Snake Bytes 4/6: Mile High Home Run Derby

Arizona Diamondbacks News

[Arizona Sports] D-backs owner Ken Kendrick predicts Torey Lovullo will return next season - Arizona Diamondbacks managing general partner Ken Kendrick shed some light on one of the biggest storylines surrounding the franchise this year. The owner of the D-backs on Arizona Sports’ Burns & Gambo Monday discussed the fact that manager Torey Lovullo is in the last year of his contract. “We’re very comfortable with what he’s done, he’s very comfortable in the setting that he’s in,” Kendrick said. “If I were making a prediction — and I sometimes do and try not to make too many because the more predictions you make the more likely you’re gonna be wrong on occasion — I would predict he’ll be right back where he is in that dugout running the team next year.” When asked on what the timing could look like if the ball club was to potentially recommit to Lovullo, Kendrick said the following: “I think the specifics of a decision — when and in what detail — really is the way that we have tried to operate our team for a number of years and I have learned over the years about my job — what it is, and now more importantly, what it isn’t,” he said. “That’s principally (general manager) Mike Hazen’s job and his timetable and his thinking and his gameplan. I’ll learn it when it’s developed and certainly I have a right to sign off on whatever plan but we have a lot of faith in Mike and Torey reports to him and he’ll be the lead decision-maker on the details of what we do.”

[Phoenix Business Journal] Diamondbacks increase in value despite pandemic, report says - The Arizona Diamondbacks and Major League Baseball in general lost millions of dollars during the Covid-19 pandemic, but the Phoenix-based team still increased its value over the last year. It was not just the Diamondbacks; all MLB teams but one saw the value of their franchise increase from 2020 to 2021, according to Forbes’ annual ranking of the values of MLB’s teams. The one that didn’t increase was the Tampa Bay Rays, which stayed at the same valuation as 2020. The Diamondbacks increased in value by 2% from last year to $1.32 billion. That ranks them No. 20 out of all 30 MLB teams on Forbes’ list – ahead of the Colorado Rockies at $1.3 billion and below the Minnesota Twins at $1.325 billion. The Diamondbacks were ranked the same in 2020.

Around The League

[USA Today] 2021 MLB All-Star Game will be played at Denver’s Coors Field after event pulled out of Atlanta - Major League Baseball is scheduled to announce Tuesday that this year’s All-Star Game will be moved to Coors Field in Denver, home of the Colorado Rockies, a person with direct knowledge of the decision told USA TODAY Sports. The person spoke only on the condition of anonymity because MLB had yet to make the announcement official. The move was first reported by Altitude TV in Denver and ESPN. Government officials in Colorado and Denver immediately began lobbying MLB for the All-Star Game once Commissioner Rob Manfred announced the league was moving the game out of Atlanta because of the voting laws passed in Georgia in March that potentially can restrict voting access for people of color.

[MLB Trade Rumors] Fernando Tatis Jr. Exits With Apparent Arm Injury - Padres superstar shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. departed their game Monday against the Giants with an apparent left elbow injury, AJ Cassavell of MLB.com was among those to report. Tatis struck out in an at-bat against Giants right-hander Anthony DeSclafani and then went down “crumpled in a heap,” per Cassavell. Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area provided video on Twitter. A serious injury to Tatis would not only be a massive loss for the Padres, who have World Series hopes this year, but the game of baseball as a whole. The 22-year-old was one of the most ballyhooed prospects in the sport before he reached the majors, and he has more than lived up to that status so far in the bigs. Dating back to his 2019 debut, Tatis has slashed .298/.372/.577 (148 wRC+) with 40 home runs, 27 stolen bases and 6.5 fWAR in just 147 games and 648 plate appearances. He’s among the main reasons the Padres look like an elite team on paper, not to mention one of baseball’s greatest talents.

[MLB.com] Castellanos suspended 2 games, will appeal - Reds right fielder Nick Castellanos received a two-game suspension and a fine from Major League Baseball for his role in a benches-clearing scuffle on Saturday against the Cardinals. Castellanos is appealing the suspension, so he is eligible to play in Monday’s three-game series opener vs. the Pirates. MLB senior vice president of on-field operations Michael Hill issued the discipline on Castellanos “for his aggressive actions and for instigating” the incident between himself and Cardinals pitcher Jake Woodford.

[Yahoo Sports] Texas governor boycotting Rangers opening day because MLB moved All-Star Game - Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has declined the Texas Rangers’ invitation to throw out the first pitch at their home opener on Monday, citing a reason that has nothing to do with the Rangers or the state of Texas. In a letter he sent to the Rangers, and subsequently posted on his Twitter account, Abbott said that he will no longer participate in any MLB event because of its decision to move the All-Star Game out of Georgia. MLB announced on Friday that due to the voter suppression law recently passed by the Georgia legislature, it will no longer hold the 2021 All-Star Game at the Atlanta Braves’ Truist Park.