MLB General manager meetings quickly follow the World Series each year and precede free agency, meaning it’s a time to discuss and lay the groundwork for what might happen in the offseason. This time they I became a little explosive with the Small recruiting manager Craig Counsell, given that they already had a manager in David Ross and Counsell either had to take the job Dishes work or stay in Milwaukee.
THE Padres, Astros, angels And Brewers have vacancies at manager.
After this time, the rumor began to circulate. Let’s move on to Wednesday.
Mets to talk extension with Alonso
Mets first baseman Pete Alonso is under team control for another year until he reaches free agency. In the absence of an extension, do you know what that means? Trade rumors!
The Mets seem keen to avoid that, however. “We’re going to have those conversations,” said club president David Stearns (via SNY).
The best bet here is for the Mets and Alonso to do something unless one side fundamentally doesn’t want this to happen. The Mets have very deep pockets and Alonso is a local star. He is coming off a season where he hit 46 home runs with 118 RBIs. He only hit .217, but still managed an OPS+ of 122 thanks to his power and decent on-base percentage. The Mets would surely prefer to see that average move back into the .271 range like it does in 2022, but he’s still a game-changer with his power. He owns the top two and top three of the six best individual home run seasons in Mets history. He also has the best and three of six best RBI seasons.
Dodgers I want Kershaw back, keeping an eye on JD
Clayton Kershaw recently had shoulder surgery and won’t return until next summer, if all goes as planned. Still, the Dodgers would like to re-sign the free agent left-hander. Club president Andrew Friedman said this on Wednesday: via the Los Angeles Times. “(We) give them the time and space to make the best decision for their family. But selfishly, we hope it’s up to him to continue and finish his career in Dodger blue.”
Kershaw, 35, was 13-5 with a 2.46 ERA (177 ERA+) and 1.06 WHIP last season. He struck out 137 in 131 2/3 innings, although he battled injury and saw a decline in velocity. He then got torched for six runs in just 1/3 inning in his only postseason start. However, he has proven over the last two seasons that he can remain excellent at run prevention when he is on the hill.
Also among the topics of conversation is J.D. Martinez, who was the Dodgers’ designated hitter last season and is now in free agency. Friedman told reporters that there was interest in a possible reunion with Martinez, but that they would have to say how everything would play out this offseason (via Los Angeles Times). Basically, by cutting the unspoken meaning, they will be interested in Martinez if they fail to sign. Shohei Ohtani.
Martinez, 36, hit .271/.321/.572 (134 OPS+) with 27 doubles, 33 homers and 103 RBIs last season.
Phillies interested in Gray
The Phillies have expressed interest in free agent starting pitcher Sonny Gray, by Jon Morosi of MLB Network. It appears that Gray would be a fallback option for the Phillies, as Aaron Nola is a free agent and the report states that the Phillies’ interest in Gray would come if Nola leaves via free agency.
The Phillies starters are Zack WheelerRanger Suarez, Taijuan Walker and Christophe Sánchez. Left-handed Josh Fleming was recovered from the exemptions of the Rays and he showed his ability to start on occasion.
Gray, 34, was 8-8 with a 2.79 ERA, 1.15 WHIP and 183 strikeouts in 184 innings last season for the Twins. He made his third All-Star team.
Twins reduce the payroll in 2024
The Twins won the AL Central and advanced to the ALDS last season, losing that series in four games to the Astros. Based on playoff performance, it was their best season in decades (their victory over the Blue Jays in Game 1 of the Wild Card Series was their first playoff victory since 2004). Payroll last season was $154 million, but it will be reduced next season, by The Athletic. This amount is expected to be between $125 million and $140 million.
What happened? Well, the TV deal bubble hit them. The Twins’ local television deal with Bally expired and they made $54.8 million last year. Given the current general climate around TV and streaming deals, it’s hard to imagine any deal even approaching $50 million per year in the future, so this is an adjustment revenues.
That doesn’t mean we should expect to see the Twins attempt to trade highly compensated players, though. Joey Gallo $11 million is coming off the books, along with $4.5 million from Michael A. Taylor and $7.5 million from Tyler Mahle. Sonny Gray is a free agent and made $12.7 million last year. Kenta Maeda earned $3.12 million.
As of now, Baseball Reference estimates (with arbitration raises and pre-arbitration salaries) that the Twins currently have a payroll of $137.6 million. If they decide to try to bring back Gray, for example, they could probably do a salary-cut trade or two. They are not in a desperate situation.
Astros managerial search includes Espada
Joe Espada has been the Astros’ bench coach since 2018 and has interviewed for the manager’s job with teams such as the Rangers and Cub Scouts over the years. At this point, he has never been hired as a manager, but maybe this is his luck. With Dusty Baker having retired, the Astros have an opening and Espada interviewed for the position. Astros general manager Dana Brown wouldn’t call Espada a “leading candidate,” but he certainly looks like the favorite, via Athletics.
Angels interview Washington for manager position
Will ‘Wash’ get another chance to lead in the AL West? Currently, Ron Washington is the third base coach and infield guru of the Brave. He is widely considered one of the most valuable coaches in baseball, but he hasn’t had another chance at the top job since he managed the Rangers from 2007-2014.
The Angels should interview him for their manager opening, according to Sam Blum.
Before he led the Rangers, the ballclub had only made the playoffs three times and he had taken them there three times. Before he took the job, they had never won the pennant and he won two. There’s enough experience here to consider his hiring a great move.
