Report: OF Puig to join Braves on one-year contract
ATLANTA — Free-agent outfielder Yasiel Puig and the Atlanta Braves have agreed to a one-year deal, a person with knowledge of the deal said Tuesday.
The person spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the agreement is not official until Puig passes a physical.
The agreement helps the Braves address a depth problem in their outfield.
Puig hit a combined .267 with 24 homers and 84 RBIs for Cincinnati and Cleveland in 2019. He also stole 19 bases.
The 29-year-old Puig was the last big-name free agent from the offseason who had not signed with a team.
Puig, from Cuba, made his major league debut with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2013. He hit .263 with a career-high 28 homers for the Dodgers in 2017 and added 23 homers in 125 games in 2018.
The NL East champion Braves were facing a depth problem in their outfield even after signing
Marcell Ozuna to a one-year, $18 million deal in the offseason.
Veteran Nick Markakis opted out of the season before summer camp. Ozuna or Adam Duvall could be needed as the designated hitter in the shortened 60game season.
Rangers furlough 60 full-time staffers
The Rangers indefinitely furloughed about 60 full-time employees, a move announced 10 days before Texas opens its new ballpark without fans due to the pandemic-delayed season.
Texas owner Ray Davis said in March that he hoped to avoid furloughs. But the owner said in a statement Tuesday that severe financial consequences of the coronavirus-caused shutdown and lingering uncertainty of when fans will be allowed at games left the organization out of options. The decision was announced after four months of cost-saving measures, budget cuts and salary decreases.
Employees furloughed worked in both baseball operations and on the business side, in and outside of Arlington. They made up 12 percent of the team’s roughly 500 full-time employees.
Group of umpires opts out of season
About 10 MLB umpires have opted out this season, choosing not to work games in the shortened schedule because of concerns over the coronavirus.
Two people familiar with the situation told the Associated Press about the decisions.
There are 76 full-time MLB umpires and more than 20 of them are age 55 or over. Joe West and Gerry Davis are the oldest umps at 67.
Umpires who are deemed at risk — either for their age, health situation or other issues — and opt out will continue to get paid. Umps get their salaries over 12 months and have already been paid through April.
A deal between MLB and its umpires reached during the virus shutdown ensured that if even one regular-season game was played this season, the umps were guaranteed 37.5 percent of their salaries.
Minus 10 or more MLB umpires, many Class AAA umps will work the two-month season. Most of them have previously called games in the majors as fill-in for umpires who have been injured or are on vacation.
Union may appoint Kessler for grievance
The baseball players’ association has discussed hiring noted sports lawyer Jeffrey Kessler to litigate a contemplated grievance against clubs accusing Commissioner Rob Manfred and management of failing to act in good faith to complete the longest season economically feasible.
Talks to hire Kessler were disclosed to the Associated Press by several people familiar with the conversations who spoke on condition of anonymity because no announcement had been made. A grievance has not yet been filed, and an agreement with Kessler has not been finalized, the people said.
In divisive talks reminiscent of baseball’s eight work stoppages from 1972-95, the sides failed to reach an economic agreement last month.
Odds and ends
Twins center fielder Byron Buxton has a sprained left foot but no structural damage, further testing revealed Tuesday following his injury in an intrasquad game. The team said Buxton’s status would be evaluated on a day-to-day basis. … Anthony Rizzo’s back trouble flared up again after he took batting practice over the weekend, and the Chicago Cubs are sending the slugger for tests.