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Anthony Rizzo Won’t Be Available For ALDS

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The Yankees will not carry Anthony Rizzo on their roster for the Division Series against the Royals, the first baseman told reporters (X link via Chris Kirschner of the Athletic). Rizzo broke two fingers on his right hand when he was hit by a pitch late in the regular season. The veteran said he was hopeful of being available for the AL Championship Series if the Yankees get past Kansas City.

This has been a frustrating year for Rizzo, who missed a couple months during the summer with a broken right arm. He hasn’t performed well even when healthy, hitting .228/.301/.335 over 375 plate appearances. Those are his worst numbers since his 2011 rookie campaign. It’s the second straight season in which Rizzo has struggled to make a significant offensive impact. He hit only .244/.328/.378 a year ago, in large part because he was apparently playing through post-concussion syndrome for a good portion of the season.

While Rizzo hasn’t played at anywhere near his peak level, he’s still an upgrade on New York’s other options at first base. Rookie Ben Rice primarily handled the job while Rizzo was out with the arm fracture. The 25-year-old has hit .171/.264/.349 through his first 50 MLB games, with almost all of his positive production concentrated in one three-homer game against the Red Sox. Rice’s fantastic numbers in the upper minors hint at a higher offensive ceiling that he has yet to show against MLB pitching.

Rice will probably again be the choice at first base, at least against right-handed pitching. The only other players to take any at-bats at first base this season are DJ LeMahieu, Oswaldo Cabrera and J.D. Davis. LeMahieu, who worked in the short side of a platoon with Rice, has been on the injured list for nearly a month because of a hip impingement.

Bryan Hoch of MLB.com tweeted this evening that LeMahieu was taking batting practice and hopes to be on the ALDS roster. Even if he does make it back, the Yanks probably won’t give him a ton of playing time. LeMahieu had a dismal season (.204/.269/.259 in 67 games) and won’t have the luxury of game reps to get up to speed. Cabrera is a light-hitting utility player, while Davis was released in August.

Rays Acquire Ty Cummings From Mariners To Complete Randy Arozarena Trade

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The Rays have acquired right-hander Ty Cummings from the Mariners as the player to be named later in the July trade that send outfielder Randy Arozarena to Seattle, per announcements from both clubs. The righty wasn’t on Seattle’s 40-man roster and won’t need to be added to Tampa’s.

The Mariners were leading the American League West for much of the first half of 2024 but were fading in the summer as their offense disappeared. They attempted to revive their lineup at the deadline by acquiring Justin Turner from the Blue Jays and Arozarena from the Rays. In the deal with Tampa, the M’s parted with prospects Aidan Smith, Brody Hopkins and a player to be named later, who has now been revealed as Cummings.

Both Turner and Arozarena hit well for the M’s but the club still fell shy of the postseason. They still have a chance to recoup some value on the Arozarena deal going forward as he can be retained for two more seasons. He made $8.1MM in 2024 and will be due two more raises in the forthcoming campaigns. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projects him for a salary of $11.7MM in 2025.

Cummings, 23 next month, was selected by the Mariners in the seventh round of the 2023 draft. Taken out of Campbell University in Buies Creek, North Carolina, he signed for a $225K bonus. He made his professional debut this year, making 25 starts for High-A Everett. In his 116 2/3 innings for the AquaSox, he allowed 4.17 earned runs per nine. He struck out 24.7% of batters faced, walked 9.2% of them and got opponents to hit the ball on the ground at a 50.3% clip.

Back in July, Eric Longenhagen of FanGraphs published his list of the top 34 prospects in the Mariners’ system. Cummings wasn’t one of those 34 but got an honorable mention as Longenhagen described him as a potential depth starter.

Joe Musgrove Won’t Pitch In NLDS

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Padres right-hander Joe Musgrove exited his start in the Wild Card series due to tightness in his pitching elbow. Manager Mike Shildt informed reporters today that Musgrove won’t be on the club’s NLDS roster and won’t pitch in the series, though the skipper stopped short of speculating about the righty’s availability after this series. AJ Cassavell of MLB.com was among those to relay the news on X.

It’s an unfortunate development for the Padres, as they are hoping to take down the Dodgers in the series that kicks off tomorrow. Musgrove has had his challenges this year but is one of the club’s best pitchers and was in a groove towards the end of the regular season.

The righty had a 5.66 earned run average through the end of May. He had already missed a few weeks earlier that month due to elbow inflammation and he was diagnosed with a bone spur in his elbow in early June. He was transferred to the 60-day injured list and wasn’t able to return until the middle of August.

He was able to finish the season on a strong note, making nine starts down the stretch with a 2.15 ERA, 29.1% strikeout rate and 4.1% walk rate. He took the ball in the second game of the Wild Card round against Atlanta and the results were good. He tossed 3 2/3 innings with four strikeouts and no walks, allowing one earned run. But his velocity was down and he was removed after just 44 pitches. The club later announced it as elbow tightness.

Given that Musgrove has been battling elbow issues all year, it’s fair to wonder if there’s a long-term issue that will need to be addressed. Shildt being tight-lipped about it for now, so the full ramifications may not be immediately known. If any kind of significant surgery is required, that could have a notable impact on the club into next year.

In the short term, the Padres will be trying to survive without Musgrove. Dylan Cease and Yu Darvish are scheduled to start the first two games of the series against the Dodgers. Michael King tossed the first game against Atlanta, striking out 12 over seven shutout innings, and will likely get the ball in the third contest on Tuesday. In the fourth game, they would likely be choosing between Cease starting on short rest versus using someone like Martín Pérez or Matt Waldron. Full roster announcements will be made Saturday morning.

Braves Expect To Exercise Club Options On Ozuna, Bummer, d’Arnaud

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The Braves are planning to exercise their 2025 club options on designated hitter Marcell Ozuna, left-hander Aaron Bummer and catcher Travis d’Arnaud, reports Mark Bowman of MLB.com. President of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos implied as much at today’s end-of-season press conference, saying each has “put himself in a good spot.” All three had strong seasons — Ozuna in particular — so none of the decisions should register as a major surprise. Ozuna’s option calls for a $16MM salary next season, while Bummer will be paid $7.25MM and d’Arnaud $8MM.

Ozuna, 34 next month, slugged 39 home runs this season — the second-highest mark of his career — and turned in a robust .302/.378/.546 slash on the season. That production clocked in at a weighty 54% better than league-average, by measure of wRC+ (154). That’s the second-best mark of Ozuna’s career and his best mark in a full, 162-game campaign; his career-high 178 mark came during the shortened 2020 season. Dating back to 2023, Ozuna has clobbered 79 home runs for the Braves and played in all but 18 of their games.

Atlanta’s deadline acquisition of Jorge Soler makes the 2025 roster a bit clunky with Ozuna also in the fold. Both are nominal corner outfielders who are best deployed primarily as a designated hitter. The Braves plugged Soler into their injury-plagued outfield mix after acquiring him this summer, in hopes of bolstering a lineup that was missing Ronald Acuna Jr., Ozzie Albies and Michael Harris II at the time.

Soler did just that, hitting .243/.356/.493 and clubbing nine homers in 193 plate appearances in his return to Atlanta, but he also posted brutal defensive marks in a third of a season of left field work (-10 Defensive Runs Saved, -6 Outs Above Average). With Soler signed through 2026, Atlanta could try to live with his defense for a year and then turn Ozuna’s DH slot over to Soler in 2026, but there will surely be at least some degree of trade chatter surrounding Soler this winter as well.

As for the other two option calls, both seemed obvious. Bummer was acquired from the White Sox last offseason and had a nice first year in his new environs, rebounding from a down year to provide 55 1/3 innings of 3.58 ERA ball with even better underlying metrics. The 6’3″ southpaw punched out 28.3% of his opponents and issued walks at only a 7.4% clip — the second-lowest mark of his career. His 59.7% ground-ball rate, while lower than his mammoth 64.9% career mark, was still about 17 percentage points higher than the league average. Add in the fact that his option came with a $1.25MM buyout (effectively making it a net $6MM call) and that his contract also contains a $7.5MM club option for 2026, and there was never much doubt he’d be back in ’25.

Turning to the 35-year-old d’Arnaud (36 in February), he’ll be back for a sixth season at Truist Park after slashing .238/.302/.436 with 15 homers in 341 plate appearances. That’s only a bit better than league-average on a rate basis (103 wRC+), but it’s strong production relative to catchers throughout the league, who tend to be about 10% worse than average at the plate. It’s particularly stout production for a team’s No. 2 catcher, which is the role d’Arnaud will occupy with Sean Murphy still in the early stages of a six-year contract.

Injuries to Murphy expanded d’Arnaud’s workload this year, and he handled the increased usage reasonably well on both sides of the plate. His 19.1% caught-stealing rate was below par, but not by much, and his framing work was roughly average. Statcast credited him as slightly better than average when it comes to blocking balls in the dirt. As d’Arnaud enters his age-36 season, it’s always possible that his defensive skills could drop off sharply, but assuming better health from Murphy, d’Arnaud will probably also be asked to shoulder a smaller workload than 2024’s 706 innings.

The Braves hold a fourth club option as well — a $7MM option on right-hander Luke Jackson. Atlanta reacquired the longtime Brave alongside Soler in that deadline swap with the Giants. He pitched 18 innings with a 4.50 ERA and huge 31% strikeout rate … but also a 13.1% walk rate. Coupled with his time in San Francisco, he finished the season with a 5.09 ERA, 25.1% strikeout rate and 11.1% walk rate in 53 innings.

Jackson’s option comes with a $2MM buyout, but even at a net $5MM price the Braves seem likely to move on. Atlanta has a deep (and expensive) bullpen featuring Raisel Iglesias, Joe Jimenez, Pierce Johnson and the aforementioned Bummer. That quartet alone will combine for $39.75MM in 2025 salary. The Braves will also see lefty Dylan Lee reach arbitration for the first time.

Cardinals Part Ways With Hitting Coach Turner Ward

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The Cardinals will have a new hitting coach next season. The team has decided not to offer Turner Ward a contract for 2025, Katie Woo reports for The Athletic.

Ward spent the past two seasons as the Cardinals hitting coach, overseeing an underwhelming offense both years. In that time, St. Louis ranked 21st in runs scored (1391), 16th in OPS (.723), and 17th in wRC+ (101). Those numbers aren’t terrible, but they are certainly disappointing for a team with postseason aspirations. Not all the blame for this mediocre offense should land on Turner; after all, he was the assistant hitting coach in 2022, when the Cardinals’ offense was surprisingly potent, ranking sixth in runs scored (772), fifth in OPS (.745), and seventh in wRC+ (112). However, it’s not hard to understand why the Cardinals were ready to move on.

The Cardinals are expected to keep assistant hitting coach Brandon Allen on staff, though it’s unclear if they will promote Allen or seek their new hitting coach elsewhere. Woo also notes that game-planning coach Packy Elkins and first-base coach Stubby Clapp will return in 2025. However, her latest piece does not mention assistant pitching coach Julio Rangel, another Cardinals coach whose contract was set to expire at the end of the season. Bench coach Daniel Descalso and pitching coach Dusty Blake are under contract through 2025, while third-base coach Pop Warner is under contract through 2026 (per Woo).

Prior to his time with the Cardinals, Ward worked as an assistant hitting coach for the Diamondbacks and a hitting coach for the Diamondbacks, Dodgers, and Reds. He is now free to seek his next coaching opportunity with a new organization.

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Tomoyuki Sugano Expected To Sign With MLB Team This Offseason

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Longtime Nippon Professional Baseball star Tomoyuki Sugano is planning to sign with an MLB team this offseason, according to ESPN’s Jeff Passan. After 12 years in NPB, Sugano more than meets the requirements (nine years of NPB service) to qualify for international free agency, so he will not be subject to the rules of the posting system.

Sugano, soon to be 35, is an eight-time NPB All-Star, two-time Central League MVP, and two-time winner of the Eiji Sawamura Award, given out annually to the best starting pitcher in NPB. After collecting his second MVP trophy in 2020, he was posted for MLB clubs and drew interest from several teams, including the Giants, Mets, Red Sox, Padres, Blue Jays, and Rangers. However, he did not sign before the deadline, choosing instead to re-up with the Yomiuri Giants on a four-year, $40MM deal. His contract gave him the option to opt out after every season to pursue international opportunities, and following the first year of the deal, he he had enough NPB service time that he would not have been restricted by the posting system. Nevertheless, he decided to stay with the Giants throughout the length of the contract.

One reason Sugano may have decided not to pursue international free agency after the 2021, ’22, or ’23 seasons was his declining performance. He was outstanding in 2020, pitching to a 1.97 ERA with a 24.6% strikeout rate over 137.1 innings. However, he had ERAs of 3.19, 3.12, and 3.36 the following three years. His strikeout rates slowly declined, while his home run rates shot up. Moreover, injuries limited him to just 77.2 IP in 2023. His performance from 2021-23 wasn’t poor by any means, but it’s understandable why he chose not to sacrifice his guaranteed salary.

The 2024 season marked a return to dominance for the Sugano. Over 156.2 IP, he went 15-3 with a 1.67 ERA. His 18.3% strikeout rate was lower than it was at his peak – he struck out 24.2% of batters from 2016-20 – but he is finding success in new ways as an older pitcher. His 2.6% walk rate in 2024 was a career-best. His 6.94 strikeout-to-walk ratio was his best since 2016. In addition, he gave up only six home runs to the 608 batters he faced, 0.99% home run rate. That’s the lowest home run rate of his career, and significantly lower than his 2.91% home run rate from 2021-23. As a cherry on top, Sugano also threw three complete games this past season. He hadn’t thrown a single complete game since 2021.

Now that the four-year contract he signed during the 2020-21 offseason is up, Sugano has little reason not to give an MLB career another try. According to reporter Francys Romero, the veteran has hired VC Sports Group to represent him in free agency. The starting pitching market will feature plenty of big names this offseason, including Corbin Burnes, Yusei Kikuchi, Max Fried, Jack Flaherty, and likely Blake Snell, who has a player option for 2025. Considering his age, Sugano won’t be looking for a long-term contract, so he could represent an interesting alternative for a team that wants to add a potential top-flight starting pitcher on a shorter deal.

Thad Levine Steps Down As Twins GM

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Thad Levine has stepped down from his position as senior vice president and general manager of the Twins, a role he has held since November 2016. The team announced his decision in a press release on Friday morning, explaining, “After eight seasons of significant contributions and leadership, Thad Levine will depart the Minnesota Twins organization to pursue new challenges and opportunities, both inside and outside of baseball.”

The news of Levine’s departure comes just a few days after the Twins confirmed chief baseball officer Derek Falvey and manager Rocco Baldelli would return in 2025. Levine has been working under Falvey for the past eight years. The pair led the team to three division titles and four playoff appearances between 2017-23, with the 2023 club finally ending the franchise’s 18-game postseason losing streak.

The 2024 campaign ended in disappointment, however, with a 13-27 record over the final 40 games of the season pushing the Twins out of a playoff position and into fourth place in the AL Central. While injuries and underperformance played a big role in the team’s downfall, so did a slow offseason and quiet trade deadline, during which Falvey and Levine did little to improve the club. It’s difficult to say how much of the blame lies with the front office as opposed to ownership, which forced the team to cut payroll. Regardless, it’s not hard to see why Levine was ready to seek new opportunities elsewhere. It’s possible the Twins didn’t want him back either, but the press release presents it as Levine’s decision. Furthermore, one would think that if ownership and executive chairman Joe Pohlad were displeased with the direction of the team, Falvey would be looking for a new job as well. Both Falvey and Levine’s contacts were believed to be expiring at the end of the 2024 season.

Prior to joining the Twins, Levine spent several years as an assistant GM for the Rangers. More recently, he has pursued top decision-making jobs around the league; the Twins gave permission for him to interview with the Phillies in 2020 and the Red Sox in 2023. Other teams that have shown interest in Levine in the past include the Mets and Rockies. Interestingly, however, he ultimately took himself out of the running for all those jobs.

If Levine wants a new job in baseball, it doesn’t seem as if he’d have any trouble landing one. He will surely be a candidate for any “chief decision-maker” openings around the league. It’s less clear if he would be interested in taking on another job where he would only be second-in-command, such as with the Giants. San Francisco is looking for a GM to replace Pete Putila and work under new president of baseball operations Buster Posey. For what it’s worth, the fact that Levine chose to remain underneath Falvey for so long – despite other opportunities – suggests he prioritizes his work environment over his status. Perhaps the Giants’ larger payroll will convince him to give the Bay Area a try.

Reds Hire Terry Francona As Manager

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Today: The Reds made things official on Friday morning, confirming they signed Francona to a three-year contract with a team option for the 2028 season.

October 3: The Reds are hiring Terry Francona as their next manager, per a report from MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand. The club has not yet confirmed the news, but Feinsand indicates an announcement is expected as soon as tomorrow. Per Gordon Wittenmyer of the Cincinnati Enquirer, Francona’s contract is a three-year deal.

Francona, 65, is among the most decorated managers in the league’s recent history. After a four-year stint managing the Phillies in the late 90s, Francona joined the Red Sox as manager prior to the 2004 season and piloted the club to their curse-breaking World Series championship in 2004. He went on to spend eight seasons in Boston, making the postseason in five of those years (including another World Series championship in 2007) while never posting a below-.500 season. He parted ways with the Red Sox prior to the 2011 season, however, and spent the next year away from managing with four top-5 finishes in AL Manager of the Year voting to his name in addition to a pair of World Series rings.

Terry Francona

He returned to managing just a year after departing Boston, however, and spent the next 11 seasons in Cleveland. Francona’s tenure with the club was nothing short of magnificent, as he piloted the small-market franchise into consistent contention despite considerable payroll restrictions. During Francona’s tenure as manager, Cleveland enjoyed postseason baseball in six seasons while rattling off eight consecutive winning seasons and even reaching Game 7 of the World Series in 2016.

While the club ultimately fell to the Cubs in extra innings and was unable to capture another AL pennant during Francona’s tenure, their 2017 campaign was almost as impressive in some ways as Francona led them through a 22-game win streak that’s the longest in AL history and second only to the 1916 New York Giants’ 26-game win streak in MLB history. Francona’s 11 seasons with Cleveland saw him win three Manager of the Year awards as he captured the honor in 2013, 2016, and most recently in 2022 when he piloted the Guardians to an unlikely AL Central division title and within one game of the club’s first ALCS since 2016.

Francona’s time with the Guardians came to an end when he stepped down following the 2023 season amid long-standing health issues. At the time of his departure from the manager’s chair, Francona indicated to reporters (including those at ESPN) that his priority for 2024 was to “go home and get healthy and see what I miss about the game.” Clearly, the veteran skipper has decided that he misses being at the helm of a big league dugout as he will now return to Ohio as manager of the Reds, his first NL job since departing the Phillies in 2000.

He joins up with Cincinnati following a disappointing season that saw the club take a step back from last year’s 82-80 effort with a 77-85 season despite major breakouts for both star shortstop Elly De La Cruz and hard-throwing righty Hunter Greene. Injuries to key pieces like Matt McLain and Christian Encarnacion-Strand likely played a role in the club’s struggles but whatever hopes the club may have for health-related improvement next year wasn’t enough to convince the front office to retain David Bell, who missed the playoffs in five of his six seasons with the Reds. The club’s managerial search reportedly included younger names such as former Cubs skipper David Ross and departing Marlins manager Skip Schumaker, but the Reds will instead lean on Francona’s decades of experience in order to turn things around for the organization.

With Francona now in place, the Reds have now addressed perhaps the biggest question mark facing them this winter as they look towards the offseason with plenty of other hurdles that will need to be addressed. Chief among those could be their TV revenue situation, as Diamond Sports is reportedly planning to cut ties with the club, which could leave their financial picture uncertain headed into 2025. That’s a frustrating situation for any club, but perhaps especially for a Reds team that already runs among the league’s lower payrolls and figures to lose Nick Martinez to the open market later this winter on the heels of an excellent 2024 campaign that saw him help shore up both the club’s rotation and bullpen throughout the year.

The Opener: Reds, NLDS, ALDS

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With the Wild Card Series behind us, here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world headed into the weekend:

1. Reds under new management:

The Reds’ managerial search came to a shocking end last night when it was reported that three-time Manager of the Year and two-time World Series champion Terry Francona is being hired to replace David Bell in the dugout. The Reds have not yet announced Tito’s hiring, but are expected to do so as soon as today. In a year that hasn’t seen much upheaval in the league’s dugouts to this point, Cincinnati’s surprise hiring of Francona takes perhaps the most attractive managerial gig available off the market though both the White Sox and Marlins have yet to name a manager for 2025 and it remains at least theoretically possible that one or more of the teams currently in the playoffs could make a change in the dugout following the postseason, though no club is an obvious candidate to do so.

2. NLDS starts this weekend:

There’s no playoff baseball scheduled for today as the remaining Wild Card teams rest up and prepare for their upcoming division series matchups. In the NL, there’s plenty of roster-related intrigue that figures to be settled this weekend before two pairs of division rivals clash. The Dodgers and Padres have already announced their starters for the first two games of the series, with Yoshinobu Yamamoto (3.00 ERA in 18 starts) set to face Dylan Cease (3.47 ERA) in Game 1 before Jack Flaherty (3.17 ERA) faces Yu Darvish (3.31 ERA in 16 starts) the next day. Of note, Dodgers shortstop Miguel Rojas told reporters (including Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times) that the left-adductor strain that left him sidelined for the final games of the Dodgers’ regular season is still bothering him with minimal progress. Rojas indicated that he intends to play through the issue, although Tommy Edman stands as a capable replacement at shortstop if necessary.

Meanwhile, the Mets and Phillies prepare to play this weekend with only one starter announced between the two teams: Philadelphia ace Zack Wheeler (2.57 ERA) is set to take the ball for Game 1. Neither team has made any sort of indications regarding who their Game 2 starters may be, and the Mets also haven’t announced who they’ll send to the mound opposite Wheeler. Even so, there’s at least some roster-related intrigue in this series as well: the Mets are reportedly contemplating the addition of right-hander Kodai Senga to their NLDS roster. Senga has spent most of 2024 on the IL after a breakout 2023 season, and while he won’t be available as a starter this series it is possible that the club could lean on him for short relief, bolstering a bullpen that has seen closer Edwin Diaz used heavily in recent days.

3. ALDS starts this weekend:

Along with the NLDS, the ALDS will also begin this weekend. Unlikely its National League counterpart, however, the American League will only see the first game of its series take place this weekend before a day off on Sunday. This year’s Division Series is flooded with AL Central teams, as the division champion Guardians will take on the Tigers after Detroit knocked the Astros out last round, ending their long streak of ALCS appearances. The Tigers haven’t announced a starter for tomorrow’s game, though whoever they choose will face Guardians righty Tanner Bibee (3.47 ERA). Meanwhile, the Royals managed to sweep the Orioles out of the Wild Card series and prevent a fourth intradivision LDS matchup. In Baltimore’s stead, Kansas City will now face the Yankees in the Bronx with veteran right-hander Michael Wacha (3.35 ERA) scheduled to face ace righty Gerrit Cole (3.41 ERA) in tomorrow’s game.

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