MLB Network has cut ties with star reporter Ken Rosenthal. Rosenthal has been on the baseball beat for over 25 years, and is a senior baseball writer at The Athletic.
“Can confirm MLB Network has decided not to bring me back,“ Rosenthal said on Twitter. ”I’m grateful for the more than 12 years I spent there, and my enduring friendships with on-air personalities, producers and staff. I always strove to maintain my journalistic integrity, and my work reflects that.”
The New York Post previously wrote of Rosenthal’s departure, saying it is tied to the bow-tied reporter’s criticism of MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred. “Rosenthal, a top news breaker, was first kept off the air for around three months, according to sources, after he wrote columns in 2020 — with the season in jeopardy due to the pandemic — analyzing Manfred’s handling of the situation for The Athletic,” said the Post.
Major League Baseball owns MLB Network, alongside a clutch of cable companies.
“As MLB Network continues to look at fresh ways to bring baseball to our viewers, there is a natural turnover in our talent roster that takes place each year,” an MLB spokesman told The NY Post. “Ken played a significant part at MLB Network over the last 13 years. From spring training to the winter meetings, we thank him for his work across MLB Network’s studio, game and event programming, and wish him the very best going forward.”
Rosenthal continues to work for The Athletic and for Fox Sports.
