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Oliver Drake Elects Free Agency

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Tampa Bay Rays reliever Oliver Drake has elected free agency, per MLB.com’s Juan Toribio (via Twitter).

The Rays designated Drake for assignment after an injury forced him from their playoff roster. Though he’s obviously done for this season, the Rays could re-sign the much-traveled reliever, per Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times (via Twitter).

Originally a 43rd-round draft pick of the Orioles back in 2008, Drake made his big-league debut as a 28-year-old with the Orioles in 2015. A trade to the Brewers in April of 2017 kicked off a nomadic period for Drake. The Indians purchased his contract from the Brewers after a season in Milwaukee, but then he’d be waived and claimed by the Angels, Blue Jays, Twins, Rays, and Blue Jays again, all over the course of the 2018 season. He appeared in the majors for five teams that season, the Rays, ironically, not among them.

Tampa would again purchase Drake’s contract in January of 2019 and keep him through the 2020 season. The 33-year-old reliever settled in with the Rays over the past season and a half. He was a significant bullpen piece for them in 2019, using his signature screwball to log a 3.21 ERA/3.87 FIP across 50 games, 56 innings. This season he made 11 appearances with a 5.73 ERA/5.92 FIP. Drake threw one scoreless inning in the ALDS against the Yankees.

Braves Keep Same 28-Man Roster For NLCS

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The Braves are sticking with what works as they head into the NLCS showdown with the Dodgers. They’ll stick with the same 28-man roster that they took into the NLDS. Here’s a refresher:

Right-Handed Pitchers

Left-Handed Pitchers

Catchers

Infielders

Outfielders

The Braves will ride again with a 15-man pitching staff. They may very well need every arm if this 7-game, 7-day series goes the distance. In terms of their starters, they are sticking with the same guys for the first three games of the series, with Fried, Anderson, and Wright going on consecutive days, per the Athletic’s David O’Brien (via Twitter). They survived the first two rounds of the postseason without having to name a fourth starter, but that’s certain to change against the Dodgers. No word yet on who will start that game four, with Ynoa, Wilson, and Tomlin being the most capable of providing length.

Dodgers Announce NLCS Roster

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The Dodgers have made a couple of changes to their 28-man roster ahead of the NLCS, per the team. Let’s check it out:

Right-Handed Pitchers

Left-Handed Pitchers

Catchers

Infielders

Outfielders

The most notable changes here include dropping Terrance Gore and Gavin Lux from the roster. Gore’s role is limited to pinch-running, but he had not been used in the first two rounds of the postseason. Lux, meanwhile, is one of the organization’s most talented young players. He played a key role in last year’s playoffs, when he started three games of the NLDS against the Nationals. He had just one at-bat this postseason, however, after slashing .175/.246/.349 across 69 plate appearances in the regular season.

Lux himself had been a replacement for Rios, who missed the ALDS due to a hamstring injury. He is apparently healthy enough to return to the roster.

The other addition is Wood, who becomes the 15th member of the pitching staff. It will be surprising to see Wood start a game, except perhaps in an opener capacity. At the very least, he should be able to provide length out of the bullpen. Wood’s best years have come with the Dodgers, but he’s struggled to get himself on track the last two seasons. He made two starts and nine total appearances for the Dodgers this year, going 0-1 with a 6.39 ERA/5.01 FIP across 12 2/3 innings.

Don Cooper Will Not Return As White Sox Pitching Coach

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After agreeing to part ways with manager Rick Renteria this morning, GM Rick Hahn spoke to the media, announcing further changes. The White Sox have made the decision to move on from long-time pitching coach Don Cooper, per MLB.com’s Scott Merkin and others (via Twitter). Cooper has been the pitching coach for parts of 19 seasons with the White Sox, beginning in July of 2002.

Cooper first joined the White Sox in 1988, giving him a remarkable 32 years with the organization. He was one of the longest-tenured pitching coaches in the major leagues. He was not only the pitching coach for 4 different White Sox skippers, but he actually became the manager himself for a short time at the end of the 2011 season when Ozzie Guillen was let go. Cooper then went back to his pitching coach responsibilities when Robin Ventura took over starting the 2012 season.

In recent years, Cooper has overseen the development of ace Lucas Giolito, as well as the ushering of many young arms to the major leagues. As a staff, the White Sox ranked 6th in the majors with a 3.81 ERA in 2020, but just 18th with a 8.93 K/9, and 17th with 3.71 BB/9. The change may be as much about allowing a new manager to weigh in on coaching decisions as it is about anything particular with Cooper, especially given comments from Hahn suggesting they are looking for new voices from outside the organization.

Changes Made To Red Sox Coaching Staff

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The Boston Red Sox announced a couple of changes to their coaching staff. Bench coach Jerry Narron and bullpen coach Craig Bjornson will not be returning in 2021, per WEEI’s Rob Bradford and others (via Twitter).

The Red Sox will bring in a new manager at some point this winter after announcing the dismissal of Ron Roenicke in September. Roenicke was promoted from bench coach when Alex Cora was fired following MLB’s investigation into the Astros’ sign-stealing scandal. There have been rumblings that Cora could come back to resume his role as Red Sox manager, with MLB Insider Jon Heyman going so far as to say he is the favorite for the role.

In the meantime, many other members of the coaching staff appear to be returning in 2021 regardless of who takes the top job. Hitting coach Tim Hyers, assistant hitting coach Peter Fatse, pitching coach Dave Bush, assistant pitching coach Kevin Walker, third-base coach Carlos Febles, first-base coach Tom Goodwin, and coach Ramon Vazquez are all said to be returning, per Alex Speier of the Boston Globe (via Twitter). It’s still certainly possible that more changes could come whenever the manager role is filled.

White Sox Part Ways With Rick Renteria

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The Chicago White Sox and manager Rick Renteria has agreed to “part ways,” per The Athletic’s James Fegan and others (via Twitter). The club announced the move. The rest of the coaching staff will be determined in consultation with their next manager, per Fegan.

The news comes as a surprise after the White Sox stormed the AL Central to make the playoffs for the first time since 2008. Renteria was famously let go by the Chicago Cubs as well in a similar fashion. After one season with the Cubs in 2014, the team jumped at the chance to hire Joe Maddon, just as the team was becoming competitive. The White Sox had lauded Renteria’s work, but ultimately they decided to make a similar move just as their club hopes to embark on a multi-year run of contention.

Renteria spent four seasons with the White Sox totaling a 236-309 (.436) record in that time. Of course, for most of this tenure, the White Sox did not roster a team expected to contend in the AL Central. It was only this season that expectations rose. Renteria seemingly answered the call, leading Chicago to a 35-25 record before falling to the A’s in a 3-game wild card series.

As successful as this season was, however, it was also marred by two late collapses, one to lose the division crown after taking a lead into the week’s final weeks. The other came in the wild card round, when a game one victory brought them to within one win of advancing. GM Rick Hahn, however, said the decision was about the organization’s standing at this time, and it doesn’t have anything to do with specific decision made on Renteria’s part, per Fegan.

Still, neither collapses rate on a grand scale, especially in the playoffs, where a 3-game series hardly allows for enough of a lead to swing expectations. Regardless, GM Rick Hahn felt a change should be made. He will be addressing the media a little later on today.

Joe Morgan Passes Away

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In a year defined by loss, the baseball community was hit with more heartbreak this morning. Baseball legend, Hall of Famer, and one of the greatest second baseman of all-time Joe Morgan has passed away at the age of 77, per USA Today’s Bob Nightengale (via Twitter). The Cincinnati Reds released a statement of condolences, as many around the baseball community have already started to share stories and praise Morgan’s character and career.

Morgan played in the major leagues for 22 seasons for the Colt.45s/Astros, Reds, Giants, Phillies, and A’s, most recognizably as a member of the Big Red Machine from 1972 to 1979. Even on a team stacked with all-time greats like Johnny Bench and Pete Rose, Morgan stood out, not only for his iconic wing-flap batting stance, but for his MVP-turn on the field. His acquisition prior to the 1972 season turned Sparky Anderson’s Reds into the juggernaut that we remember them as today. Led by Morgan’s triple slash of .292/.417/.435 – a 9.3 rWAR season – the Reds won the pennant in his first season with the club, falling to the A’s in the seventh game of the World Series.

That was just the beginning for Morgan and the Reds, however. Morgan won MVP honors in back-to-back seasons in 1975 and 1976, leading the Reds to World Series victories in both seasons. He was a 10-time All-Star and 5-time Glove Glove Award winner. A refined eye at the plate contributed to a stellar .392 career OBP and 100.5 rWAR, 31st all-time. Morgan was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1990 with 2,517 hits, 268 home runs, and 2,649 games played from 1963 to 1984. He is a member of both the Astros’ and Reds’ Hall of Fame. The Reds also retired Morgan’s #8 in 1987, not long after the end of his playing career.

The gregarious and always respectful Morgan took on a second life as a broadcaster after his playing career. Morgan was part of ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball broadcast team along with Jon Miller from 1990 until 2010, when he took on a role as special adviser for the Reds’ baseball operations department.

We at MLB Trade Rumors extend our condolences to the family, friends and loved ones of Morgan. Morgan will forever be an remembered as a baseball legend.

AL Notes: Rays, Phillips, White Sox, Encarnación, Vaughn, Rodon, Gonzalez, Mazara

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The Rays and Astros have roster decisions to make before their 10am deadlines. Both teams plan on adding a pitcher for the ALCS. For the Rays, Josh Fleming, Jose Alvarado, Ryan Sherriff, or even Brent Honeywell look like the top candidates to join the roster, per Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. Brett Phillips, meanwhile, could be the odd man out now that Austin Meadows is back in the lineup. On the other hand, if the Rays choose to decide the roster spot by dance battle, Phillips should be safe. The former Royal and Brewer has appeared in four games this postseason, largely being used as a defensive replacement.

Now, lest we spend the entire evening on the postseason alone, let’s check in on a team that hopes to have these kinds of decisions to make in years to come…

  • The White Sox have some options pending after their most successful season in over a decade, and the Athletic’s James Fegan provides a rundown. One of the easier calls will be declining the $12MM club option on designated hitter Edwin Encarnación. It’s true that Encarnación didn’t exactly dazzle this year with a triple slash of .157/.250/.377, but more telling is GM Rick Hahn’s comment about #3 overall draft pick of the 2019 draft: Andrew Vaughn. Per Fegan, Hahn said, “Given his makeup and given his tools, it’s hard to look at him and rule him out of being able to help a team in the not too distant future.”
  • Like ships passing in the night, just as one #3 pick could soon embark on his White Sox career, another in Carlos Rodon could be nearing an end. The big lefty will be due at least a nominal raise on his $4.45MM contract, and there’s a decent chance that’s too rich given his inability to stay healthy. The White Sox will be looking for stability for their rotation now that their contention window has firmly opened. With that in mind, it’s likely they decline Gio Gonzalez’s $7MM option as well.
  • Perhaps the most surprising tidbit in the group is Fegan’s suggestion that Nomar Mazara is heading for a DFA. Not so shocking when considering his 42-game .228/.295/.294 line he put up across 194 plate appearances this year. But taking the long view, this certainly isn’t where the 25-year-old appeared to be heading when he made his debut in Texas as a 21-year-old.

Dodgers Updates: Starters, Urías, Ríos

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Dodgers manager Dave Roberts spoke to a number of reporters today, including Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register. Roberts addressed a number of issues heading into their NLCS match-up with the Braves. First and foremost, as with the two rounds before, Walker Buehler will start game one, and Clayton Kershaw will start game two. Anything beyond that is too early to call.

Julio Urías was a key contributor for the Dodgers against the Padres, and according to Roberts, he will continue to see “meaningful innings,” per MLB.com’s Ken Gurnick (via Twitter). Urías’ role has changed year-to-year as health and performance have allowed, but come playoff time he tends to – like Kenta Maeda before him – transition into a key bullpen weapon for Roberts. His outings have lengthened this postseason, however, as he’s thrown a total of 8 innings over 2 appearances with a full week of rest between them. In this unprecedented 7-game series in 7 days, Urías could be asked to fill any number of roles.

The same can be said for Dustin May, who managed to both start a game and pitch out of the bullpen in their 3-game NLDS sweep of the Padres. Though he totaled just 3 innings – likely less volume than they could have gotten from him had his usage been limited to a single start – spreading out his outings allowed Roberts to “maximize his impact on multiple games,” per Plunkett. Of course, Roberts was able to follow up May’s 1-inning “opener” outing in game three with Urías for five innings, a luxury he may or may not have in a longer series.

In all likelihood, others on the staff are going to have to provide some length. Tony Gonsolin would have started a game four against San Diego, and he threw a simulated game today. That probably lines him up again for a potential game four or five. He could also come out of the bullpen, of course, as he has on occasion the last two seasons. Roberts and others aren’t just hiding the ball when they say pitcher usage depends on the outcomes of the first couple of games – it really depends on the outcomes of the first couple of games.

On the other side of the ball, Edwin Ríos is about 75% healthy, per Plunkett. He’s a game-time decision, per say, for the NLCS. He was left off of the NLDS because of a groin injury, and if there’s any doubt about his recovery, the Dodgers are likely to be prudent and either go with Gavin Lux again or add another arm to their 14-man staff. Ríos at his best provides a power bat off the bench (or at designated hitter), which could still be useful even if he’s not healthy enough to play the field. While they’re not likely to plan it this way, if there’s any team that has the versatility and depth to carry a single-use bat, it’s the Dodgers.

MLBTR Poll: Who Will Win The ALCS?

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It was just last season when the Rays battled back from down 2-0 to force a game 5 winner-take-all match with the Astros in the ALDS. That game featured a showdown of Gerrit Cole versus Tyler Glasnow, one that would be replayed this year, but with Cole wearing pinstripes. Cole fared better last year, when the Astros took down the Rays by a score of 6-1. The Rays got their revenge on Cole Friday night, and now they’re ready to check the Astros off their list as well. Easier said than done, however, as these Astros have proven they won’t go quietly.

The home team won every game in their playoff showdown last year. Of course, this season there will be no home crowd to contend with, but the tables have turned in that the Rays are the AL East champs who will enjoy last bats for games 1, 2, 5, and 7. As a wild card entrant, the Astros are a rare much-disliked underdog. They’re also a much different team from last year, at least on the pitching side of things.

Of course, their front offices know each other well. After the Astros were forced to fire Jeff Luhnow, James Click was hired away from the Rays to take over as General Manager. Per MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart, Click said about facing his former team, “On a scale from zero to weird, it’s going to be weird.”

This series will be played over 7 consecutive days, should it go the distance. Both the Rays and Astros have gone to “playoff style” in their pitcher usage, but a 7-game, 7-day series will stretch those staffs even further. For the Astros, there’s concern about the health of Zack Greinke. The 36-year-old enigmatic ace has been dealing with arm soreness for the past month, though doctors did not find any structural damage. Still, it’s a concern for the Astros, as Greinke hasn’t been at his sharpest, surrendering 5 earned runs in 8 2/3 postseason innings thus far.

They’ve survived without him largely due to the breakout of 26-year-old Framber Valdez, who will start game one on Sunday night. Lance McCullers Jr. will go in game two. They’re planning to remove a position player in favor of having an extra arm for the ALCS, per The Athletic’s Jake Kaplan (via Twitter). Jose Urquidy and Cristian Javier are also options to start games, while Enoli Paredes stepped up in a multi-inning role for the Astros against the Athletics. As a staff, they’re breaking new ground with every new win. Even Ryan Pressly, one of their few veterans, is experiencing his first postseason as a closer.

Same as Houston, the Rays will add a 14th pitcher to the staff and drop a position player, per Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times (via Twitter). That should help them cope with a drawn-out series, the but the Rays chart their own path in terms of managing their pitching staff, as evidenced by manager Kevin Cash bringing back Glasnow to serve as a glorified opener on 2-days rest for the clinching game of the ALDS. Blake Snell will get the game one start for the third round in a row, while Charlie Morton is expected – though not announced – as the game two starter.

Because they play in different divisions, these two teams haven’t faced off since last year’s ALDS. The series starts tomorrow night. MLBTR readers, who is going to win this series? (Link to poll for Trade Rumors mobile app users)

Who Will Win The ALCS?
Rays 78.96% (6,667 votes)
Astros 21.04% (1,777 votes)
Total Votes: 8,444

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