Nolan Arenado leaves Friday’s game with a left mallet finger fracture

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By Bill BaerMay 23, 2014, 9:37 PM EDT

Rockies third baseman Nolan Arenado left Friday night’s game against the Braves after doubling and scoring in the top of the second inning with what the Rockies have diagnosed as a “left mallet finger fracture”. Arenado appeared to have suffered the injury sliding into second base on his double. Charlie Culberson replaced him at third base in the bottom of the second inning.

Via Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post, it sounds like Arenado could miss six to eight weeks:

Josh Rutledge was pulled from tonight’s game between the Colorado Springs Sky Sox and the Iowa Cubs. It appears that Rutledge will take Arenado’s spot on the roster.

Arenado has been a big contributor for the Rockies, slashing .305/.333/.489 while playing Gold Glove-caliber defense at third base.

Rockies acquire Zac Rosscup from Cubs

Patrick Gorski/Icon Sportswire/Corbis via Getty Images
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By Bill BaerJun 26, 2017, 10:08 PM EDT

The Rockies announced a minor swap of relief pitchers on Monday evening. The Cubs sent lefty Zac Rosscup to the Rockies in exchange for right-hander Matt Carasiti.

Rosscup, 29, was designated for assignment by the Cubs last Thursday. He spent only two-thirds of an inning in the majors this year and has a 5.32 career ERA across 47 1/3 innings. Rosscup has spent most of the season with Triple-A Iowa, posting a 2.60 ERA in 27 2/3 innings.

Carasiti, 25, spent 15 2/3 innings in the majors last year, putting up an ugly 9.19 ERA. With Triple-A Albuquerque this season, he compiled a 2.37 ERA and a 43/13 K/BB ratio in 30 1/3 innings.

U.S. Court of Appeals affirms ruling that the minor leagues are exempt from federal antitrust law

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By Bill BaerJun 26, 2017, 9:03 PM EDT

The Associated Press reported that on Monday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit affirmed a district court ruling which holds that the minor leagues are exempt from federal antitrust law, just like the major leagues.

In 2015, four minor leaguers sued Major League Baseball, alleging that MLB violated antitrust laws with its hiring and employment policies. They accused MLB of “restrain[ing] horizontal competition between and among” franchises and “artificially and illegally depressing” the salaries of minor league players.

The U.S. Court of Appeals said the players failed to state an antitrust claim, as the Curt Flood Act of 1998 exempted Minor League Baseball explicitly from antitrust laws.

This case is separate from the Aaron Senne case in which Major League Baseball is accused of violating the Fair Labor Standards Act. That case was recertified as a class action lawsuit in March. In December, Major League Baseball established a political action committee (PAC), which came months after two members of Congress sought to change language in the FLSA so that minor league players could continue to be paid substandard wages.