MLB – Tatis Jr. Tests Positive for COVID-19 & More

Shortly before the San Diego Padres began a three-game series in Colorado, the team announced that shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. had contracted COVID-19 and was placed on the injured list. Jurickson Profar and Jorge Mateo were also put on the injured list because of contact tracing.

Manager Jayce Tingler was able to FaceTime with Tatis after the diagnosis and described his star player as “crushed” but also asymptomatic and feeling well.

The Padres didn’t announce exactly how many games Tatis will miss, but MLB rules state that he will have to quarantine for a minimum of 10 days and then show negative COVID-19 tests after that before he can get back in the lineup.

This has been an up-and-down year for Tatis so far. He signed his record $330 million contract in February, ensuring that he will be the face of the Padres franchise for 14 years.

He then suffered a scary injury to his shoulder in April, making all of San Diego hold its collective breath until it was determined that he didn’t need surgery.

He was able to return to the lineup after missing 10 days.

But when he has been in the lineup, he’s been exactly what the Padres want him to be, especially against the rival Los Angeles Dodgers. During a four-game series in Los Angeles during the last week of April, he hit five home runs, drove in six, and the Padres took three of the four games.

Overall, his OPS is down in 2021, but his home run numbers are up, he’s beating the hated Dodgers, and no one in San Diego regrets the contract extension in spite of the fact that he will miss at least another 10 days.

Currently, the Padres trail the Los Angeles Dodgers on the odds board to win the NL West, with prices of +265 and -325 respectively.

Mets Place deGrom on Injured List

While the Padres were putting their star player on the injured list, the same was happening on the other side of the country with the New York Mets and two-time Cy Young winner Jacob deGrom.

In his start on Sunday, deGrom was pulled after five innings because of back tightness, which can always be problematic for a starting pitcher long-term. And this is especially worrisome for the Mets because deGrom was a scratch in his previous start because of inflammation in his right lat.

An MRI on Monday confirmed that there is no structural damage, so the assumption is that this will be a brief pause in what is shaping up to be another Cy Young-worthy season. He is 3-2 with an ERA of 0.68, and he has 65 strikeouts in just 40 innings.

Clearly, when deGrom is out, the Mets don’t have anyone that can be a comparable replacement, though signs are he is improving.

Athletics Have Approval to Look for New Home

The exodus from the Oakland Coliseum and adjacent Oakland Arena is nearing completion. The Golden State Warriors moved out of the Oakland Arena in 2019 and now make their home across the Bay Bridge in San Francisco.

A year later, the Raiders left the Oakland Coliseum for the greener pastures of the Las Vegas desert. And now the Oakland Athletics, also a tenant of the Coliseum, have been given MLB approval to look for a new location.

The Coliseum has been the worst stadium in Major League Baseball for years, even as the A’s have been one of the better teams in baseball. They are currently in first place in the American League West and have been a playoff team in each of the previous three years. But their quest to get a new stadium in Oakland has continually been stonewalled by the local government.

With permission now granted to look at other cities, expect Las Vegas, Portland, Vancouver, Nashville, and Charlotte to all make serious pitches to Major League Baseball, with Las Vegas the presumed favorite.

Oakland could still step up and approve the current proposal for a stadium build at Howard Terminal, but the sticking point is money. The A’s will put $1 billion towards the project, but the city is being asked to pay an additional $855 million, and so far, it is saying no.