Big if true and NBC says it's true, per an Associated Press story.

As for LA sports titans in general? Move over Mark Walter, move over Iger and Kushner, move over all of you:

Kroenke Sports and Entertainment says it has reached a deal to purchase the Los Angeles Angels from Arte Moreno.

The company led by Stan Kroenke made the surprising announcement Tuesday, saying it expects to close the transaction in early 2027.

Kroenke’s company owns the NFL’s Los Angeles Rams, Arsenal of the English Premier League, the NBA’s Denver Nuggets, the NHL’s Colorado Avalanche, Major League Soccer’s Colorado Rapids and SoFi Stadium, along with the large Hollywood Park campus around the multibillion-dollar Inglewood arena. The company has now added the Angels, whose turbulent 23-year tenure under Moreno’s ownership will finally come to an end.

Holy shit.

Angels fans partying in downtown Anaheim?

On the other hand, the post-title last three years of the Denver Nuggets should be a "hold on, don't go overboard" on the celebration.

Well, this is interesting. First reported by Passan, per MLBTR, which has the details.

First, because Pham was on a minors contract, this is allowed after the trade deadline. Second, he'll be eligible for the postseason.

A trade is allowed after the deadline because Pham was on a minor league deal with the Phils and that contract had not been selected to the majors at any point. Since he is being acquired by the September 1 cutoff, he will be eligible to play for the Sox in the postseason.

And, with roster expansion today, he'll be added to the 40-man. Sox have to drop somebody to do that.

Now, Pham doesn't have much in the gas tank. But, I guess the Sox figure he has something. And, per James Fegan of the Chicago Sun-Times, also linked at MLBTR, all the Sox are trading in return is the old standout, Cash Considerations.

Specifics of current value?

Since signing that latter deal about two months ago, he has been in decent form in Triple-A. He has stepped to the plate 189 times for Lehigh Valley with just three home runs but a huge 16.9% walk rate. His 20.1% strikeout rate is also a strong figure. He put up a .250/.381/.391 line with the IronPigs, with that production translating to a 110 wRC+, indicating he was 10% better than league average.

Despite that solid performance, it seems the Phils didn’t have much interest in calling him up. Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports that the club has been shopping him for about a week. The Philadelphia outfield needed help after Adolis García required season-ending shoulder surgery in June.

Shocked that DD didn't want a 38-year-old veteran on the Phillies.

1. Milwaukee Brewers (Average ranking: 1.0)

Record: 85-53
Last Power Ranking: 1

Trade deadline report card: B-

Who are we to say the trade deadline hasn’t worked out for Milwaukee? Sure, Antonio Senzatela and Dustin May have been underwhelming, and JoJo Romero has yet to pitch for the Brewers because he is recovering from an appendectomy. But the Brewers always seem to know better than we do what works for them (at least in the regular season) and, wouldn’t you know it, they’re 16-10 since the deadline and have maintained their grip on the league’s best record. Tarik who? Excuse me, have you watched Logan Henderson? (Note to editor: Please erase this if it looks foolish in six weeks.) — Zack Meisel

T-2. Los Angeles Dodgers (2.8)

Record: 82-55
Last Power Ranking: 2

Trade deadline report card: A

Through five starts as a Dodger, Tarik Skubal has neither disappointed nor astounded. He has a 3.00 ERA with a 2.28 FIP and 37 strikeouts in 30 innings. Yet he was not acquired to pitch deep into games in August, but rather to win games in October. But all is not well in Dodger Land — even setting aside the tumult surrounding owner Mark Walter. Shohei Ohtani’s balky left knee and sore right elbow may keep him from pitching again this season. The offense has gone quiet. The club looks old and tired. Of course, they looked exhausted and nearly extinguished around this time last season, and we all remember how that whole thing ended up. — Andy McCullough

T-2. Atlanta Braves (2.8)

Record: 82-56
Last Power Ranking: 4

Trade deadline report card: A

Under president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos, the Braves eschewed the all-in move, instead upgrading around the margins by adding Tyler Mahle, Lane Thomas and Brent Suter. Consider the moves a massive success. Mahle, who arrived in Atlanta with a 5.13 ERA, has pitched to a 1.48 mark in five starts, going for at least six innings in four of them. Suter has a 1.26 mark as a multi-inning arm, and only Thomas has been middling, though he wasn’t anticipated to be a world-beater. — Johnny Flores Jr.

For reference the lowest attended (non-COVID) MLB game was the Oakland Athletics-Seattle Mariners game of April 17,1979-653 people bought tickets but only 250 people were in attendance at a chilly Oakland Coliseum,

Per MLBTR, with links, he'll be the youngest MLB catcher since Pudge Rodriguez in 1991. He'll also be the youngest current MLB player. All the touts list him as the top catching prospect across the minor leagues.

His story to date:

It’s the culmination of a fantastic rebound season. Salas was a marquee international prospect who signed for a $5.6MM bonus as the top player in the 2023 class. Although he was born in Florida, Salas spent part of his childhood in Venezuela and signed out of Latin America as an amateur. He had played one game in the Venezuelan Winter League before signing with the Padres, a rare feat for a player who was then 16 years old.

That hinted at how polished the lefty-hitting Salas was on both sides of the ball. San Diego tends to be aggressive with their top prospects and had pushed him to Double-A within a couple months of his 17th birthday. That proved too ambitious, and Salas spent the entire 2024 season (his age-18 campaign) back in High-A.

Salas struggled that year, hitting .206 with four home runs in 111 games. He lost most of the 2025 season to a back injury. That slightly dimmed his prospect stock, though it ironically might’ve been the best outcome for the Padres in the long run. The back injury all but ensured that Salas wouldn’t be moved at the ’25 deadline. San Diego wound up giving up top shortstop prospect Leo De Vries to acquire Mason Miller last summer and sent Salas back to Double-A to open 2026.

Interesting.

Currently .326/.410/.539 at El Paso but take the altitude-aided numbers of the Pacific Coast League with a grain of salt.

As for the playoff hunt, Padres are currently a half-game ahead of the Diamondbacks for the last NL wild card slot.

Two other notes:

Despite the late-season call, Salas will remain rookie eligible in 2027 and could net the Padres a future draft pick via the Prospect Promotion Incentive if he breaks camp and meets the award criteria (i.e. Rookie of the Year or a top three MVP finish within his first three seasons). He’ll be under club control for at least six full seasons and won’t qualify for arbitration until the 2029-30 offseason at the earliest.

The bigger roster consideration is that the Padres are selecting Salas onto the 40-man roster a year earlier than would’ve been necessary to keep him out of the Rule 5 draft. That means he’ll be subject to a potential lockout and would be ineligible for minor league play if the work stoppage carries into next season.

Ahh, that word.

This is a statistical anomaly in the MLB. They are currently good for 3rd in the AL and 6th in the MLB overall, but they’re still at 11 games under .500. RSD usually leads to wins. I think Cleveland was the most recent to this statistical anomaly in the modern MLB of this stat and it happened in 2008, when they were +88 but still finished 6 games under.

Edit and shout out to bob138235 for noticing my mistake/mistype. Probably mistake. Ha. It was 2006 when Cleveland finished 6 games under.500 with a +88 RSD.

The MVP award in baseball typically goes to the player with the best statistical season. Aaron Judge had an amazing season last year, and beat out Cal Raleigh for the AL MVP.

This year, Judge has missed a considerable amount of time, and the Yankees are leading the wildcard and still have a chance at their division.

The Mariners, on the other hand, are not leading anything. If Cal Raleigh was even batting like he did in 2023 or 2024 the Mariners would probably be leading their division.

Should Cal have won the 2025 AL MVP?

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