As Diamond Baseball Holdings continues to gobble up minor league franchises -- more than 40 of the 120 full-season affiliates and counting, including the Charlotte Knights, Birmingham Barons and Winston-Salem Dash -- the end goal of a private equity-backed company owning such a massive percentage of minor league baseball concerns remains unclear.
Over at Defector, Jen Ramos Eisen takes the latest crack at the mystery. Like the other previously reported stories, the on-record quotes are generally positive. DBH has the resources that many of the previous ownership groups lacked, whether it's deeper pockets or the ability to upgrade facilities by buying in bulk. There's the emphasis in turning ballparks into entertainment districts, which risks making the baseball part of the equation a lesser priority, but it does get more use out of facilities, many of which are publicly funded.
Off the record, or at least anonymously, there's a lot more suspicion voiced, and Ramos Eisen does a good job at pulling at some of the threads. One through line is a pretty cozy relationship between DBH and Major League Baseball that has veered into "conflict of interest" territory, whether it's because Silver Lake backs DBH while owning a baseball agency, or because a whole bunch of MLB executives and owners were listed as "spokespeople" in onboarding decks. It was sloppy enough to look short of official, yet nobody has completely explained it away.
One employee who talked to Ramos Eisen went so far as to say, "I think DBH is a front for MLB," which the league called "categorically false." And indeed, there isn't a smoking gun. But if you're skeptical that private equity has any interest in keeping an inefficient public trust going, and if you think Rob Manfred is merely waiting for the expiration of the 10-year Player Development Licenses in order to further reduce the number of minor league affiliates, Ramos Eisen offers nothing to assuage fears.
Memphis 8, Charlotte 1
- Bryan Ramos went 0-for-3 with a walk and a strikeout.
- Dru Baker was 0-for-3 with two strikeouts.
- Tyler Schweitzer: 2 IP, 2 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 4 K, 25 of 40 pitches for strikes.
Birmingham 5, Biloxi 2
- Rikuu Nishida was 0-for-4 with a walk, two strikeouts and a stolen base.
- William Bergolla, 2-for-4 with a stolen base.
- Ryan Galanie, 1-for-4 with a double.
- Jacob Gonzalez was 0-for-4.
- Hagen Smith: 4 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, 1 HR, 36 of 61 pitches for strikes.
Winston-Salem 9, Greenville 5
- Sam Antonacci was 0-for-5 with a walk.
- Jeral Perez, 2-for-5 with a stolen base.
- Braden Montgomery walked, got plunked and struck out thrice.
- Samuel Zavala went 0-for-4 with a walk, strikeout and two stolen bases.
Myrtle Beach 7, Kannapolis 3
- Ryan Burrowes was 1-for-5 with a double and a strikeout.
- Lyle Miller-Green walked twice, got plunked once and struck out once.
- Ronny Hernandez was 1-for-3 with a walk and a strikeout.
- George Wolkow was 0-for-2 with two walks and a strikeout.
- Pierce George finally gave up a single run in an outing: 1.1 IP, 0 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, 1 HBP, 16 of 24 pitches for strikes.
- Blake Shepardson: 1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, 1 WP, 8 of 15 pitches for strikes.
ACL White Sox 5, ACL Guardians 2 (7 innings)
- Christian Gonzalez hit his first stateside homer during a 4-for-4 night. He was caught stealing.
- Adrian Gíl hit his seventh homer, along with a walk and two strikeouts.
- Jurdrick Profar was 0-for-3 with two strikeouts.
- Noah Syndergaard stretches out further: 5 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 4 K
DSL White Sox 5, DSL Cubs Red 3 (7 innings)
- Frank Mieses was 2-for-3 with a triple.
- Alejandro Cruz was 0-for-2 with a walk.
- Yordani Soto went 0-for-1 with two walks and two stolen bases.
