The Texas Rangers and the Washington Nationals sat at opposite ends of the COVID-19 spectrum as the 2021 MLB regular season got underway this week. The Rangers opened Globe Life Field to 100 percent capacity for Opening Day (a loss to Toronto, as the Rangers face the likelihood of a woeful season in the midst of a rebuild), and according to news reports the majority of fans did not wear masks despite a directive to do so when not eating or drinking. ON the other end, the Nationals have put 11 players on the injured list, all related to COVID-19. Four players have tested positive, and the other seven are in health and safety protocols due to contact tracing, although the team has not indicated which players fall in which list. So the Nats start 2021 with a roster that will contain a lot of prospects until players clear the protocols.
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MLB News: The Rumor Mill
MLB All-Star Game moved to Denver
In the wake of the passage of a controversial voting law in Georgia, which President Joe Biden has referred to as “Jim Crow 2.0,” suggesting that racism had once again taken over the election process, Major League Baseball pulled the All-Star Game from Atlanta. This year’s Midsummer Classic was supposed to honor the late Hank Aaron, who broke Babe Ruth’s career home record as an Atlanta Brave. Honoring an African-American icon of the sport in a city where African-American access to voting appeared to have been damaged would have given the sport a contradiction too big for public relations to overcome, and so the league pulled the game and moved it to Denver’s Coors Field.
Rangers send IF Odor to Yanks
The Texas Rangers owe $27 million to Rougned Odor, with $12 million in 2021 and 2022, and then a $3 million club buyout in 2023. The team will still pay Odor almost all of that, but the team will get prospects Antonio Cabello and Josh Stowers from the Yankees, both outfielders. The Yankees were looking for another power bat, and Odor can hit the ball a long way. He led the Rangers in 2020 with 30 RBI in 38 games, hitting 10 home runs to tie Joey Gallo for the team lead. However, his batting average was only .167, and he struck out 47 times in 138 at-bats overall. In September, he only had 11 hits — but seven were home runs. So the Yanks get another big bat that could deliver at just the right time, and they don’t have to pay much at all for him.
Brewers send IF Arcia to Braves
Milwaukee sent Orlando Arcia, an infielder who can play multiple positions, to Atlanta, in exchange for right-handed pitchers Patrick Weigel and Chad Sobotka. Arcia is entering his seventh major league season, and so far this season he had one hit in 11 at-bats. In 2020, he hit .260 with five home runs and 20 RBI. Most of his time has been spent at shortstop, but he also has appeared at third base as well as in the outfield. He had inked a one-year deal for $2 million with the Brewers back in December, but now Luis Urias is expected to take over at shortstop every day. Urias came to Milwaukee in November 2019 from San Diego via trade. Sobotka had pitched in relief for Atlanta the past three seasons, posting a 5.36 ERA and 61 strikeouts in 50 relief appearances combined. Weigel only had limited experience, permitting two runs in ⅔ of an inning. The two pitchers will head to Milwaukee’s alternate training site.
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