Rise and Phight: 6/7/2023

The biggest news of the day was the announcement the team has sold a portion of the club to a local guy. Matt Gelb went into what it’ll mean in the future for them, but for me, the biggest thing is that Middleton was so up front about his intentions with the team.

The new owner doesn’t have enough of a percentage to really be able to outrank Middleton, but he’ll still have a voice. What was nice to see is that the plan is to continue to run payrolls near the top of the sport, something they plan on continuing into the future. It would be really easy for someone to come in and expect to receive large returns on their investment and while the new owner is saying all the right things now, let’s hope they continue to want to win first before they prioritize profits. There will eventually come a time for that, but with their championship window open right now, they need to continue to make sure they’re doing what they can to keep it propped open.

On to the links.

Phillies news:

• Here is the full story about the new owner that has joined the group.
• The Phillies are included in this article about how $1.1 billion doesn’t go that far in the standings these days.
• This is a nice story about Gregg Murphy and his battle with cancer, which thankfully is in remission.

MLB news:

• On the positive news of the day, the Reds promoted their top prospect in Elly de la Cruz to demolish baseballs all day.
• On the negative side, Jacob deGrom needs Tommy John surgery and will likely be out for quite a long time.
• The hearings between Diamond Sports and MLB were “heated” according to this in-depth look at the proceedings.
• Looks like Alex Manoah is taking the Roy Halladay approach to his career.