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The Opener: World Series, Mariners, Manager/GM Searches

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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.

Giants Hire Tony Vitello As Manager

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The Giants finalized their bold managerial move on Wednesday. San Francisco announced that they’ve hired University of Tennessee head coach Tony Vitello as the 40th manager in franchise history. He reportedly signed a three-year contract that pays $3.5MM annually with a vesting option for 2029.

“We’re thrilled to welcome Tony to the Giants family,” president of baseball operations Buster Posey said in the press release. “Tony is one of the brightest, most innovative, and most respected coaches in college baseball today. … We look forward to the energy and direction he will bring, along with the memories to be made as we focus on the future of Giants baseball.”

In recent years, several MLB teams have looked to hire coaches from the collegiate ranks or from other backgrounds with little or no pro experience, and some past or current managers have gotten their jobs with little to no coaching or managerial experience.  However, Vitello is a unique case of a lifelong collegiate coach who is moving to professional baseball with no past history as a player, coach, or manager in either Major League or minor league ball.

This isn’t to say that Vitello doesn’t have a decorated resume, as the 47-year-old is one of the most successful NCAA coaches of the last decade.  Since Vitello was hired by Tennessee in June 2017, the program won its first national baseball title in 2024, and made two more trips to the College World Series in both 2021 and 2023.  The Volunteers also won the SEC regular-season and tournament crowns during the 2022 and 2024 seasons.  Before coming to Tennessee, Vitello was an assistant baseball coach at Missouri, TCU, and Arkansas from 2003-2017.

Several of Vitello’s former players (including Missouri’s Max Scherzer) have reached the major leagues, and 10 Tennessee players have gone on to be first-round draft picks since Vitello took over the program.  The Giants have four ex-Tennessee players  — Drew Gilbert, Blade Tidwell, Maui Ahuna, and 2025 first-rounder Gavin Kilen — in their organization, which undoubtedly helped forge a connection between Vitello and Posey.

Vitello is Posey’s first managerial hire since taking over the PBO role a year ago, as Bob Melvin was a holdover from Farhan Zaidi’s time in charge of San Francisco’s front office.  Melvin had only been in the job for one season, and after he followed up that 80-82 campaign with an 81-81 mark in 2025, the Giants chose to fire Melvin once the 2025 campaign was over.  This decision was made despite the fact that the Giants had exercised their 2026 club option on Melvin on July 1, yet the team’s inconsistent play over the last three months convinced Posey that a change had to be made.

Though Melvin’s time in San Francisco was uneventful, it will be fascinating to see how the team and the organization as a whole adjusts from a Major League lifer (and three-time Manager of the Year winner) like Melvin to Vitello in his first foray into pro baseball.  That said, Vitello has something of an old-school approach himself, with a focus on fundamentals and competitiveness.

In a recent appearance on a Youth.inc podcast (hat tip to Baggarly for the partial transcript), Vitello said “I think everyone is suffering the consequences all the way up to the big leagues where guys are super skilled, but there’s less development, less coaching, less accountability and therefore less understanding of how to actually play the game to win.  And it starts all the way, trickle-down effect.”

As Baggarly notes, Posey has shared similar critiques about players, which may explain why Vitello became a more attractive managerial candidate in the PBO’s eyes.  It is also worth noting that Vitello may not have been Posey’s initial top choice, as initial reports pegged former Giants catcher Nick Hundley as a favorite for the manager’s position.  Hundley withdrew his name from consideration, reportedly due to concerns over how the day-to-day grind of managing in the big leagues would impact his family.

Of all the names publicly linked to the Giants’ search, former Orioles skipper Brandon Hyde was the only one with past managerial experience at the big league level.  Other known candidates included Royals third base coach Vance Wilson and two ex-players in Hundley and Kurt Suzuki (just hired yesterday as the Angels’ new manager) who had no coaching/managerial experience in the majors or minors.  Clearly a traditional managerial resume wasn’t a key priority for Posey in assessing his choices, even if Vitello is a step beyond.

Managing a big league team and coaching a college team are very different animals, not to mention the gap between coaching college kids and overseeing a clubhouse of highly-paid veteran professionals.  That said, Vitello is renowned as a leader and motivator.  As detailed in Baggarly’s piece, such big leaguers as Scherzer and Angels reliever Ben Joyce (a Tennessee product) heavily praised Vitello, and think he’ll thrive managing in the Show.

With Vitello now in San Francisco, the Giants join the Angels (Suzuki) and Rangers (Skip Schumaker) as clubs who have now removed themselves from a busy managerial carousel.  The Twins, Orioles, Padres, Nationals, Rockies, and Braves all remain as teams still looking for a new dugout boss.

Andrew Baggarly, Brittany Ghiroli and Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic first reported last week that the Giants were closing in on a deal with Vitello. Jacob Rudner of Baseball America was first to report that an agreement was in place. John Shea of The San Francisco Standard reported the contract terms. Photo courtesy of Brianna Paciorka — Imagn Images

MLBTR Podcast: The Phillies’ Outfield, Tarik Skubal, And Hiring College Coaches

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The latest episode of the MLB Trade Rumors Podcast is now live on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts! Make sure you subscribe as well! You can also use the player at this link to listen, if you don’t use Spotify or Apple for podcasts.

This week, host Darragh McDonald is joined by Anthony Franco of MLB Trade Rumors to discuss…

Plus, we answer your questions, including…

  • What positions do the Astros need to target to make it back to the postseason? (41:55)
  • Do the Brewers need to change their contact-over-power approach? (45:20)
  • Will Kyle Tucker’s injuries significantly impact his payday? (47:10)
  • Should the Padres try to sign J.T. Realmuto or stick with Freddy Fermin and Luis Campusano? (49:50)

Check out our past episodes!

  • Murakami To Be Posted This Offseason, Managerial Vacancies, And More! – listen here
  • Rockies’ Front Office Changes, Skip Schumaker, And ABS Talk – listen here
  • Mike Elias On The State Of The Orioles – listen here

The podcast intro and outro song “So Long” is provided courtesy of the band Showoff.  Check out their Facebook page here!

Photo courtesy of Jayne Kamin-Oncea, Imagn Images

Anthony Kay Likely To Pursue MLB Opportunity This Offseason

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Former MLB pitcher Anthony Kay is expected to come back stateside in 2026, per Jon Heyman of the New York Post. The left-hander spent the past two seasons pitching for the Yokohama DeNA BayStars of the Nippon Professional Baseball league in Japan.

Kay, 30, was the Mets’ first-round draft pick in 2016. He was traded to the Blue Jays in 2019 as part of the deal that sent Marcus Stroman to New York. The Long Island native would debut later that year and spend four seasons in Toronto, maxing out at 33 2/3 innings in 2021. He then had brief stints with the Cubs and Mets in 2023, and he spent about two weeks with the Athletics following the 2023 campaign; the A’s claimed him off waivers in late October, but he elected free agency after they removed him from their 40-man roster in early November. Altogether, Kay pitched to a 5.59 ERA in 85 1/3 big-league innings from 2019-23, posting a 22.4% strikeout rate and a 12.0% walk rate.

He has seen better results in Japan in each of the past two years. In 2024, Kay posted a 3.42 ERA in 136 2/3 innings for the Bay Stars while striking out 20.2% of hitters and walking 9.0%. His 0.40 home runs allowed per nine innings (HR/9) was especially impressive. Only six Central League pitchers (min. 100 IP) gave up home runs at a lower rate. At the end of the year, Kay helped the BayStars to their first Japan Series victory since 1998, pitching seven scoreless innings and collecting the win in Game 4.

His first season in NPB was no doubt a success. With that said, it’s worth keeping in mind the lower run-scoring environment in Japan; the league average ERA in the Central League in 2024 was 2.88, well below Kay’s 3.42 mark. However, in 2025, his numbers spoke for themselves. He deployed a deep and diverse arsenal to post a 1.74 ERA in 155 innings, cutting his walk rate to 6.8%. The southpaw led all NPB starting pitchers with a 21.9% strikeout rate, while his ERA ranked second, and his 0.46 HR/9 was tied for fourth. He wasn’t just solid; he was dominant.

Following such a strong season, it makes sense that Kay would look to return to Major League Baseball. He may not have garnered much attention on the open market two years ago, but he’s bound to have more suitors now after proving he could thrive as a starting pitcher against high-level competition.

Rockies To Part Ways With Pitching Coach Darryl Scott

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Darryl Scott will not return as the Rockies’ pitching coach in 2026, according to Thomas Harding of MLB.com. Scott briefly played in Colorado’s minor league system in 1995 and 2000 and later rejoined the organization as a minor league coach in 2009. He has worked for the Rockies in various capacities ever since, including as a pitching coach for four of the team’s minor league affiliates.

Ahead of the 2020 season, the Rockies promoted Scott, then their minor league pitching coordinator, to the major league coaching staff. He took over the role of bullpen coach from Darren Holmes, which he would hold for two seasons. In October 2021, he was promoted to pitching coach, replacing Steve Foster.

In four seasons under Scott, Rockies pitchers rank third-last in the majors in adjusted ERA (ERA-), trailing only the Athletics and Nationals. Even accounting for park factors, their ERA has been more than 10% higher than league average in each of the past four years. They’ve ranked 30th out of 30 teams in strikeout rate every year of Scott’s tenure as pitching coach, and they haven’t limited walks or hard contact to compensate for all those batters they’ve failed to strike out.

Scott can’t take the blame for all, or even most, of his team’s pitching struggles. It’s not as if the now-ousted GM Bill Schmidt ever gave him a ton of talent to work with. Not to mention, coaching in the high altitude of Coors Field is an unenviable task for even the most ambitious of pitching gurus. Still, it’s not a good look for Scott that Colorado’s pitching only seemed to get worse in every season under his supervision. Several of the team’s pitchers have regressed in recent years, and few have lived up to their full potential.

So, the Rockies will add “pitching coach” to their list of offseason needs, although hiring a new front office leader and deciding whether interim manager Warren Schaeffer will stick around next season are significantly higher up on the task list. To that point, Scott might not even be the only coach the Rockies have to replace this winter. If their new executive wants a new manager, their new manager could very well decide to overhaul the coaching staff and hire a group of his own.

Offseason Outlook: Los Angeles Angels

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The Angels pushed MLB's longest active playoff drought to 11 seasons. They've lost at least 89 games in four consecutive years. While general manager Perry Minasian will get a sixth season, there's another change in the dugout. Kurt Suzuki has a difficult task ahead of his first year as an MLB manager.

Guaranteed Contracts

Additional Financial Commitments

2026 guaranteed contracts: $126.5MM
Total future commitments: $289.5MM

Arbitration-Eligible Players (service time in parentheses; projected salaries courtesy of MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz)

Free Agents

The Angels are in an all too familiar position. They've shown no appetite for a rebuild without having the kind of depth on the MLB roster to compete over a 162-game schedule. They outperformed their run differential in the first half of this past season, allowing them to essentially sit on their hands at the trade deadline. Then they went 19-34 over the final two months -- a record better only than the Rockies and Twins -- to lose 90 games yet again.

GM Perry Minasian gets another opportunity to turn things around. He's going into the final guaranteed season of his contract. He has yet to win more than 77 games. The Angels' issues predate Minasian's hiring and can be laid largely at the feet of owner Arte Moreno, but the front office is surely under some pressure to get better results. The Angels opted not to bring back Ron Washington or interim skipper Ray Montgomery, so they're now on the fourth full-time manager of the Minasian era.

That'll be Kurt Suzuki, a first-time manager with no MLB coaching experience. Sam Blum of The Athletic reports that it's a one-year contract, an atypically short commitment to any manager. Suzuki was highly respected as a longtime big league catcher and has spent the past three seasons working as a special assistant in the Angels' front office. While the jury is out on that hiring, the search process didn't exactly point to the organization having a coherent plan.

As recently as two weeks ago, it looked like Albert Pujols would be the choice. The future Hall of Famer seemed to be Moreno's preferred candidate. Last week, The Athletic's Sam Blum reported that the team had reversed course and would at least interview Suzuki and Torii Hunter as well. Pujols was out a few days later. Jon Heyman of The New York Post reported that disagreements regarding the coaching staff and compensation were among the reasons the Pujols talks fell apart. Blum wrote that it was mostly a contractual dispute.

The Angels owe Pujols $1MM annually for the next seven seasons as part of the personal services contract that he signed when he retired as a player. It's unclear if the Angels hoped to incorporate that into Pujols' managerial salaries. In any case, it's not a great look for the organization that they were unwilling to meet the asking price of the person they considered the best candidate available. Pujols' salary demands aren't known, but even the most successful managers in MLB make around $8MM annually. That's barely more than the Angels are paying backup catcher Travis d'Arnaud.

None of that is meant as a slight at Suzuki. It's certainly not a given that Pujols would have been a better hire. Yet it's the latest example of Moreno valuing marginal short-term savings over what he ostensibly believed would have been the best choice for the team. That probably doesn't bode well for the more significant roster shakeup that should be in the cards.

Suzuki will have his work cut out for him with what is likely to remain one of the league's weakest rosters. The Angels have questions behind the plate, at both second and third base, and in center field. They have at most two reliable starting pitchers, neither of whom fit at the top of a rotation. Building Reid Detmers back up gives them another potential mid-rotation arm but leaves them with arguably one dependable reliever (Brock Burke). Minasian told Jeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register and other reporters earlier this month that Detmers "earned" another look as a starter and is expected to be in the Opening Day rotation.

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Guardians To Prevent Emmanuel Clase From Playing In Venezuelan Winter League

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Emmanuel Clase was preparing to pitch for the Tiburones de La Guaira of Venezuela’s LVBP this winter, as first reported by Daniel Alvarez Montes of El Extrabase. However, according to a new report from The Athletic’s Evan Drellich, the Guardians will not grant Clase the approval he requires in order to play in a winter league outside of his home country.

Clase is a Dominican native, so neither the Guardians nor MLB could have stopped him from playing in LIDOM. Yet, as ESPN’s Enrique Rojas noted earlier this month, LIDOM independently decided to prohibit Clase (and his Guardians teammate Luis Ortiz) from playing in the Dominican Republic this winter. So, Clase turned to the Tiburones instead of the Estrellas Orientales, the LIDOM team for whom he played in the 2019-20 and 2020-21 offseasons. Alvarez Montes suggests the Tiburones will try to dispute the Guardians’ decision, but it’s not a fight they’re likely to win.

Clase and Ortiz have been on non-disciplinary paid administrative leave since July, due to an ongoing MLB investigation related to sports betting. Their leave was originally scheduled to last through August 31, but on August 31, MLB and the MLBPA agreed to extend the leave “until further notice.” In a short statement announcing the indefinite extension, the Guardians made clear that they would not comment further until the investigation was complete. Indeed, no meaningful details have since emerged about the situation or either player’s future in MLB. The Athletic’s Zack Meisel reported from Cleveland’s end-of-season press conference on October 7 that there was “still no clarity” regarding either Clase or Ortiz. President of baseball operations Chris Antonetti suggested he’s hopeful the investigation wraps up over the offseason, but he wasn’t able to offer a concrete timeline. “We have to plan as if they won’t be here,” the executive explained.

Francisco Lindor Underwent Minor Elbow Surgery

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Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor recently underwent minor surgery on his right elbow, according to Andy Martino of SNY. The club confirmed the debridement procedure this afternoon. Lindor is expected to be ready for spring training.

The 31-year-old star is coming off a year in which he hit .267/.346/.466 in 160 games with a 129 wRC+ that ranked fifth among qualified shortstops. Lindor hit 31 home runs and scored 117 runs in 2025, which more or less matched his totals from 2024, while slightly cutting his strikeout rate to 17.9% and bumping his walk rate to 8.9%. He also remained a threat on the basepaths, matching his career high with 31 stolen bases. His defense was more mixed, as Lindor was valued at -1 Defensive Run Saved (12th among qualified shortstops) but 5 Outs Above Average (tied for 8th), while Statcast put him the 90th percentile for range. Defensive metrics are finnicky, of course, though it appears Lindor remains an average to slightly above average defender to pair with his premium offense. All told, Lindor’s contributions were valued at 6.3 fWAR, which ranks fourth in the majors for his position.

Having Lindor ready to go for spring training will be good news for the Mets as they look to rebound from a disappointing season. At one point, the club held the best record in the majors. That momentum did not last, however, as the Mets posted a 38-52 record in their final 90 games and finished 83-79 overall, missing the playoffs thanks to the Reds holding a tiebreaker advantage. Offensively, the team posted a 112 wRC+ that tied for fourth in the majors with the Blue Jays, led by stellar performances from Lindor as well as Juan Soto and Pete Alonso. Pitching-wise, the Mets were not as fortunate, as their team ERA of 4.04 ranked 18th in the league and their rotation suffered a myriad of injuries. While David Peterson and Clay Holmes each pitched over 160 innings, Kodai Senga missed a month with a right hamstring strain and was ineffective upon his return, leading to him being optioned in September. Apart from those three, no other Mets starter even reached 100 innings.

Heading into 2026, the club will look to rebound behind Lindor, Soto, and hopefully improved health from the rotation. Alonso, Starling Marte, and deadline acquisition Cedric Mullins are free agents, though the Mets will surely attempt to re-sign Alonso. Disappointing finish aside, the club did finish second in the NL East behind the Phillies, who are also seeing a number of notable players become free agents, particularly Kyle Schwarber. If the Mets can reinforce the pitching staff with a few acquisitions while posting a similar offensive output as this year, they might pose a more serious threat to Philadelphia at the top of the division in 2026.

Offseason Outlook: Chicago Cubs

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The Cubs won a playoff series for the first time in eight years.  With clean books beyond 2026, will they make a major rotation addition this winter?

Guaranteed Contracts

Option Decisions

  • Shota Imanaga, SP: three-year, $57.75MM club option.  If declined, Imanaga has a $15.25MM player option for 2026.  If Imanaga exercises that, he'd have another $15.25MM player option for 2027 if the Cubs don't exercise a $42.5MM club option for 2027-28.
  • Andrew Kittredge, RP: $9MM club option with a $1MM buyout
  • Colin Rea, SP/RP: $6MM club option with a $750K buyout
  • Justin Turner, 1B/DH: $10MM mutual option with a $2MM buyout

Arbitration-Eligible Players (service time in parentheses; salary projections via Matt Swartz)

Free Agents

The Cubs broke through this year with a 92-win season, their highest total since 2018.  They reached the playoffs for the first time since 2020 and won a playoff game and series for the first time since 2017.  After the Cubs lost Game 5 of the division series to the Brewers with a "bullpen game" pitching approach, fans couldn't help but wonder if the team could have gone further with a healthy Cade Horton and/or Justin Steele.

Let's start this offseason outlook by assessing the complicated option of the pitcher the Cubs chose to avoid in Game 5, Shota Imanaga.  Imanaga, 32, was a rousing success last year as an MLB rookie.  He made the All-Star team and garnered Cy Young and Rookie of the Year votes, posting a 2.91 ERA in 173 1/3 innings.

After eight starts this year, Imanaga suffered a strained left hamstring that knocked him out for 53 days.  On the season, Imanaga's control remained excellent, but his average fastball velocity slipped below 91 miles per hour and his strikeout rate dropped below league average.  Among starters with at least 100 innings, Imanaga's 29.2% groundball rate was the lowest in baseball, leading to a 1.93 HR/9 rate that ranked second-worst.

Imanaga still managed a 3.73 ERA, but it's fair to say he demonstrated the skills of perhaps a 4.20 pitcher.  Even if 150 innings of a 4ish ERA is what the Cubs can expect from Imanaga moving forward, that's rotation-worthy.  The question is whether the Cubs would sign such a pitcher to a three-year, $57.75MM contract heading into his age-32 season, and commit to that in early November.

A good comp for that might be Dallas Keuchel's three-year, $55.5MM deal with the White Sox six years ago.  Though a groundball heavy pitcher, Keuchel was also a soft-tossing lefty heading into his age-32 season.  That contract did not go well.

There are soft factors to consider here, such as the Cubs' recruiting efforts toward other Japanese players and Imanaga's popularity with fans last year.  MLBTR writers debated Imanaga's complicated option situation, and here's our best guess:

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Brewers Claim Sammy Peralta

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The Brewers have claimed left-hander Sammy Peralta off waivers from the Angels, as announced by both teams.  There hadn’t been any public indication that Peralta had been designated for assignment, but the southpaw will now be on the move again after spending the last five months in the Halos organization.

After breaking into the big leagues with the White Sox and posting a 4.37 ERA over 35 relief innings for Chicago in 2023-24, Peralta elected minor league free agency following the 2024 campaign.  He began his 2025 season in the Mexican League before inking a minors deal with the Angels in May, and Los Angeles selected Peralta to the active roster in September.  Peralta made five appearances in a Halos uniform without much success, posting a 7.59 ERA in 10 2/3 innings.

Peralta is one of the lower-velocity pitchers in baseball, with an average fastball that clocks in at just 89.3mph over his relatively brief time in the big leagues.  Relying on a fastball/slider/changeup mix for much of his pro career, Peralta started to incorporate a sinker into his repertoire this season and cut back on his change.  When pitching with the Angels, Peralta relied heavily on his slider and sinker and didn’t much use his fastball or change up, though the sample size was small enough that conclusions can’t really be drawn about this usage as a new career direction.

Milwaukee has been so adept at turning unheralded pitchers into productive big league arms that this seemingly innocuous waiver claim may end up having an impact on the Brewers’ 2026 bullpen.  The Brew Crew have seen something in Peralta’s work that made them intrigued enough to make a claim and take a look at the lefty, who has one minor league option remaining.  It is very possible Peralta might yet be DFA fodder as the Brewers make other roster moves over the offseason.  If Peralta is designated and then outrighted, he has the ability to elect free agency since he has been outrighted in the past.

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