Major League Baseball Deadlines to Be Pushed Back

Major League Baseball is pushing back this year's deadline to make trades without waivers by one day to Aug 1, wanting to avoid having players on the field during Sunday afternoon games as they are about to get dealt.

Teams usually remove players from starting lineups and in midgame when trades near completion. The trade deadline is 4 p.m. ET, and July 31 falls on a Sunday this year, when there are six games starting just after 1 p.m. ET, four more from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. ET, and another four from 3:30 to 4:45 p.m. ET.

"A Sunday trade deadline, given the way we play games on Sunday, didn't seem like it made the most sense, so we decided to move it the one day," commissioner Rob Manfred said Thursday after owners approved the change at their quarterly meeting. "We don't think it will be the end of modern civilization to do it one day later."

Baseball's trade deadline was June 15 from the 1923 season until it was moved to July 31 for 1986. Some have advocated it be pushed back significantly because of expanded playoffs, which keep more teams in contention later.

Chapman Not Charged

New York Yankees reliever Aroldis Chapman will not face charges stemming from an October domestic dispute between Chapman and his girlfriend, during which the pitcher allegedly fired shots in his Florida home.

Broward County Assistant State Attorney Stefanie Newman wrote in a close-out memo Wednesday that conflicting accounts and insufficient evidence made a conviction unlikely. Davie, Florida, police had previously closed the Oct. 30 matter for similar reasons.

The South Florida Sun Sentinel first reported the prosecutors' decision.

"We are all pleased that the Davie Police Department and the Office of the State Attorney took the time to fully investigate the matter and have concluded that charges were not warranted," Chapman's lawyer Paul Molle told the newspaper.

According to a police report, Chapman's girlfriend, 22-year-old Cristina Barnea, told police he pushed her, put his hands around her neck and choked her during an argument.

Chapman said there was an argument but that he was pushed down by Barnea's brother. Chapman said he eventually got a handgun and fired eight shots into a wall and window while locked in his garage.