During the annual winter meetings in Las Vegas, NV, the Phillies announce the signing of free agent OF Andrew McCutchen for three years and $50 million, while the Pirates trade P Ivan Nova to the White Sox in return for a minor leaguer and $500,000 in international bonus pool money. For their part, the Blue Jays decide to take a financial hit and dump the remainder of SS Troy Tulowitzki’s contract, worth $38 million, estimating that there is little chance that he will ever again be a productive player after missing all of 2018 with injuries and putting up a very sub-par season the year before.

ByTom

During the annual winter meetings in Las Vegas, NV, the Phillies announce the signing of free agent OF Andrew McCutchen for three years and $50 million, while the Pirates trade P Ivan Nova to the White Sox in return for a minor leaguer and $500,000 in international bonus pool money. For their part, the Blue Jays decide to take a financial hit and dump the remainder of SS Troy Tulowitzki’s contract, worth $38 million, estimating that there is little chance that he will ever again be a productive player after missing all of 2018 with injuries and putting up a very sub-par season the year before.

Tampa Bay Rays owner Stuart Sternberg concedes that plans to build a new ballpark in the Ybor City neighborhood of Tampa, FL, announced with much fanfare a year ago and again last July, are dead in the water, as financing is not available, something Commissioner Rob Manfred had pointed out a day earlier. That means the team will play in outdated Tropicana Field at least until 2024. Sternberg says the team is “down to its last strike” as time is running out to find a solution to the ballpark issues that have plagued the Rays since their inception.

ByTom

Tampa Bay Rays owner Stuart Sternberg concedes that plans to build a new ballpark in the Ybor City neighborhood of Tampa, FL, announced with much fanfare a year ago and again last July, are dead in the water, as financing is not available, something Commissioner Rob Manfred had pointed out a day earlier. That means the team will play in outdated Tropicana Field at least until 2024. Sternberg says the team is “down to its last strike” as time is running out to find a solution to the ballpark issues that have plagued the Rays since their inception.