Red Sox Officially Hire Craig Breslow As Chief Baseball Officer
2023/10/red-sox-to-hire-craig-breslow-as-president-of-baseball-operations.html“Each year, one baseball club emerges with a championship. … Breslow joins Texas GM Chris Young, White Sox GM Chris Getz and Seattle president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto as former MLB players who are now in charge of a front office.
Offseason Outlook: Houston Astros
2023/10/offseason-outlook-houston-astros-14.htmlThe Astros made a seventh straight appearance in the American League Championship Series. … None of their core players are headed to free agency.
Hall Of Fame Announces 2024 Era Committee Candidates
2023/10/hall-of-fame-announces-2024-era-committee-candidates.htmlDuring his first season managing in Florida, Leyland led a 92-win team from a Wild Card berth to a championship in just the fifth season in Marlins history. … Previously known as the Veterans Committee, the Era Committee is a 16-person panel that considers nominees outside the purview of induction for players via the Baseball Writers Association of America.
Yuki Matsui To Explore Signing With MLB Teams
2023/10/yuki-matsui-to-explore-signing-with-mlb-teams.htmlMatsui was a member of Japan's championship team at the 2023 World Baseball Classic, though he only made one appearance during the tournament, throwing a scoreless inning. … Readers of MLBTR's NPB Players To Watch feature are quite familiar with Matsui's name, as Dai Takegami Podziewski had frequently highlighted the closer throughout the 2023 season.
Offseason Outlook: Baltimore Orioles
2023/10/offseason-outlook-baltimore-orioles-13.htmlFor a division winner looking to contend for a championship, the Orioles could aim higher at a true ace. … Based on their negligible long-term salary commitments and the projections of their arbitration-eligible players, the O's have only $58.5MM lined up for their 2024 payroll, and even that number should be a bit smaller in the event of a few non-tenders from the arb class.
Offseason Outlook: San Diego Padres
2023/10/offseason-outlook-san-diego-padres-14.htmlThey came up shy of the postseason despite a star-studded roster that entered the year with championship aspirations. … The Padres wouldn't get near the level of talent -- five young players headlined by MacKenzie Gore, James Wood and CJ Abrams -- which they sent to the Nationals to acquire him.
Joe Christopher Passes Away
2023/10/joe-christopher-passes-away.htmlHis trio of seasons with the Pirates included the 1960 campaign, when Pittsburgh won 95 games en route to a World Series championship. … Aside from being a member of the original Mets team in 1962 and winning a World Series in 1960, Christopher is noteworthy as one of only a handful of big league players from the U.S.
Kyle Wright To Undergo Shoulder Surgery, Will Miss 2024 Season
2023/10/kyle-wright-to-undergo-shoulder-surgery-will-miss-2024-season.htmlThe silver lining was a championship ring in 2021, as though he made only two appearances in the regular season, he landed a spot on the World Series roster and delivered a 1.59 ERA in 5 2/3 innings of relief work. … Given the Braves' penchant for extending their in-house players, a solid 2023 season might've been enough evidence to convince the front office to lock in a multi-year agreement with Wright, giving him an even bigger payday.
Offseason Outlook: Texas Rangers
2023/11/offseason-outlook-texas-rangers-13.htmlTwo offseasons of aggressive spending paid off as handsomely as possible for the Rangers, who captured the franchise's first World Series championship. … Corey Seager, Adolis Garcia, Marcus Semien, Nathaniel Lowe, Josh Jung, Jonah Heim, Leody Taveras, and Evan Carter form a tremendous core of everyday players, and this entire group is controlled through at least the 2026 season.
Offseason Outlook: Milwaukee Brewers
2023/10/offseason-outlook-milwaukee-brewers-13.htmlIf Attanasio feels the team is still close to a championship, could he okay a one-year payroll boost and retain all of Burnes, Woodruff, and Adames for what would essentially be a "last dance" season? In theory yes, though it seems like 2023 might've already been that last dance. … Longtime manager Craig Counsell is out of contract come November and has been non-committal about his future in Milwaukee, while the Brewers face tough decisions on a trio of prominent players.
Offseason Outlook: Philadelphia Phillies
2023/10/offseason-outlook-philadelphia-phillies-13.htmlThere is no doubt the Phils will reload for another championship run in 2024, yet they'll have to address the possible departure of two long-time franchise staples. … Only four of the 40 players drafted by the Phillies in the 2014 draft ended up reaching the majors, with Austin Davis making 136 appearances (50 for Philadelphia) and Brandon Leibrandt pitching in five games with the Marlins in 2020.
Padres Chairman Peter Seidler: “Current Leadership Continues To Have My Full Support”
2023/10/padres-chairman-peter-seidler-current-leadership-continues-to-have-my-full-support.html"We entered 2023 with expectations that we would build on last year's NLCS appearance and contend for a World Series Championship. … While RosterResource indicates the club's payroll in 2024 stands at just over $128MM at this point, that figure doesn't include arbitration-level contracts for players like Juan Soto, Scott Barlow, and Trent Grisham, among others.
Tigers To Hire Miguel Cabrera As Special Assistant Following 2023 Season
2023/09/tigers-to-hire-miguel-cabrera-as-special-assistant-following-2023-season.htmlHe'll end his career with twelve All Star appearances, two MVP awards, a World Series championship, four batting titles, and a World Series ring from the Marlins' championship run during his rookie season. … I don’t want to coach, but I want to be around," Cabrera said, "[The club's young players] are growing right now.
AL East Notes: Yankees, Cora, Diaz, Mountcastle
2023/09/al-east-notes-yankees-cora-diaz-mountcastle.htmlCora took over the Red Sox as manager in 2018 and oversaw the club's World Series championship that fall. … The Yankees are mathematically eliminated from the playoffs for the first time in years, but that hasn't stopped them from looking to get some of their injured players on the mound one last time before the offseason.
Brooks Robinson Passes Away
2023/09/brooks-robinson-passes-away.htmlRobinson had a career .303/.323/.462 slash line in postseason play, playing on four AL pennant winners and two World Series championship teams (1966, 1970). … After his playing career, he continued to make contributions to the game by working with the MLB Players Alumni Association.
Padres Plan To Reduce Payroll To Around $200MM; Front Office Changes Possible
2023/09/padres-plan-to-reduce-payroll-to-around-200mm-front-office-changes-possible.htmlAn Opening Day payroll of just under $249MM and some aggressive acquisitions of star players meant that the Padres were fully expecting a championship in 2023, but San Diego has instead posted only a 77-79 record, and the season's final week begins with the Padres still in mathematical contention for a wild card slot by only the faintest of margins. … This isn't the only time that internal discord has been a public problem in San Diego, as the club's collapse in the second half of the 2021 was largely attributed to a rift between the players and then-manager Jayce Tingler.
Big Hype Prospects: Caminero, Langford, Holliday, Carter, Marte
2023/09/big-hype-prospects-caminero-langford-holliday-carter-marte.htmlRound Rock has a three-game series remaining for the PCL Championship, and I suspect we’ll see Langford join the Rangers upon the conclusion of the series. … Then again, no era of baseball has offered players such tangible opportunity to transform their game.
Nationals Agree To Multi-Year Extension With Mike Rizzo
2023/09/nationals-agree-to-multi-year-extension-with-mike-rizzo.htmlRizzo guided the club through eight consecutive winning seasons from 2012-2019, a stretch that including five postseason appearances with a World Series championship in 2019. … The downturn in production was thanks not only to the departure of key players like Bryce Harper prior to the 2019 season and Anthony Rendon the following winter, but also a pair of ill-fated big money contracts; both left-hander Patrick Corbin and homegrown ace Stephen Strasburg haven't panned out since the club's championship in 2019, with Strasburg throwing just 31 1/3 big league innings since and Corbin posting a brutal 5.61 ERA in 102 starts over the past four seasons.
Nationals Assistant GM Johnny DiPuglia Resigns
2023/09/nationals-assistant-gm-johnny-dipuglia-resigns.htmlWhile the 2019 championship was the peak of a successful decade for the franchise, the fall has been precipitous, as Washington is on pace for its fourth consecutive losing season. … Before coming to the Nationals, DiPuglia's work as the Red Sox scouting director for Latin America produced such notable players…
White Sox Fire Ken Williams, Rick Hahn
2023/08/white-sox-fire-ken-williams-rick-hahn.htmlIt was the Sox's first championship since 1917, snapping an 87-year drought that stands as the second-longest in MLB history. … Those deals brought in players like Lucas Giolito, Reynaldo Lopez, Yoan Moncada, Michael Kopech, Dylan Cease and Eloy Jimenez to join Abreu, Tim Anderson and international amateur signee Luis Robert as the core of what the club hoped to be a long-term contender.
Poll: What Path Should The Mets Pick With Pete Alonso?
2023/08/poll-what-path-should-the-mets-pick-with-pete-alonso.htmlHe has yet to reach Double-A but the Mets surely acquired him in the hopes that he would be a part of a future championship core at some point down the line. … If the Mets are looking to continue down the path they picked at the deadline, trading veterans for prospects and eating money to get a better return, any of those players could be a candidate for such an approach.
Latest On Justin Verlander
2023/07/mets-trade-rumors-justin-verlander-astros.htmlVia SNY's Steve Gelbs (Twitter link, with video), the 40-year-old righty said following Sunday's game that his openness to a trade "largely depends on how the organization views next year," adding that he's "committed to trying to win a championship" in Queens but would be more open to waiving his no-trade protection if Mets decision-makers feel it's best to take a step back in 2024. … (Texas is picking up a reported $16.5MM of next year's salary.) That's before factoring in Brooks Raley's $6.5MM club option or arbitration raises for a group of ten players, headlined by first baseman Pete Alonso.
Marlins Acquire David Robertson
2023/07/marlins-to-acquire-david-robertson.htmlNew York, coming off a 101-win season and running the highest payroll in MLB history, entered the year with championship aspirations. … There's ample variability in targeting players this young, but each of Vargas and Hernandez seems to have a shot at being an everyday player down the line if they develop as hoped.
Giants Interested In Justin Verlander
2023/07/giants-interested-in-justin-verlander.htmlVerlander was already pitching well for the Tigers in 2017 but his performance was kicked into a higher gear when Detroit moved him to Houston on August 31, resulting in Verlander playing a big part in the Astros' first championship. … One of the top players available in the 2022-23 offseason, Verlander signed a two-year, $86.66MM deal to join the Mets, and the contract also contains a $35MM vesting option for 2025 (Verlander gets that $35MM player option if he tosses at least 140 innings in 2024).
Blue Jays, Astros Interested In Marcus Stroman; Astros Interested In Cody Bellinger
2023/07/blue-jays-astros-interested-in-marcus-stroman-astros-interested-in-cody-bellinger.htmlIt simply isn't a rotation that looks like it can contend for another championship, and even making the playoffs might be difficult for Houston given the Rangers' lead in the AL West and the crowded nature of the wild card race. … Unless the Northsiders go on a real hot streak over the next two weeks, it looks like the Cubs again be looking to sell some veteran players at the August 1 trade deadline.