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Padres Re-Sign Mason McCoy To Minor League Deal

By Anthony Franco | December 6, 2024 at 4:00pm CDT

The Padres are bringing infielder Mason McCoy back on a minor league contract, reports Russell Dorsey of Yahoo! Sports (X link). The Republik Sports client will be in major league camp as a non-roster invitee.

A glove-first utilityman, McCoy returns for his second season with San Diego. He signed a minor league deal last winter, not long after being outrighted off Toronto’s 40-man roster. The former sixth-round pick had made his big league debut with six games as a late-inning substitute for the Blue Jays in 2023. He got a slightly longer look in San Diego after being called up in late August.

McCoy made 19 appearances for the Padres. He tallied 57 plate appearances, hitting .204/.278/.245 with a pair of doubles. McCoy got 16 starts at shortstop as a result of Ha-Seong Kim’s shoulder injury. Back inflammation sent McCoy to the injured list himself at the end of the season. The Padres opted not to tender him a contract at year’s end. That took him off the 40-man roster, but he made a strong enough impression that San Diego circled back with a minor league offer.

The righty-swinging McCoy had a modest .260/.329/.382 batting line over 432 plate appearances for Triple-A El Paso this year. He’s a .239/.318/.400 hitter across parts of four Triple-A seasons. McCoy swiped 25 bases while spending the majority of his time at shortstop. He can play anywhere on the dirt and has limited experience in left and center field. He’s likely to open the season in the minors but could get an MLB look if injuries push the Padres to add another utility option to a bench that already includes Tyler Wade.

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Manfred: Golden At-Bat Idea Has Gotten “A Little Buzz”

By Anthony Franco | December 6, 2024 at 2:35pm CDT

December 6: Jesse Rogers of ESPN followed up with Manfred about the golden at-bat idea. The commissioner emphasized that there’s “a very long road” from an idea being considered before it can be implemented and that he’s not personally in favor of the change, though he does encourage things like this to be discussed.

December 2: MLB hasn’t shied away from considering rule changes over the past few seasons. The league has unilaterally implemented a pitch clock, a three-batter minimum for pitchers (barring injury), shift limitations, and incentivized base stealing with pickoff limits and larger bases. MLB and the Players Association also agreed to implement a universal designated hitter in the 2022 collective bargaining agreement.

That hasn’t dissuaded commissioner Rob Manfred from considering other changes. Perhaps the most extreme suggestion that the commissioner has publicly floated would be the possibility of implementing a “golden at-bat” rule. Jayson Stark of The Athletic published a lengthy piece on Monday detailing potential variations of that concept.

At its core, the golden at-bat idea is to allow a team one opportunity to call upon a hitter who is in the lineup but not due for the upcoming at-bat. It’d be somewhat akin to pinch hitting with a player who is already in the game. As Stark notes, the rule could be narrowed to limit when teams could use the golden at-bat (e.g. after a certain inning, only when they’re trailing, etc.)

In October, Manfred suggested there could be some support within the league for exploring that concept. In an appearance on The Varsity podcast with Puck’s John Ourand (X link), Manfred said at the time “there was a little buzz around” the concept at a recent owners meeting. The commissioner said that idea is “in the conversation-only stage right now.”

It’s worth stressing that there’s nothing to suggest MLB has any plans to test this idea. There’s a significant gap between it surfacing in casual conversation and its appearance in any of Spring Training, the minors, or at the All-Star Game — much less in meaningful MLB contests.

The purpose would be to increase the number of high-leverage plate appearances that go to top hitters. That’d create more drama in close games, but it’d be a radical change to the sport. The fixed nature of the batting order often leaves huge at-bats in the hands of less heralded players. One could argue that’s a flaw in comparison to other sports where teams can choose to turn the ball to their stars when games are on the line. At the same time, many of baseball’s most magical moments come when players at the bottom of the order rise to the occasion with key hits.

While implementing one golden at-bat wouldn’t entirely eliminate those opportunities, it’d reduce them. It’s also an inherently artificial measure that’d represent a fundamental change from the way baseball has been played throughout its history. That’s arguably true of some other recent rule adjustments, but the golden at-bat would probably have a much bigger effect than any of the other changes.

Stark’s column goes into much more detail about the strategy implications that would be at play, as well as concerns about tradition and inflated record totals that’d come with allowing teams to give their best hitter an extra at-bat every game. Stark speaks with players, front office personnel, and longtime skipper Joe Maddon (many of whom express their disapproval for the concept) about the idea in a piece that’s worth a full read.

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Front Office Subscriber Chat Transcript

By Anthony Franco | December 6, 2024 at 11:27am CDT

MLBTR’s Anthony Franco held a live chat for Front Office subscribers this afternoon.

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How Could The Astros Create Payroll Space?

By Anthony Franco | December 6, 2024 at 9:01am CDT

For months, the Astros have expressed hope they’ll re-sign Alex Bregman. Brian McTaggart of MLB.com wrote this afternoon that they’ve made a six-year, $156MM offer — supporting recent reporting from USA Today’s Bob Nightengale about the club’s comfort zone. Nightengale and McTaggart each suggest that Bregman’s camp was hoping to land closer to $200MM at least.

With a significant gap between the sides, it’s worth examining the organization’s payroll. RosterResource calculates Houston’s competitive balance tax number at nearly $234MM. That’s $7MM shy of next season’s $241MM base threshold. Re-signing Bregman would push them well into CBT territory. Even if they balk at his asking price, they’d need to be willing to pay the tax to make any notable upgrades unless they ship out salary.

The luxury tax isn’t a firm limit. Owner Jim Crane allowed the front office to push into tax territory this year. He has suggested he’s willing to do so again if the organization feels they’re targeting the correct players. Offering Bregman a $26MM average annual value reinforces that, even if it wasn’t a proposal the two-time All-Star was likely to accept.

The Astros seemed to be up against their limit late last winter. Once they lost Kendall Graveman to shoulder surgery, ownership signed off on a surprising $95MM contract for Josh Hader. Maybe they’ll eventually do the same to retain Bregman. That’d be easier to envision if they managed to offload salary in a trade, especially since they’d face escalating penalties for paying the luxury tax in consecutive years. How could they go about cutting spending?

The Astros have $142MM in guaranteed contracts for next season. They’d have a tough time moving most of those deals. They’re not trading Jose Altuve ($30MM) or Yordan Alvarez ($15MM). There’s little incentive to sell low on Cristian Javier ($10MM) midway through Tommy John rehab. Trading Hader ($19MM) after one season of a five-year deal isn’t happening. Lance McCullers Jr.’s injury history means they wouldn’t find a taker for his $17MM salary without paying the contract down almost the entire way.

Houston can’t trade any portion of the $19.5MM they owe to José Abreu after releasing him. They could technically trade Rafael Montero, who remains in the organization after being outrighted from the 40-man roster. No one’s letting them off the hook for any part of his $11.5MM salary, though. That’s $122MM in commitments to players who have almost no chance of being moved.

Of the players on guaranteed deals, the only realistic trade options are Victor Caratini and Ryan Pressly. Caratini is making an affordable $6MM as a quality complement to Yainer Diaz behind the plate. The Astros could find a taker, but they’d probably need to subsequently commit $3-4MM to sign a backup catcher. Moving Caratini wouldn’t make much of a difference in the Bregman bidding.

As we noted when we named Pressly the offseason’s #14 trade candidate, offloading the reliever’s $14MM salary is the most straightforward option. It’s one the front office has considered. A Pressly trade is a strong possibility, but it’s not inevitable. It’d deal a hit to their bullpen, for one. Pressly also has full no-trade rights as a 10-and-5 player. If he doesn’t want to move, he’s staying.

That leaves their arbitration group. Houston has one of the biggest arbitration classes in the league. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projects them for a combined salary nearing $54MM. They’re mostly key players. Houston’s arb class breaks down as follows (the salaries are projections, not finalized numbers).

  • Framber Valdez: $17.8MM
  • Kyle Tucker: $15.8MM
  • Mauricio Dubón: $4.6MM
  • Luis Garcia: $1.875MM
  • Bryan Abreu: $3.7MM
  • Chas McCormick: $3.3MM
  • Jake Meyers: $2.2MM
  • Jeremy Peña: $4.4MM

Most of those players are making between $2-5MM. Trading someone like Dubón or Meyers is plausible, but as with a potential Caratini move, it’s not especially consequential from a payroll perspective. If Houston wanted to clear significant money from their arbitration class, the clearest way would be to move one of Tucker or Valdez.

This week, Chandler Rome of the Athletic floated the idea of the Astros entertaining a Valdez or Tucker trade. To be clear, that was framed as speculation, not defined reporting that the Astros are actually considering it. Tucker and Valdez are each one year from free agency. Rome points out that they’re trending towards contracts that Crane has traditionally been reluctant to approve — especially Tucker. He argues that the Astros could use one of Tucker or Valdez to add talent to a thin farm system while remaining a contender for another AL West crown. That’s especially true if the Astros use the extra payroll room to finish a deal with Bregman.

Of the two, Valdez would probably be slightly easier to replace. After a terrible April, Hunter Brown pitched like a top-of-the-rotation starter. Ronel Blanco fired 167 1/3 innings of 2.80 ERA ball in a breakout season. Garcia could be ready for Opening Day after losing the ’24 season to Tommy John surgery. Before his injury, he was a quality mid-rotation starter. The same is true of McCullers, although his injury history over the past three seasons makes him difficult to rely upon. Spencer Arrighetti showed the ability to miss bats and quietly posted an excellent finish in 2024; over his final 13 starts, he pitched 76 innings with a 3.08 ERA, 29% strikeout rate and 8.3% walk rate. J.P. France could be back later in the year after losing this season to a shoulder procedure. He’s a capable back-end arm if healthy.

Trading Valdez would subtract the Astros’ most reliable source of innings, to be sure. Yet a starting five of Brown, Garcia, Blanco, Arrighetti and some combination of McCullers and France has decent upside. The Astros would probably need to add rotation help at the deadline for a second straight year, but it wouldn’t be a disastrous group to open the season. They’d need to be more aggressive in stockpiling non-roster depth than they have been in prior offseasons. They could also target at least one near-MLB pitching prospect if they were to seriously consider a Valdez trade.

Moving Tucker is a much harder sell. Even if the Astros don’t think there’s much chance they’ll re-sign him, they’d take a huge downgrade to their 2025 lineup. Tucker could be a top 5-10 hitter in MLB next season. His foot injury was a source of frustration this year, but there’s no way to replace the kind of production (.289/.408/.585 with 23 homers in 339 plate appearances) they’d be losing. The outfield is already a relative weak point after McCormick underperformed this year.

None of this is to say a Tucker or Valdez trade is likely. Indeed, there’s no indication the Astros have given either scenario serious thought. If they find it more difficult than expected to line up a Pressly trade, there’s at least an argument for them thinking bigger to create some spending capacity.

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Cardinals Appear Unlikely To Trade Ryan Helsley

By Anthony Franco | December 5, 2024 at 11:45pm CDT

With the Cardinals viewing next season as an opportunity to transition to a younger core, various St. Louis players jumped out as logical trade candidates. Ryan Helsley was chief among them, as the hard-throwing righty is one year from free agency. Helsley is one of the best relievers in baseball and would surely get a lot of attention on the trade market.

Nevertheless, Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic reports that teams in contact with the Cardinals expect St. Louis to hold their closer into next season. President of baseball operations John Mozeliak supported that notion. “(A trade is) something we will always remain open-minded to, but our plan is to have him be part of our organization,” Mozeliak told Rosenthal. That aligns with reporting from Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, who wrote last month that the Cards were inclined to keep Helsley unless blown away by the offers.

That stops a little short of taking him off the market entirely. It’s not quite as definitive a declaration as, say, A’s GM David Forst flatly stating they were going to keep designated hitter Brent Rooker last month. Still, it’s notable that the team’s front office leader went on record to downplay the possibility of a trade.

Helsley has had a dominant three-year run at the back of the bullpen. He broke out with a 1.25 earned run average across 64 2/3 innings in 2022. A forearm strain wiped out a few months of his ’23 campaign, but he posted a 2.45 ERA through 36 2/3 frames when able to take the mound. Helsley’s arm held up over a completely healthy season this year. He fired a career-best 66 1/3 innings with a 2.04 mark over 65 appearances.

After beginning his career in a setup role, Helsley proved himself an elite closer this past season. He led the majors with 49 saves while surrendering only four leads. He paced the National League with 62 games finished. Helsley punched out nearly 30% of opposing hitters against a tolerable 8.6% walk rate. Going back to the start of the ’22 season, he carries a 1.83 ERA with a huge 34.6% strikeout percentage through 167 2/3 innings.

That level of production behind a triple-digit fastball and wipeout slider would’ve made Helsley arguably the best reliever on the trade market. (One can debate whether he’s better than Milwaukee closer Devin Williams, who could be dealt before his final season of team control.) MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projects Helsley for a $6.9MM salary during his final trip through the arbitration process. That’s well below market price for a lockdown closer.

Carrying Helsley into next season would be a frankly puzzling decision. The Cardinals surely feel they’d get a ton of interest at next summer’s deadline, though there’s always the possibility of an early-season injury tanking his trade value. An offseason trade would also keep open the chance for an acquiring team to recoup draft compensation if Helsley walks in free agency. Teams can only make a qualifying offer to players they’ve had on the roster for the whole season. A team that acquires Helsley before Opening Day could make him a QO next winter; one that lands him at the deadline could not.

Qualifying offers for relievers are rare but not unheard of. Raisel Iglesias and Josh Hader declined QOs before their trips to free agency. Edwin Díaz would’ve received a QO had he not re-signed just before hitting the market. A typical Helsley season could put him in that tier. There’s enough volatility with relievers that he certainly wouldn’t be a lock for the QO, but that possibility could hold some value to other teams now and would not exist over the summer.

The Cardinals themselves could make Helsley a qualifying offer if they don’t trade him at all. Speculation about a full teardown has quieted in recent weeks. Willson Contreras and Sonny Gray, both of whom have no-trade clauses, are unlikely to be dealt after expressing their preference to stick around. The Cards are expected to entertain trade possibilities on Nolan Arenado. Beyond that, they could run things back with most of last year’s roster. Paul Goldschmidt, Kyle Gibson, Andrew Kittredge and Lance Lynn were their free agents of note.

Perhaps the Cardinals feel they can hang in the NL Central mix if they get a few internal improvements. There’s still a decent amount of talent on a roster that finished above .500 at 83-79 this year. Winning the division would be a long shot unless they’re active in free agency, but they seem to be willing to at least see how things play out in the season’s first couple months.

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Bill Melton Passes Away

By Anthony Franco | December 5, 2024 at 11:14pm CDT

Former American League home run king Bill Melton has passed away at 79. The White Sox announced the news on Thursday afternoon.

Melton, a righty hitter, signed with the Sox as an 18-year-old. The 6’2″, 200-pound slugger hit his way to the big leagues by the end of the 1968 season. He opened the following year as Chicago’s third baseman. It was the first of seven consecutive Opening Day starts for Melton, who developed into a potent power bat.

After hitting 23 home runs during his first full season, Melton posted consecutive 33-homer showings in 1970 and ’71. That was enough to lead the AL in the latter season. Only seven hitters combined for more longballs over that two-year stretch: Henry Aaron, Willie Stargell, Lee May, Johnny Bench, Frank Howard, Billy Williams and Harmon Killebrew. Those players were all multi-time All-Stars; all but May and Howard made the Hall of Fame.

Melton turned in a .266/.346/.490 slash line and drove in 182 runs over those two seasons. The career-best showing in ’71 earned him an All-Star nod and a 13th-place finish in MVP voting. Injury limited him to 57 games the following year, but he managed two more 20-homer seasons thereafter. Melton remained a capable hitter through the end of the 1975 season. The Sox traded him to the Angels at that point. He spent one season in California and played one year for the Indians before retiring.

Melton played parts of 10 seasons in the majors. He recorded just over 1000 hits, including 160 homers. Melton hit .253/.337/.419 across more than 4500 trips to the plate. He scored 496 runs and drove in 591. “Beltin’ Bill” held the Sox’s record for career home runs at the time of his retirement. He still ranks ninth in franchise history in that regard. Melton returned to the organization as a television analyst between 1998 and 2020.

“Bill Melton enjoyed two tremendous careers with the White Sox,” the team’s owner Jerry Reinsdorf said in a statement. “His first came as a celebrated home run king for White Sox teams in the early 1970s, where ’Beltin Bill’ brought power to a franchise that played its home games in a pitcher-friendly ballpark. Bill’s second career came as a well-liked and respected pre- and postgame television analyst, where on a nightly basis Sox fans saw his passion for the team, win or lose. Bill was a friend to many at the White Sox and around baseball, and his booming voice will be missed.” MLBTR joins others around the game in sending our condolences to his family, friends, loved ones and former teammates.

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Red Sox Hoping For Additional Meeting With Soto

By Anthony Franco | December 5, 2024 at 10:27pm CDT

By this time next week, there’s a good chance Juan Soto will have picked his destination. As the star outfielder weighs multiple offers at or above $600MM, the top of the market waits.

At least one team is hoping for another sit-down with Soto and agent Scott Boras. Alex Speier of the Boston Globe reports that Red Sox’s brass has expressed interest in another meeting at which Soto’s camp would name the price necessary to get a deal done. That’s an effort to avoid being unknowingly outbid at the end.

It seems the Sox are worried about the Mets in particular. Speier writes that Sox’s brass has heard rumors that Mets’ owner Steve Cohen has promised Boras that he’d beat the best offer made by any other team by $50MM. To be clear, Speier is not reporting on the veracity of that rumor itself. Speier is neither confirming nor denying that Cohen made such offer. The Globe’s report only mentions that the Sox are concerned enough that the rumor might be true that they’re hopeful of getting Soto and Boras to name a specific price.

It’s not clear if Boras and Soto have any interest in doing so. There’s value for Soto in playing teams’ uncertainties against each other. Relaying the specifics of every offer to each team in the race would eventually result in a highest bidder, but it’d also limit the possibility that one club goes well beyond whatever is on the table from the others.

There have seemingly been five legitimate suitors for Soto: the Mets, Yankees, Blue Jays, Red Sox and Dodgers. Various reports have cast the Dodgers as a long shot. The general view is that Los Angeles entered the mix mostly to gauge whether Soto’s market might not materialize quite the way he’d envisioned. With multiple teams putting $600MM+ offers out there, that hasn’t been the case. MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand wrote last night that the Dodgers were unlikely to land him.

Speier confirms that the Red Sox recently upped their offer to $600MM. The Athletic reported on Tuesday that every team that still had a chance at Soto had hit or topped that mark. (That’s not necessarily a declaration that all five teams mentioned above had offered $600MM+, as it’s possible he has privately narrowed the field to exclude one or more of them.) Most observers still expect it to come down to one of the New York franchises, though the Sox and Jays have seemingly made full-fledged pushes to get themselves in the conversation.

One big spender that made little effort on Soto: the Phillies. Matt Gelb of the Athletic reports that Philadelphia brass never met with his camp. While the Phils haven’t shied away from big-ticket free agent pursuits, it seems they never believed they had a realistic chance to land Soto. Philadelphia owner John Middleton said a month ago that he felt they’d merely be used to drive up the bidding for Soto to sign with one of the New York teams (link via Scott Lauber of the Philadelphia Inquirer). Whether or not that would’ve been the case, Gelb writes that the Phillies felt it best to prioritize other avenues they found more realistic.

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Maikel Garcia Undergoes Surgery To Remove Bone Spur From Elbow

By Anthony Franco | December 5, 2024 at 9:24pm CDT

Royals infielder Maikel Garcia underwent surgery to remove a bone spur from his right elbow, tweets Daniel Álvarez-Montes of El Extrabase. Kansas City hasn’t announced whether the injury is expected to impact his readiness for Spring Training.

Garcia had been set to play winter ball in his native Venezuela. He revealed in an X post over the weekend that he was instead headed back to Kansas City for x-rays. It’s unclear when he suffered the injury, as he didn’t spend any time on the IL this year.

The 24-year-old appeared in 157 regular season games and all six postseason contests. Matt Quatraro penciled him in at third base and atop the batting order on most nights. The Jonathan India acquisition means Garcia will no longer be slated for leadoff work. Depending on how the Royals intend to use India and incumbent second baseman Michael Massey, Garcia still projects as the starting third baseman.

Garcia didn’t make much of an offensive impact. He hit .231/.281/.332 with seven homers across 626 plate appearances. While he’s best suited in the bottom third of a lineup, he has a strong secondary profile. Garcia stole 37 bases in 39 attempts and graded as one of the league’s best overall baserunners. He’s also a quality defender. Statcast and Defensive Runs Saved each felt he was three runs better than average in a little more than 1000 innings at third base.

Anne Rogers of MLB.com wrote a few weeks ago that the Royals had gotten a few calls about Garcia’s availability. He came up as a shortstop prospect and only moved to third base in deference to Bobby Witt Jr. Kansas City certainly isn’t moving him back to shortstop barring an injury to Witt, but a team like the Braves or Giants could view him as an upgrade at the position. There’s nothing to suggest the Royals were seriously inclined to move Garcia, whom they control for five more seasons. The elbow surgery, even if it’s a minor procedure, makes a deal less likely.

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Matt Chapman Open To Temporary Shortstop Move If Giants Sign Ha-Seong Kim

By Anthony Franco | December 5, 2024 at 7:49pm CDT

The Giants are in the market for a shortstop. President of baseball operations Buster Posey acknowledged as much at the start of the offseason. San Francisco has been tied to Willy Adames and Ha-Seong Kim in recent weeks.

While Adames could play shortstop on Opening Day, that’s not the case with Kim. He underwent surgery to repair a labrum injury in his throwing shoulder. There’s still not a ton of clarity on when he’s expected back in game action. Kim’s agent Scott Boras has unsurprisingly taken an optimistic stance on the infielder’s recovery. Boras said at last month’s GM Meetings that Kim could be ready early in the season — potentially before the end of April. Padres president of baseball operations A.J. Preller has previously suggested the rehab could carry into “May, June, July,” a much more nebulous timeline.

Whichever team signs Kim will need a stopgap shortstop for at least a few weeks, potentially months. For the Giants, that could be Matt Chapman. Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic reports that the star third baseman told team officials he’d be willing to play shortstop early in the year while Kim recovers. According to Rosenthal, that’s one of various possibilities the team is considering.

That’d be a creative solution. It’s not an outlandish one. Chapman is one of the sport’s best defensive third basemen. He’s a five-time Gold Glove winner. Both Defensive Runs Saved and Statcast’s Outs Above Average have graded him as a strong defender in every season of his career. Chapman tied Milwaukee’s Joey Ortiz for the league lead among third basemen in Outs Above Average this year. He’s fifth at the position by that metric across the past three seasons.

Chapman, who has 10 career innings at shortstop, has plenty of arm strength. He certainly has the hands for the position. The only question is whether he’d have enough lateral quickness to be a plus in the middle of the diamond, but he could probably at least play a competent shortstop for a month or two.

Sliding Chapman to shortstop would open a short-term hole at third base. Tyler Fitzgerald, Marco Luciano, Brett Wisely, Casey Schmitt and David Villar are among the options for work there. Aside from Villar, everyone from that group has some shortstop experience as well. None seems like a long-term answer. Wisely was primarily a second baseman in the minors, while Schmitt has spent most of his career at third base. Luciano has come up as a shortstop but was a disaster defensively in a limited MLB look. His long-term future is probably in the corner outfield.

Fitzgerald got the majority of the shortstop reps late in the season. He’d probably start there if the Giants came up empty in their pursuit. While he hit well enough to earn everyday playing time, the Giants seem to prefer him elsewhere. Posey suggested last month that Fitzgerald could be a second baseman. He also implied they were hopeful they could avoid bouncing him around the diamond as much next season.

“Tyler Fitzgerald did a great job at short last year. I think he has value and in multiple spots on the field,” Posey said at the GM Meetings (link via Shayna Rubin of the San Francisco Chronicle). “I do think it’s hard to play multiple spots at the same time during the season. Whether he’d be better suited to play second base long-term is a discussion we’re having.“

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Giants Hire Oscar Bernard, Damon Minor As Assistant Hitting Coaches

By Anthony Franco | December 5, 2024 at 2:20pm CDT

December 5: The Giants made Bernard’s hiring official today, per Justice Delos Santos of Mercury News (X link). They also hired Damon Minor as another assistant hitting coach and promoted Taira Uematsu to quality control coach.

December 4: The Giants are hiring Oscar Bernard as an assistant hitting coach, reports Andrew Baggarly of the Athletic (on Bluesky). He’ll work alongside lead hitting instructor Pat Burrell.

Bernard, 41, comes over from the Padres. He spent the 2023 season as an assistant hitting coach in San Diego underneath Bob Melvin. Bernard moved back to a minor league hitting coordinator role this year after Melvin departed to take over the dugout in San Francisco. He’d also worked as a hitting coordinator with the Friars between 2016-22. Bernard has previously worked with minor league hitters in the Rangers and Cubs systems.

Baggarly indicates the Giants could still hire another assistant hitting coach. Prior co-hitting coach Justin Viele departed to join the Rangers last month.

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