Jay Bruce to miss 6-8 weeks with fractured wrist - MLB

Jay Bruce received
some good news and some bad news on his fractured right wrist this
afternoon. The good news is that he won’t need season-ending surgery
after an MRI exam revealed no damage to tendons or ligaments. The bad
news is that he’s still expected to be sidelined for 6-8 weeks and
could miss the remainder of the season without going under the knife.

Bruce was hitting just .207/.283/.441 in 83 games before the injury,
which is production that Chris Dickerson and Jonny Gomes should be able
to at least match if platooned. However, the ugly .207 batting average
masked the fact that Bruce was showing more power and plate discipline
than he did as a rookie and missing two months with a wrist injury puts
a major damper on the 22-year-old’s development.

Among the 112 outfielders in baseball history with at least 750
plate appearances through the age of 22, Bruce ranks 14th in Isolated
Power with Miguel Cabrera, Andruw Jones, and Barry Bonds directly in
front of him and Hank Aaron, Jose Canseco, and Justin Upton right
behind him. He’s already got the power-hitting part down and has also
improved his patience significantly as a sophomore, upping his walk
rate by 23 percent.

He’s posted a modest .749 OPS through his first 191 games in the
majors, but 39 homers, 71 total extra-base hits, and 63 walks in 785
plate appearances show that Bruce definitely has superstar potential if
his batting average rises. He’s whiffed in 22 percent of his trips to
the plate, which helps explain the lowly .235 career mark, but Bruce
hit .308 in the minors and should cut his strikeouts with more
experience.

CARSON CITY, Nev. — A bill introduced in the Nevada Legislature would give the Oakland Athletics up to $380 million for a potential 30,000 seat, $1.5 billion retractable roof stadium on the Las Vegas Strip.

The bulk of the public funding would come from $180 million in transferable tax credits from the state and $120 million in county bonds, which can vary based on interest rate returns. Clark County also would contribute $25 million in credit toward infrastructure costs.

The A’s have been looking for a home to replace Oakland Coliseum, where the team has played since arriving from Kansas City for the 1968 season. The team had sought to build a stadium in Fremont, San Jose and finally the Oakland waterfront, all ideas that never materialized.

The plan in the Nevada Legislature won’t directly raise taxes. It can move forward with a simply majority vote in the Senate and Assembly. Lawmakers have a little more than a week to consider the proposal before they adjourn June 5, though it could be voted on if a special session is called.

The Athletics have agreed to use land on the southern end of the Las Vegas Strip, where the Tropicana Las Vegas casino resort sits. Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao has said he is disappointed the team didn’t negotiate with Oakland as a “true partner.”

Las Vegas would be the fourth home for a franchise that started as the Philadelphia Athletics from 1901-54. It would become the smallest TV market in Major League Baseball and the smallest market to be home to three major professional sports franchises.

The team and Las Vegas are hoping to draw from the nearly 40 million tourists who visit the city annually to help fill the stadium. The 30,000-seat capacity would make it the smallest MLB stadium.

MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said a vote on the Oakland Athletics’ prospective move to Las Vegas could take place when owners meet June 13-15 in New York.

The plan faces an uncertain path in the Nevada Legislature. Democratic leaders said financing bills, including for the A’s, may not go through if Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo vetoes the five budget bills, which he has threatened to do as many of his priorities have stalled or faded in the Democratic-controlled Legislature.

Under the bill, the Clark County Board of Commissioners would create a homelessness prevention and assistance fund along the stadium’s area in coordination with MLB and the Nevada Resort Association. There, they would manage funds for services, including emergency rental and utility assistance, job training, rehabilitation and counseling services for people experiencing or at risk of homelessness.

The lease agreement with the Las Vegas Stadium Authority would be up for renewal after 30 years.

Nevada’s legislative leadership is reviewing the proposal, Democratic state Assembly Speaker Steve Yeager said in a statement.

“No commitment will be made until we have both evaluated the official proposal and received input from interested parties, including impacted community members,” Yeager said.