” www.nytimes.com/athletic/616...

“The ESPN-MLB breakup is getting really outsized public scrutiny,” said Terry McGuirk, chairman of the Atlanta Braves. “I really think that from the Atlanta Braves’ standpoint, this is a non-event. It will have no effect whatsoever on our economics.” www.nytimes.com/athletic/616...

New pod: @evandrellich.bsky.social talks all things MLB, from the ESPN divorce to the likelihood of a lockout next year. podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t...

Rob Manfred on an international draft: "And I want to be clear about this: this is not a number of player or economic issue. It is a transparency issue” Tony Clark: "It’s great to hear that it’s not an economic issue. We’ll take that under advisement..." www.nytimes.com/athletic/615...

BREAKING: ESPN and MLB are no longer national TV partners after this season. They "mutually agreed" to opt out of the final 3 years of their deal, per a letter obtained by The Athletic. www.nytimes.com/athletic/614...

If and when robo umps arrive in MLB, the strike-zone box you've seen on TV for almost a quarter century — K-Zone, as it's called on ESPN — might disappear. Why? Cheating is one of the league's concerns. www.nytimes.com/athletic/614...

More significant sports media news from @evandrellich.bsky.social www.nytimes.com/athletic/614... Blackout buster? SNY to stream Mets games as MLB reaches 22 teams available without TV bundle