With mere hours until the winners of MLB's top awards begin to be announced, let's put the mounting excitement aside and take a look at the week that was here at MLBTR…
- Jason Bay and the Mets agreed to an early expiration of his contract, making him a free agent. Bay's three years in New York could not have gone any worse, as the outfielder battled injuries and hit just .234/.318/.369 with 26 homers in 1,125 plate appearances with the team.
- The Nationals and manager Davey Johnson agreed to terms on a new contract that will keep the skipper in his current role for one more season. Johnson, who will turn 70 in January, will assume a consulting role with the team in 2014.
- The Rockies hired Walt Weiss as their next manager. The former shortstop now becomes the sixth manager in club history, dating back to 1993.
- The Dodgers won the negotiating rights to Korean left-hander Hyun-Jin Ryu with a $25,737,737.33 bid. Ryu, 25, is a Scott Boras client and the two sides will now have 30 days to work out a contract since the Hanwha Eagles have already accepted the bid.
- Catcher David Ross signed a two-year, $6.2MM contract with the Red Sox after spending a lengthy tenure with the Braves. Ross, 35, hit .269/.353/.463 with Atlanta during that time, including .256/.321/.449 with nine homers in 196 plate appearances this year.
- The Phillies signed Kevin Frandsen to a one-year contract that will pay Frandsen $850K, with incentives possibly pushing the total to $1.2MM. The 30-year-old Frandsen hit .338/.383/.451 in 210 plate appearances as Philadelphia's everyday third baseman over the last two months.
- The White Sox acquired Blake Tekotte from the Padres for right-hander Brandon Kloess. Tekotte, 25, has hit .163/.226/.224 in 55 plate appearances for the Padres over the last two years.
- The Rangers acquired Tommy Hottovy from the Royals for a player to be named later or cash considerations. Hottovy, 31, spent most of the season in the Triple-A Omaha bullpen where he posted a 2.52 ERA with 11.0 K/9 and 2.9 BB/9 in 50 innings.
- Scott Maine may be in search of a new home after being designated for assignment by the Blue Jays.The 27-year-old made 30 relief appearances this year, posting a 6.08 ERA with 10.8 K/9 and 5.1 BB/9 in 26 2/3 innings.
- The Blue Jays agreed to sign Maicer Izturis to a three-year, $10MM contract with a $3MM club option for 2016. Izturis, 32, hit .256/.320/.315 in 319 plate appearances for the Angels this year, his worst full season as a big leaguer.
- The Yankees claimed Josh Spence off waivers from the Padres and claimed David Herndon from the Blue Jays. New York also claimed catcher Eli Whiteside off of waivers from the Giants.
