The Week That Was: Dec 2 – 8

Rob Manfred is at it again.

The first full week of December was a busy one on the free agency signing end of things. The A’s made a big signing, but also made big moves toward finalizing their move to Las Vegas, so that’s exciting for them. Meanwhile, things are continuing to be both dramatic and confusing in Tampa Bay.

The other news this week was two new Hall of Famers, and quite possibly the worst suggestion made to date by Rob Manfred… The Golden At-Bat Rule. We’ll get into that in a second, but in general, happy Monday to all of you, now have a sip of coffee before you read on. You’re going to need it.

The Golden At-Bat Rule

Rob Manfred has been a decidedly divisive commissioner. He’s been much-derided, but he’s also had some good contributions. The pitch clock has been a remarkably welcome addition to baseball overall, and even the ghost runner (or Manfred man) is occasionally welcome.

But this offseason he has gone too far with the proposal of “The Golden At-Bat Rule.” This rule would allow a team to substitute any batter for any at-bat once in a game. Thus, if the team was down in the bottom of the ninth, they could theoretically sub in their best hitter instead of whoever was up next.

Before we get too riled up, however, even Manfred himself has been careful to remind critics this isn’t anywhere near becoming a reality. In a comment to detractors, he said , “You don’t like the idea? I wouldn’t be too concerned about it right now.”

At this time there is not even a discussion of trying the rule in the minors, so it’s definitely not coming any time soon. Still, that didn’t stop the internet from rising to the occasion.

Rays Stadium Drama Updates

The Rays stadium drama has continued, though even with the newest updates, there’s still a lot of question as to whether or not we will ever actually see a new stadium built in St. Petersburg.

The St. Pete City Council has voted to approve the bonds that would fund the stadium deal, but this by no means makes for a done deal. Pinellas County needs to approve the bonds, and then the Rays still have to cover the shortfall of the funding, so a lot is still very much up in the air and we’ll continue to follow the story as updates happen.

As always, our sister site DRaysBay is doing some incredible work explaining the minutiae of the deal and what’s really going on, so check out their work .

Quick Hits

• The New York Times ranks some of baseball’s worst contracts .
• The A’s have moved one step closer to calling Las Vegas their new home .

Hot Stove Moves

Here are some quick general updates about moves made around the league.

Matt Boyd is headed to the Cubs
Fernando Rodney has signed with the Cardinals! (with the Canadian unaffiliated club the Hamilton Cardinals)
Kyle Higashioka is going to the Rangers
Luis Severino is headed to the Athletics, willingly
Danny Jansen has signed with the Rays
Shane Bieber is returning to Cleveland
Willy Adames is going to the Giants
Tyler O’Neill and Gary Sanchez are going to the Orioles

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