A’s sign 2020 first-round pick for $3.3M
Tyler Soderstrom, a Turlock native, signed a $3.3 million deal with the Oakland A’s on Monday, per ESPN’s Jeff Passan.
The A’s selected Soderstrom, an 18-year-old catcher out of Turlock High School, in the first round, 26th overall of the 2020 MLB Draft. Soderstrom is the son of former San Francisco Giants pitcher, Steve Soderstrom.
Soderstrom will join the A’s in California as part of the 60-man roster, according to Passan. If he will join the squad in Oakland or in the adjacent training camp site to-be-determined (possibly Stockton) is unclear.
Soderstrom will be the youngest player on any team’s 60-man roster, but the A’s could break their own record soon enough with 17-year-old infielder Robert Puason, one of the A’s top prospects, expected to be added to the 60-man in the coming days.
NFL
PATRIOTS SIGN QB CAM NEWTON TO REPLACE TOM BRADY » The New England Patriots have reached an agreement with free-agent quarterback Cam Newton, bringing in the 2015 NFL Most Valuable Player to help the team move on from threetime MVP Tom Brady, a person with knowledge of the deal told The Associated Press.
The one-year deal is worth up to $7.5 million with incentives, the person said, speaking on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss it publicly. A Patriots spokesman said the team had nothing to announce
Sunday night. The signing was first reported by ESPN.
PATRIOTS OWNER’S PROSTITUTION CASE HEADS TO APPELLATE COURT » Prosecutors charging New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft with twice buying sex from massage parlor prostitutes will attempt to save their case this week by arguing to an appeals court that his rights weren’t violated when police secretly videorecorded him in the act.
Prosecutors will tell the Florida Fourth District
Court of Appeal during an online hearing Tuesday that a county judge erred when he invalidated the January 2019 search warrant allowing police to install secret cameras at Orchids of Asia spa as part of an alleged sex trafficking investigation.
The judge said the warrant didn’t sufficiently protect the privacy of innocent customers who received legal massages, and he barred the videos’ use at trial as well as testimony about what they showed. If the ruling stands, it will deal a fatal blow to the prosecution’s case.
NBA
WIZARDS RULE OUT JOHN WALL RETURNING THIS SEASON » John Wall will not join the Washington Wizards for the resumption of the NBA season this summer, ending the chances of the five-time All-Star guard playing his first game since 2018.
General manager Tommy Sheppard effectively ruled out Wall returning this season when he said Monday the 29-year-old wouldn’t be part of the Wizards’ traveling party to Central Florida. Among the factors in the decision was a cap of 35 people per team in the quarantined bubble at Walt Disney World. The COVID-19 pandemic also hindered Wall’s progress in his rehab from multiple surgeries.
NHL
26 NHL PLAYERS TEST POSITIVE » The National Hockey League says a total of 26 players have reported testing positive for the new coronavirus since voluntary workouts began June 8.
Monday’s update includes four additional cases among those tested at team facilities, to go along with the 11 announced June 19. The league says it’s aware of 11 other players testing positive outside the voluntary workout protocol.
The NHL said more than 250 players who worked out at team facilities were administered more than 1,450 COVID-19 tests.
College basketball
PREP HOOPS STAR BATES COMMITS TO PLAY FOR MICHIGAN ST » Michigan high school basketball standout Emoni Bates has committed to play at Michigan State for the class of 2022.
In April, the 6-foot-9 guard was named Gatorade’s national player of the year, the first sophomore to win the award. He averaged 32 points this year, but missed his chance to help Ypsilanti Lincoln High School repeat as state champions due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Motor sports
ZANARDI UNDERGOES 2ND BRAIN SURGERY AFTER HANDBIKE CRASH » Italian auto racing champion turned Paralympic gold medalist Alex Zanardi underwent a second brain surgery, 10 days after an emergency operation following a crash on his handbike.
The latest surgery lasted 2 ½ hours, after which Zanardi was returned to the intensive care unit in a medically induced coma, the Santa Maria alle Scotte Hospital in Siena said in a medical bulletin.
“His condition remains stable from a cardio-respiratory and metabolic viewpoint, grave from a neurological viewpoint,” the hospital said.