John Morris Passes Away
Former big league pitcher John Morris passed away last week at the age of 84, according to an obituary posted to the Cape Gazette in Morris’s hometown of Lewes, Delaware.
A veteran of eight MLB seasons, Morris is perhaps best known as a member of the Seattle Pilots during the club’s lone 1969 season. Morris signed into the Phillies organization for his age-18 season in 1960 but spent the first several years of his career in the minors before making his big league debut with Philadelphia in 1966. He threw just 13 2/3 innings of work in that brief cameo in the majors before returning to Triple-A for the 1967 season, where he dominated with a 1.54 ERA across 33 relief appearances.
He was traded to the Orioles ahead of the 1968 season and briefly returned to the majors in 1968 with Baltimore but once again was sent back to Triple-A for much of the 1969 campaign, though he did make it to Seattle and pitch 12 2/3 innings for the Pilots. When the Pilots franchise moved to Milwaukee the following year, Morris remained with the club and became a regular fixture of the Brewers’ bullpen for the 1970 and ’71 seasons. In 1970, Morris served as a swing man and pitched to a 3.93 ERA across 20 games, including nine starts.
The highlight of Morris’s career came on May 13 and May 19, 1970 as he threw complete games in back-to-back starts. Morris surrendered four runs on ten hits and three walks while striking out 11 batters across those two complete games, both of which ended in wins for the Brewers. Morris’s May 19 start against the Oakland A’s saw him out-duel All-Star and future Hall of Famer Catfish Hunter on the mound as Milwaukee won 6-3. Morris’s solid season a swing man earned him a full-time look in the Milwaukee bullpen for the 1971 campaign, and he posted a 3.72 ERA in 67 2/3 innings of work across 43 appearances for the team.
Morris was traded to the Giants following the 1971 season and was mostly relegated to work at the team’s Triple-A affiliate once again. He pitched for San Francisco in parts of three seasons and ended his career on a high note with a 3.05 ERA in 17 appearances for the 1974 Giants in his age-32 season. In all, Morris appeared in 132 games for the Phillies, Orioles, Pilots, Brewers, and Giants across his eight seasons in the majors. He pitched to a 3.95 ERA, struck out 137 batters, finished his career with a lifetime 11-7 record and picked up two saves along the way.
We at MLB Trade Rumors send our condolences to Morris’s family, friends, and loved ones.
Kansas City’s Impressive Rotation Stockpile Is Ripe For A Trade
After making it to Game 4 of the ALDS last year on the back of a solid 86-win campaign, the Royals took a step back this year with an 82-80 record that left them five games back of an AL Wild Card spot when all was said and done. It was a disappointing season, though Kansas City really performed rather admirably considering that they got just 13 starts out of staff ace Cole Ragans while Kris Bubic found himself sidelined for the second half by an injury of his own. While health in the rotation helped to sink the team this year, it’s possible that the team’s deep arsenal of starters could help them reinvent the team on the trade market as they look ahead to 2026.
Given that Kansas City’s rotation being unable to stay healthy proved to be the difference between a return to the playoffs this year and sitting at home this October, it might sound like blasphemy to suggest trading from that same rotation should be on the table for the Royals this winter. The reality of the club’s situation, however, is that they would have been able to get by with their contributions from the rotation had their offense put up more of a fight. The Kansas City offense posted a 93 wRC+ this year, good for just 22nd in the majors as they slashed just .247/.309/.397 as a team.
That’s a tough slash line to put together a contender with as it is, but the need for improvement is highlighted by the success of the team’s stars. Three players made up the majority of that production: Maikel Garcia, Bobby Witt Jr. and Vinnie Pasquantino. Meanwhile, production at second base and in the outfield left much to be desired thanks to disappointing seasons from players like Jac Caglianone, Jonathan India, and Michael Massey. While no one should give up on Caglianone this soon, an improved supporting cast for Witt, Franco, and Pasquantino will be necessary if the club is going to find success next year.
Perhaps a well-executed move or two in free agency (like bringing back Mike Yastrzemski, who excelled with the team after a mid-season trade) could help get the offense on track for next year. But RosterResource projects the Royals for a payroll of $129MM in 2026 as things stand. That means they’d exceed last year’s payroll simply by picking up a club option on franchise icon Salvador Perez. Ownership seems reluctant to raise payroll beyond where it was this past year, and while non-tenders for some of the club’s pricier and less productive arbitration-level players like India and right-hander James McArthur could create more flexibility, money is sure to be tight this winter for Kansas City.
Given that reality, the trade market seems like the team’s best bet for improving the offense. That brings us back to the team’s incredible deep group of rotation candidates. Ragans and Bubic are joined by veteran right-handers Seth Lugo and Michael Wacha as locks for the 2026 rotation, with rookie southpaw Noah Cameron standing as the overwhelming favorite for the fifth starter job. Behind that quintet, however, the Royals have a number of viable starters on affordable deals: Ryan Bergert, Stephen Kolek, Bailey Falter, and Kyle Wright. Any of that quartet could at least theoretically be dangled as part of a package to improve the offense.
Falter struggled badly in 12 innings with the Royals but had a 3.73 ERA in 22 starts with the Pirates prior to a midseason trade, while Wright last pitched in the majors back in 2023 due to injuries but won 21 games and finished in the top 10 for NL Cy Young award voting with Atlanta during the 2022 season. Neither pitcher could be expected to bring back a valuable bat by themselves, but perhaps a starting-pitching hungry club would be interested in trading a hitter for a package that combines either Falter or Wright with some of the Royals’ prospect capital.
Kolek and Bergert, meanwhile, are intriguing arms. Acquired from the Padres in the Freddy Fermin trade at this year’s deadline, both Kolek (3.51 ERA in 19 starts) and Bergert (3.86 ERA in 15 starts) pitched like capable mid-rotation arms in part-time roles last year and will still make the league minimum next season. Virtually any team in baseball would be interested in getting their hands on them, and it’s not at all hard to imagine a team with an excess of interesting young hitters like the Mets, Cubs or Giants being willing to part ways with some of that talent to acquire one of those players.
Dealing Kolek or Bergert could bring back a similarly controllable hitter who hasn’t yet fully established themselves at the big league level, but it’s also entirely possible that the Royals could look to take another shot at a deal like the Brady Singer for Jonathan India swap from last offseason. That one didn’t go very well given India’s struggles this winter and Singer’s respectable mid-rotation performance in 32 starts for Cincinnati, but perhaps this winter could go differently if the Royals decided to listen to offers on lefty Kris Bubic.
Bubic dominated this season with a 2.55 ERA and 2.90 FIP in 20 starts that earned him an All-Star nod, and while a rotator cuff strain ended his 2025 campaign early he’s expected to have a normal offseason and be ready for Spring Training 2026. After emerging as a legitimate front-of-the-rotation arm this year, Bubic’s value to the 2026 Royals is obvious. With that being said, he’s also slated to reach free agency following the 2026 campaign, and if he turns in another season anything like last year the Royals won’t be able to afford to keep him in town.
That could make listening to offers on the lefty an attractive proposition, particularly if a quality everyday regular controlled beyond 2026 could be had in exchange for Bubic’s services. Teams like the Mets and Red Sox figure to have interest in the high-end pitching market this winter and have plenty of controllable hitters who could help transform the Royals lineup. With Bergert and Kolek available to backfill the rotation after a hypothetical Bubic trade, it’s easy to imagine the team being able to put together one of the more productive rotations in baseball even without Bubic.
Cost-controlled, high-upside pitchers are some of the hottest commodities on the trade market in baseball for a reason. They aren’t easy to come by, and “you can never have too much pitching” is a baseball cliche for a reason. Even teams with deep groups of potential starters are often reluctant to deal them away for fear that a rash of injuries could leave them understaffed and wishing they still had that young arm they dealt away during the offseason.
With all that being said, the Royals are in clear need of a makeover on offense, and a higher payroll doesn’t appear to be on the way to make that happen in free agency. This winter could be a particularly fruitful trade market for pitching as well, given the lack of a slam-dunk ace at the top of the class like Corbin Burnes, Max Fried, Blake Snell, and Yoshinobu Yamamoto have been in recent offseasons. If Kansas City hopes to compete with the Tigers and Guardians headed into next season and make the most of Witt’s time with the team, dealing some of their coveted pitching assets might prove to be a necessity.
Blue Jays Notes: Bichette, Bassitt, Mattingly
After winning Game 1 of the World Series in dominant fashion yesterday, the Blue Jays are looking to take a 2-0 lead in the series before they head to L.A. for Game 3 on Monday. They’ll be doing so without star infielder Bo Bichette in the lineup, however. That might sound concerning to Jays fans, given that he’s just be activated from a long layoff that had stretched from the regular season all throughout the playoffs to this point, but Mitch Bannon of The Athletic relays that (according to Jays manager John Schneider) that extended layoff is exactly the reason for today’s day off.
“He’ll be ready to play today, for sure,” Schneider said, as relayed by Bannon. “But really, after the layoff, didn’t want to kill him, you know.”
While Bichette won’t be starting at second base like he did yesterday (or his native position of shortstop, for that matter), Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet relays that the infielder is actually feeling better than expected after his first game action since early September and that Bichette told Schneider he’d be available off the bench today. That’s excellent news for the Blue Jays, as it means they’ll have one of their best hitters available if high leverage moment comes up at some point in today’s game.
Bichette recorded a single and a walk in three plate appearances yesterday and is coming off a regular season where he slashed .311/.357/.483 in 139 games. It goes without saying that having him in the lineup would be preferable to leaving him on the bench, but in conjunction with tomorrow’s travel day today’s decision could allow the Jays to push Bichette more throughout the seven-game series. In the meantime, Isiah Kiner-Falefa is batting eighth and in the lineup at second base in Bichette’s place.
Turning to another injured player, Nicholson-Smith relays that veteran right-hander Chris Bassitt is dealing with a cut/blister on his pitching hand. Bassitt is available to pitch in any game, including Game 2 this evening, after moving to the bullpen for the postseason. That Bassitt won’t be sat down while his blister heals is good news for the Jays considering his excellent work across three scoreless relief appearances this October, but it’s still a concerning update given that even minor injuries to a pitcher’s throwing hand can impact grip and command. It wouldn’t be a shock if the Blue Jays tried to avoid using Bassitt in high leverage moments until they have confidence about how the blister is impacting his mechanics.
In off the field news, meanwhile, Jon Heyman of the New York Post writes that Blue Jays bench coach Don Mattingly could be considering calling it a career after making it to the World Series for the first time across his decades-long career in baseball. Heyman notes that friends of Mattingly “believe retirement is a possibility” after this season, while Mattingly himself didn’t tip his hand on the matter and simply told Heyman “You never know, you never know” when asked about his future. If Mattingly were to call it a career, he’d do so as one of the most accomplished baseball icons of recent vintage. He earned an MVP award during a 14-year MLB career as a player and spent an additional 12 years managing the Dodgers and Marlins, the latter of whom he earned Manager of the Year honors for managing to the playoffs through a COVID-19 outbreak during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season.
Cubs Expected To Pursue Dylan Cease This Offseason
Free agency won’t officially begin until five days after the conclusion of the World Series, but teams are already well into the process of making their plans for the coming offseason. For many teams, that will include pursuits of some of the winter’s top free agent talent. While Cubs outfielder Kyle Tucker is widely viewed as the top hitter headed into free agency this November, Bruce Levine of 670 The Score reported a connection between Chicago and one of the winter’s top pitchers: right-hander Dylan Cease. Levine reports that the Cubs are viewed as a potential top suitor for Cease and that he will be pursued by the North Siders this winter.
Cease has significant ties both to the city of Chicago and the Cubs organization as a whole. Drafted by the Cubs in the sixth-round of the 2014 draft, Cease developed into a top-100 prospect in the Cubs organization before being traded alongside Eloy Jimenez in the crosstown deal that brought Jose Quintana to Chicago prior to the 2017 trade deadine. While neither Jimenez nor Quintana quite lived up to expectations during their stints with their new clubs, Cease turned into the sort of top-of-the-rotation arm the White Sox were surely dreaming of when they made the trade. He was the runner-up for the AL Cy Young award with the South Siders in 2022 in his age-26 season and was traded to the Padres just before the start of the 2024 campaign for a package headlined by top pitching prospect Drew Thorpe.
2024 saw Cease put together another ace-level campaign as he pitched to a 3.47 ERA in 33 starts while striking out 29.4% of his opponents. He finished fourth in NL Cy Young award voting and even garnered some down-ballot MVP consideration. That seemed to set up Cease up for a major payday in free agency as long as he could keep it up in 2025, but he stumbled this year with a rather pedestrian 4.55 ERA in 168 innings of work. Cease’s peripherals were a good deal better than his results suggested, but a tough 2025 season creates a pattern of inconsistency that might worry some suitors after a similarly pedestrian 2023.
Cease might lack the sort of year-to-year consistency many clubs look for when searching for an ace to carry their pitching staff, but it’s still easy to see why he would be attractive to teams. The right-hander has been one of the game’s most durable arms in recent years, and his peripherals have remained far more consistent than his actual results. He’s struck out at least 200 batters in five consecutive seasons with at least 32 starts and a 165 innings in each of those seasons. While his ERA has fluctuated between 2.20 and 4.58 across those five seasons, his FIP (between 3.10 and 3.72) and SIERA (between 3.46 and 4.10) have been far more stable. While Cease’s 3.72 ERA ranks 29th among starters with at least 500 innings of work since 2021, his FIP (12th), SIERA (22nd), and xERA (11th) all rank more favorably.
Perhaps most importantly for the Cubs specifically, Cease throws hard and racks up strikeouts. His strikeout rate ranks 3rd in that aforementioned group, behind only Blake Snell and Gerrit Cole. His fastball velocity, likewise, ranks third behind Cole and Sandy Alcantara in that same group. Cease actually threw harder than his career average this year with a 97.1 mph fastball velocity. That was good for sixth among qualified starters this season, and his strikeout rate trailed on Tarik Skubal and Garrett Crochet. For a Cubs rotation that had the third-lowest fastball velocity in the majors at just 93.1 and put together a pedestrian 20.5% strikeout rate, Cease would be the sort of power pitcher a generally soft-tossing Cubs rotation could really benefit from.
As good of a fit for the Cubs as Cease might seem to be on paper, that shouldn’t be taken to mean a deal is necessarily likely to get done. Cease will have plenty of suitors as one of the top starters on the market, and big spenders like the Mets are known to be in the market for rotation help this winter. Cease’s familiarity with the Cubs organization and the city of Chicago is unlikely to give the Cubs a significant leg up considering that Cease is a client of the Boras Corporation, and agent Scott Boras’s clients aren’t known for affording much of a hometown discount in free agency.
The Cubs haven’t spent at the top of the free agent market very often in recent years. Since signing Jon Lester and Jason Heyward in back-to-back offseasons in 2014 and ’15, the Cubs have signed just two players to deals worth $100MM or more: Yu Darvish, who was famously traded to the Padres halfway through his six-year, $126MM pact with Chicago, and Dansby Swanson. Cease will surely be seeking a contract worth at least that much, and it’s unclear if the Cubs would be willing to go out of their comfort zone to land him.
Another factor could be the Qualifying Offer, as the Cubs have generally been reluctant to sign qualified free agents. Swanson is the only free agent Chicago has signed with a QO attached outside of re-signing their own players since they signed John Lackey to a two-year deal in December of 2015. Even if the Cubs aren’t interested in playing at the top of the market, it’s at least possible that they would circle back to Cease later this offseason if his market doesn’t materialize, as they did with Cody Bellinger during the 2023-24 offseason and attempted to do with Alex Bregman last winter.
It’s also worth wondering whether adding a starting pitcher will be the team’s top priority this winter to begin with. Whether they pursue a reunion with Tucker or not, targeting a bat in free agency could make some sense given that the club’s internal options to replace him in the lineup would be unproven prospects Moises Ballesteros, Owen Caissie, and Kevin Alcantara. The bullpen might also be a priority given that every high leverage reliever from this year’s relief corps except Daniel Palencia is scheduled to hit free agency this winter.
Of course, starting pitching could become a larger priority for the club in a hurry depending on how the option decisions between the club and southpaw Shota Imanaga play out in the coming days. Imanaga departing for free agency would create some urgency to replace him in the rotation, while him remaining in the fold alongside Jameson Taillon, Matthew Boyd, and Cade Horton with Justin Steele expected back from surgery in the first half of next season could be enough rotation talent to convince the Cubs to prioritize improving other areas of the roster. Colin Rea‘s bargain $6MM club option for 2025 is likely to be picked up, and he’ll join Javier Assad as quality depth for the Cubs rotation headed into next year beyond their on-paper starting five.
The Opener: Blue Jays, Dodgers, World Series
Here are three things to keep an eye on headed into Game 1 later today:
1. Blue Jays roster decisions:
As the Blue Jays finalize their World Series roster, the biggest question for the club is what will happen with star shortstop Bo Bichette. Bichette has been out since the regular season due to a PCL strain, but appears close to a dramatic return. Bichette himself indicated following the ALCS that he’ll be ready to play tonight, and manager John Schneider suggested during yesterday’s media availability that a return is a distinct possibility. Of course, it’s up to the Toronto medical staff to clear him for play following yesterday’s workouts.
If Bichette does make the roster, it’s possible that rather than leaning on him at shortstop or forcing George Springer into the field at DH, Bichette could make some starts at second base to ease his move back into defensive work in games. Andres Gimenez is a superior defender at shortstop anyhow and has filled in nicely in his absence.
2. Dodgers roster decisions:
The Dodgers have already announced one major roster decision ahead of today’s full-roster announcement: Clayton Kershaw will make the club’s World Series roster. That decision comes after Kershaw struggled in the NLDS, was left off the Wild Card roster, and did not make an appearance in the NLCS. Given that this World Series will be the final games of Kershaw’s career, it will be worth tracking if the Dodgers can find the right opportunity to give their franchise face and future Hall of Famer a proper sendoff amid their fight to become the first repeat World Series champions since the 2000 Yankees.
Outside of Kershaw, there’s the question of whether Tanner Scott will be available for the club’s World Series roster after a minor procedure on his lower body removed him from the NLDS roster and left him ineligible for the NLCS roster. Scott had a tough year in 2025 but isn’t far removed from being one of the game’s most dominant relievers.
3. Games 1 and 2 Preview:
The first two games of the World Series will happen in Toronto this weekend. First pitch in both games is scheduled for 8pm local time. Game 1 tonight will feature Trey Yesavage (3.21 ERA) on the mound for the Blue Jays opposite Dodgers lefty Blake Snell (2.35 ERA). Snell has dominated this postseason with a 0.86 ERA and 28 strikeouts in three starts, but Yesavage has impressed far more than his 4.20 postseason ERA would suggest. He struck out 11 Yankees in 5 1/3 n0-hit innings during the ALDS, and while the Mariners chased him from a tough Game 2 start in the ALCS, he rebounded in Game 6 to offer 5 2/3 innings of two-run ball while striking out seven.
In Game 2, the Dodgers will send Yoshinobu Yamamoto (2.49 ERA) to the mound opposite a yet-to-be-named Blue Jays starter. Kevin Gausman would most likely be in line for the start after his relief appearance in Game 7 of the ALCS. Whoever he ultimately faces, Yamamoto will be coming off a dominant complete game against the Brewers where he allowed just one run on three hits and a walk while striking out seven.
Poll: Will The White Sox Trade Andrew Benintendi This Winter?
After winning 19 more times in 2025 than they did last season, the White Sox are showing some signs of life for the first time in a while. The beginnings of a young core centered around top prospects Colson Montgomery and Kyle Teel, both of whom impressed in their MLB debuts this year, as well as Rule 5 pick Shane Smith, appear to be forming. Controllable pieces like Miguel Vargas, Davis Martin, Sean Burke, and Wikelman Gonzalez have the look of what could be a solid supporting cast, as well.
Even with those steps forward acknowledged, however, it must be understood that the White Sox remain a long way from contention. Even with all of that improvement over a historically disastrous 2024 campaign, they still lost more than 100 games for the third consecutive season. They finished the season a whopping 28 games back of the Guardians for the division lead and a 2-2 record in March is the only thing preventing them from having lost more games than they won in every month of this year’s campaign. A 28-37 record after the All-Star break was certainly an improvement over a 32-65 first half, but even that second half record was a 92-loss pace. They allowed the 10th most runs in the majors this year while scoring the fourth fewest.
In other words, contention in 2026 remains a pipe dream on the south side of Chicago even after this season’s improvements. That surely means another year of prioritizing a farm system that has fallen into the middle of the pack on both ESPN and MLB Pipeline’s farm system rankings after the graduations of Montgomery, Teel, and Edgar Quero. Unfortunately for the White Sox, they’re running out of tradable assets. A Luis Robert Jr. trade has been speculated upon for years now, but appears to be just as much of a non-starter now as it was over the summer. Mike Tauchman‘s impressive 2025 campaign could make him an attractive target for a team in need of outfield help on the cheap, but no journeyman outfielder headed into his age-35 season should be expected to bring back a big return. Players like Vargas and Lenyn Sosa won’t be free agents until after the 2029 season, a point by which the Sox are surely hoping to be back in contention.
With so few resources through which they can upgrade their farm system on the trade market, might outfielder Andrew Benintendi actually prove to be their best asset on the trade market? Benintendi is coming off his best season in a White Sox uniform, though that bar is quite low. He hit .240/.307/.431 (103 wRC+) in 116 games this year with 20 home runs, an 8.5% walk rate, and a 17.4% strikeout rate. Poor defense in left field limited Benintendi’s overall value, but he was still worth 1.0 bWAR in less than a full season of work. Heading into his age-31 season, it’s not completely impossible to imagine Benintendi building on last year’s performance and getting back into the 110 wRC+ range he sat comfortably in for his career prior to arriving in Chicago.
If Benintendi were a free agent this winter, an outfield-needy team without much money to spend surely would have interest in his services for 2025. The problem, then, is Benintendi’s contract. $31MM guaranteed over the next two seasons is hardly the most onerous contract out there, but it’s still far more money than the veteran’s production has been worth, and no team is likely to be eager to take that deal of Chicago’s hands, much less surrender significant prospect talent for it.
With that being said, the White Sox have reportedly expressed willingness as recently as this summer to pay down some of Benintendi’s salary in order to facilitate a deal. To get a meaningful return for him, the Sox would surely need to cover the vast majority of his salary for the next two years. That might not be as unreasonable as it would seem, given that RosterResource projects the club for a payroll of just $45MM next year as things stand. That figure doesn’t include the $20MM club option on Luis Robert Jr.’s services next year, but even so, the White Sox should have plenty of money to work with this winter. Essentially buying a better prospect return from a club acquiring Benintendi by paying down his salary could be the best use of those resources.
With that said, there are some obstacles to that plan. For one thing, the White Sox have shown a reluctance to sell low on their players, as shown in their handling of Robert. Another problem could be that the best fits for Benintendi might be the team’s division rivals. Small-market clubs in significant need of outfield help would be the perfect trade partners for a deal like this, but both the Royals and Guardians reside in the AL Central alongside the White Sox, and it’s unclear if the the team would be willing to pay Benintendi to play for their direct opponents for the next two seasons.
The Pirates and Rockies are two other clubs that could be at least plausible fits for a Benintendi trade, but the market would surely be much softer if Cleveland and Kansas City aren’t involved. Another option could be to simply accept little to no return for Benintendi and try to offload as much of his salary as possible, though that wouldn’t do much for the team’s long-term outlook given their existing financial flexibility.
How do MLBTR readers think the White Sox offseason will play out with regards to Benintendi? Will they be able to leverage his decent 2025 season in order to get some type of return for him this winter? Will they resort to trading him in a salary dump to get a portion of his deal off the books while they can? Or will they hold onto him and hope for improvement in 2026? Have your say in the poll below:
Will The White Sox Trade Andrew Benintendi?
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Yes, but they'll do so for little return beyond salary relief. 40% (1,424)
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No, Benintendi will remain with the White Sox this winter. 39% (1,368)
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Yes, and they'll pay down his salary to get a meaningful prospect return. 21% (759)
Total votes: 3,551
The Opener: World Series, Mariners, Manager/GM Searches
Here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world throughout the day:`
1. World Series heads to Toronto:
While Game 1 of the World Series won’t begin until tomorrow, both teams are now in Toronto for a pre-series workout day. Both Blue Jays manager John Schneider and Dodgers manager Dave Roberts will meet with the media, as will the Game 1 starters for both clubs. For the Dodgers, that’s expected to be southpaw Blake Snell, but it’s not yet clear who will be taking the bump for Toronto. There will be a period where both clubhouses are also fully available to the media today, offering opportunities for reporters to interview the rest of the club’s roster. Today’s workouts could also serve as an important step for any players dealing with injuries who are hoping to make the World Series roster.
2. Mariners end-of-season presser:
The Mariners are set to make president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto, GM Justin Hollander, and manger Dan Wilson available to the media later today, with a press conference scheduled for 10am local time this morning. Coming off one of the best seasons in Mariners history, where the club won the AL West and finished just one game short of reaching the World Series for the first time ever, Seattle now faces the impending exits of Josh Naylor, Eugenio Suarez, and Jorge Polanco. Replacing that offensive talent will surely be the biggest task the front office is faced with this winter, and today’s press conferences figures to shine some light on how they intend to accomplish that goal.
3. Managerial vacancies down to six:
The Giants officially hired Tony Vitello to take over as their next manager yesterday, leaving just six teams with uncertainty about who will manage them next year: the Padres, Rockies, Braves, Orioles, Twins, and Nationals. Most of those clubs have been progressing through the interview process, though the Rockies will not even decide on the status of interim manager Warren Schaeffer until a new head of baseball operations is in place. That search may even be the next one to reach its conclusion, seeing as Colorado has narrowed its list of contenders for the position to a handful of finalists. Guardians assistant GM Matt Forman and Diamondbacks assistant GM Amiel Sawdaye are two candidates known to be remaining and may even be the only two candidates remaining.
The Opener: Okamoto, Hirings, Brewers, Mariners
Here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world throughout the day today:
1. Okamoto to be posted:
Earlier this morning, it was reported that NPB’s Yomiuri Giants will be posting slugger Kazuma Okamoto for MLB clubs this winter. A career .277/.361/.521 hitter in NPB, the 29-year-old faces questions about his ability to hit velocity and whether he’ll end up playing third or first base in the majors but has prodigious power and figures to shake up the corner infield market in a big way this offseason alongside fellow NPB slugger Munetaka Murakami, who also plays the infield corners and is expected to be one of the league’s top free agents this winter. Unlike most free agents, who become available five days after the World Series, Okamoto and other players coming to MLB through the posting system will have a 45-day window to sign in the majors once they’re officially posted. That’s unlikely to happen for at least another month, but MLB teams are surely already adjusting their offseason plans to account for Okamoto’s availability.
2. One managerial vacancy down:
The Angels brought an end to their managerial search yesterday when they hired Kurt Suzuki to take over for Ron Washington and Ray Montgomery in the dugout next year. While Suzuki assembles a coaching staff and the Angels begin to move on with their offseason, seven other clubs still have leadership positions to fill. The Giants, Padres, Braves, Orioles, Nationals, and Twins all still need to hire a manager, while the Rockies need to hire a new head of baseball operations, who will then decide on the status of interim manager Warren Schaeffer. San Francisco appears to be the closest to landing a new skipper at this point, with University of Tennessee head coach Tony Vitello viewed as the favorite for the position.
3. Brewers, Mariners head into the offseason:
While the focus in recent days has been on the Dodgers and Blue Jays after they punched their tickets to the World Series, the two teams that came within a series of a pennant are now headed into the offseason a little bit earlier than they were hoping. End-of-season press conferences from Seattle president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto and Milwaukee GM Matt Arnold are likely to occur in the coming days with both clubs facing significant decisions this offseason, with Eugenio Suarez and Josh Naylor both set to hit free agency after joining the Mariners at the trade deadline while the Brewers are expected to contemplate the possibility of trading Freddy Peralta. Perhaps comments from those front offices in recent days will shed additional light on the offseason plans in Milwaukee and Seattle as they look to build towards a return to the playoffs in 2026.
Kazuma Okamoto To Be Posted This Offseason
NPB infielder Kazuma Okamoto will be posted for MLB clubs this offseason, according to an announcement made by the Yomiuri Giants and Okamoto himself during a press conference earlier today. Yahoo Sports Japan (Japanese language link) was among the outlets to report on the news, which comes on the heels of reporting last month that Okamoto was expected to be posted this winter.
Despite that previous reporting, the 29-year-old Okamoto’s was not viewed as a certain thing due in part to Yomiuri’s history of being reluctant to allow their star players to utilize the posting system. Okamoto certainly fits that description, seeing as he’s the club’s captain and a six-time All-Star with two Gold Gloves and three NPB home run titles to his name. He was limited to just 69 Central League games this year due to an elbow injury caused by a collision at first base, but in the 293 trips to the plate he managed to take he raked to the tune of a .327/.416/.598 slash line. He managed 15 homers, 21 doubles, and a triple in less than half a full season’s work with identical 11.3% strikeout and walk rates.
It’s that blend of power and discipline that has led teams to scout Okamoto for the past several years in anticipation of his eventual move stateside. Since his rookie age-22 season back in 2018, Okamoto has hit 274 home runs in 1,039 Central League games. He’s homered once every 16.2 plate appearances in that eight-year stretch with a 17.7% strikeout rate and a walk rate of 10.8%. It’s certainly an impressive resume, and his career .277/.361/.521 slash line in NPB compares quite favorably to the NPB slash lines of current big league sluggers Shohei Ohtani (.286/.358/.500) and Seiya Suzuki (.315/.414/.570). That Suzuki was a better hitter in NPB than Ohtani was should demonstrate the fact that NPB stats don’t always perfectly reflect how a player will perform in the majors.
Much of that is due to the lack of high-end velocity in NPB, which creates uncertainty about how hitters will handle the improved velocity in the majors. Eric Longenhagen of Fangraphs notes that Okamoto’s numbers against heaters greater than 94 mph “fall off a cliff,” which could be a problem seeing as the average four-seam fastball velocity in MLB this season was 94.4 mph. Of course, some of those struggles could simply be due to limited exposure; Longenhagen notes that Okamoto saw only around 200 fastballs at that velocity all season last year. It’s entirely possible his numbers could improve against high-end velocity with more experience facing those types of pitchers, but it’s nonetheless a concern interested clubs will need to consider as they weigh a pursuit of Okamoto’s services.
Another consideration is where Okamoto will be able to play. He’s played around 60% of his NPB games at third base, but has also received plenty of time at first base with an increased workload at that position in recent years plus occasional starts in the outfield corners. One of the corner infield spots seems most likely to be his defensive home in the majors, and while it’s certainly possible there are MLB clubs that view Okamoto as a capable third baseman, Jeff Passan of ESPN suggests that at least some teams view him as better suited for first base, where he’s drawn rave reviews defensively for his work in Japan.
Now that Okamoto is poised to be posted, he’s sure to draw significant multi-year interest in the majors. He’ll face competition from fellow NPB corner infielder Munetaka Murakami in the posting market this winter, who is four years younger than Okamoto with a .270/.394/.557 NPB slash line that’s even more impressive. In terms of stateside players, the biggest names on the first base market are Pete Alonso, Josh Naylor, and Luis Arraez while the third base market is headlined by Alex Bregman and Eugenio Suarez. The Mets, Red Sox, Mariners, Angels, and Padres are among the teams who need help at at least one corner infield spot this winter, while teams like the Diamondbacks, Cubs, Phillies, and Tigers could also make sense depending on how the rest of their roster decisions play out.
Okamoto won’t be officially posted for some time yet, as that process typically begins between late November and mid December. Once he’s been posted, MLB teams will have 45 days to negotiate a contract with Okamoto. The club that ultimately lands him with owe the Yomiuri Giants a posting fee on top of Okamoto’s contract. That fee adds up to 20% of the first $25MM spent on Okamoto, 17.5% of the next $25MM, and 15% of any spending over $50MM. As an example, when the Cubs signed Suzuki during the 2021-22 offseason, the posting fee on that $85MM deal came in at roughly $14.6MM. The posting fee on Yoshinobu Yamamoto‘s $325MM contract with the Dodgers, meanwhile, came in at approximately $50.6MM.
Poll: Who Will Win The World Series?
This year’s World Series teams are officially set. The Blue Jays managed to come back from 2-0 and 3-2 deficits in the ALCS to defeat the Mariners in Game 7 last night, thanks to a three-run homer from George Springer. Toronto is now poised to face the Dodgers after L.A. swept the Brewers out of the NLCS on the back of perhaps the greatest single-game performance of all time from Shohei Ohtani in Game 4. How do the Jays and Dodgers match up against each other?
It’s hard not to see the Dodgers as the titan in this series. They have MLB’s largest payroll and a roster littered with superstars. They’re gunning for their third championship in the past six seasons and have been to the Fall Classic five times in the past decade. On top of that, they’ve been utterly dominant this postseason with a combined 9-1 record against the Reds, Phillies, and Brewers. A rotation featuring Ohtani, Blake Snell, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, and Tyler Glasnow is among the most frightening in the league and is firing on all cylinders at the moment.
Given that combination of postseason experience, October dominance, and an All-Star rotation, it might seem hard to imagine Toronto being able to put up much of a fight against Los Angeles. After all, this is just the Jays’ third trip to the World Series in team history, and they’ve had to battle every step of the way to get here. They won the AL East off of a tiebreaker, and went to four games against the Yankees in the ALDS before spending their entire series against the Mariners on the back foot. While Kevin Gausman is one of the more reliable veterans in the game and Trey Yesavage has been a standout as a rookie this October, a rotation featuring that duo, 41-year-old Max Scherzer, and Shane Bieber‘s first handful of starts post-Tommy John surgery doesn’t exactly inspire the same sort of confidence as L.A.’s quartet.
While some of those concerns are certainly valid, the Jays have several factors working in their favor as well as they try to bring home their first championship since 1993. They’ll have homefield advantage due to winning 94 games in the regular season, while the Dodgers won “only” 93 games. Toronto also has a powerful offense that may give the Dodgers’ pitching staff all they can handle.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. has been baseball’s best hitter this postseason with an utterly absurd .442/.510/.930 slash line and six home runs over 51 playoff plate appearances. Ohtani’s 143 wRC+ leads the Dodgers this postseason, but the Jays have four hitters ahead of him on the leaderboard: Guerrero, Ernie Clement, Springer, and Addison Barger. Springer in particular is a postseason standout who already has a World Series MVP award in his trophy case from the last time he faced the Dodgers in October. While Los Angeles has more than its share of prominent bats, Freddie Freeman (105 wRC+) has actually been slightly cold this October, and regular season standout Will Smith (89 wRC+) hasn’t looked the same while playing through a hairline fracture in his hand.
Speaking of injuries, the Blue Jays have made their deep playoff run without the services of star shortstop Bo Bichette, who is expected back in the lineup for the World Series. After a tough 2024 season, Bichette enjoyed a return to form this year, hitting .311/.357/.483 in 139 games with 18 homers and 44 doubles. Smith’s lackluster performance only serves to underscore the fact that Bichette may not perform at quite that level if he’s less than 100% healthy, but even a diminished version of Bichette should be able to boost Toronto’s lineup.
While the Dodgers have a big advantage in the rotation and the Blue Jays certainly have the hotter lineup, the relief battle may be a draw. Both teams had below-average bullpens this year during the regular season even after signing star closers (Jeff Hoffman in Toronto, Tanner Scott in Los Angeles) to hefty deals this past winter.
Both clubs have also used former rotation pieces in the bullpen to great effect this postseason, with Chris Bassitt (2 2/3 scoreless innings) and Roki Sasaki (eight innings of one-run ball) helping to offer some form of stability on the back-end. Sasaki has even emerged as the Dodgers’ closer throughout the postseason, while Hoffman (7 1/3 innings of one-run ball) has turned things around after a tough second half to dominate in October with a 42.9% strikeout rate so far. Sasaki’s run prevention has been just as impressive, but he’s done so in less dominant fashion with a strikeout rate of just 20.7%.
Who do MLBTR readers think will hoist the Commissioner’s Trophy this year? Will the Dodgers repeat as so many predicted they would this spring, or will the Blue Jays be able to secure their first championship since 1993? Have your say in the poll below:
Who Will Win The World Series?
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Los Angeles Dodgers 58% (8,075)
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Toronto Blue Jays 42% (5,754)
Total votes: 13,829