Braves News: Bally Sports impending bankruptcy, Marcell Ozuna, more
Well hello there, Atlanta Braves fans. Spring training is underway and with it comes all of the usual season hype stories. For example, Mark Bowman over at MLB.com took the chance to talk to several Braves including Michael Harris, Travis d'Arnaud, and Sean Murphy about their excitement for the upcoming season.
Unfortunately, we also got some rough news regarding the fate of a bunch of regional sports networks as it was announced that Bally Sports officially missed a big debt payment and unless they find money fast, they appear headed for bankruptcy. Commissioner Rob Manfred has said that the league has contingency plans in place to broadcast games for teams impacted (which would obviously include the Braves), but a long-term solution remains unclear. It is also unclear as to how this news will impact the Braves' broadcaster search.
More Braves News
Elsewhere on the site, we took a look at the possibility, however unlikely, that the Braves could find the will to actually part ways with Marcell Ozuna during spring training. Obviously given how much money Ozuna is owed over the next two years, it is still hard to see the Braves doing anything other than give Marcell playing time to try to get something out of him. However, AA's recent comments about spring training being a meritocracy does give some leeway especially if Ozuna struggles in spring training.
MLB News
I know this is going to come as a shock to you Braves fans (as well as Mets fans for that matter), but Jacob deGrom appears to have already been bitten by the injury bug with his new ball club. DeGrom is being delayed a few days because he experienced tightness in his side during a bullpen session with the Rangers. The team is calling the move precautionary with the weather being pretty cold and gross, but it isn't like we haven't seen this sort of thing with deGrom turn into a bigger issue.
The New York Yankees could have an even bigger problem in their rotation after the news they got about Frankie Montas. The reports from yesterday indicated that Montas could miss the entire 2023 season as he has to have arthroscopic shoulder surgery. Montas missed some time at the end of the season because of the back issue and after being unable to bounce back this offseason, he decided to go under the knife.