Phillies prospect Mark Appel underwent season-ending elbow surgery

Joe Robbins/Getty Images
21 Comments

Phillies pitching prospect Mark Appel underwent surgery to remove a bone spur from his right elbow, Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer reports. He’ll miss the rest of the season, but is expected to be ready for spring training next year.

The Phillies acquired Appel, along with Vincent Velasquez, Brett Oberholtzer, Harold Arauz, and Thomas Eshelman this past offseason in the Ken Giles trade. The Astros selected him first overall in the 2013 draft.

This season with Triple-A Lehigh Valley, Appel put up a 4.46 ERA with a 34/20 K/BB ratio in 38 1/3 innings. He hadn’t started since May 22 as he was on the disabled list with a strained right shoulder. MLB Pipeline rated him the Phillies’ fourth-best prospect.

Nevada Senate vote on proposed A’s stadium in Las Vegas extended until next week

MLB: Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum
Robert Edwards-USA TODAY Sports
0 Comments

CARSON CITY, Nev. — The Nevada Senate adjourned Thursday without voting on a financing bill for a proposed $1.5 billion Las Vegas Strip stadium for the Oakland Athletics, extending the special legislative session into the next week amid negotiations over whether to contribute $380 million in public funding to the project.

The measure can still be amended by lawmakers, and if it passes the Senate it would still need approval from the Assembly before going to the desk of Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo, who has expressed support for it. Both the state Senate and Assembly are adjourned until Monday.

In a hearing that began Wednesday and stretched into the early morning hours Thursday, lawmakers peppered tourism officials and a representative from a firm partnering with the ball club with questions about the feasibility and benefits of financing such a deal.

Public funds for the stadium would mainly come from $180 million in transferable tax credits and $120 million in county bonds. Backers have pledged that the creation of a special tax district around the proposed stadium would generate enough money to pay off those bonds and interest. The plan would not directly raise taxes.

The A’s would not owe property taxes for the publicly owned stadium. Clark County, which includes Las Vegas, would also contribute $25 million in credit toward infrastructure costs.

A’s representatives and some tourism officials say a deal would further grow Las Vegas’ developing sports scene and act as an economic engine, but a growing chorus of economists and some lawmakers warn that the project would bring minimal benefits for the hefty public price tag.