Mets' Scherzer gets 10-game suspension for foreign substance
New York Mets pitcher Maz Scherzer was suspended for 10 games by Major League Baseball on Thursday following his ejection for having a foreign substance on his hand during a game.
Scherzer appealed the penalty imposed by Michael Hill, MLB's senior vice president for on-field operations, and can continue to play until the appeal is decided.
He became the third pitcher suspended by MLB since the crackdown on sticky substances started in June 2021. Seattle's Héctor Santiago was penalized that June 28 and Arizona's Caleb Smith that Aug. 24, also 10-game penalties.
All three inspections that led to suspensions involved umpire Phil Cuzzi.
Scherzer, a three-time Cy Young Award winner, was ejected on Wednesday during the fourth inning at Dodger Stadium. He claimed the stickiness was caused by rosin and sweat and not by a foreign substance.
Cuzzi determined after the second inning that Scherzer's hand was stickier and darker than normal and ordered Scherzer to wash his hand, which Scherzer said he did with alcohol while an MLB official watched.
After the third inning, Cuzzi then determined the pocket of Scherzer's glove was “sticky,” likely with too much rosin, and he ordered Scherzer to change gloves. The umpires then checked the 38-year-old right-hander again before the fourth, and his hands were even worse than before.
A's purchase land for Las Vegas ballpark
The Oakland Athletics have signed a binding agreement to purchase land for a new retractable roof ballpark in Las Vegas after being unable to build a new venue in the Bay Area.
Team president Dave Kaval said the team finalized a deal last week to buy the 49acre site where the A's plan to build the stadium close to the Las Vegas Strip with a seating capacity of 30,000 to 35,000.
The A's will work with Nevada and Clark County on a public-private partnership to fund the stadium. Kaval said the A's hope to break ground by next year and would hope to be moving to their new home by 2027.
“It's obviously a very big milestone for us,” Kaval said. “We spent almost two years working in Las Vegas to try to determine a location that works for a longterm home.”
The A's had been looking for a new home for years to replace the outdated and run-down Oakland Coliseum, where the team has played since arriving from Kansas City for the 1968 season. They had sought to build a stadium in Fremont and San Jose before shifting their attention to the Oakland waterfront.
Commissioner Rob Manfred said in December the A's would not have to pay a relocation fee if the team moved to Las Vegas.
Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao said in a statement that she was disappointed the A's didn't negotiate with the city as a “true partner.”
“The city has gone above and beyond in our attempts to arrive at mutually beneficial terms to keep the A's in Oakland,” she said. “In the last three months, we've made significant strides to close the deal. Yet, it is clear to me that the A's have no intention of staying in Oakland and have simply been using this process to try to extract a better deal out of Las Vegas. I am not interested in continuing to play that game — the fans and our residents deserve better.”
D-backs cut ties with pitcher Bumgarner
The Arizona Diamondbacks have designated fourtime All-Star pitcher Madison Bumgarner for assignment following his latest shaky start.
Arizona has seven days to trade the 2014 World Series MVP or else place him on outright waivers. The Diamondbacks announced the move a day after the 15-year veteran allowed seven runs in three innings against the St. Louis Cardinals.
The big left-hander hasn't lived up to expectations in the desert since signing a five-year, $85 million deal in 2020. A postseason hero for San Francisco, he has gone 15-32 with a 5.23 ERA in 69 starts. This season he is 1-3 with a 10.26 ERA.
Bumgarner is owed roughly $34.4 million on the remainder of his contract, including $20.4 million this season. If he clears waivers, he could sign with any team for a prorated share of the $720,000 league minimum.