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Freddie Freeman, Xander Bogaerts Leave NLDS Game 2 Due To Injuries

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The Padres hit six home runs in what turned into a rout of a 10-2 victory in Game 2 of their NLDS matchup with the Dodgers, knotting the series 1-1 as the scene shifts to San Diego for Games 3 and 4 on Tuesday and Wednesday.  Neither club emerged from Game 2 unscathed, however, as both Freddie Freeman (left ankle discomfort) and Xander Bogaerts (hamstring cramp) made early exits due to injury.

Freeman’s exit is the less surprising of the two, as the first baseman’s attempts to play through both a bone bruise and a sprain of his left ankle has become one of the series’ chief storylines.  After going 2-for-5 and even stealing a base in the Dodgers’ Game 1 victory, Freeman went 0-for-2 tonight before he was replaced in the field heading into the top of the sixth.  Freeman was due up to the plate again in the bottom of the sixth and L.A. was trailing only 3-1 after five innings, yet he was clearly not feeling well enough to continue playing.  Post-game, manager Dave Roberts told Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times (X link) and other reporters that the team would know more about Freeman’s status after working out tomorrow during the club’s off-day.

Freeman suffered what was initially diagnosed as just an ankle sprain on September 26, in the Dodgers’ fourth-last game of the regular season.  X-rays were negative, but Freeman revealed to reporters that the combination of the sprain and the bone bruise would normally sideline him for 4-to-6 weeks if this was the regular season.  However, on just eight full days of rest, Freeman returned to the field in Game 1, though it wasn’t clear until just a few hours before game time if the first baseman would indeed be ready to go.

Bogaerts seemingly suffered his injury while hitting a foul ball during his plate appearance in the eighth inning, yet the shortstop seemingly looked no worse for wear in hitting a solo homer.  The Padres ended the frame with a 7-1 lead, which perhaps gave the club a little more flexibility to replace Bogaerts in the field with Tyler Wade in the top of the eighth.

Monday is an off-day in the series, so Freeman and Bogaerts will get some built-in time to recuperate before play resumes.  While Bogaerts’ cramp doesn’t seem overly serious, Wade is the natural replacement at shortstop if Bogaerts isn’t ready for Tuesday’s Game 3.  If Bogaerts can hit but not field, the Padres can use Wade at shortstop, Luis Arraez at first base, and Bogaerts could conceivably act as the designated hitter.

Shohei Ohtani’s presence in the DH spot gives the Dodgers no such flexibility with Freeman, as he’d have to play first base if he is to be part of the team’s starting lineup.  If he can’t start, Freeman would therefore seemingly be limited to pinch-hit duty, which then necessitates a larger shuffle of the Dodgers’ lineup.  Obviously losing Freeman under any circumstance is bad news for Los Angeles, but losing a key left-handed bat will hamper the Dodgers against Game 3 starter Michael King (a right-hander), and L.A. is lacking in left-handed bench depth.

As a reminder, teams can make injury replacements to a series roster, but at a significant longer-term cost.  Replaced players would not only be out for the rest of the NLDS, but they also wouldn’t be able to participate in the NLCS if their team was to advance to the next round.  This rule is surely weighing on the Dodgers in particular as they figure out Freeman’s status, though it would seem as if Freeman would have to have seriously re-aggravated his injury for L.A. to remove him from the roster altogether.

Shinnosuke Ogasawara To Request Posting For MLB Teams

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Left-hander Shinnosuke Ogasawara is looking to move to the majors, and as per a report from Yahoo Sports Japan (Japanese language link), he’ll ask the Chunichi Dragons to make him available to MLB teams via the posting system this offseason.  The Yakyu Cosmopolitan also reported earlier this year that Ogasawara was aiming to pitch for a big league team in 2025, and MLB Network’s Jon Morosi reported (via X) back in April that Major League scouts were watching Ogasawara pitch in Japan.

The southpaw celebrates his 27th birthday on Tuesday, and he has appeared with the Dragons in each of the last nine Nippon Professional Baseball seasons.  However, since he is short of nine full years of NPB service time, Ogasawara will need to be posted in order to make the move to North American baseball.

To recap the posting system, any team that signs Ogasawara will have to pay a separate posting fee to the Dragons that is contingent on the size of the contract — the 20% of the contract’s first $25MM, plus 17.5% of the next $25MM and 15% of any dollars thereafter.  If Ogasawara is posted, Major League teams will have 45 days to reach an agreement with the left-hander.  If no deal is reached within that window of time, Ogasawara will return to the Dragons for the 2025 NPB season.

Ogasawara has a 3.66 ERA over 1095 career innings for the Dragons, and he has tossed at least 141 1/3 innings in each of the last four seasons.  In 2024, he had a 2.99 ERA in 141 1/3 frames, with a very impressive 3.42% walk rate but also only a 13.87% strikeout rate.  While Ogasawara’s control has only been getting better during his NPB career, he has never been a big strikeout pitcher, and this season’s low rate of missed bats will certainly stand out as a potential red flag to big league evaluators.

It remains to be seen how highly Ogasawara will be judged by MLB teams, though he’ll be one of the youngest rotation candidates available in this year’s free agent market.  With scouts already keeping an eye on his work for the Dragons, Ogasawara figures to draw some attention should the Dragons decide to post him.

NL Notes: Adames, Braves, Giants, Francona, Yamamoto

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Willy Adames has long been mentioned in trade rumors, with the Dodgers one club known to have had past interest in the star shortstop.  It is fair to guess that any number of teams at least checked in with the Brewers about Adames’ availability, and the New York Post’s Jon Heyman (via X) writes that the Braves and Giants also had Adames as a “target” in the past.  As Adames is now set to become a free agent this winter, any of these teams could well be suitors again on the open market, though naturally a free agent pursuit and a trade pursuit can be very different endeavors.

Atlanta shortstop Orlando Arcia had a dismal year at the plate after posting solid numbers in 2022-23.  Arcia is still under contract for 2025 but only for $2MM (and a $1MM buyout of a $2MM club option for 2026), so the Braves could sign Adames and still keep Arcia around as veteran infield depth.  With Adames likely to command a contract in the $150MM range, signing the shortstop would represent something of a departure for Braves president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos, whose free agent signings have been fairly limited during his seven seasons running Atlanta’s front office.  Still, a more aggressive foray into free agency might be seen as necessary after three straight playoff disappointments, and Anthopoulos certainly hasn’t been shy about spending in general, as evidenced by the Braves’ heavy slate of contract extensions.

Tyler Fitzgerald hit well in his rookie season but was a subpar defender as the Giants’ primary shortstop in 2024.  That said, Fitzgerald has played at six different positions during his two years in the big leagues, so it is easy to see San Francisco shift him to another spot on the diamond to accommodate Adames.  The Giants have long been eager to bring top-tier free agents to the roster, and with Matt Chapman already signed to a new contract, adding Adames would give the team arguably the league’s best left side of the infield.  Landing Adames (or another big name) would be an easy way for Buster Posey to make a splash in his first offseason as the Giants’ new president of baseball ops.

More from around the National League….

  • The Reds’ hiring of Terry Francona came together quickly, as Gordon Wittenmyer of the Cincinnati Enquirer reports that president of baseball operations Nick Krall first touched base with Francona via a phone conversation on September 26.  Krall had gotten permission from the Guardians to speak with Francona (who was still with the team in a special assistant role), as Francona was atop the Reds’ list of nearly 100 possible managerial candidates but “with an asterisk,” depending on the longtime skipper’s health and whether he wanted to return after a year away from the sport.  Krall and GM Brad Meador met with Francona in Tucson on October 2, and were impressed enough to call owner Bob Castellini to fly to Tucson the next day to finalize the contract.  In other details on the managerial search, interim manager Freddie Benavides had put himself on the Reds’ short list with an excellent set of interviews, and Rangers associate manager Will Venable was also on the list of top targets.  It appears as though Benavides might’ve been the only other candidate to actually interview, as Francona’s emergence precluded the Reds’ need to speak with Venable, or other rumored candidates as David Ross or Skip Schumaker.
  • Yoshinobu Yamamoto was rocked for five runs over three innings in Game 1 of the NLDS last night, though the Dodgers came back for a 7-5 win over the Padres.  Manager Dave Roberts told reporters (including The Athletic’s Fabian Ardaya) that the Dodgers were exploring the possibility that Yamamoto was tipping his pitches when runners were on base, and Ardaya notes that Yamamoto had a similar pitch-tipping issue during Spring Training.  Or, the problem might just be that the Padres have Yamamoto’s number, as they tagged him for eight runs over six innings in two starts during the regular season.  Either scenario is naturally a concern for L.A. in the rest of the series, and Roberts only said Yamamoto was “in play” to pitch during a potential Game 5, if not necessarily as a starter.

AL East Notes: Bichette, Yoshida, Cortes

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The Blue Jays had some largely “exploratory” trade talks involving Bo Bichette early last offseason, TSN’s Scott Mitchell writes.  This isn’t exactly new news, as multiple reports last November indicated that the shortstop’s name indeed come up in trade discussions, though those talks were portrayed as other teams checking on Bichette’s availability.  Mitchell, however, specifies that “the Jays did indeed shop Bichette.”

As always, there’s plenty of gray area when parsing hot-stove terminology, as the distinction between actively trying to move Bichette and listening on Bichette trade offers could be pretty thin.  Executives routinely discuss scores of players in trade talks with other clubs, just as a matter of due diligence in gauging interest.  For instance, if Blue Jays GM Ross Atkins had learned that a rival club had a particular interest in Bichette and had a player or players that the Jays liked, Atkins might have been more inclined to “shop” Bichette in that particular direction in order to swing a favorable trade for Toronto.  In any case, as Mitchell observes, revisiting any trade talks involving Bichette this winter could be difficult because the shortstop is coming off an injury-plagued down year, so the Blue Jays aren’t likely to land a premium return even if they did look to move Bichette.

More from around the AL East….

  • “Some clear discord” developed between the Red Sox and Masataka Yoshida last April, MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo writes, when Yoshida was placed on the 10-day injured list with a left thumb sprain.  Yoshida chose to seek out second and third opinions on his sprain, which apparently didn’t sit well with the team, who felt the initial assessment (that Yoshida wouldn’t need surgery) was enough.  Yoshida ended up not needing surgery, and spent a little more than six weeks on the IL before returning in mid-June.  Between this situation and Yoshida’s displeasure at being a DH-only player who mostly faced only right-handed pitching, Cotillo wonders if both sides would benefit from a trade this winter.  Such a move is easier said than done, of course, as Yoshida is owed $54MM over the 2025-27 seasons, and has been good (112 wRC+ in 1001 plate appearances) but not great over his two Major League seasons.  Yoshida was also playing through a shoulder problem for much of 2024, which could represent another red flag for any interested trade suitors.
  • Nestor Cortes is slated to throw between 20-30 times during a game of catch today, the Yankees left-hander told The Athletic’s Brendan Kuty.  This represents the first time Cortes has thrown since suffering a flexor strain in late September.  Cortes said he was “feeling good” in his recovery to date, and “if my body responds and if my arm responds, we’ll try to be as quick as possible” in charting out a potential return to the mound.  The Yankees would naturally need to advance to at least the ALCS in order to give Cortes any chance of pitching again in 2024, and even if New York does get deeper into October, it remains to be seen if Cortes will be able to be healthy enough to merit a roster spot.

Mariners Chairman John Stanton On Jerry Dipoto, Payroll, Broadcasting Deals

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The Mariners have won at least 85 games in each of the last four seasons, but the club’s wild card berth and subsequent ALDS appearance in 2022 marks Seattle’s only trip to the playoffs in that stretch.  This year’s squad won 85 games on the heels of the sport’s best pitching staff, but the Mariners’ lineup struggled badly for much of the season, leading to another year without any October baseball.

Amidst increasing fan unrest over this lack of success, team chairman/CEO John Stanton preached patience, as Stanton said in an interview with MLB.com’s Daniel Kramer.  “I am as disappointed as any fan we have that this team hasn’t been in the playoffs in two years,” Stanton said.  “I believe we’re making progress.  I can certainly understand why fans are frustrated when they hear me say that, but I believe that we are on track to have a team that consistently wins over a long period of time.  I intend this team to win, have a winning record every season, be in the playoffs most seasons, and we will win a World Series.”

In regards to this quest for Seattle’s first baseball championship, Stanton confirmed a Seattle Times report from last month which stated that Jerry Dipoto will continue as the top decision-maker in the front office.  Stanton didn’t provide specifics on Dipoto’s contract status, or any hints about how many more years remain on the extension Dipoto signed in September 2021.  As Kramer notes, it would appear as though Dipoto is still working under that previous contract and hasn’t signed a new deal, given that the Mariners made public announcements when Dipoto inked his previous two extensions with the team.

“I believe in Jerry, and Jerry is going to continue to lead our baseball organization into the future as the president of baseball operations — and I believe passionately that he is the right guy to do that,” Stanton said.

Another Seattle Times report (again from Ryan Divish and Adam Jude) earlier this week stated the Mariners would have a higher payroll next season, even if such an increase wasn’t expected to be enough for the M’s to accommodate a major free agent signing.  According to RosterResource, the Mariners finished 2024 with a payroll of roughly $144.8MM, and have a little under $95MM on the books for 2025, though that latter figure doesn’t account for the projected salaries owed to Seattle’s large arbitration class of 12 players.  This might not leave the M’s too far beneath the $144.8MM figure based on internal salaries alone, let alone the necessary upgrades that will be needed to the roster, particularly on the hitting side.

While Stanton said the payroll would indeed be on the rise, he unsurprisingly declined to state exactly how much extra Dipoto’s front office would have available to spend this winter.  “I think our draft, develop and trade philosophy certainly doesn’t preclude free agents,” Stanton said, though Dipoto has only signed two free agents (Robbie Ray and Mitch Garver) to multi-year contracts during his nine seasons as Seattle’s top baseball exec.

“I think Jerry’s done an extraordinary job of trading….He’s been prolific in doing that, and very effective in doing that,” Stanton said.  “And I think that that is an important part of that philosophy.  And if you’re effective in trading, it seems to me that that means you don’t have to do free agency deals in the same numbers.”

The Mariners’ takeover of ROOT Sports regional sports network was seen as the chief reason for the club’s relative lack of spending last winter, and while Stanton said this was a “misconception,” he later added that the Mariners’ broadcast situation is “not going to be nearly the concern that it was this past year.”

Stanton said the M’s haven’t yet decided on their broadcasting plans for 2025, as while the Mariners aren’t one of the teams tied up in contracts with the Diamond Sports Group and Bally Sports Networks, DSG’s ongoing bankruptcy process is still a chief factor in how the Mariners will choose to proceed with their own programming going forward.  In terms of deciding to continue with ROOT Sports or to perhaps turn to MLB itself to broadcast Mariners games, the result of the DSG case “will allow us to know what other teams are doing, and that will give us some sense as to what it is that MLB would have to sell, basically,” Stanton said.  “If there are a lot of teams involved, then they’ve got an ability to deliver to distributors, such as the cable companies, a broader set of markets, and therefore something more valuable to those distributors.”

In the broader sense, Stanton noted that Seattle is “roughly the 15th-largest market in baseball.  We’re pretty much smack dab in the middle in terms of the size of the market, and that means that we’re about average in our ability to generate revenue and to do those things.  I think, to me, the word that we use a lot — and our objective — is to have a sustainable franchise over a long period of time.”

Stanton also spoke publicly for the first time about the Mariners’ firing of manager Scott Servais in August, which the chairman described as “a gut-wrenching, difficult decision” on Dipoto’s part.  Servais’ dismissal and the subsequent hiring of Dan Wilson as the new manager came after “a very long series of conversations.  I asked Jerry questions as to why he wanted to make the change, with respect to Scott, why he wanted to bring Dan in, and I was certainly satisfied by his thinking on it.”

Servais also infamously learned of his firing from a news update before he heard from Dipoto or Stanton, which Stanton expressed “deep regret” over, “and that is a source of frustration for everyone in this building.”  Stanton implied that he didn’t know where the leak came from, but “I am highly confident it didn’t come from within this building or from our ownership group, because I know there was a very small circle of people who are aware of it, and I have a high level of confidence that those people did not say anything.”

Division Series Roster Notes: Padres, Dodgers, Phillies, Yankees, Tigers

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We’ve already covered some notable roster additions for the Guardians and Mets as the Division Series begins, and the Royals are sticking with the same 26 players used in the Wild Card Series against the Orioles.  Now that all eight teams in the LDS rounds have revealed their rosters, here are the details…

  • The Padres made two changes from their NLDS roster, adding left-hander Martin Perez and right-hander Alek Jacob and removing Joe Musgrove and infielder Nick Ahmed.  Musgrove was obviously out due to his impending Tommy John surgery, while replacing Ahmed with a pitcher gives San Diego 13 pitchers to go with 13 position players.  Perez is one of five southpaws on San Diego’s roster, as ESPN’s Alden Gonzalez (X link) was among those who noted that the Padres are guarding themselves as best they can against Shohei Ohtani and other powerful left-handed Dodgers bats.
  • The Dodgers will go with an even mix of 13 batters and 13 pitchers, and rookie Edgardo Henriquez has made the list of available arms.  Henriquez only made his MLB debut on September 24 and he has played in just three games as a big leaguer, but Los Angeles will give the hard-throwing righty a look in October to add some velocity to the bullpen.  It’s probably safe to assume that Henriquez wouldn’t have made the cut if the Dodgers weren’t ravaged by pitching injuries, yet the rookie also got the nod over veteran Joe Kelly, who had an inconsistent year but was pitching well after returning from the IL in mid-September.  On the position player side, L.A. didn’t include either Kevin Kiermaier or James Outman, so Andy Pages will be the only true backup outfielder along with utilitymen Enrique Hernandez and Chris Taylor in the bench mix.
  • The Phillies will use 14 position players and 12 pitchers in their NLDS matchup with the Mets, with left-hander Kolby Allard joining the relief corps.  Allard has worked as something of a swingman throughout his career, and this ability of covering multiple innings earned Allard the spot, as manager Rob Thomson told MLB.com’s Paul Casella and other reporters.  “He’s going to probably give us the most length if we get into an extra-inning game….so I just wanted as much length as we could get,” Thomson said.  Utilityman Weston Wilson also got the Phils’ last bench spot, as Casella observes that Wilson brings more positional versatility than outfielder Cal Stevenson.
  • The Yankees went heavier on position players (15) than pitchers (11) for their ALDS roster against the Royals.  Anthony Rizzo is missing the series due to two broken fingers and DJ LeMahieu wasn’t yet activated from the injured list, but New York still has plenty of room on its bench, including pinch-running specialist Duke Ellis.  The Yankees appear to be loading up on bats to take on the Royals’ tough rotation and more porous bullpen, which left right-hander Marcus Stroman off the ALDS roster as the odd man out of the starting staff.
  • The Tigers made just one change from their Wild Card Series roster, as rookie righty Keider Montero has been included in place of Casey Mize.  Montero posted a 4.76 ERA over 98 1/3 innings in his first Major League season, starting 16 of 19 games.  This doesn’t necessarily mean Montero will start against the Guardians in the ALDS, however, as Detroit’s pitching staff (apart from ace Tarik Skubal) is very malleable in terms of specific roles.

Guardians Activate Alex Cobb For ALDS Roster

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The Guardians released their 26-man roster for the AL Division Series this morning, and veteran right-hander Alex Cobb was included after being activated from the 15-day injured list.  Cobb has pitched in just one MLB game since August 14 due to a pair of IL stints — first due to a fractured fingernail, and now this latest stint due to blisters on his right hand.

It has been an injury-plagued season overall for Cobb, as he has only three total starts and he didn’t make his season debut until August 9.  Cobb had hip surgery last October, and his recovery from that surgery was delayed by both some shoulder soreness and then some earlier blister issues.  As it turned out, Cobb’s final year with the Giants didn’t even involve one last trip to the mound in a San Francisco uniform, as the Giants dealt the veteran starter to the Guardians at the trade deadline.

Cleveland felt confident enough in Cobb’s status to swing the trade despite his lack of action during the season, and his subsequent pair of trips to the IL haven’t exactly calmed any doubts about his health.  However, the Guards were able to win the AL Central even with Cobb providing limited help, and for what it’s worth, he did pitch well (2.76 ERA in 16 1/3 innings) over his three starts with his new club.

An impactful October performance would certainly help Cobb make a true mark on his new team, though it remains to be seen exactly how the Guardians might deploy Cobb in the ALDS.  Tanner Bibee is the scheduled starter for Game 1 and Matthew Boyd is the likeliest candidate to start Game 2, though the Guards could go in many directions given the uncertain nature of their rotation.  Considering how Cobb is just returning from the IL, his innings could be limited if he does get a start, or Cleveland might even use him as a bulk pitcher (behind an opener) or perhaps in a piggyback capacity.  The Guardians are hoping to get as much as they can out of their starters and then rely on their elite bullpen.

Here is Cleveland’s full 26-man roster for its ALDS matchup against the Tigers.  Cobb, Bibee, Gavin Williams, Emmanuel Clase, Hunter Gaddis, Cade Smith, Eli Morgan, and Andrew Walters are the right-handed pitchers, and Boyd, Tim Herrin, Joey Cantillo, and Erik Sabrowski are the four southpaws on the roster.  The list of position players consists of catchers Bo Naylor and Austin Hedges, utilityman David Fry, infielders Jose Ramirez, Josh Naylor, Andres Gimenez, Brayan Rocchio, Daniel Schneemann, and Kyle Manzardo, and outfielders Steven Kwan, Lane Thomas, Jhonkensy Noel, Will Brennan, and Tyler Freeman.

GM David Forst: Athletics Aim To Raise Payroll, Retain Coaching Staff

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While the Athletics’ move from Oakland to Sacramento will naturally dominate the headlines this season, general manager David Forst will have his hands full just with the normal trappings of the baseball offseason.  Forst told reporters (including radio broadcaster Jessica Kleinschmidt and the San Francisco Chronicle’s Susan Slusser) that the team plans to spend more on payroll than it did in 2024, and that the A’s are hopeful of bringing back the entire coaching staff for their first season in Sacramento.

As per RosterResource, the A’s spent roughly $63.1MM on payroll last season, easily the lowest in baseball.  Forst’s front office also has an entirely clean payroll slate heading into 2025, as the A’s don’t have a single dollar officially committed to any player for the coming season.  The Athletics have five impending free agents, five players eligible for salary arbitration (to the tune of a projected $13.8MM if all are tendered contracts), and the rest of the roster is still in their pre-arb years.

In theory, this gives Forst some flexibility in upgrading a team that showed some promise last season.  While the A’s were only 69-93, this at least represented a sizeable improvement from the club’s 112-loss performance in 2023.  Moreover, the Athletics seemed to turn a corner around midseason, as they were 39-37 from July 1 onward.  Between slugger Brent Rooker, flame-throwing closer Mason Miller, breakout outfielder Lawrence Butler, and others, the Athletics’ latest rebuild has already developed some interesting pieces of a new core.  Both Rooker and Zack Gelof are quoted in Slusser’s piece as having an eye towards contending as early as next season.

Of course, given the Athletics’ usual reluctance to spend, we should probably wait and see if owner John Fisher will indeed approve even a modest payroll increase.  This winter in particular carries the X-factor of how the Athletics’ revenues will be impacted by the move to Sacramento’s Sutter Health Park, a Triple-A stadium (home of the Giants’ top minor league affiliate) with a total capacity of just over 14,000.  As Slusser notes, there are still plenty of details about the move that team officials themselves aren’t yet certain.  Forst believed Sutter Health Park would continue to have an artificial playing surface during the Athletics’ tenure, though no renovation work has started on the field itself in preparation for 2025.

The other challenge facing Forst this offseason is how exactly he’ll be able to lure desirable players to join the A’s, even if more money is available to spend.  “We do have to sell it, and I’d be lying if I told you I knew what the answers will be on the other side,” Forst said.  While the younger talent on the roster might be attractive to free agents under normal circumstances, the fact remains that many players might not have interest in joining a franchise that will be spending at least its next three seasons in a minor league ballpark.  It seems likely that the A’s will again be limited to signing players to one-year contracts, with an eye towards flipping those players at the trade deadline if the team isn’t in contention.

As for the coaching staff, some turnover might develop if other teams step forward with job offers or promotions for any A’s coaches.  Slusser also suggests that the Athletics might not stand in the way if rival clubs had interest in manager Mark Kotsay, which would be an interesting wrinkle to both the team’s rebuilding plans and to any possible managerial vacancies around the league.

Kotsay is only 179-307 over three seasons as the Athletics’ skipper, though the poor record doesn’t fairly access his managerial ability given how little Kotsay has had to work with on a rebuilding roster, not to mention the added tumult of the franchise’s planned move.  Kotsay is under contract just through the 2025 season, and it is perhaps worth noting that the A’s let previous manager Bob Melvin go to the Padres when Melvin also had a year remaining on his contract.

“As far as the potential for losing [Kotsay], those things are out of my control right now,” Forst said.  “He absolutely deserves to be considered by anyone who has a managerial opening, but he’s under contract here and wants to be here. And there’s no one I would rather have managing this team.”

Nine Players Elect Free Agency

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As the offseason nears, a number of players elect minor league free agency each week. These players are separate from six-year MLB free agents, who’ll reach the open market five days after the conclusion of the World Series. Eligible minor leaguers can begin electing free agency as soon as the regular season wraps up. These players were all outrighted off a team’s 40-man roster during the year and have the requisite service time and/or multiple career outrights necessary to reach free agency since they weren’t added back to teams’ rosters.

Electing free agency is the anticipated outcome for these players. There’ll surely be more to test the market in the coming weeks. We’ll offer periodic updates at MLBTR. These transactions are all reflected on the MiLB.com log.

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