Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

The Opener: NLDS, Yankees, Managerial Searches

By | at

Here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world today:

1. NLDS Game 2:

While the ALDS had its second game of the series yesterday, the NL had a day off. The NLDS will resume today with games in Milwaukee and Philadelphia. The Phillies will be looking to avoid dropping a second consecutive home game to the Dodgers after Teoscar Hernandez’s three-run homer gave Los Angeles a 5-3 lead they would not relinquish. At 6:08pm local time this evening, a duel between opposing lefties will begin as two-time Cy Young winner Blake Snell steps up for the Dodgers to face off against Phillies southpaw Jesus Luzardo. Three hours later (8:08pm local time), the Brewers will take the field and try to put the Cubs on the brink of elimination while Chicago will try to put Saturday’s 9-3 drubbing in the past and send a tied series to Wrigley Field. Lefty Shota Imanaga will be on the mound for the Cubs today. The Brewers will use fellow southpaw Aaron Ashby as an opener with right-hander Quinn Priester likely to handle bulk innings.

2. Yankees on the brink:

The Yankees managed to win back-to-back elimination games against the Red Sox in the AL Wild Card Series last week, but now they’ll need to win three consecutive elimination games if they hope to stay alive and advance to the ALCS after they were no-hit by Blue Jays rookie Trey Yesavage through 5 1/3 innings while the Jays’ offense piled on 13 runs by the end of the sixth inning. While New York rallied a bit against the Toronto bullpen, it wasn’t enough to stop the Bombers from entering today’s off-day staring down the possibility of getting swept in front of their home crowd on Tuesday.

3. Managerial searches continue:

While the playoffs continue, a number of teams eliminated from the postseason are on the hunt for a new manager. Skip Schumaker has already been hired in Texas to replace Bruce Bochy, but that still leaves vacancies in Colorado, Baltimore, San Francisco, Minnesota, Atlanta, Anaheim, and Washington D.C. New candidates emerged for the Giants and Angels yesterday, but other potential candidates like Mets executive Andy Green have passed on the opportunity to be considered for a managerial gig. With so many vacancies yet to be filled, plenty of intriguing candidates will emerge over the next few weeks as teams conduct interviews and ask rival organizations for permission to speak with their employees.

Coaching Notes: Royals, Pirates, Diamondbacks

By | at

Royals GM J.J. Picollo told reporters (including Anne Rogers of MLB.com) after the regular season came to a close that he expected that “most of the [coaching] staff” (including hitting coach Alec Zumwait) will return to Kansas City in 2026. At the time, he acknowledged that there might be some “tweaks” to the staff in hopes of getting the most out of the club’s players. Today, Picollo provided more details on those tweaks when he told Rogers that the Royals won’t renew the contracts of assistant hitting coaches Keoni DeRenne and Joe Dillon for the 2026 campaign.

DeRenne has been in the Royals organization since 2020 and has spent the past four seasons as the club’s assistant hitting coach. He previously coached in the Cubs and Pirates organizations at the minor league level. Dillon, meanwhile, has been an assistant hitting coach for the Royals in each of the past two seasons and has previously served as an assistant hitting coach for the Nationals and spent two years as the hitting coach for the Phillies in addition to time in the Nationals and Marlins organizations coaching at the minor league level. Picollo praised the pair’s work in Kansas City, telling Rogers that both are “really good, tireless workers” who will “end up in a good spot somewhere in the game.” The duo figure to have plenty of opportunities to catch on somewhere with so many teams changing managers this winter. Many of those new managers will look to make tweaks to their team’s coaching staff, which could benefit coaches like DeRenne and Dillon.

As for the Royals themselves, the departures of their assistant hitting coaches will create an opportunity to bring in fresh voices to complement Zumwait. Kansas City finished the season with a team-wide wRC of just 93, even in spite of strong performances from core pieces like Vinnie Pasquantino, Maikel Garcia, and Bobby Witt Jr. at the place. That’s because much of the club’s supporting cast disappointed in a big way, while some players counted on to be threats high in the batting order like Jonathan India and Jac Caglianone failed to produce. While the Royals might hope that a veteran like India can return to form on his own, a young player like Caglianone could surely benefit from the guidance that new members of the coaching staff could offer.

More from around the league’s coaching staffs…

  • Pirates hitting coach Matt Hague is expected to continue in his current role with the club, according to a report from Alex Stumpf of MLB.com earlier today. Hague, 40, spent part of three seasons as a big league player before starting his coaching career in 2020 as a minor league coach with the Blue Jays. He spent the 2024 season with Toronto in the big leagues as an assistant hitting coach, before getting hired away by Pittsburgh last offseason to serve as their primary hitting coach in the majors. Hague’s Pirates were the second-worst team in baseball by wRC+ this year as even well-regarded hitters like Bryan Reynolds and Oneil Cruz took significant steps back at the plate. Even so, he’ll get another opportunity to guide the team’s offense in 2026, and with improving the lineup being a top priority for the Pirates this season he’ll hopefully have more talent to work with on the field next year.
  • The Diamondbacks are expecting to retain their 2025 coaching staff for next season, manager Torey Lovullo told Dave Burns and John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports last week. Lovullo left the door open for some roles on the coaching staff to change even as the entire group is retained for the 2026 campaign, though he suggested that coaches will generally remain in their same role they had this season. While the Diamondbacks disappointed with an 80-82 record this year, it’s hard not to see how injuries to key players like Corbin Burnes, A.J. Puk, and Justin Martinez wound up significantly impacting the team for the worse, and it’s not impossible to imagine that the club could have squeaked its way into the postseason had core pieces like Josh Naylor, Eugenio Suarez, and Merrill Kelly not been traded at this year’s deadline. Evidently, that’s enough for Lovullo and GM Mike Hazen to feel comfortable sticking with their current staff for at least one more year.

Mets’ Andy Green Declining To Be Considered For Managerial Vacancies

By | at

With so many managerial vacancies around the sport at the moment, it should be expected that a large crop of potential candidates are seeing their name come up in those conversations. While the 30 MLB manager positions are among the most coveted jobs in the baseball world and the opportunity to even interview for one is a significant honor, that doesn’t mean that everyone on a front office’s shortlist will have interest in the job. One such case is former Padres manager Andy Green, who Jon Heyman of the New York Post reports has declined “multiple managerial opportunities” in order to stick in his current role as a player development executive within the Mets’ front office.

It should be noted that it isn’t clear which teams contacted Green or how serious those clubs were in their interest. Still, it’s interesting to hear both that Green was receiving interest from clubs and that he preferred to stick in his current role with the Mets than pursuing another round in the manager’s chair. After spending parts of four seasons in the majors as a player, Green briefly served as the third base coach in Arizona before taking over as San Diego’s manager during the 2015-16 offseason.

Green managed the Padres for four seasons but ultimately was fired shortly before the end of the 2019 season, eight games before the end of what would be the club’s fourth-consecutive 90-loss campaign. While Green did well in bringing young players like Manuel Margot, Chris Paddack, and Fernando Tatis Jr. along in the majors, San Diego felt the results on the field weren’t improving fast enough under Green. It didn’t take long for him to find a new position, however, as he was quickly snapped up by the Cubs and newly-minted manager David Ross to serve as Ross’s bench coach for the 2020 season.

Green remainded in Chicago for Ross’s entire tenure as skipper, but chose to depart the club when Ross was dismissed in favor of Craig Counsell. Leaving Chicago is what led Green back to Queens, where he briefly appeared as a player for the Mets across four games in 2009. Green was hired by new president of baseball operations David Stearns in November of 2023 for an unspecified “senior role” in player development. It was later revealed that Green had been given the role of senior vice president, and he’s worked under Stearns as part of New York’s front office in each of the past two seasons.

For Green to turn down the opportunity to return to the dugout, he’s clearly comfortable with his position in the Mets organization. It’s certainly possible that the 48-year-old appreciates the move to a front office role and the flexibility afforded by no longer being part of the day-to-day grind of traveling with the team during the season, or that his player development skills are better suited for work behind the scenes rather than in the dugout.

Of course, that doesn’t necessarily mean that Green wouldn’t consider a jump back to the dugout at some point in the future. Will Venable famously declined an interview with the Mets organization in order to stay in his associate manager role with the Rangers, only to accept an offer to manage the White Sox just a year later. Perhaps Green could reconsider a move back to the dugout at some point down the line if the right opportunity came along, but it seems for now that he’s content to stay with the Mets even as nearly a third of the league is looking for a change in the manager’s chair.

Alex Anthopoulos Discusses Managerial Vacancy, Offseason Plans

By | at

Atlanta president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos spoke to reporters (including David O’Brien of The Athletic) yesterday in an end-of-season press conference yesterday and covered a variety of topics. Much of the focus, however, was on Brian Snitker’s decision to step down as manager and the impending hunt for a new manager.

Anthopoulos made sure to emphasize that Snitker’s departure from the role was in fact the veteran manager’s own decision, and that if he had wanted to remain in the dugout for an 11th season Anthopoulos would not have stood in the way of that. He spoke glowingly of the relationship and trust the two of them had built, and went on to reveal that Snitker is actually under contract with the organization through the 2030 season.

That’s because, Anthopoulos revealed, Snitker’s January 2023 contract extension that was announced as a three-year deal that ended in 2025 was actually an eight-year contract where he would serve as manager through the end of the 2025 season before shifting into a senior advisor role for the final five years of his deal. It was left to Snitker to decide whether that latter portion of the extension would be announced at the time, and Snitker opted against that. It’s an interesting reveal that makes clear Snitker’s move out of the manager’s chair is not related to Atlanta’s disappointing 2025 season, and lends credence to the idea that the Braves would have been happy to bring him back for an 11th season as manager if he was inclined to pursue one.

Snitker ultimately opted to step aside, however, and that’s left Anthopoulos to begin his first search for a new manager since joining the Braves in November of 2017.  Anthopoulos told reporters that he had not yet even made a list of potential candidates for the role in deference to Snitker, though he added that doing so was the next item on his offseason to-do list. Anthopoulos noted that the next manager doesn’t necessarily need to follow in the footsteps of Snitker, a 49-year veteran of the organization, and have deep roots within the organization. That should allow Anthopoulos to cast a wider net in finding the right partner to bring playoff baseball back to Atlanta.

Former Braves players like David Ross and Walt Weiss have been popular speculative picks for the job among fans and in the media, and while O’Brien notes that someone like that cannot be ruled out there’s been no indication of who Anthopoulos may be looking at as a candidate. Anthopoulos told reporters he hopes to keep it that way, though he also acknowledged that with as many managerial vacancies as there are in baseball at the moment even his notoriously leak-free front office may have trouble keeping the team’s plans completely under wraps.

Regardless of who is ultimately leading the Braves from the dugout next year, it’s clear that some changes will be necessary on the field. The first major decision point of Atlanta’s offseason (aside from finding Snitker’s replacement) will not actually sit with Anthopoulos at all, as Ha-Seong Kim will be able to decide whether to exercise his $16MM player option for 2026 or return to free agency. Kim had a tough year between the Rays and Braves this season, appearing in just 48 games and slashing just .234/.304/.345 overall. Atlanta was quite impressed with his work after they claimed him off waivers, however, and he posted a respectable 91 wRC+ across his 98 plate appearances with the organization.

Anthopoulos was candid with reporters (including Gabe Burns of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution) about the fact that the Braves hope to keep Kim in the fold, though it remains to be seen if he’ll simply exercise his player option or if he’ll instead look to test free agency. O’Brien suggests that the club could look to preempt Kim’s opt-out decision by negotiating a contract with him before he reaches the open market, as the Royals did with Michael Wacha last winter. That would make plenty of sense given Anthopoulos’s proclivity towards extensions, even for recently-acquired players like Sean Murphy and Chris Sale. At the same time, Kim’s combination of an impressive ceiling and difficult 2025 season could make him a difficult player to find the proper value for on a longer-term deal.

Keeping or replacing Kim isn’t the only priority of the team’s upcoming offense, of course. Burns notes that Anthopoulos highlighted both the bullpen and the starting rotation as areas he hopes to upgrade this winter in addition to shortstop. The loss of Max Fried to the Yankees last offseason was badly felt in the Atlanta rotation, and while talented arms like Sale, Spencer Strider, Reynaldo Lopez, and Spencer Schwellenbach all remain under team control, that entire group faces questions headed into 2026 whether those concerns are about age, health, or performance. Bringing in a stable arm who can provide reliable, mid-rotation or better innings would make plenty of sense, and a bullpen that stands to lose Raisel Iglesias and could also see Pierce Johnson head into free agency if Anthopoulos does not exercise his $7MM club option after losing A.J. Minter last year will also need significant reinforcement.

The free agent market looks to be littered with quality options in both regards, but the Braves have typically resisted spending large sums of money in free agency and have long preferred to get creative on the trade market when looking to bring in new talent. Perhaps that could change this year after 2025’s disappointing finish, and Atlanta will go out and sign someone like Dylan Cease or Edwin Diaz to a sizable contract. It seems more likely, however, that the Braves will instead look to be opportunistic in free agency and focus their more aggressive pursuits on the trade market, which has brought them success when adding players like Sale, Murphy, and Iglesias over the years. Joe Ryan, Sandy Alcantara, Pete Fairbanks, and JoJo Romero are among the players who could theoretically be available this winter who would fit Atlanta’s pitching needs.

Harrison Bader To Undergo Imaging For Groin Injury

By | at

October 5: Thomson said this morning that Bader’s MRI showed no major tear or strain, as relayed by Varnes. He’ll continue receiving treatment and the team will know more about his availability for Game 2 tomorrow, but MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki notes that Thomson said Bader is feeling better after receiving treatment last night.

October 4: The Phillies pulled outfielder Harrison Bader from Game 1 of the NLDS against the Dodgers tonight due to what was at first described by the team has hamstring tightness, but manager Rob Thomson later relayed to reporters (including Charlotte Varnes of The Athletic) that the issue was actually groin tightness. Bader himself later spoke to reporters (including Tim Kelly of On Pattison) and revealed that he would be undergoing imaging to determine the extent of his injury.

While the situation might seem concerning, Bader is considered day-to-day for the time being and expressed confidence that he’ll return to the Phillies’ lineup during this series. He noted that he’ll rest during tomorrow’s day off and “go from there,” adding that playing in the postseason is the time where you “empty the tank,” suggesting a willingness to try and play through an injury that might otherwise sit him down at another point in the season. That’s surely encouraging for Phillies fans to hear given Bader’s emergence as a key piece of the team in recent weeks.

Acquired from the Twins at the trade deadline back in July, Bader had already been enjoying a solid season with the Twins but kicked things up to another gear when he arrived in Philadephia. In 50 games with the Phillies, Bader has hit .305/.361/.463 with five home runs, eleven doubles, and a triple in 194 trips to the plate while serving as the team’s regular center fielder. He’s done his part defensively as well, with +1 Fielding Run Value in center this year despite playing the outfield corners exclusively in Minnesota. Bader has long been a well-regarded center fielder in the majors, but was pushed into a corner with the Twins due to the presence of a healthy Byron Buxton in the club’s lineup.

The addition of Bader at the deadline helped to stabilize the Phillies on both sides of the ball. Nick Castellanos struggled badly this year, with below-average offensive numbers that paired with his typical lackluster glove in the outfield to make him a below replacement level player. Max Kepler and Johan Rojas had disappointing seasons of their own as well, leaving Bader to step up alongside Brandon Marsh to help create some more production for the Phillies on both offensively and defensively. Few deadline additions have been more impactful for their club down the stretch, and it would be devastating for the club to go without Bader during a tough matchup against the Dodgers this week, especially after dropping game 1 of the series at home earlier this evening.

If Bader were to miss Game 2 on Monday, an outfield featuring Marsh in center flanked by Kepler in left and Castellanos in right seems like the most likely outcome, though Weston Wilson is also on the roster as a potential right-handed complement to Kepler. In a worst-case scenario where Bader needed to be pulled from the club’s NLDS roster entirely, the Phillies would have the option to place him on the injured list and replace him on the roster. Doing so would mean that Bader would miss the entire NLCS, however, and only be eligible to return this year if the Phillies made it all the way to the World Series. Needless to say, that’s a situation the Phillies will surely be hoping to avoid.

Torii Hunter Expected To Be Considered In Angels’ Managerial Search

By | at

Both Ron Washington and Ray Montgomery have been evicted from the manager’s office in Anaheim, as the Angels plan to hire a new manager rather than tabbing either their manager or interim manager from this season to return in 2026. Most of the attention has been focused on the candidacy of Albert Pujols to this point, but Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register reported yesterday that one other expected candidate is Torii Hunter.

Hunter, 50, played 19 seasons in the majors. He made it to the All-Star game five times, won nine Gold Glove awards for his work in the outfield, and enjoyed an impressive five-year run with the Angels from 2008 to 2012 where he slashed .286/.352/.462 in 713 games. Hunter being a candidate for the job is hardly a surprise, given the fact that he was reportedly in the mix for the job following the 2023 season before Washington was hired. At the time, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale highlighted Hunter as “tremendously regarded” by club owner Arte Moreno, which was enough to make him an option even in spite of his lack of coaching experience at a time when the Angels were specifically focused on bringing in a more experienced voice at the time.

While Hunter did not ultimately land the job, that didn’t end the organization’s interest in bringing him into the fold. They pursued him as a potential member of Washington’s coaching staff, and while he declined to be considered for that role he was hired as a special assistant to Minasian in April of 2024. He’s remained in the organization ever since, and the relationship that role has surely created with Minasian over the past two years could help give Hunter a leg up in the hunt for the job if Minasian has a say in the hiring process despite his status as a lame duck GM.

Still, it’s must be remembered that Pujols is held in a similar regard by Moreno and is also already employed by the organization as a result of his ten-year personal services contract with the club signed at the time of his free agency as a player. Some reporting has gone as far as suggesting that it might be the Hall of Famer’s decision to make whether or not he serves as Anaheim’s next manager. Even with Pujols emerging as an early favorite, however, that doesn’t mean he’s a lock to be in the dugout next year. There’s certainly a chance that someone with Pujols’s profile might prefer to hold out for a team with stronger prospects than the Angels currently have coming off their tenth consecutive sub-.500 season. The turnover rate of Angels managers might also be a concern. After all, the team has churned through five managers (Brad Ausmus, Joe Maddon, Phil Nevin, Washington, and Montgomery) in the last seven years since Mike Scioscia left the club following the 2019 season.

Even aside from those potential concerns on Pujols’s end, it’s not impossible to imagine GM Perry Minasian pushing for a different candidate or even Moreno himself having a change of heart. All of that is to say, keeping other candidates in mind for the position is sensible, and Hunter has a lot of the same qualities that have made Pujols the early favorite for the job. Given that, it stands to reason that Hunter might find himself in strong position to land the gig if Pujols were to decline to be considered. What’s more, every indication points to Hunter having interest in both managing generally and leading the Angels specifically. He not only interviewed for the role in 2023, but also told reporters at the time that he would relish the “challenge” of helping turn the Angels franchise around.

On the other hand, it’s worth noting that Hunter is arguably even more connected to the Twins organization than he is to the Angels after playing 12 seasons in Minnesota. The Twins also have a managerial opening after their decision to fire Rocco Baldelli, and while there’s not yet been any solid connection between Hunter and that gig it would certainly be one worth considering from Hunter’s perspective. The organization’s massive sell-off this past summer would certainly provide a challenge if Hunter is looking for one, but the team’s history suggests that Twins managers have more job security than those in Anaheim. Every manager in Minnesota in the past 35 years has had at least four full seasons on the job to prove themselves, while Scioscia is the only Angels skipper since inaugural manager Bill Rigney to be afforded that same opportunity.

Bob Melvin Discusses Giants’ Exit, Future Plans

By | at

It’s been less than a week since the Giants fired Bob Melvin, ending his tenure with the organization after just two seasons even in spite of the team’s decision to preemptively exercise a 2026 club option on Melvin over the summer. It was a somewhat surprising decision given that context, and today Melvin spoke about his time in San Francisco, his dismissal, and his future plans with Shayna Rubin of the San Francisco Chronicle.

A Bay Area native who was born in Palo Alto and currently resides in Menlo Park, Melvin expressed gratitude for the opportunity to manage both the A’s while they were in Oakland and the Giants in San Francisco “in one lifetime,” calling the opportunity “more than I could even imagine.” Melvin had far more success in his time with the A’s, who he managed to pilot to a 823-764 record across 11 seasons that earned him six playoff appearances and two of his three Manager of the Year awards. By contrast, Melvin’s two seasons in San Francisco were generally disappointing as the club finished with an 80-82 record in 2024 before making only a token improvement to 81-81 in 2025, even after Buster Posey took over as president of baseball operations and brought in quality veterans like Justin Verlander, Willy Adames, and Rafael Devers.

That 2025 campaign is even more disappointing when one considers that the Giants were tied for the division lead in mid-June, shortly before the Devers trade. It would be easy to point to that second-half decline as the reason for Melvin’s dismissal, but Melvin told Rubin that he hadn’t received a concrete reason for his firing when he spoke to Posey about his decision the day of the announcement. Posey would later cite the club’s performance over the final months of the season as the reason for Melvin’s dismissal, but Melvin pushed back against that characterization. He correctly pointed out that Posey and the front office made the decision to sell off key pieces like Tyler Rogers and Camilo Doval at the deadline in July. In that context, the club’s 27-26 record over the final two months of the season actually looks relatively impressive.

Whatever the reason for Posey’s decision to go in another direction, Rubin suggests that Melvin hasn’t closed the door on continuing his managerial career. There’s a number of vacancies all around baseball (including attractive jobs in places like Atlanta and Baltimore), and a three-time Manager of the Year with 1678 wins under his belt seems certain to be an attractive potential candidate to any club hoping to find an experienced voice in the dugout. Another stateside gig may not be his preferred destination, however, as Melvin told Rubin that he’s “always wanted to manage in Japan.” Having managed Japanese superstars like Ichiro Suzuki and Yu Darvish during his career, Melvin went on to note that he “really enjoys the style of baseball they play” in Nippon Professional Baseball.

Expatriate managers in Japan aren’t especially common, but they aren’t completely unheard of with Bobby Valentine’s time managing the Chiba Lotte Marines standing out as perhaps the most notable example of an MLB manager finding work in an NPB dugout. Perhaps Melvin will follow in those footsteps, though he acknowledged to Rubin that it’s “tough to say for sure” what his plans are so soon after being dismissed by the Giants.

Perry Minasian Discusses Angels’ Offseason Plans

By | at

Angels GM Perry Minasian spoke to reporters (including Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register) today about the club’s disappointing 2025 season, as well plans for the future of the club. Much of the conversation was focused on the decision to move on from both manager Ron Washington and interim manager Ray Montgomery in the dugout and search for a new skipper to lead the club. While Minasian didn’t tip his hand much on the club’s managerial search beyond noting that they’d like to find a new voice in the dugout sooner rather than later, he did make a number of intriguing comments about the state of the team headed into the offseason.

With Kyle Hendricks and Tyler Anderson both headed into free agency this offseason while Anaheim’s array of young pitching arms have yet to establish themselves as viable regular starters, Minasian suggested that there are three pitchers he has penciled into next year’s rotation: Yusei Kikuchi, Jose Soriano, and Reid Detmers. Kikuchi and Soriano are hardly surprising as both veterans turned in perfectly solid season in the rotation and remain under control for next year. Detmers, by contrast, is something of a surprise given his rocky tenure in the organization. The lefty was once among the game’s very best pitching prospects and pitched quite well in the rotation from 2022 to ’23 after a shaky debut in 2021.

Things changed last year when he was torched to the tune of a 6.70 ERA in 17 starts and spent much of the season in the minors. This year, Detmers pitched out of the bullpen and enjoyed a solid enough season where he posted a 3.96 ERA with a 3.12 FIP across 63 2/3 innings of work. While that role of single-inning reliever mostly worked out for the lefty, the Angels will now have him try his hand at starting once again. Minasian suggested he’s “earned” a spot in the rotation and that Detmers was “a different guy” last time he pitched as a starter for the club. While it may seem unorthodox to put Detmers back into a role he struggled in after he found success in the bullpen, it’s worth noting that the Angels did the same thing with Soriano to some success. The right-hander hadn’t made even 10 starts at any level since his stint at Single-A in 2019 when the club decided to put him in last year’s rotation, and he’s turned out quite well in that role.

With Detmers and Soriano joining Kikuchi in the rotation next year, that leaves two spots left unsettled. Caden Dana, Mitch Farris, Sam Aldegheri, and Jack Kochanowicz all pitched as starters in the majors for the club this year and remain young and at least somewhat intriguing, but none posted an ERA lower than 6.40 at the big league level this season and all four can be optioned to the minors, making them perhaps best served as depth options to protect against injury. Perhaps the club could invest in the rotation via free agency this winter, but the club’s budget remains a mystery. When asked by reporters about the club’s payroll flexibility this winter, Minasian said (as relayed by Sam Blum of The Athletic) that he and owner Arte Moreno “haven’t gotten into” the details about the club’s budget for next year.

It stands to reason at least some money will be available given that RosterResource projects the club for just $129MM in salary for next year, more than $75MM below where they were this year. Of course, arbitration salaries for both pricey veterans like Taylor Ward as well as first-time eligible players like Logan O’Hoppe and Zach Neto could make up some of that difference in a hurry, so it’s unclear whether or not Anaheim will be able to shop at the top of the market for arms like Framber Valdez, Dylan Cease, and Zac Gallen. This year’s crop of starting pitchers is somewhat thin after that top layer, but there are some solid back-of-the-rotation types like Zack Littell and Adrian Houser available as well.

Turning towards the positional side of things, Minasian made clear that the club plans to try and upgrade both center field and third base this winter. That’s not necessarily a surprise given Bryce Teodosio’s lackluster performance at the plate, Yoan Moncada’s impending free agency, and the fact that (according to Fletcher) Anthony Rendon hasn’t yet resumed baseball activities after undergoing surgery earlier this year. Minasian suggested the club also hopes to get more left-handed in the lineup and that Christian Moore would be in competition for a spot in the lineup, which would logically mean there’s room for an addition at second base as well. Aside from simply reuniting with Moncada or Luis Rengifo, the pickings in free agency for left-handed or switch-hitting infielders are somewhat slim. Jorge Polanco would be the cream of the crop if he can return to playing the field regularly, with Adam Frazier, Cavan Biggio, and Willi Castro joining Moncada and Rengifo among the next tier of options.

The idea of making a splash by adding a lefty-swinging center fielder is far more plausible with both Trent Grisham and Cody Bellinger likely ticketed for free agency coming off strong seasons, not to mention the availability of Cedric Mullins. Adding one of those three players (or someone similar) becomes harder to imagine when you consider the state of the club’s outfield mix, however. Minasian suggested that the Angels hope to get Mike Trout back into the outfield next year, but that would be a corner outfield capacity rather than moving him back to center.

Jorge Soler is under contract for next year and would be ticketed for regular at-bats at DH, and Minasian suggested that Jo Adell is an option in center field but the club would prefer to leave him in a corner. Taylor Ward enjoyed his best season since 2022 this year while playing exclusively left field. Given that logjam of right-handed outfield bats, it stands to reason that an addition to the outfield mix would either need to be a complementary player who shares time with Adell in center or be paired with a move to deal away one of the team’s other outfielders, though Trout obviously isn’t going anywhere and Soler likely has little value after an injury-marred season. Making a trade to clear room to bring in a free agent center fielder would likely stretch the club’s budget, of course, but perhaps the trade return for someone like Ward or Adell could address a need elsewhere on the roster to lighten that blow.

Red Sox Notes: GM Search, Toboni, Story, Bregman

By | at

The Red Sox made clear nearly a month ago that they planned to hire a GM this offseason. At the time, Paul Toboni was an assistant GM for the club and immediately appeared to be the logical choice for the role among internal candidates and perhaps even the overall favorite. It didn’t take long, however, for that option to come off the table. Toboni was hired by the Nationals to serve as their president of baseball operations, taking over as their top executive. According to The Boston Globe’s Tim Healey, Toboni was not only the “heavy favorite” to serve as Craig Breslow’s #2 in Boston, but the club now plans to “take a step a back” this offseason to evaluate what they want to do with the role now that he is no longer an option.

That seems to leave the door cracked open for the possibility that the Red Sox will go without a GM serving under Breslow for a third consecutive season in 2026. That would be something of a shock given the club’s comments last month, but given the club’s apparent focus on Toboni for the role it’s at least possible that their decision to hire a GM was largely a way to promote him and keep someone viewed as a rising star around the game in the organization’s fold. That’s no longer an option, so perhaps the Red Sox could decide to once again leave the job vacant headed into 2026.

Of course, that’s hardly guaranteed and may not be the most prudent option. As Healey notes, Breslow called Toboni’s departure “a big loss” for the organization and noted that he had a hand in all areas of player development in both the majors and minors. Those responsibilities will presumably need to be taken over by someone else, and while Boston’s three remaining assistant GMs (Raquel Ferreira, Eddie Romero, and Mike Groopman) could share some of that load or a lower-level member of the staff could be promoted to fill Toboni’s shoes, an external hire who could be brought in by the allure of that vacant GM job could perhaps kill two birds with one stone by filling the job of Breslow’s #2 with someone who offers some of the same strengths Toboni would have offered.

In any case, the Red Sox likely won’t be in a rush to hire their next GM in the coming days. While they’ve been eliminated from postseason contention themselves, Breslow suggested that they’ll figure out how to handle the loss of Toboni and the vacant GM role “once things quiet down” and the postseason starts to wind down. That’s sensible enough, given the fact that potentially intriguing candidates from other organizations could be hard to pluck away until that team is eliminated from postseason contention.

In other Red Sox news, the club is facing two significant looming opt-out opportunities on the left side of their infield. Alex Bregman, of course, will have the opportunity to forgo the final two years and $80MM ($40MM of which is deferred money) on his contract and return to free agency. After a season where Bregman slashed .273/.360/.462 with 3.5 WAR according to both Baseball Reference and Fangraphs in 114 games, it seems like a fairly good bet that he’ll be taking that opportunity. For now, though, Bregman is staying mum about his plans. He told reporters (including Chris Cotillo of MassLive) on Thursday that he was “not even thinking about” his impending free agency in the aftermath of the club’s loss to the Yankees in Game 3 of the AL Wild Card series.

The same is true of shortstop Trevor Story, who told reporters (including Cotillo) that his impending decision was “not at the top of mind,” though he did acknowledge that he came to Boston in hopes of sticking around for a “long time.” Story has two years and $55MM guaranteed left on his contract, with $5MM of that coming in the form of a buyout on a $25MM club option for the 2028 season. While Bregman’s banner year seems likely to make him a lock to opt out, Story is a much more borderline case. He played just 163 games total for Boston between 2022 and 2024 with below average offensive numbers, but enjoyed a 2025 campaign where he played in 157 games while slashing .263/.308/.433 with 25 homers and 31 steals in 654 plate appearances as Boston’s starting shortstop. He also improved as the season went on, hitting .291/.336/.490 in 75 games from July 1 onward.

That’s the sort of production that makes it easy to imagine Story beating his current guarantee in free agency, particularly in a market with few quality shortstops outside of Bo Bichette. On the other hand, he’s headed into his age-33 season and has a long injury history that could raise some eyebrows about offering a long-term deal, while his roughly league average offense (101 wRC+) isn’t the sort of impressive production that spurs teams to invest a massive average annual value in a player. If both Bregman and Story were to walk this winter, that would leave the Red Sox with a deeply unsettled infield, though Kristian Campbell, Marcelo Mayer, Triston Casas, and Ceddanne Rafaela are among the young players in the organization who could theoretically pick up a glove somewhere on the dirt next year.

The Opener: Wild Cards, Rockies, Managerial Vacancies

By | at

Here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world today:

1. Wild Card Series continues:

The Dodgers bested the Reds 8-4 yesterday to complete a two-game sweep of Cincinnati and advance to the NLDS against the Phillies. The other three Wild Card matchups all saw the team facing elimination force a Game 3, leaving us with plenty of baseball to enjoy today. Things will kick off in Cleveland, at 3:08pm local time, when Jack Flaherty and the Tigers face off against Slade Cecconi and the Guardians to decide who will represent the AL Central against the Mariners in the ALDS.

In Chicago, at 4:08pm local time, the Cubs take the field at Wrigley behind Jameson Taillon as they try to advance in the playoffs for the first time since 2017 against the Padres and former Cub Yu Darvish. Finally, the Wild Card series will wrap in the Bronx, at 8:08pm local time, when the Red Sox and Yankees conclude the latest chapter in their storied archrivalry. That game will feature two rookies, with Connelly Early taking the ball for Boston in light of Lucas Giolito’s recent injury. The Yankees will turn to right-hander Cam Schlittler.

2. Rockies searching for new leadership:

Bill Schmidt is out as Rockies GM after this year’s brutal 119-loss season. He was promoted from within the organization to take over for Jeff Bridich in May of 2021, who himself was promoted to the top job from within in organization back in 2014. For a franchise that has dealt with a lot of struggles and failure over the years, this stands out as a rare opportunity for the club to bring in an outside voice and see what that sort of breath of fresh air could do to rejuvenate the organization. Perhaps that could come in the form of someone with ties to the organization like Thad Levine, who is already rumored to be in the mix for the job. Of course, it’s at least possible that owner Dick Monfort could break with his past tendencies and look for a less familiar partner to help lead the Rockies back to the postseason for the first time since 2018.

3. Managerial vacancies continue to grow:

While the Rockies likely won’t have clarity on their managerial situation until they bring in Schmidt’s replacement, there’s still plenty of intrigue surrounding the various managerial vacancies that have been created around the game in the past few days. Yesterday, Atlanta joined the pile of teams searching for a new voice in the dugout after Brian Snitker opted to retire from the dugout, though he’ll remain in the organization for a landmark 50th season in an advisory role. The Braves have a talented core and could very feasibly be back in the playoffs as soon as next year, so they’ll be one of the more attractive managerial vacancies available for candidates to pursue.

Elsewhere, the rumor mill is buzzing over the possibility that Hall of Famer Albert Pujols could take a turn as manager. He’s a strong candidate to take over for Ron Washington and Ray Montgomery in Anaheim with the Angels. The Rangers, Giants, Twins, Nationals and Orioles are each in the market for a new manager as well, and there’s always the possibility that a playoff club will look to make a change following an earlier-than-hoped-for exit from the postseason field.

MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

hide arrows scroll to top