AROUND THE HORN
Mets: Mets ace Jacob deGrom pushed back a simulated game scheduled for Tuesday after experiencing muscle soreness in his right shoulder. The team said deGrom’s soreness was mild and the right-hander’s live batting practice was delayed to Thursday “out of an abundance of caution.” The two-time National League Cy Young Award winner has been sidelined since spring training with a stress reaction in his right scapula. He made his third minor league rehab start last Thursday, pitching four innings of one-run ball for Triple-A Syracuse. He has been expected to return shortly after the All-Star break. The Mets said he played catch Monday and Tuesday before opting not to face hitters at the team’s spring complex in Florida.
Rays: Manfred’s preferred location for a new Rays ballpark would be on the Tampa side of the bay rather than in St. Petersburg but he says the site alone won’t be a determining factor. The Rays’ lease at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Fla., where the team has played since its inaugural season in 1998, expires after the 2027 season. The Rays said in January that MLB had rejected the team’s plan to split its season between Florida and Montreal. Manfred said he hadn’t spoken in recent weeks with Rays owner Stuart Sternberg for an update.
Athletics: Manfred said the A’s need to quickly reach a binding agreement for a new ballpark and that relocation could be considered if a deal isn’t struck for a facility in the Bay Area. Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf is pushing for approval of a waterfront ballpark at Howard Terminal. The San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission voted last month to reclassify a 56-acre terminal at the Port of Oakland as a mixeduse area where a new ballpark could be built. The team, under controlling owner John Fisher, also has explored a possible new ballpark in Las Vegas. An Oakland City Council vote on a ballpark is possible later this year. The A’s have played at the Coliseum since 1968 and their lease expires after the 2024 season. After proposing and withdrawing plans for ballparks in Fremont and San Jose, the team announced in November 2018 it had found a waterfront location for a new ballpark at Howard Terminal, close to the Jack London Square neighborhood. The stadium would cost more than $1 billion, with views toward San Francisco, the Bay Bridge and Port of Oakland.
Mariners: OF Steven Souza Jr. announced his retirement after playing parts of eight major league seasons. Souza said Tuesday on Twitter he’s calling it a career. He appeared in six games earlier this season with the Mariners at age 33, going 3-for-19 at the plate. Souza played 515 regular-season and playoff games with the Nationals, Rays, Cubs, Dodgers and Mariners since making his debut in 2014. The Everett, Wash., native hit .229 with 72 HRs and 207 RBIs in the regular season.