Negotiating Labor Peace In Star-Driven Sports Is Difficult

Agent Scott Boras is having an outsized impact on the contentious return-to-play bargaining between the players and owners.

Gordo

With Fans Stuck At Home, MLB Projects $640K Loss Each Game

Major League Baseball told players their prorated salaries would contribute to an average loss of $640,000 for each game over an 82-game season in empty ballparks, according to a presentation from the commissioner’s office to the union that was obtained by The Associated Press.

Fox Sports Midwest

Players Ask MLB For Numerous Financial Records

Lawyers for the baseball players’ union asked Major League Baseball to submit a slew of financial documents that detail the industry’s finances, a person familiar with the request told The Associated Press.

Fox Sports Midwest

Andrew Miller Helps Forge Agreement With Owners & Continues Progress With His Arm

It’s been a good few days on a couple of fronts for Cardinals reliever Andrew Miller.

Post-Dispatch

MLB, Players Reach Deal Addressing Key Issues

Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association have finalized a deal that addresses both salary and service-time issues, among others, as the entire sport continues to wait out the coronavirus pandemic.

St. Louis Official Site

MLB, Players' Union Reach Deal Covering Service Time, Salaries, & Draft Rules

Players agreed to a deal with Major League Baseball that would preserve service time in the event this season is canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic, but left open details of what a configured schedule would look like.

Fox Sports Midwest

MLB Will Grant Players Same Service Time They Earned In 2019 If Season Is Canceled

Mookie Betts and all the players set to be free agents after the 2020 season will still get that chance if there is no baseball this year, part of a broad deal being negotiated by the commissioner’s office and the players’ association.

Fox Sports Midwest

Cardinals Have 'Momentum We Don't Want To Lose'

Less than 24 hours after Major League Baseball shuttered spring training camps and urged players to return home indefinitely, some Cardinals went back to work.

Post-Dispatch

Mike Minor Open To Contract Extension With Rangers

Last year, All-Star left-hander Mike Minor was left wondering if he was going to get traded by the July 31 Trade Deadline.

Texas Official Site

Lance Lynn Finds His Rhythm After Tough First In Debut

Rangers right-hander Lance Lynn got what he wanted out of his first Cactus League outing in Friday's 7-2 loss to the Angels, throwing 51 pitches and pitching into the third inning as planned. Lynn, who allowed two earned runs and struck out three, thought his performance was imperfect, but just fine for February.

Texas Official Site

Trevor Bauer Plans To Prioritize A Unique Idea When He Reaches Free Agency

When Trevor Bauer becomes a free agent at the end of the upcoming season, he has a unique idea that he wants teams to consider:

USA Today

The Reds Are Doing A Lot. The Cardinals Are Doing Little. Who's Doing It Right?

With the signing of corner outfielder Nick Castellanos, the Cincinnati Reds have spent $164 million on free-agent contacts this winter:

101 ESPN

Bolstered Reds Lineup Could Do Serious Damage To Quiet NL Central

The Cardinals spent last season stifling runs far better than they scored them, counter-attacking their way to the National League Championship Series with a defense-first philosophy they aim to sustain.

BenFred

Andrew Miller Talks About Facing 2018 Astros, New MLB Three-Batter Rule

Alex Bregman was on first, Jose Altuve on second.

Hochman

MLB: No Evidence Astros Used Wearable Devices To Aid Sign Stealing

The Houston Astros' illegal use of technology fueled further speculation Thursday that the team's players took their methods a step further by wearing concealed devices that notified them of certain pitches.

ESPN

Softer Landing? Retreating NL Central Takes Pressure Off Cardinals

When questioned about the confidence the Cardinals seem to have in an underperforming lineup’s potential to improve from within despite the likely departure of a cleanup hitter, the team’s decision-makers cite a variety of reasons.

BenFred

Robust Rotation, Cutting-Edge Pitching Approach Has Reds Rising As Central Threat

With front office execs from almost all of the 29 other clubs and definitely one from each of his National League Central rivals gathered in the same ballroom this past week, Cincinnati president of baseball operations Dick Williams surveyed the group and grinned as he considered the Reds’ position entering this offseason.

Post-Dispatch

Kolten Wong & Matt Carpenter: Two Cardinals Lefty Hitters Go In Different Directions; Harrison Bader's Fielding

St. Louis Cardinals infielders Kolten Wong and Matt Carpenter have a lot in common.

Cheap Seats

What Just Happened? Cardinals Deadline Dud Puts Damper On Outlook For First-Place Club

If a trade deadline passes in the Cardinals front office, and no one’s around to hear it…

KMOV

Frustrating Day For Cardinals Fans As No Help Is Coming

The Cardinals were painfully and uncharacteristically ordinary in 2016. And in 2017. And in 2018. But here, in 2019, was a chance to get out of the rut. The front office put together a good-enough club to battle the Cubs for division supremacy in late July. But the blatant reality was the Cards needed a little extra bolstering via a new starting pitcher. No problem, right? That trade acquisition would surely secure that they were back to being a playoff team, that the frustration of the past three long years had been worth enduring, because finally in 2019, they’d be in the postseason, once again.

Hochman