ARLINGTON, Texas — MLB commissioner Rob Manfred (above) gave another endorsement for the pending relocation of the A’s to Las Vegas, despite questions mounting about both the club’s interim and future home.

Speaking Tuesday before the Baseball Writers’ Association of America, Manfred said he remains optimistic about the project, and particularly the ability of A’s owner John Fisher to amass the more than $1.1 billion in private financing for the planned $1.5 billion ballpark along the famed Las Vegas Strip. 

Funding beyond a previously approved $380 million in taxpayer money has not yet been finalized, and the A’s have hired veteran sports finance company Galatioto Sports Partners to help raise $500 million for the project. 

“I am comfortable … with his ability to put together the financing,” Manfred said of Fisher. 

The Las Vegas Stadium Authority will meet Thursday, and a draft development agreement is on the agenda that could offer more clues on both the stadium financing and construction plan—both pertinent details that heretofore have been publicly unknown. 

In the meantime, the plan for the A’s to play the 2025–27 seasons in Sacramento is receiving its own fresh criticism in the wake of the California capital reaching triple-digit temperatures. Discussions are ongoing about tweaking start times for some A’s home games there, among other measures, to stay out of the brunt of the heat. 

In other key MLB matters addressed by Manfred: 

• All-Star Game uniforms: MLB’s current practice of having teams wear generic league-based uniforms for the Midsummer Classic instead of their own team jerseys is once again generating widespread rebukes, and even current players such as the Phillies’ Bryce Harper are advocating for wearing their own uniforms at the event. Manfred said he’s “aware of the sentiment” and that there “will be conversations” about returning to the traditional format. 
• Olympics: There is rising interest among both the league and MLB Players Association about having major league players participate in the 2028 Games in Los Angeles. Negotiations are ongoing between MLB, the union, and the LA28 organizing committee, and participation could involve a pause or other adjustment in that year’s schedule. “When you’re in L.A., it is an opportunity we need to think about,” Manfred said.
• Regional sports network viewership: The commissioner said the Padres have nearly 40,000 subscribers for their streaming live broadcasts, tops among the three teams for which the league handles game production and distribution. Ultimately, MLB would like to develop a streaming package involving roughly half the league, but it faces a challenge of getting large-market clubs to agree to give up their current situation. 
• Robot umpires: After facing prior challenges with scaling automated ball-strike technology, Manfred said MLB could potentially test the use of robot umpires as part of a challenge system during 2025’s spring training, a step toward broader implementation as soon as ’26. 
• Draft picks: MLB said there is growing receptivity to the notion of teams being able to trade picks, something that hasn’t been allowed since the formation of the draft in 1965. Such a shift, however, would need to be collectively bargained with the union. 

“The clubs are really sophisticated now,” Manfred said. “I do think that there’s a really good argument for allowing them to decide how to use their resources.”

Tiger Woods (above) is happy he can help craft a new, lucrative future for the PGA Tour by heading up negotiations with LIV Golf’s financial backer, the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia. But he won’t deny that the job at hand is daunting.

“I never would have foreseen myself doing this, no,” Woods said during his press conference Tuesday ahead of the Open Championship, which tees off Thursday at Royal Troon Golf Club. “It’s a lot of work. It’s enjoyable in the sense that I’m able to help the Tour and I’m able to help the next generation of players.”

The PIF is exploring a potential $3 billion investment that would give the Saudi fund an ownership stake in the newly formed for-profit entity, PGA Tour Enterprises, alongside the Strategic Sports Group. 

Oh Captain, My Captain

Last week, Woods cited his ongoing off-course duties as a primary reason for turning down the chance to captain Team USA at the 2025 Ryder Cup. “I couldn’t devote the time,” he said Tuesday. “I barely had enough time to do what I’m doing right now, and add in the TGL [that] starts next year, as well as the Ryder Cup. You add all that together and then with our negotiations with the PIF, all that concurrently going on at exactly the same time, there’s only so many hours in the day.”

While Woods said he’s grateful to have a way to give back to the game besides playing, it’s still a different kind of grind. “Yes, there are days I wish I had a sand wedge and I had a driver out and I was out hitting golf balls instead of sitting in the three-hour subcommittee meeting,” he said.

Time Will Tell

Woods once again said progress is being made in the PIF talks, reiterating his stance from last month’s U.S. Open. “We all want the same thing,” he said at Pinehurst. 

Now, the main focus is complying with DOJ oversight and making sure both sides are set up to succeed financially. “They want to make money as well,” Woods said of the PIF. “They want to make that return. We’re now into not just charitable endeavors, we’re into a for-profit model. So we have to make returns.”

Lifetime Achievement

In June, the PGA Tour announced a new special exemption for Woods that will qualify him for signature events, which this year had limited, 72-player fields and $20 million purses. Woods appreciates the gesture, but he wanted to clarify he won’t be taking anyone’s spot at future tournaments. “If I want to play, I’ll be the 73rd player,” he said.