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They had balloons, baseball caps and a splashy video. They even had Dusty Baker, because any day with Dusty Baker is a good day.

And, as a campaign called “The Sacramento Pitch” unveiled its plan to lure a Major League Baseball expansion team to the state capital, the mayor made his pitch a blunt one.

“This region has earned its place in the majors,” Sacramento Mayor Kevin McCarty said Thursday. “And, frankly, MLB could use Sacramento.”

We’ll see. But, as McCarty and other dignitaries rallied in Sacramento, a more important gathering was happening in New York, at which MLB owners formally proposed the salary cap players have vowed to resist.

Read more:Shaikin: For Dodgers, getting to playoffs is not good enough for Mark Walter. For Lakers?

Whether owners can get a cap — either by persuasion through the fall and winter, or more likely by canceling games next spring so players go unpaid — remains to be seen. For Sacramento and the other American and Canadian cities pursuing two expansion teams, the outcome of collective bargaining could determine the fee MLB would charge for each one.

On Thursday, Sacramento unveiled a $4-billion proposal to land a team, build a riverfront ballpark and surround it with an entertainment district. By the time MLB is ready to expand — after collective bargaining, and most likely after new media rights deals in 2028 — baseball insiders suggest the expansion fee itself could be around $4 billion.

Said Barry Broome, president of the Greater Sacramento Economic Council: “If it’s a $4-billion fee, I’ll be surprised if there are too many people that would pay that.”

MLB never has had a salary cap. In 1994, the last time MLB proposed one, the players went on strike, and the World Series was not played.

Now, the league argues, payroll disparities are so great that only a cap can solve them. In its presentation Thursday, MLB noted the Dodgers paid more in luxury taxes last season than 16 teams paid in player salaries and cited a $446-million payroll gap between the Dodgers ($515 million) and the lowest-paying team, the Miami Marlins ($69 million).

The league also said fans in a large market have a 50% chance of seeing their team win the World Series by age 12, while fans in a small market have a 50% chance of seeing their team win by the World Series by age 73.

“Ultimately, the game is about hope and competition, and too many fans in too many markets have too little hope their team has a fair chance to win,” MLB spokesman Glen Caplin said in a statement.

The MLB proposal: a cap with a maximum payroll of $235 million and a minimum payroll of $171 million, with those figures including $23 million per team in player benefits. The Dodgers’ payroll would be cut roughly in half, although the league and the union would discuss ways to phase in such cuts over time.

Those savings help explain why the Dodgers — at least for now — would support a proposal that includes every team throwing their local television rights into a pool that would be marketed as one national package — one place to see every game, with no blackouts, and with revenue shared equally among teams.

The Dodgers’ SportsNet LA deal — $8.35 billion over 25 years — has provided the team with a massive financial edge in funding back-to-back World Series champions.

The MLB Players’ Assn. believes the owners can share all that revenue — from local television and other sources — and thus resolve financial disparities without capping player salaries.

“Billionaire owners are not seeking to cap their profits or asset values, only player salaries,” MLBPA executive director Bruce Meyer said in a statement. “This isn’t out of generosity or a desire to protect the game’s well-being. It’s a play to control costs, increase profits and maximize franchise values — all at the expense of players past, present and future.”

MLB owners have been distressed as franchise values — ultimately, sale prices — have not appreciated as rapidly as they have in other sports. A salary cap would offer owners the cost certainty — 50% of industry revenue, however that might be defined, would go to players — that limits financial risk in ownership.

In the NBA, which has a salary cap and media deals more lucrative than in MLB, the league reportedly anticipates bids in the range of $7 billion to $10 billion for proposed expansion teams in Las Vegas and Seattle.

In MLB, a prominent official with knowledge of the situation not authorized to speak publicly told me the expansion fee could range from $3 billion to $5 billion — on the lower end without a salary cap, on the higher end with a cap and the greater media revenues that could come with it.

That could leave Sacramento and the other MLB suitors — including Salt Lake City, Montreal, Nashville, Raleigh, Charlotte, Orlando, Vancouver and Portland — scrambling for more funding at a time the surprisingly common thought is an expansion fee would be about $2 billion.

In 2021, when Sportico estimated the average MLB franchise value at $2.2 billion, Commissioner Rob Manfred said that figure could be “where you would start” in evaluating an expansion fee. Sportico this year put the average franchise value at $3.2 billion, and the San Diego Padres sold last month for a league-record $3.9 billion.

In Sacramento, campaign chairman Mark Friedman said his group has lined up $1.8 billion in private and public funding and is in search of a lead investor, with the stadium site and tax rebates already arranged with local governments.

“We’ve set the table,” Friedman said. “All of the guests are in attendance. We’re simply waiting for the guest of honor.”

Broome said he spoke with representatives from two runners-up in the Padres bidding as well as “a group of billionaires from Texas.” It’s all tire-kicking for now, he said.

Read more:Travis Kelce buys stake in Cleveland Guardians, continuing trend of athletes becoming owners

For $4 billion, Friedman said, Sacramento can get a team, put up a stadium and surround it with places to eat, shop and play.

“We’re targeting being able to be competitive up to $4 billion,” he said. “If it turns out to be more than that, we’ll need to look at the numbers again.”

In the meantime, Baker was there to tell a few stories and put everyone in his hometown at ease, as he did for decades as one of baseball’s most acclaimed managers.

In his remarks, Baker celebrated the dozens of major leaguers who that come out of Sacramento.

“We had some of the baddest dudes in baseball — not only in Sacramento, but in baseball. We were proud of that,” Baker said.

“If you weren’t hitting — if you were hitting now like some of these guys are hitting now, .217 — man, we’d talk about you. Because, if you were from Sacramento, you gotta ball.”

Sign up for more Dodgers news with Dodgers Dugout. Delivered at the start of each series.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

Welcome to the first Futures on the Corner. This will become a weekly piece where I, Matt Seese, will examine the ins and outs of Cleveland’s ever developing farm system. I currently do work as a prospects scout and evaluator for Prospects Live and have thoroughly enjoyed covering our farm system here on Covering The Corner.

Today, I wanted to throw out more of a blanket piece to kick this off: what promotions are coming?

We’ll start down in Hill City.

A-BALL

OF JUNEIKER CACERES | 18 | L/L
Caceres is not the 168 pounds MiLB.com lists him at. With a noticeable physical development, Caceres has seen his added muscle shrink areas of concern up in the zone. Combine that with some of the better plate discipline in the Guardians’ system, above average bat speed and EVs as well as a walk rate pushing 4% north of his strikeout rate, and Caceres is tailor made for a promotion to Lake County sooner rather than later. Caceres continues to be among the younger players at his level, and though the power numbers are slowly starting to come around, this kind of an approach is beyond his years.

LHP NELSON KELJO | 22
Keljo was a sixth round pick in last year’s draft out of Oregon State. At 6-foot-4, 230 pounds, Keljo is physically built to handle a starter’s workload, and he’s done exactly that thus far. A concern of mine with Keljo would be his command sustaining being stretched out from reliever to starter from college to the pros. Thus far, it’s largely not been an issue. Keljo has been efficient and at times dominant, largely carried by his fastball that sports some capable ride.

LHP HARRISON BODENDORF | 22
Bodendorf was also part of the ‘25 Draft class for the Guards, selected in the 10th round at pick 312. Drafted at 6-foot-5, 180 pounds, there’s some physical projecting to do here. Bodendorf is not going to overwhelm anyone, but up to this point, it hasn’t mattered. His upper 80s, occasionally low 90s heater is paired with a devastating changeup that’s currently inducing an incredible whiff rate and drawing weak contact when batters are lucky enough to get the bat to it. There’s definitely upside here despite the lack of velo. I think if any org finds that extra life here, it’s Cleveland, but some glove-side secondaries need to come along here for this profile to work long-term.

HIGH-A

AARON WALTON | 22 | R/R
Matt Dallas, you genius. Walton has cleaned up some lower half mechanical issues and is now getting his whole body in sync with his swing. It has resulted in a tremendous start to the ‘26 season that’s seen Walton produce some high end power. Walton is lifting the ball pull-side at a tremendous rate, and though there’s still some swing and miss here and the overall passivity within the zone concerns me, he’s damaging the ball better than just about anyone else in the Midwest League with an EV90 north of 107.

RHP BRAYLON DOUGHTY | 20
How’s this for aggressive? At just 20 years old, Doughty would become among the youngest arms in Double-A if what I’m asking for here happened this season. That being said, I believe if anyone is ready for it, it’s him. Doughty is the most polished prep arm the Guardians have had in their system since I started tracking prospects. His fastball continues to improve and find a stable velocity in the low-90s band, and should it find that next tick up in velo, he goes from mid to back-end rotation arm to SP2 ceiling. Should this happen, I’d anticipate him getting touched up a bit as he begins facing 24+ year olds with consistency, but it will further develop his sequencing, and that can only be a positive.

IF LUKE HILL | 22 | R/R
Besides Walton, there’s a few Lake County bats worthy of this, but none more than Luke Hill. Hill has been a bit of a revelation to the farm system. Drafted primarily off of his keen eye and quality swing decisions, Hill has seen that translate into a very real ability to do damage. Hill’s nine home runs at the moment of this typing is more than he ever hit at Ole Miss, he’s running an EV90 north of 105, and above all else, he doesn’t possess the ever concerning passivity that is currently at a ground swell in this system. Hill is selectively aggressive, attacks pitches in the zone, and is now driving them with legit pop. Not only should Hill get promoted, but he should be pushing for the top 10 of Guards prospects lists.

DOUBLE-A

RP CARTER RUSTAD | 25 | R/R
Rustad was acquired from the Orioles for Johnathan Rodriguez back in late March, and some of the best stuff of his career thus far has come in Akron. Rustad throws from a sub-25 degree slot with great extension. A three-pitch pitcher, he generates capable iVB on his fastball, typically around 17 inches, and ~8 inches of arm-side run while sitting 93-95 with the heater. He’ll work a solid slider off of that against righties and a changeup to lefties that gets over a foot of arm-side tail. At 25 and not R5 eligible for another year, a promotion to Columbus where Cleveland can get a clean look at him without any 40-man issues should he pitch well feels ideal.

On Thursday, Mets DH/1B Jorge Polanco spoke to the media from the Binghamton Rumble Ponies dugout.

The switch-hitter is working his way back from Achilles bursitis and a wrist issue, and is currently playing with the Mets' Double-A affiliate.

When asked about his current condition, Polanco smiled and responded that he is "feeling way better."

The Rumble Ponies began a four-game home stand against the Portland Sea Dogs tonight, but Polanco has the night off. However, he emphasized that he is ready to play tomorrow night.

"There is no rush, I want to get back when I feel good," Polanco stressed. "The main thing is to get better and to get healthy so I can help the team."

Polanco also revealed a potential timeline for his return to the Mets lineup, declaring that it should only be "two or three more games and I should be ready to go up [to the majors]."

He also reflected on New York's poor start to the season in his absence while also expressing hope for a future turnaround. 

"It hasn't gone the way we want; we want to win," Polanco said. "But I know that things are going to get better."

Polanco was asked about the impact that rookie outfielders Carson Benge and A.J. Ewing have made since entering the fray in Queens. He gave the greenhorns his vote of confidence, affirming that "it's great to have those kids... It's a plus for us, the energy they bring."

We, the spoiled denizens of Braves Country, have made our displeasure known about the recent offensive outages. Some of it warranted (dropping a series to the Nats at home). We may have said things we regret. 

I’m taking your Ronald Acuña Jr. apology forms riiight here. 

The Braves will finish 4-2 against the Red Sox this season, taking 2 of 3 in both Atlanta and Boston in the span of a week. 

The Braves are back in the win column and notched another series win, bouncing back after 1) last night’s shutout and 2) their second series loss of the year before Memorial Day. 

In the battle of lefties on the mound, Chris Sale grinded through five innings of work, throwing 96 pitches and allowing six hits, two earned runs, three walks, and striking out eight. He pitched around traffic in every inning, but got strikeouts in huge spots to end the threats in the first, second, and third. 

Thus ends the streak of 6+ inning starts for Sale, but he still got the win, adding to his streak of decisions so far this season. You can’t help but be extra appreciative of Sale when he’s at Fenway. He’s throwing 99 mph on his 92nd pitch of the game for a strikeout for us. For Atlanta. Matt Olson was entirely right to (mildly and apparently amicably) let Willson Contreras know not to chirp our ace. He kept us right in it, believing his offense would break through. 

And they would do exactly that – but before we get to the point where they broke it open, I want to give Jorge Mateo his flowers.

Mateo has made the most of his fluid role and limited playing time with the Braves. Called upon to DH, pinch run, or start at short like today, he has contributed in a myriad of underrated ways. He had himself a day today, going 2-for-4 with a double and two-out RBI single to get the scoring started off of Payton Tolle. Tolle was picking right back up where he left off in stealing the souls of Braves hitters. But he proved fallible, and Jorge had the first blow. Mateo’s single also set up a Dom Smith RBI single to make it 2-0 Braves in the fourth. A difference maker!

Those two runs felt huge, but Sale’s unlucky fourth (a barely-fair RBI double and RBI single) brought us a brand-new ballgame tied at 2-2. Ronald Acuña Jr. reached on a leadoff walk and collected a stolen base, but nothing further would be charged to Tolle after being lifted after 4.2 innings.

The top of the sixth was special. When have you seen the first three Braves hitters show bunt? Only Michael Harris II laid one down for a single, but Mateo and Smith took advantage of reliever Danny Coulombe’s lack of command and walked to load the bases. A brief game of chicken ensues: Eli White came in to pinch hit for Sandy León, Boston countered with a pitching change to go to righty Greg Weissert, and then White headed back to the dugout in favor of Mike Yastrzemski. Yaz’s good eye led to a bases-loaded walk to make it 3-2 Braves. Lineup card turned over, and there are still no outs. 

Ronald took a ball low. Weissert’s next pitch, a 93 mph sinker, was promptly sent a whopping 417 feet, soaring over the Green Monster for a grand slam. What a moment for Ronnie rocket #3 of the season.

The game continued while we reveled in that high for a while. Tyler Kinley (1.0 IP), Reynaldo López (2.0 IP), and Dylan Dodd (1.0 IP) would combine to throw four scoreless to finish out the game. Harris II and Ozzie Albies also wanted in on the fireworks and would tack on three runs via a solo homer in the seventh and a two-run homer in the ninth, respectively. 

The Braves improve to 38-19 and will have a happy flight to Cincinnati. Don’t watch that highlight again without turning in your apology form. 

Major League Baseball could make Sacramento a permanent home in the near future, at least that's the hope for city leaders and residents surrounding California's capital.

Regional leaders near Sacramento made their plans for a MLB team called "The Sacramento Pitch" in a news release from the Greater Sacramento Economic Council detailing commitments including a "fully entitled 50-acre stadium site" and nearly $2 billion in public and private funds.

The Athletics play at Sutter Health Park, a minor-league stadium in West Sacramento, after the A's relocated from Oakland, using Sacramento as a pitstop from 2025 to potentially 2028 before they ultimately land in Las Vegas where a new, state-of-the-art ballpark is expected to be completed by that year.

Sacramento natives and residing neighbors who were either A's fans from their Oakland days or now riding for their local team have gotten accustomed to having a professional baseball team in town, and there's buzz to keep one in the region when the league negotiates team expansions into two other markets - one on the West coast and another in the East.

Founder and chairman of Fulcrum Property and Board Chair of the Greater Sacramento Economic Council Mark Friedman believes Sacramento will be "impossible to ignore" when it's time to consider additional franchises.

"When MLB moves forward on expansion, Sacramento will be impossible to ignore,” Friedman said in a news release. “We have the market, the site, the capital, and the community. Sacramento is ready to compete — and Sacramento is ready to win.”

The Greater Sacramento Economic Council has plans for a 50-acre downtown site for a modern ballpark and mixed-use development. The project is said to have pinpointed almost $2 billion in private-public funding that includes $800 million in land and private investment and another $1 billion expected to come from the City of West Sacramento through tax increment financing, existing hotel taxes, and additional sources, the news release said.

“This is a defining moment for West Sacramento, and we’re ready,” West Sacramento Mayor Martha Guerrero said in a news release. “Major League Baseball is already seeing firsthand the passion, energy, and civic pride that exists here. This region offers a practical and achievable path for long-term MLB success, and we have the financial capacity, community support, and clear vision needed to bring Major League Baseball permanently to West Sacramento. We’re built for this. We’re ready. Bring it on.”

The Sacramento Pitch is an organizational group of city and sports leaders spearheading the effort to bring MLB to Sacramento on a full-time basis. Among those individuals are notable baseball names from the Sacramento area, former Major League Baseball player Derrek Lee and World Series Champion, as a player and manager, Dusty Baker.

“I have always believed Sacramento is a major league city. Throughout my career, I’ve traveled across the country, and there’s something different about the people here. This community truly loves baseball,” Baker said in a news release. “For more than a century, this region has built a proud baseball legacy and developed generations of Major League Baseball players. I could not be more excited for the prospect of bringing a permanent MLB team here.”

Additional updates, tracking their progress can be found at thesacramentopitch.com.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Sacramento lays out campaign for future MLB expansion team

TONIGHT’S GAME: Tonight, the Houston Astros (25-32) and Texas Rangers (25-30) will play the finale of this 4-game series at Globe Life Field in Arlington, TX.

RHP Spencer Arrighetti (6-1, 1.32 ERA) will start for the Astros vs. RHP Nathan Eovaldi (5-5, 3.55 ERA).

Tonight will be Arrighetti’s 1st career appearance at Globe Life Field and his 3rd vs. TEX overall.

Rematch: Tonight will also be the 2nd time that Arrighetti and Eovaldi have faced each other. The last time was on July 13, 2024 in HOU in which both hurlers took a ND in a 2-1, Rangers win in 10 innings.

SPENCER’S GIFTS: Since making his season debut on April 15, RHP Spencer Arrighetti has been one of the top starters in the Majors.

With Friday’s win at CHC, he is now 6-1 in just 7 starts with a 1.32 ERA (6ER/41IP) and a miniscule .169 batting avg. (24 H allowed in 41.0 IP).

Since April 15, Arrighetti’s 6 wins are tops in the AL in that span.

Model of Consistency: Arrighetti has allowed 1 ER or less in 6 of his 7 starts and 2 ER or less in all 7 starts.

In May, Arrighetti is 3-1 in 4 starts with an 0.78 ERA (2ER/23IP).

Pitcher of the Month Candidate: Arrighetti is 3-1 in his 4 starts in May with an AL best 0.78 ERA (2ER/23IP). For the month, he has allowed just 13 hits in his 23.0 IP (.169 opp. avg).

TRIP FINALE: Tonight is the finale of this 10-game, 3-city road trip.

The Astros are 6-3 thus far on the trip, going 1-2 at MIN, 3-0 at CHC and 2-1 here at TEX with 1 game left to play. A win tonight would give the Astros 7 wins on a 10-game road trip for the 1st time since a 10-0 trip, June 7-17, 2018.

Home-Cooking: After tonight’s game, the Astros will return to HOU for a 9-game homestand, during which they will host MIL, PIT and ATH, respectively.

AIR YORDAN: Yordan Alvarez has been sizzling hot in this series at Globe Life Field, going 6×12 in 3 games with 5 HR and 8 RBI.

*Is the 1st Astros player with multi-HR in back-back games since Jose Altuve turned the trick, Sept. 4 (2 HR) and Sept. 5 (3 HR), also at Globe Life. Altuve’s 5 HR are a club record for a 2 game span.

*His 2 HR last night give him 20 HR on the season, which is a club record for the 1st 57 G of a season.

*He is the 5th Astros player with multi-HR in consecutive games. The others: Jose Altuve, 9/4-5, 2023 at TEX; Richard Hidalgo, 9/9-10, 2000 at CHC; Moises Alou, 8/13/2000 at PHI, 8/14/2000 vs. PIT; Doug Rader, 7/2021/1973 vs. NYM.

*Has matched the club record for HR in a 3-game span with 5. That record is shared by Jose Altuve (2023), Richard Hidalgo (2000) and Glenn Davis (1990).

*From Elias: The Astros record for HR in a 4-game span is 6, set by Glenn Davis, 6/1-4 of 1990.

*At Globe Life Field, his 17 career HR and 1.216 career OPS are the best of any visiting player. He has 17 HR and 37 RBI in just 33 games at Globe Life Field.

*From Sarah Langs: Only 4 MLB players have had 3 straight multi-HR games: 2003-Jeff DaVanon; 1969-Lee May; 1962-Frank Thomas; 1951-Gus Zernial.

Note: All 3 hit 6 HR in their 3-game spans.

*From Elias: The MLB record for HR in a 3-game span is 7, set by Shawn Green (5/23-25 of 2002). The MLB record for HR in a 4-game span is 8, set by Ralph Kiner, 9/10-12 of 1947 (DH on 9/11).

ON THE LEADER BOARD: Yordan Alvarez currently leads the Majors in OPS (1.085), SLG (.663) and TB (134).

In the AL, he is 1st in batting avg. (.312), T-1st in HR (20) and 4th in RBI (39).

200 CLUB: Last night’s win was #200 for Astros manager Joe Espada. Espada’s very first managerial win came via a no-hitter by RHP Ronel Blanco on April 1, 2024 vs. TOR.

RECENT STROS: The Astros have won 5 of 6, 6 of 8 and 8 of their last 12 games.

FOR STARTERS: Astros starters have a combined ERA of 3.34 (26ER/70IP) over the last 12 games (since May 15) with a 1.04 WHIP.

In that span, they have allowed just 41 hits in 70.0 for an AL-best .170 opp. avg. During that time, HOU ranks 1st in the AL in opp. avg., 2nd in WHIP and 6th in ERA. Additionally, Astros starters have allowed no runs 5 times in the last 12 games.

HOMER HAPPY: The Astros have slugged 14 HR in their last 6 games. HOU now ranks 3rd in the AL in HR with 74, just behind CWS (75).

WALKER, TEXAS HAMMER: 1B Christian Walker has 4 HR and 9 RBI in hits last 5 games.

For the season, he has been one of the top hitters in the AL and is currently T-2nd in the league lead in RBI with 40. Walker also ranks 6th in HR (15), 7th in TB (108) and SLG (.519) and 13th in OPS (.850).

Walker also has not committed an error in his 57 games played.

THE SILVER BOOT SERIES: The Astros are 4-2 vs. the Rangers thus far in the 2026 Silver Boot Series.

They took 2 out of 3 from Rangers, May 15-17 at Daikin Park in the 1st matchup of the series.

Dating back to last season, HOU has won 7 of their last 9 games vs. TEX.

Even Series: The two clubs have played each other 298 times in the regular season in their franchise histories, with the Astros holding a slight advantage, 150-148.

Recently, the Astros have had the upper hand, winning or splitting nine straight season series, going 97-53 against the Rangers since the start of the 2017 season.

The Silver Boot Trophy, which the Astros have held onto since 2017, is on display in the Centerfield Team Store at Daikin Park.

TODAY IN ASTROS HISTORY: 1969 – One night after his walk-off grand slam defeated the Phillies, Doug Rader is the hero again, this time with an RBI-single in the 10th inning for a 7-6, walkoff win over the Phillies in the Dome. Additionally, the win is the 10th straight for the Astros, tying the franchise record at that time.

Game Info

Game Date/Time: Thursday, May 28, 7:05 p.m. CT

Location: Globe Life Field, Arlington, TX

TV: Space City Home Network

Streaming: SCHN+

Radio: KTRH 740 AM, KBME 790 AM & 94.5 FM HD2; TUDN 102.9 FM HD2 (Spanish)

Houston Astros @ Texas Rangers

Thursday, May 28, 2026, 7:05 PM CDT (105.3 The Fan / Rangers Sports Network)

The Shed

RHP Spencer Arrighetti vs. RHP Nathan Eovaldi

Go Rangers!