D-Backs planning to sell ad space on their jerseys
The Diamondbacks became the third team in Major League Baseball to sell advertising on its uniforms, agreeing to what the club termed a “multi-year” deal with Avnet, an electronics components distributor headquartered in Phoenix.
Players will wear black Avnet patches featuring the company’s logo on one jersey sleeve.
This will be the first season teams are permitted to sell ads on their jerseys after the league and players came to terms on the idea in last year’s collective bargaining agreement. Clubs can sell advertising space on jerseys and helmets.
“I think that jersey patches, advertisements on jerseys, are a reality of life in professional sports,” MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said last year. “That’s a revenue source that is significant enough that it is really impossible for the sport to ignore over the long haul. I think that’s the truth.”
According to a press release issued by the team, Avnet has more than 15,000 employees around the world, including 1,300 in Arizona.
The patches will be placed on each player’s forward-facing shoulder. For example, left-handed hitters will have patches on their right shoulders and right-handed pitchers will have them on their left shoulders.
MLB draft combine at Chase Field
Baseball’s third annual draft combine will be held at Chase Field from June 2025, the league announced on Thursday.
The inaugural combine was held at USA Baseball’s complex in North Carolina in 2021. Last year’s was held at Petco Park in San Diego.
After some 150 or so players attended the first year, almost 250 attended in 2022, including 32 players who were eventually selected within the top 50 picks, according to MLB.
The league invites the top 300 drafteligible players along with 50 supplemental invites. Players go through various workouts and strength and performance assessments while also taking time to meet face-to-face with team evaluators.
Short hop
The league announced game times for the upcoming season.
The Diamondbacks open the year on the road at Dodger Stadium, with first pitch scheduled for 7:10 p.m. on March 30. Their home opener is April 6 at Chase Field, also against the Dodgers. That game will start at 6:40 p.m.