Morning Mound Visit: Staten Island Yankees cease operations

A lawsuit against MLB, Yankees; the Corey Knebel trade; MLB nearing decision on who keeps affiliation

J.J. Cooper | Baseball America: The Staten Island Yankees announced they are ceasing operations after losing their major league affiliation. The club is also suing MLB and the New York Yankees because Staten Island was promised affiliation. Staten Island was presented with the option of playing in the Atlantic League or the MLB Draft League, but neither option was financially feasible.

Eric Stephen | True Blue LA: Before the non-tender deadline passed, the Dodgers acquired Corey Knebel from the Brewers in exchange for a player to be named later or cash. Knebel missed all of 2019 recovering from Tommy John surgery and didn’t exactly return to form in 2020.

Evan Drellich | The Athletic $: MLB is finalizing its list of which 120 minor league teams will keep their affiliation, but this won’t all be settled when that is announced. Some teams might reject MLB’s Professional Development License.