MLB commissioner Rob Manfred d...

Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred addressed a small group of media Thursday afternoon in New York City following the conclusion of owners meetings this week.

He announced that the Texas Rangers will host the 2024 All-Star Game at Globe Life Field in Arlington and the Philadelphia Phillies will host the 2026 game to honor the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. (The 2025 All-Star location is yet undecided.) Beyond that, here’s what he had to say on a range of topics:

Investigation into collusion between the Mets and Yankees

On Nov. 3 SNY reported that, according to Mets sources, the Mets would not make a run at Aaron Judge in free agency this offseason because owners Steven Cohen and Hal Steinbrenner have a “mutually respectful relationship, and do not expect to upend that with a high-profile bidding war.” The Athletic reported Wednesday that those comments had incited an investigation by MLB into whether they constitute collusion to suppress Judge’s market.

Manfred initially demurred, citing his lack of involvement in the investigation, but when pressed on how fraught accusations of collusion are — especially so close to an contentious labor fight — he offered unequivocal assurance that there had been no impropriety.

Fallout from FTX declaring bankruptcy after signing a partnership with MLB

In June 2021, MLB announced that it had forged “the first-ever partnership between a professional sports league and a cryptocurrency exchange” with FTX. Beginning with the 2021 All-Star Game, FTX became the first sponsorship company to advertise on umpire uniforms. The agreement also granted FTX worldwide marketing rights utilizing MLB logos, and through an agreement with the MLBPA, allowed FTX to use player highlights in their content creation.

Streaming rights, RSNs and the future of watching baseball games

Baseball fans have repeatedly shared their frustration with accessing MLB games on streaming services — specifically, the local blackouts on MLB.tv. (It was the No. 1 concern Reddit users wanted relayed to Manfred during the World Series.) This past season, the league debuted a series of partnerships with streaming services — including Apple TV and Peacock — to broadcast weekly national games. But navigating the broader shift from cable to streaming while still prioritizing the lucrative RSN (regional sports network) deals has proved to be a complicated multiyear process for baseball. Manfred said there was a “long report” on the RSN landscape made to the owners this week

“I think the look forward from our perspective,” he said, “is that there is a remnant of the cable bundle that has real economic value that we need to be aggressive about helping to survive to preserve those economics. Equally important, we need to develop digital products that get to people who have opted out of the bundle who currently don't have access to our game.”