Padres Announce Contract Extension With Manager Mike Shildt
November 6: The Padres made it official today, announcing that they have agreed to a two-year extension with Shildt to keep him through 2027.
November 5: The Padres are finalizing an extension with manager Mike Shildt that’ll keep him in San Diego through 2027, reports Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune. President of baseball operations A.J. Preller told reporters last month that the team would look to work out a new deal with their skipper, who signed a two-year contract when he was hired over the 2023-24 offseason.
San Diego tasked Shildt with stabilizing the clubhouse after Bob Melvin’s departure. Tension between Melvin and Preller reportedly played a role in the former’s decision to leave the Padres and take the managerial role in San Francisco. The Padres considered a few external candidates but opted to turn the reins to Shildt, who had been in the player development department for the preceding two seasons.
That came on a relatively short two-year commitment. Shildt oversaw an excellent rebound year after the Friars had underperformed during Melvin’s final season. The Padres went 93-69 to secure the top Wild Card spot in the National League. They won 11 more games than they had in ’23 despite trading Juan Soto and losing Blake Snell, Michael Wacha, Seth Lugo and Nick Martinez in free agency.
It’s certainly not all a testament to the managerial change. The front office hit on the Soto return that landed Michael King and indirectly enabled them to acquire Dylan Cease. The Jurickson Profar signing was probably the best value pickup of the offseason. Jackson Merrill had a fantastic rookie year. The Padres also simply played better in one-run and extra-inning contests after faring terribly in those regards during the previous season.
All that said, it’s not hard to see why the Padres are making a longer commitment to Shildt after that season. San Diego played fantastic ball down the stretch and proved the Dodgers’ biggest challenge on their championship run. The Padres pushed L.A. to the brink of elimination in the Division Series after sweeping the Braves in the Wild Card round. Their season ended on a sour note, as Dodger pitching shut them out in consecutive games to win the series, but that was by far the closest anyone came to threatening Los Angeles. Seeing the Dodgers fairly easily knock off the Mets and Yankees to win the World Series hammers home how close the Padres were to fielding a championship-caliber roster in their own right.
Before landing in San Diego, Shildt spent three-plus seasons managing the Cardinals. He led St. Louis to a pair of 90-win campaigns and three straight playoff appearances between 2019-21. The Cards surprisingly moved on from him after the ’21 season, with president of baseball operations John Mozeliak citing philosophical differences between Shildt and the front office. The 56-year-old has been fortunate to work with talented rosters, but his teams have posted excellent results at both stops. Shildt carries a career 345-268 managerial record, resulting in a .563 win percentage that translates to a roughly 91-win pace over a full season.
Image courtesy of Imagn.
Astros Notes: Bregman, Dezenzo, McCormick
The Astros have made no secret about their hope of retaining Alex Bregman. General manager Dana Brown reiterated that optimism when speaking with reporters at the GM Meetings this afternoon.
“Our biggest priority is third base, without a doubt. We’d love to have Alex Bregman back. It’s our biggest priority,” Brown said (links via Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle and Chandler Rome of the Athletic). The GM added that the Astros have had “productive conversations” with the Boras Corporation, though he didn’t elaborate on the status of talks or specify whether the team has actually made an offer. ESPN’s Alden González wrote in early October that Houston was preparing to do so in the near future.
The Astros don’t have many options to step in at third base if Bregman walks. Re-signing him will almost certainly require the biggest investment in franchise history, though, which casts real doubt about whether they’ll be able to get anything done. Brown himself acknowledged a few weeks ago that the team may need to be “creative” in managing payroll. The Astros haven’t gone beyond six years under owner Jim Crane. Bregman would probably require breaking that precedent. MLBTR predicted a seven-year, $182MM deal in ranking him as the offseason’s #3 free agent.
Brown suggested the Astros were open to going beyond six years in the right circumstances, though it’s clear the organization tends to shy away from those contracts. “I don’t think we’re going to be in the business of giving multiple seven-year deals or multiple eight-year deals. But if there’s an opportunity to sign a guy that we feel is going to be good for six or seven years, I think Jim would do it,” the GM said.
Houston faces questions in the opposite corner infield spot. First base was an issue all season. The Astros pulled the plug on the ill-fated José Abreu deal a few months into the year, but Jon Singleton didn’t perform well either. Brown acknowledged the team needed better production at that spot. It’s unclear whether they’re willing to go back into free agency for someone like Christian Walker, Paul Goldschmidt or Anthony Rizzo as they remain on the hook for the final season of the Abreu deal.
Brown pointed to Zach Dezenzo as a potential internal option. The 24-year-old hit well in a small sample in Triple-A. That didn’t translate in an even briefer MLB look. Dezenzo slumped to a .242/.277/.371 slash over his first 19 MLB contests. He’s a career .295/.377/.499 hitter over parts of three seasons in the minors. Dezenzo has experience at both corner infield spots and could factor into the third base mix if Bregman walks, though he’s probably a better defensive fit at first.
Turning to the outfield, Brown indicated the Astros planned to tender an arbitration contract to Chas McCormick (X link with video from Ari Alexander of KPRC 2). The right-handed hitter had a rough season, hitting .211/.271/.306 in 94 games. McCormick had posted very strong numbers through his first three big league campaigns, so it’s not much of a surprise that Houston plans to bring him back on a relatively modest salary. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projects him for a $3.3MM sum. Brown added that the Astros could look for a left-handed hitting outfielder to potentially spell McCormick (and presumably Jake Meyers) against righty pitching.
Royals Could Listen On Kris Bubic, Alec Marsh In Search For Offense
The Royals already knocked out one key bit of offseason business, re-signing Michael Wacha to a $51MM deal just before the veteran starter could discuss contracts with other teams. It seems they’ll now turn their attention to deepening a top-heavy lineup.
Will Sammon and Katie Woo of the Athletic write that the Royals are looking for ways to improve their on-base skills, particularly out of the leadoff spot. To that end, Sammon and Woo report that Kansas City may entertain trade offers on Kris Bubic or Alec Marsh if they can net lineup help.
The Kansas City offense was almost entirely dependent on Bobby Witt Jr. and Salvador Perez this year. They were the only Royals players to reach 20 homers. Of the nine K.C. hitters with 300+ plate appearances, four had better than average seasons by measure of wRC+. First baseman Vinnie Pasquantino and second baseman Michael Massey only narrowly checked in above average, hitting for power but with middling on-base marks.
Finding a reliable table-setter in front of Witt and Perez was a huge challenge. Kansas City gave Maikel Garcia the majority of the playing time atop the lineup. Garcia stole 27 bases but provided very little at the plate. Royals leadoff men had a putrid .228/.270/.334 batting line overall. No team had a lower OBP out of the top spot, while only the White Sox got less slugging output. That left Witt to take a lot of at-bats with the bases empty. K.C.’s franchise shortstop ranked eighth in MLB in plate appearances with no one on base. The seven players ahead of him were all primarily leadoff hitters (thereby guaranteed to take at least one at-bat with the bases empty every game).
While a free agent pursuit of someone like Jurickson Profar or Gleyber Torres would address the leadoff spot, the Royals could do so more affordably by dealing from their pitching depth. Kansas City has an excellent front four in their rotation. Cole Ragans and Seth Lugo project as an elite 1-2 tandem. Wacha is back to resume his role as a quality third starter, while righty Brady Singer is a mid-rotation arm in his own right. The fifth spot is a little less established.
Marsh held that role for the bulk of the ’24 season. The Arizona State product started 25 times and tossed 129 innings of 4.53 ERA ball. He struck out 22.4% of opponents against a solid 7.1% walk rate. While it wasn’t a dominant showing, Marsh had serviceable numbers for a fifth starter. The Royals nudged him out of the rotation when they acquired Michael Lorenzen at the deadline. With Lorenzen returning to free agency, Marsh could be the in-house favorite for that job again.
He’ll have competition from former Brave Kyle Wright. Kansas City acquired the right-hander last offseason, weeks after Atlanta announced that the former fifth overall pick underwent shoulder surgery. The Royals stashed him on the injured list all year with an eye towards a 2025 return. While it’s difficult to bank on a pitcher who has missed the majority of the last two seasons to injury, Wright posted a 3.19 ERA over 30 starts in 2022. The Royals are surely interested to see how his stuff looks in Spring Training. That could increase their willingness to deal Marsh.
Bubic could be in the mix for the fifth starter role as well, but he spent this past season in the bullpen. The Stanford product underwent Tommy John surgery in April ’23. He was sidelined into the beginning of July this year. The Royals used him in relief when he returned. That helped an underperforming bullpen while limiting his workload in his first season back.
The move was a success. Bubic posted excellent numbers over 30 1/3 innings, turning in a 2.67 earned run average while punching out more than 32% of opponents. He got swinging strikes at a huge 14.8% clip while averaging a personal-high 93 MPH on his fastball in short stints. That’s much better than the 4.99 ERA he owns across 60 career starts, although he flashed better velocity and swing-and-miss acumen in a small sample in ’23 before going under the knife.
Kansas City’s bullpen remains a weak point. The Royals could prefer to keep Bubic as a potential leverage piece. There’d be plenty of teams interested in plugging him into their bullpens, while there are presumably clubs that still view him as a rotation target.
Bubic is under arbitration control for two more seasons. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projects him for a $2.8MM salary. Marsh doesn’t have the same upside but comes with a much longer contractual window. He just surpassed one year of service and is controllable through 2029. He won’t get to arbitration for another two seasons and should have appeal for teams seeking an affordable fifth or sixth starter.
Jays GM: Bichette Trade “An Easy No”
The Blue Jays have no interest in rebuilding after this year’s last place finish. Toronto made that clear by only dealing rentals or role players (i.e. Isiah Kiner-Falefa) at the deadline. As part of that renewed effort to contend, general manager Ross Atkins shot down the possibility of a Bo Bichette trade.
Asked by MLB Network’s Jon Morosi how he’d respond to inquiries from other teams on Bichette, Atkins replied that it’d be “an easy no” on the Jays’ end (X link). The GM has downplayed the possibility of moving his shortstop or infield mate Vladimir Guerrero Jr. on a few occasions in recent months.
It’s a logical stance for the team. While Bichette is entering the final year of his contract, a trade this winter would be selling at the low point of his value. The two-time All-Star is coming off a terrible season. He hit .225/.277/.322 over 336 plate appearances. Bichette had three injured list stints and underwent postseason surgery to address a fractured right middle finger. The Jays will hope for a return to the form he showed between 2019-23, when he was among the best shortstops in baseball.
Bichette is under contract for $16.5MM next year. It’s the final season of the three-year deal that he signed to buy out his arbitration window. A rebound would position him to cash in as a free agent when he enters his age-28 campaign. He and Guerrero are both on track for free agency next winter. It looks highly unlikely the Jays will keep both players for the long term.
As they try to turn things around in 2025, the Jays will pencil Bichette back in at shortstop. They’ll need to make other moves to improve after a 74-88 showing. Upgrading a bullpen that ranked 29th in MLB with a 4.82 ERA is the most obvious target area. Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith writes that the Jays are also going to be involved in the starting pitching market.
Toronto projects for a starting five of Kevin Gausman, Chris Bassitt, José Berríos, Bowden Francis and Yariel Rodríguez. Right-hander Jake Bloss, acquired from the Astros in the Yusei Kikuchi deadline deal, might be the top depth option. It’s not a bad group, but Rodríguez and Francis haven’t pitched full seasons as starters. Adding a more established starter could have a trickle-down impact on the ‘pen, as Rodríguez worked in both capacities and could excel in a multi-inning relief role if the Jays added to their rotation.
On the position player side, the outfield stands as the biggest question. Toronto doesn’t have a clear starter in left field. George Springer is penciled in as the top option in right field, but he’s coming off a middling year at age 35. Daulton Varsho is ticketed for the lion’s share of playing time in center field. They’ll probably need a short-term stopgap with Varsho recovering from September rotator cuff surgery. Atkins told MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian and Keegan Matheson (X link) that the Jays don’t expect Varsho to be ready for Opening Day, though it doesn’t sound as if he should be sidelined too far into the season.
Atkins indicated the Jays aren’t likely to make a big move behind the plate, telling Bastian and Matheson that adding a catcher is “not a priority” (X link). Toronto is set to give the bulk of playing time to Alejandro Kirk. They reacquired Tyler Heineman via late-season waiver claim to serve as Kirk’s backup.
It does seem they’re open to adding at either second or third base, however. Nicholson-Smith reports that the Jays have shown early interest in the top free agent second baseman, Gleyber Torres. The Yankees allowed Torres to hit the market without a qualifying offer, so a signing team will not forfeit draft compensation. There’s a wide range of free agent outcomes for Torres, who hits free agency coming off a relative down year. Most of that can be traced to a dismal April, as he hit well from May onward and continued to produce during New York’s pennant run. He has a case for three or potentially four years going into his age-28 season, but the infielder could prefer a shorter-term arrangement to get back to free agency after a better overall walk year.
Toronto has a collection of internal second base options, none of whom has a ton of MLB experience. Will Wagner is probably the internal favorite after impressing in 24 games to close his rookie season. Leo Jiménez, Davis Schneider and Ernie Clement could also vie for playing time. Torres brings a higher floor than that group. Atkins and his staff will weigh whether they want to allocate significant resources to the keystone when they have so many other areas to address over the next few weeks.
Orioles To Name Cody Asche Hitting Coach
The Orioles plan to name Cody Asche hitting coach, reports Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com (X links). Kubatko also reported earlier today that Baltimore was hiring Tommy Joseph away from the Mariners as an assistant hitting coach.
Baltimore parted ways with former hitting coaches Ryan Fuller and Matt Borgschulte at the end of the season. Borgschulte landed with the Twins as their top hitting instructor last month. Kubatko reports (on X) today that Fuller is headed to the White Sox as director of hitting.
Asche will take a larger role in their stead. The O’s hired the former big league third baseman/outfielder as offensive strategy coach during the 2022-23 offseason. Asche had something of a de facto third hitting coach job in that capacity for two years. The O’s now seem content to turn the lead job over to the 34-year-old.
Most of Asche’s five-year playing career came as a member of the Phillies. The left-handed hitter played in Philadelphia between 2013-16. The final of those seasons overlapped with Joseph, a former first baseman who played 249 games for the Phils between 2016-17. Joseph made the transition to coaching in 2021. He spent a trio of seasons working with minor league hitters before joining Seattle’s staff as an assistant hitting coach. The Mariners shook up their hitting staff a couple times last season but kept Joseph in the fold all year. He’ll move on after one season to work with his former teammate in Baltimore.
Baltimore also has a bench coach vacancy after parting with Fredi González at the end of the year. The O’s haven’t settled on a replacement, but one notable name is connected to the job. Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic reports that the Orioles have interest in David Ross for the position, though he cautions that it’s unclear if that interest is mutual.
Last winter, Ross rebuffed interest from the Yankees regarding their bench coach job. That came within a week of his surprise firing as Cubs manager when Chicago jumped on the chance to hire Craig Counsell. Ross seemingly didn’t have any desire to take a non-managerial coaching job at the time. It isn’t known if that has changed, though he has close ties to Baltimore skipper Brandon Hyde. The O’s manager was on the Cubs’ coaching staff while Ross played for Chicago in 2015-16.
Sixto Sanchez Elects Free Agency
9:21PM: Sanchez has chosen to become a free agent, Azout reports (X link).
5:26PM: The Marlins have taken Sixto Sánchez off the roster. Miami announced that the former top pitching prospect went unclaimed on waivers and was sent outright to Triple-A Jacksonville. Sánchez has the requisite service time to become a minor league free agent, though the Fish didn’t announce that he has already done so. Miami also outrighted left-hander Josh Simpson and selected the contract of righty Luarbert Arias.
Sánchez was the centerpiece of the J.T. Realmuto trade return. The 6’0″ righty was regarded as perhaps the best pitching prospect in MLB at the time. Sánchez never came close to meeting those lofty expectations. Shoulder injuries have largely derailed his career, as Sánchez has lost huge chunks of time to the IL over the past half-decade. He didn’t throw a single MLB pitch between 2021-23. Sánchez returned to log 35 2/3 innings in a swing role this season, but he surrendered more than six earned runs per nine. Shoulder inflammation ended his season in early June.
Simpson, 27, has yet to make his MLB debut. He had been on the 40-man roster since the end of the 2022 season. Simpson lost most of this season to an ulnar nerve injury that required surgery. He allowed 14 runs (11 earned) across 16 innings between three minor league levels. He’s also likely headed to minor league free agency.
Arias, 23, would have joined them on the open market if the Fish didn’t put him on the 40-man roster. The Venezuelan-born righty had a nice year in a late-inning role for Jacksonville. Arias posted a 3.04 earned run average through 68 innings. He fanned upwards of a quarter of opponents against a 9.3% walk rate. He’s a pure reliever who can compete for a spot in a wide open bullpen as he tries to earn his first big league call.
Isaac Azout of Fish on First first reported that Miami outrighted Sánchez off the roster.
Blue Jays Claim Michael Petersen, Outright Genesis Cabrera
The Blue Jays announced they’ve claimed reliever Michael Petersen from the Marlins. Toronto outrighted Génesis Cabrera and Luis Frías off the 40-man roster. Both players elected free agency. Toronto also designated righty Emmanuel Ramírez for assignment.
Petersen is on the move for the second time in a few months. Miami grabbed the right-hander off waivers from the Dodgers in September. He allowed four runs across 5 2/3 innings to finish the year. Petersen had made 11 appearances with the Dodgers. He closed his debut campaign with a 5.95 earned run average through 19 2/3 innings.
The 30-year-old Petersen had much better numbers in 33 innings at the Triple-A level. He posted a 1.64 ERA while striking out a massive 35.2% of opponents. The native of the United Kingdom still has a couple options remaining, so he’ll serve as a bullpen depth piece if the Jays keep him on the 40-man roster.
Cabrera’s tenure in Toronto ends after a season and a half. The Jays acquired the southpaw from the Cardinals midway through the ’23 season. Cabrera pitched well down the stretch and returned for a second season. The results were solid enough, as he posted a 3.59 ERA while logging 62 2/3 relief innings. Cabrera had a subpar 18.5% strikeout rate and walked nearly 11% of his opponents, though. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projected him for a $2.5MM salary if tendered a contract for his final arbitration year. The Jays evidently weren’t willing to pay that price given Cabrera’s shaky K/BB profile.
Toronto grabbed Frías off waivers from the Diamondbacks late in the year. The 6’3″ righty was blown up for eight runs in 3 1/3 frames. He has a 7.38 ERA over 58 big league appearances. Frías was a reasonably well-regarded prospect who throws in the mid-90s, but he hasn’t shown any kind of strike-throwing consistency in the majors.
Ramírez, 30, was another late-season waiver acquisition. He came over from Miami in early September. Ramírez didn’t make an appearance for the Jays after allowing a near-7.00 ERA over 15 games for the Fish. He’ll presumably find himself on waivers in the next few days.
Mitch Haniger Exercises Player Option
Mitch Haniger bypassed the opportunity to opt out of the final year of his contract with the Mariners, MLBTR has confirmed. The outfielder returns to Seattle on a $15.5MM salary.
There wasn’t much doubt about this decision. Haniger is coming off a second straight down year. He hit .208/.286/.334 across 423 plate appearances. That’s similar production to the middling .209/.266/.365 slash he posted during his first season with the Giants. Haniger had been an above-average hitter over the five years preceding his $43.5MM free agent deal with San Francisco.
Seattle reacquired Haniger last winter alongside Anthony DeSclafani in a deal that sent Robbie Ray to the Giants. Neither side got much out of that trade in the first season. Ray was inconsistent over seven starts and bypassed the chance to opt out of the $50MM remaining on his deal. The M’s did manage to flip DeSclafani as part of the Jorge Polanco trade with Minnesota, but Polanco underperformed while DeSclafani blew out and never pitched for the Twins.
Assuming the Mariners keep Haniger on the roster through the offseason, he’ll compete for a spot in Dan Wilson’s corner outfield/DH rotation. Seattle has Randy Arozarena locked into left field. Victor Robles is the favorite for playing time in right, but he can move into a fourth outfield capacity if the M’s add a bigger bat. Luke Raley should get a decent chunk of playing time at DH, especially if the Mariners acquire a first baseman via free agency or trade.
Clayton Kershaw Declines Player Option
The MLB Players Association announced that Clayton Kershaw has become a free agent. That indicates he declined his $10MM player option with the Dodgers.
Kershaw has said on a few occasions that he plans to stay in Los Angeles. He announced at the World Series parade that he would be a “Dodger for life.” It stands to reason that the future Hall of Famer plans to renegotiate a new contract with the team, but he needed to decide by this evening whether to exercise the option.
In all likelihood, this is simply a move that’ll buy the sides time to hammer out a new incentive-laden deal. Kershaw’s last contract was heavily stocked with incentives as he returned from shoulder surgery. While he’s not battling anything quite that serious this time around, he is set to undergo surgeries on his left knee and left big toe. Kershaw and the club may want to evaluate his recovery before settling on some kind of incentive package for his next contract.
That also affords an extra bit of flexibility from a roster perspective. Kershaw would have counted against the 40-man roster all winter had he exercised the option. He won’t count against the roster for as long as he’s a free agent. That’ll allow the Dodgers to somewhat unofficially operate with an extra spot for a while.
Once Kershaw returns to L.A., he’ll rejoin a rotation that could lose both Jack Flaherty and Walker Buehler to free agency. The Dodgers have Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow, Shohei Ohtani, Tony Gonsolin and Dustin May among their in-house rotation options. As is the case each winter, it’s a group loaded with talent but plenty of durability questions. The Dodgers should be heavily involved for starting pitching.
Angels Select Scott Kingery, Release Kenny Rosenberg
The Angels added recently acquired infielder Scott Kingery to their 40-man roster. The Halos released left-hander Kenny Rosenberg in a corresponding move.
Los Angeles acquired Kingery from Philadelphia over the weekend. They would not have done so if they weren’t planning to add him to the roster, as the infielder would otherwise have reached minor league free agency today. The 30-year-old former top prospect has only appeared in one big league game since 2021. He’s coming off a decent showing with Philadelphia’s top affiliate in Lehigh Valley, hitting .268/.318/.488 with 25 homers and stolen bases apiece.
Rosenberg, a 29-year-old swingman, has pitched in 17 MLB contests across the last three years. He owns a 4.66 earned run average. The Cal State Northridge product had a decent year with Triple-A Salt Lake, working to a 4.21 ERA through 115 1/3 innings in the Pacific Coast League. He punched out 21.5% of opponents against a tidy 7.8% walk percentage.