Phillies news and rumors 7/8: John Middleton joins committee to evaluate A’s relocation

Phillies owner John Middleton is evaluating a potential A’s relocation. (Cheryl Pursell)

If you had a moment of panic and utter confusion upon hearing that Phillies owner John Middleton was joining a “relocation committee,” that makes two of us.

Obviously, the Phillies are going nowhere. But Middleton is about to be a leading voice in evaluating the move of a different team that does, indeed, want to go somewhere: the Oakland (aspiringly, Las Vegas) Athletics.

Middleton, along with Kansas City Royals CEO John Sherman, is joining an MLB relocation committee to evaluate the potential A’s move to Las Vegas, according to the Associated Press on Friday.

Middleton and Sherman’s inclusion is notable (and intentional) due to the cities they now occupy as MLB owners: Philadelphia and Kansas City, of course, the Athletics’ former homes before the franchise moved to Oakland in the late 1960s.

Their job will be to “evaluate the team’s application, define the new operating territory and television territory, then make a recommendation to Manfred and the eight-man executive council,” according to the AP.

The ensuing owner vote, which needs 75% approval (so, 23 of the 30 owners) to pass, is expected to be a formality. The A’s cleared the last significant hurdle in their relocation efforts back in mid-June, when the Nevada state legislature approved $380 million in public funding for the A’s proposed ballpark on the Las Vegas Strip.

Still, even if it’s not expected to produce any terribly shocking results, it’s at least noteworthy that Middleton will have somewhat of a say in moving the relocation process along for the A’s — and hey, if it ends up falling through the cracks, maybe we can partially credit the Phillies for keeping the A’s in Oakland.

One can dream.

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Alex Coffey of The Philadelphia Inquirer wrote about Pache’s heroics and relationship with fellow outfielder Brandon Marsh.
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Former Phillie Nation

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