The future of the Rays in St. Petersburg could be decided today - MLB

We’ve talked about the deal reached between the Rays and the City of St. Petersburg which would allow the Rays to look outside of the city at new stadium sites. The deal requires city council approval, however, and that will be voted on today at a meeting that takes place at 3pm.

Is it a slam dunk? Not necessarily, the Tampa Bay Times reports that “several city business leaders have said it is a poor deal for the city and planned to lobby council members to vote it down.” The mayor has told the city, however, that if the deal is not approved, the Rays will likely be sold and it’s quite likely that any sale of the team would involve it moving to another city. The Rays’ owner has said as much himself. It’s unclear if that’s just pressure placed on city council or a legitimate statement of intent.

We’ll know soon.

CINCINNATI — The Los Angeles Dodgers placed pitcher Noah Syndergaard on the 15-day injured list Thursday with a blister on the index finger of his right throwing hand.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said the timetable for Syndergaard’s return is unknown despite the 15-day designation.

“The physical, the mental, the emotional part, as he’s talked about, has taken a toll on him,” Roberts said. “So, the ability to get him away from this. He left today to go back to Los Angeles to kind of get back to normalcy.”

Syndergaard allowed six runs and seven hits in three innings against the Cincinnati Reds on Tuesday night, raising his ERA to 7.16.

Syndergaard (1-4) has surrendered at least five runs in three straight starts.

Syndergaard has been trying to return to the player he was before Tommy John surgery sidelined him for the better part of the 2020 and 2021 seasons.

Roberts said Syndergaard will need at least “a few weeks” to both heal and get away from baseball and “reset.”

“I think searching and not being comfortable with where he was at in the moment is certainly evident in performance,” Roberts said. “So hopefully this time away will provide more clarity on who he is right now as a pitcher.

“Trying to perform when you’re searching at this level is extremely difficult. I applaud him from not running from it, but it’s still very difficult. Hopefully it can be a tale of two stories, two halves when he does come back.”