The Yankees officially announce the Derek Lowe signing

By Craig CalcaterraAug 13, 2012, 2:15 PM EDT
12 Comments

We wrote about this on Saturday, but the Yankees officially announced it earlier this afternoon:

The New York Yankees today announced they have signed right-handed pitcher Derek Lowe to a Major League contract and selected him to the 25-man active roster. Lowe is scheduled to join the team tonight and is expected to pitch out of the bullpen.

So, no, you didn’t come across that news in a fever dream, a demented state or a peyote haze. It actually happened.

The Rangers come to the Bronx tonight. Tune in to see how Derek Lowe’s first relief work in five years goes.

Oakland Athletics reverse course: will continue to pay minor leaguers

Getty Images
By Craig CalcaterraJun 5, 2020, 7:11 PM EDT
2 Comments

Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports that Oakland Athletics owner John Fisher has reversed course and will continue to pay minor leaguers. Fisher tells Slusser, “I concluded I made a mistake.” He said he is also setting up an assistance fund for furloughed employees.

The A’s decided in late May to stop paying paying minor leaguers as of June 1, which was the earliest date on which any club could do so after an MLB-wide agreement to pay minor leaguers through May 31 expired. In the event, the A’s were the only team to stop paying the $400/week stipends to players before the end of June. Some teams, notable the Royals and Twins, promised to keep the payments up through August 31, which is when the minor league season would’ve ended. The Washington Nationals decided to lop off $100 of the stipends last week but, after a day’s worth of blowback from the media and fans, reversed course themselves.