Rays, if in, get OK for playoffs in temporary home

The Tampa Bay Rays volition play imaginable postseason games astatine George M. Steinbrenner Field successful Tampa, mounting up the anticipation of a World Series staged successful a insignificant league stadium with a capableness of 10,046.

The determination came aft treatment of perchance shifting postseason games to an alternate large league stadium, with Miami's LoanDepot Park among the sites considered. The Rays are playing their regular-season games this twelvemonth astatine Steinbrenner Field, location of the Low-A Tampa Tarpons, aft hurricane harm tore the extortion disconnected Tropicana Field and rendered it unfit for play successful 2025.

The Rays inhabit 4th spot successful the American League East astatine 50-47 but are conscionable 1½ games down the Seattle Mariners for the 3rd wild-card spot successful the AL.

Commissioner Rob Manfred said Tuesday helium anticipates the Rays volition instrumentality to Tropicana Field, which is being refurbished, for the 2026 season.

By then, the Rays could beryllium nether caller ownership. While an statement has yet to beryllium signed, the sale of the squad for $1.7 billion to an ownership radical led by real-estate developer Patrick Zalupski continues to progress, sources told ESPN. The alteration of squad power would not hap until aft the postseason, sources said, though determination could beryllium a signed statement successful spot anterior to that.

The Rays would apt enactment successful the Tampa Bay country aft being sold by Stu Sternberg, who bought the squad successful 2004 for $200 million.

Sternberg pursued a merchantability of the Rays successful the aftermath of the squad pulling retired of a woody with St. Petersburg, wherever Tropicana Field is located, for a $1.3 cardinal stadium. The sides had agreed to the woody anterior to Hurricanes Helene and Milton causing much than $50 cardinal worthy of harm to Tropicana Field.

The Pinellas County Board of Commissioners successful October 2024 delayed a ballot to money its information of the stadium. Less than a period later, the Rays said the hold would origin a one-year hold successful the stadium's opening and origin outgo overruns that would marque the woody untenable without further authorities funding. In mid-March, Sternberg told St. Petersburg politician Ken Welch the squad would backmost distant from the stadium deal.

Where Zalupski and his partners -- owe broker Bill Cosgrove and Ken Babby, an proprietor of 2 insignificant league teams -- yet instrumentality the Rays remains a question cardinal to MLB's future. Manfred has said helium wants the stadium situations of the Rays and Athletics -- who program to play successful a insignificant league stadium successful West Sacramento, California, until moving to Las Vegas earlier the 2028 play -- settled earlier MLB expands to 32 teams.

Potential Twins sale: Manfred besides addressed a imaginable merchantability of the Minnesota Twins, which had a "leader successful the clubhouse" until earlier this summer. Billionaire Justin Ishbia turned distant from the Twins, striking a woody to acquisition the Chicago White Sox arsenic aboriginal arsenic 2029.

That near the Twins to look elsewhere.

"When it becomes wide determination is simply a leader, everyone other backs away," Manfred said. "A large portion of the hold was associated with them deciding to bash thing else."

The commissioner wouldn't springiness specifics but believes a woody to merchantability the Twins is moving successful the close direction.

"I'm not prepared to archer you today," Manfred said. "There volition beryllium a transaction determination and it volition beryllium accordant with the benignant of pricing that has been taken (lately). Just request to beryllium diligent there."

Gambling integrity: Though different MLB subordinate -- Guardians pitcher Luis Ortiz -- is being investigated for issues related to gambling, the commissioner insists the strategy is moving and that legalization has really helped support the sport.

"We perpetually instrumentality a look astatine the integrity protections we person successful place," Manfred said. "I judge the transparency and monitoring we person successful spot present is simply a effect of the legalizations and the partnerships that we've made. (It) puts america successful a amended presumption to support shot than we were successful earlier legalization."

Manfred is referencing gambling monitoring companies and the league's agreements with gambling entities which pass MLB if they find suspicious enactment surrounding their players which is what happened to Ortiz, sources adjacent to the concern told ESPN.

ABS implementation: Though not each players person outwardly expressed a tendency for the ABS situation strategy to beryllium implemented full-time, Manfred believes he's taken their input connected the subject.

On Monday, All-Star starting pitchers Tarik Skubal and Paul Skenes were lukewarm connected the thought -- astatine slightest for it being utilized successful the All-Star Game.

"I don't program connected utilizing them (challenges)," Skubal said. "I astir apt americium not going to usage them successful the future."

Added Skenes: "I truly bash similar the quality constituent of the game. I deliberation this is 1 of those things that you benignant of deliberation umpires are large until they're not. And truthful I could benignant of attraction less, either way, to beryllium honest."

Manfred insists the situation strategy thought came via a compromise aft talking to players.

"Where we are connected ABS has been fundamentally influenced by subordinate input," helium said. "If 2 years ago, you asked maine what bash the owners privation to do? They would person called each transportation with ABS arsenic soon arsenic possible.

"The players expressed a beardown involvement successful the situation system."

All-Star instrumentality to Atlanta: After pulling the all-star crippled from Atlanta successful 2021 owed to caller voting laws, Manfred was asked wherefore the instrumentality to the metropolis and state.

"The crushed to travel backmost present is self-revealing," Manfred said. "You locomotion astir here, the level of involvement and excitement with a large facility, the enactment this marketplace has fixed baseball, those are truly bully reasons to travel backmost here."

Diversity Pipeline Program: Manfred was besides asked astir his determination to alteration wording connected the league's website successful narration to its Diversity Pipeline Program. He cited the changing times for the determination but stated the tone of the programs inactive exist.

"Sometimes you person to look astatine however the satellite is changing astir you and readjust to wherever you are," Manfred said. "There were definite aspects to immoderate of our programs that were precise explicitly contention and/or sex based. We cognize radical successful Washington were alert of that. We felt it was important recast our programs successful a mode to marque definite we could proceed connected with our programs and proceed to prosecute the values we've ever adhered to without tripping what could beryllium ineligible problems that could interfere with that process."

Immigration protections for players: As for caller migration enforcement policies which person taken spot since President Donald Trump's medication took implicit successful Washington, Manfred said the authorities has lived up to its promises.

"We did person conversations with the administration," Manfred said. "They assured america determination would beryllium protections for our players. They told america that was going to hap and that's what's happened."