Category: MLB

In lieu of hurling statcast metrics at you at 100 mph and without enough medical expertise to break down the intricacies of recovering from Tommy John surgery and right teres major inflammation, let us merely take a large step back and view the state of the Cincinnati Reds as of today, November 11th.

Their manager, Terry Francona, is a future Hall of Famer thanks to his previous tenures with the Boston Red Sox and Cleveland Guardians, the latter being where he resided in the dugout fom 2013 through the end of the 2023 season.

Their hitting coach, Chris Valaika, was hired by Cleveland when Francona was manager there in 2021, and he served as the Guardians hitting coach until October 2024 – at which point he was hired to coach hitting for the Reds.

Assistant bench coach Mike Napoli played for Francona with Cleveland during the 2016 season, during which time he was teammates with current Reds 1B coach Collin Cowgill.

The most recent hire to Cincinnati’s coaching staff is one Joe Torres, who came to the Reds after a long history coaching within the ranks of the Guardians farm. He was a coach and coordinator in their minor league system from 2017 through 2021, and then served as assistant pitching coach at the big league level from 2022 until being hired last week by the Reds.

It is impossible not to notice the overwhelming thread that is the tie between Tito’s Cleveland years and what he, and the Reds front office, are building in Cincinnati at the moment. It obviously remains to be seen if it’s going to pan out in any form or fashion after 2026’s debacle, but it’s no accident that there has been this level of cohesive adding from the relationships established during Francona’s decade-long run in Cleveland.

As for the Reds heading into 2027, we know several things as basic, inalienable tenets.

We know they’ll be looking to be cheap. That’s simply who they are, and who they’ll continue to be under this current ownership group. That doesn’t mean they won’t try to address serious issues, however, they’ll just attempt to do so as cheaply and without long commitment as possible. That often means trying to sign players at low points in their careers, players coming back from injuries, players looking for a soft landing spot to rebuild their value – potentially players who could be persuaded to join a situation around things they see as comfortable instead of chasing every last penny they could potentially find elsewhere.

We also know they’re going to need pitching. They’ll need relievers, no doubt, but they know they absolutely need to augment their starting pitching staff. They lost staff workhorse Brady Singer to free agency, Hunter Greene’s second Tommy John surgery will keep him out for all of 2027, and starting options like Nick Lodolo, Andrew Abbott, Rhett Lowder, and Chase Petty are all coming off disappointing 2026 campaigns.

We also presumably know that they are going to try to prioritize winning during 2027 in lieu of rebuilding, what with Elly De La Cruz still rostered and the clock ticking furiously until the time will come to trade him for whatever they can get before he walks into free agency. They have Chase Burns, and few teams can boast a hitter/pitcher combination capable of each posting 6 WAR campaigns like that, and you’d like to think you could cobble together a roster around those two that’s at least capable of being competitive.

Given all those knowns, it’s hard to ignore that there’s a former Cy Young Award winner who, at age 31, is a free agent after a series of disappointing years surrounding a Tommy John surgery that set him back, especially given his glory days came during a 7-year stint as a Cleveland Guardian where Francona was his manager and Torres his assistant pitching coach for most of it. It’s hard not to notice that he may be in precisely the kind of situation where he’d like a one-year ‘show me’ contract to re-establish his value before potentially re-entering free agency on a much stronger platform, a guy whose numbers in 2026 were ugly – but much uglier than many of his underlying metrics would suggest they should have been.

It sure seems like Shane Bieber is precisely the pitcher the Reds need to be calling this winter, even though his brief time with the Toronto Blue Jays didn’t go as either had planned. It actually seems like Shane Bieber is precisely the pitcher most of the team’s entire coaching staff probably has had in a group text for years already.

Patterns like this are impossible to ignore. Because of that, it’s hard to ignore that lining up Bieber to help bolster the 2027 Reds rotation seems like more of an inevitability than a shot in the dark at this juncture.

I’m not sure the Reds would be very good poker players.

The Astros have reportedly found their next manager and it’s a familiar name to AL West fans (and baseball fans in general): Brad Ausmus.

Ausmus comes with plenty of experience, having spent the last three seasons as the Yankees’ bench coach, but before that managed the Tigers for three years (2014-2017). He’s also spent time in the AL West, including two years with the Angels as a special assistant and later manager (2019-19) and a bench coach gig for the A’s in 2022 before leaving for the Yankees.

There will be significantly less coaching turnover in Houston than the Mariners had, as the Astros retained their pitching coach, first base coach, field coordinator, hitting coach and bullpen catcher, giving Ausmus a plug-and-play staff.

The only other major vacancy for the Astros was filled two weeks ago, when Houston announced the hire of GM Randy Flores to replace Dana Brown, who was let go at the end of 2026. Flores, 51, was with the Cardinals for a decade previously, serving as first director of scouting and then assistant general manager for the past eight years. With a strong background in scouting and player development, the Astros will look to rebuild a farm that’s been one of MLB’s thinnest over the past few seasons. Flores also comes out of the same Cardinals group as former longtime Astros GM Jeff Luhnow, who oversaw the team during some of its greatest successes but left baseball to buy a Mexican soccer team after being suspended for his part in the sign-stealing scandal in 2020.

Flores was hired on October 31 and Ausmus was reportedly interviewing with the Astros on November 2nd, sopresumedly Astros owner Jim Crane and senior advisor Jeff Bagwell exerted significant influence in the selection of Ausmus – especially considering Bagwell and Ausmus are close, having been Astros teammates for five years, including the 2005 World Series-winning club.

It’s an off-season of change in the AL West, baseball’s messiest division in 2026. The Mariners, Astros, and Angels all entered the off-season needing to do significant restructuring, and even the Rangers have shaken up their coaching staff. While the Angels strategy is yet to reveal itself, the Mariners and Astros have already made significant hires that illustrate each organization’s diverging philosophies. The Mariners have embraced a youth movement, going with a riskier managerial hire in Jason Kanzler, who has never managed at the big-league level; flanking him are hitting coach CJ Gillman and bench coach Tanner Swanson, who are 37 and 44 years old, respectively.

The Astros, meanwhile, seem to have prided experience above all as they navigate their next steps, although Crane has said he doesn’t plan on a “complete teardown.” However, some fans are unhappy with the Ausmus hiring, bemoaning the influence of Bagwell – notoriously anti-analytics – on the front office and Crane specifically. Ausmus has a reputation for being smart – he’s a Dartmouth grad – and dealt with data during his playing career as a catcher while writing scouting reports; his role with the Yankees was largely to provide that kind of information to the manager.

(There is, I guess, this.)

Segue alert! That actually brings us back to the other AL West team riding the coaching carousel, the Angels, who are still looking for a GM and manager and probably some other positions too. John Mozeliak, who served as interim manager after the dismissal of Perry Minasian in June, has stayed on to help conduct the search, specifically because the new ownership group, Kroenke Sports & Entertainment, “isn’t as familiar with baseball operations.”  So Astros fans who are unhappy with the direction of the team currently can at least be soothed by there being…a direction, which is more than can be said for Angels fans currently.

No Dodger is going to win any of the five annual awards from the Baseball Writers Association of America this year, but let’s think about the next few seasons.

This is all due respect to Shohei Ohtani, who will finish in the top three in National League MVP voting this year, but that really means second or third because Pete Crow-Armstrong is going to win that award handily. For our purposes, I’m removing the four-time MVP Ohtani from this discussion as even in a down year with almost nothing over the final six weeks of the season he’s still a top-3 MVP player.

But which Dodger is the most likely to win a BBWAA award? Here are the five such honors:

• Rookie of the Year
• Manager of the Year
• Reliever of the Year (this is a new award this season)
• Cy Young Award
• Most Valuable Player

Yoshinobu Yamamoto has been the Dodgers ace the last two seasons, and finished third in NL CY Young Award voting in 2025. This year he’ll finish outside of the top three and we’ll find out what votes he received, if any, later on Wednesday.

Dave Roberts won Manager of the Year in 2016, his first season on the job, and finished second in 2017. This is the hardest BBWAA award to gauge, as a manager’s job is hard to define given how much of the duties are behind the scenes. Usually, this award goes to managers whose teams exceeded expectations, or perhaps a team having a turnaround in a manager’s first season on the job.

Roberts won in his first year, finished second in 2017 (his second year), and since then has finished higher than fourth only once, and that took 111 wins in 2022 to finish second. Given the Dodgers payroll and expectations, Roberts doesn’t usually get much support for the award. He finished fifth this year.

Josue De Paula could win NL Rookie of the Year in 2027, but that would require the Dodgers committing playing time to him in the outfield (barring an injury to Ohtani opening a spot at designated hitter). We’ll find out some level of that investment this offseason, as the team currently has three starting outfielders on the 40-man roster.

If Edwin Díaz is healthier in 2027 and puts up a season like the bulk of his 2020-25 with the Mets (strikeout rates 38 percent or higher, low 2s to sub-2 ERAs) with a bunch of saves, he could be in the mix for Reliever of the Year. Same goes for Tanner Scott if he racks up saves and pitches like 2023-24.

The last Dodgers player to win …

• MVP was Ohtani in 2025
• Rookie of the Year was Cody Bellinger in 2017
• Manager of the Year was Roberts in 2016
• Cy Young Award was Clayton Kershaw in 2014

Today’s question is excluding Shohei Ohtani, who will be the next Dodger to win a BBWAA award?

As Major League Baseball's GM meetings got underway in Las Vegas on Tuesday, the congregation of baseball leaders came in front of the backdrop of a looming lockout on Dec. 1.

While the club's owners and Major League Baseball Players Association aim to negotiate a new labor agreement that will not lead to spring training or the regular season being interrupted, there is less than a month of runway for front offices to begin to craft a vision for their roster for 2027.

For Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns, the plan is to stay the course in the face of uncertainty about the framework within teams might have to operate in the future.

"From my perspective, I look at this as a business-as-usual offseason until they tell us otherwise, so we're going through this as though we're going to have a full complete offseason, and I think that's the best way to operate," Stearns told reporters on Tuesday.

The first step is approaching the top free agent in this offseason's marketplace. The Mets will meet with two-time Cy Young award winner Tarik Skubal next week, according to multiple reports. The New York Post's Jon Heyman was the first to report the meeting.

Stearns offered some more clues about the approach that the Mets could take for building their team this offseason. As the GM meetings kicked off, here are three takeaways from what Stearns told the media:

How do the Mets plan to address the starting rotation?

With a combined 43 wins, 2.42 ERA and 655 strikeouts in the last three seasons, Skubal is the obvious crown jewel available this offseason.

The 29-year-old left-hander could come at a record cost for a starting pitchers. Despite Stearns' history of not handing out long-term deals to starting pitchers, there are always exceptions.

"Every situation is unique," It's been also well-publicized that even since I've been here, we've engaged in extremely long-term negotiations for pitchers and we will do so again. But situation matters, he specific circumstance matters, and we do have to look at every individual pitcher on a case-by-case basis."

The Mets' unit is incomplete despite boasting Nolan McLean, Christian Scott and Zac Thornton. Stearns said that Kodai Senga has made his preference to be a starting pitcher known. He'll build up that way this offseason before proving his worth there during spring.

One way or another, the Mets will address their starting rotation this offseason. After Skubal, the top names include Sonny Gray, Clay Holmes and Michael King, and Stearns would not rule out a trade.

"Having a complete rotation is really important and that includes having pitchers who can successfully get you through a postseason, get you through a playoff series," Stearns said. "We've seen over and over again in the playoffs that can be done in a variety of different ways, so we're open to doing it in any way possible."

How will the Mets look to pad their starting lineup heading to 2027?

When it comes to the construction of the Mets' lineup, Stearns was clear that they will add another first baseman alongside Jared Young before the 2027 season begins.

In a career-high 103 games, Jared Young proved he belonged in the major leagues, slashing .266/.330/.429 with nine home runs, 17 doubles, 39 RBI and 46 runs. But the left-handed-hitting Young hit far better against right-handers (.793 OPS) than left-handers (.606 OPS)

"We think Jared Young has the ability to really be a part of a solution there," Stearns said. "I do think we're going to look to supplement that, whether it's someone who takes regular at-bats, someone who splits time with (Young), we'll see. But I do expect us to supplement that position."

Stearns said that the Mets would even consider adding another left-handed hitter at the position if it was "the right fit."

Some notable right-handed hitting first baseman free agents include Ty France, Paul Goldschmidt and Alec Bohm.

Will Marcus Semien be the starting second baseman in the new year?

Despite the underperformance of Marcus Semien in his first season in New York, second base is not a specific position where the Mets will be looking to add. But Stearns would not close the door to anything.

"Marcus is going to come in with an opportunity to play a lot of second base," Stearns said. "He didn't have the type of year that he wanted to last year, didn't have the type of year we believe he's capable of. We also think we've got a lot of other options, both guys who played in the big leagues last year for us and guys who are knocking on the door of the big leagues that we feel good about that position."

Semien slashed .215/.280/.340 with 15 home runs, 49 RBI and 55 runs in 139 games. His average and OPS (.620) were career lows. He also committed six errors. The Mets believe that Semien has bought into some adjustments to regain his past form.

The Mets might have a plethora of other options at the position by the end of 2027. It begins with Brett Baty, who posted a .838 OPS. The club's top prospect, Jefferson Rojas, debuted at Triple A late in the 2026 season, as did No. 10 prospect Emilien Pitre. The duo was acquired at the trade deadline.

Mitch Voit, the club's 2025 first-round pick who has played both middle infield positions, surged to Double A last season and claimed the organization's Minor League Player of the Year nod after posting a .802 OPS between his two stops.

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: What will Mets do this winter? GM talks offseason plans and rumors

HOUSTON, TX — Longtime Astros catcher Brad Ausmus has been named as the 21st manager in Astros franchise history. The announcement was made by Astros General Manager Randy Flores.

The press conference is scheduled for Friday at 10 AM, and will be live streamed on Astros.com, on the Astros Facebook page, the Astros YouTube channel and on the Astros X account.

Ausmus, 57, has spent four of the last five seasons as a Major League bench coach for the New York Yankees (2024-26) and Oakland A’s (2022). Prior to those stints, Ausmus twice managed in the Major Leagues, for the 2019 Angels and the 2014-17 Tigers. Ausmus also has experience working in the front office, first as a special assistant to baseball operations for the Padres (2011-13) and later as a special assistant to the GM for the Angels in 2018.

“We are thrilled to welcome Brad back to the Astros organization,” Flores said. “Brad impressed us throughout the interview process, demonstrating the leadership, energy, and expertise critical to driving a winning culture both on and off the field. I am excited to work alongside Brad and happy to have him back in an Astros uniform.”

“I am very excited to be back in Houston,” Ausmus said. “The Astros and the City of Houston have been a huge part of my life, and I’m thrilled to create a new chapter as the team’s manager. I’d like to thank Randy and the entire Astros organization for this opportunity, and I can’t wait to get to work.”

Prior to joining the front office and coaching ranks, Ausmus had an 18-year Major League playing career (1993-2010), including parts of 10 seasons as an Astro (1997-98, 2001-08). A defensive-minded catcher, Ausmus was a three-time Gold Glove recipient (all with Houston) and was an American League All-Star with the Tigers in 1999. Ausmus combined to play in 1,971 career Major League games, including 1,259 as an Astro. Ausmus is widely regarded as one of the best catchers in franchise history and leads the club in games played behind the dish.

Ausmus also has extensive postseason experience as a player, coach and manager. He played in 35 career postseason games, all coming with the Astros, in their playoff runs in 1997, 1998, 2001, 2004 and 2005. Ausmus was the Astros starting catcher in their 2005 World Series run, and hit one of the most-memorable homers in Astros postseason history, a game-tying shot with two outs in the 9th inning of Game 4 of the NLDS vs. ATL, in the Astros eventual 7-6 win in 18 innings. As a manager, Ausmus led the 2014 Tigers to a 90-72 record and an appearance in the postseason. He also coached in the postseason the last three seasons with the Yankees, including an appearance in the 2024 World Series.

LAS VEGAS — As the Yankees considered moving on from James Rowson, the hitting coach moved on first.

Rowson, who had an expiring contract with the Yankees, is leaving to join the Giants’ coaching staff as their offensive coordinator, The Post’s Jon Heyman and Joel Sherman reported Wednesday.

Brian Cashman was non-committal on Rowson while speaking to reporters Tuesday, describing the coach as a “free agent” who was speaking to other teams while the Yankees were “engaged in the marketplace and also internally, determining what’s next and best for us.”

Either way, Rowson’s departure had appeared likely since Hal Steinbrenner blamed the offense for another season gone by without a championship — describing it as an issue for the last two years.

It remains to be seen what the Yankees will do with assistant hitting coaches Casey Dykes and Jake Hirst.

Rowson had been the Yankees’ hitting coach since 2024, after they fired Dillon Lawson midseason in 2023 and used Sean Casey as an interim hitting coach for the rest of that season.

The Mount Vernon native, who previously spent time as the Yankees’ minor league hitting coordinator before working with the Cubs, Twins, Marlins and Tigers, had plenty of fans in the clubhouse, most notably Aaron Judge.

This marks the third departure from Aaron Boone’s staff this offseason, after major league field coordinator/director of catching Tanner Swanson left to become the Mariners’ bench coach and bench coach Brad Ausmus left to become the Astros’ manager.

Since making his MLB debut in 2021, veteran Luke Williams appeared in the big leagues in a career-low two games in 2026, amassing one PA in which he drew a walk. He spent nearly his entire year at Gwinnett, where he had another nondescript season.

How Acquired

The Braves first selected Williams off waivers from the Los Angeles Dodgers on June 5, 2023. Since then, he’s elected free agency time each time he was designated for assignment by Atlanta, and returned to the organization via minor league contract afterwards. That same song-and-dance included a preseason instance on January 18, 2026 and then again during the season on April 16.

What were the expectations?

Williams had become a regular on the end of Atlanta’s bench in recent seasons, primarily serving as a pinch-runner, defensive replacement or extreme mop-up reliever. With the team trading for super-utilityman Mauricio Dubon and bringing back infielder Ha-Seong Kim on a free agent contract, Williams headed into Spring Training as a longshot to break camp with the team, especially with Jorge Mateo and Kyle Farmer as utility options. Infielder Brett Wisely, who’d been picked up by Atlanta toward the end of the 2025 regular season, was also brought back on a minor league deal adding another option for Atlanta’s deep reserves. For the first time since arriving in Atlanta, Williams was no sure thing to see time at the big league level.

Performance-wise, well, there’s not much to talk about. Coming into 2026, Williams had received 349 major league PAs and posted a 53 wRC+ and -0.8 fWAR, while outhitting his xwOBA (so it would be worse if he hadn’t). He managed to be slightly above replacement level in 2021-2022, but careened well under that since. Basically, the expectation was that he wouldn’t play much, and that he wouldn’t be useful except as a warm body when he did.

2026 Results

With Mateo and Farmer making the team out of Spring Training, Williams began the season in Gwinnett. But, when Michael Harris II went on the paternity list on April 11, the organization brought Williams up to the big league club. His stay was likely to be short, and it was, with Williams being designated for assignment when Harris II returned on April 13.

While up, Williams appeared in two games, walking in his only plate appearance on April 12 after appearing as a defensive replacement in left field the night before.

Upon re-upping with the Braves, he spent the rest of the season at Triple-A Gwinnett, playing in more than 100 games while appearing at every infield position, left field and pitching in three contests. He had an 81 wRC+ for the Stripers that came with a massive xwOBA overperformance, but he did steal 37 bases.

What went right?

Three days on the major league roster is better than none. On top of that, the utility that Williams provided, pun intended, showed up when the Braves opted to add him to the Wild Card Series roster, although he did not appear in a game and was not rostered for the Division Series.

During the 2026 regular season with Gwinnett, he continued to showcase his defensive versatility and speed — and in the same vein as three days in the bigs being better than none, outhitting your xwOBA in the minors is better than… not doing that, I guess.

Oh, and if you don’t notice that he one PA this season, he has a cool .698 wOBA, .698 xwOBA, and 355 wRC+ to show for it.

What went wrong?

After the three-game soiree with Atlanta in April, Williams didn’t crack Atlanta’s roster for the rest of the season as Farmer assumed the role Williams had filled the prior two years as the last “position player” (really, non-player) on the bench.

Williams’ overall offensive performance with the Stripers was below his career minor league standard despite getting semi-regular playing time, and although offense is not his calling card, the continued decline limited his viability, as seen when the team opted to promote rookie Jim Jarvis when the team needed an infielder in July. There hasn’t really been any “development” in terms of Williams’ skillset, and he’s really moving from “generic replacement level filler” to “guy who no one’s going to roster because there are better literal replacement level players out there.”

2027 outlook

Williams turned 30 in August and his specific skillset is probably best suited for a team like Atlanta, that is, one that plays its regulars the majority of the time and doesn’t mind a no-hit option that can kinda-sorta play shortstop while being proficient enough glove-wise at other positions. He’s baserunning is his biggest asset: he’s been a perfect 11-for-11 on stolen base tries with the Braves during the regular season.

Williams appeared with four different teams before coming to Atlanta in 2023 and since, he’s appeared with the Braves in four consecutive seasons. He’s almost surely headed to another minor league contract. With questions about Atlanta’s infield depth, a reunion with the Braves is possible, even if it is only to stash Williams at Triple-A should the need arise. The Braves obviously like Williams in terms of having him in the organization and another long run on the big-league roster isn’t out of the question as a little used regular should the team add a full-time starter at shortstop for 2027.

Still, he’s probably sub-replacement at this point, so they could also look to find “Luke Williams, but a little better” for no real investment or commitment, either.

Two potential starting pitcher free agents who could be targeted by the Guardians in the coming month (or beyond) in Michael Soroka and Nick Pivetta. Let’s talk about these hurlers.

You can find my previous articles about potential Guardians’ free agent targets here and here. Matt Seese also provided one here. I did not include Soroka and Pivetta because I felt the prices reflected on FanGraphs and MLBTrade Rumors for both were a little too high, but with Zack Meisel emphasizing today from the GM Meetings that the team is trying to find starting pitching depth and spending a lot of time talking to agents, accordingly, I think I should expand our net of pitchers to evaluate just a little.

First, Nick Pivetta… the right-hander is 33 years old, put up a 2.86 ERA and a 2.21 FIP with a 11/2 K/BB/9… in only 34 innings for the Padres because he dealt with an elbow strain in his pitching arm. ELBOW! ELBOW! ELBOW! the warning signs blare. MLB Trade Rumors has Pivetta at 2 years and $26M which would be an absolute steal if it weren’t for the ELBOW, ELBOW, ELBOW. The primary reason that Pivetta might be a decent fit for the Guardians is that (knock on wood) the organization has done very well helping pitchers manage their health and rebuild free agent value. Is it possible that Pivetta would be interested in a two-year deal with a player opt out for something similar to what MLBTrade Rumors suggests? If so, wow, I’d love for the Guardians to make that kind of move. Over the past two seasons, Pivetta has a 2.86 ERA. He is a front-of-the-rotation arm… if that arm has a functioning ELBOW, ELBOW, ELBOW. The Padres declining to pick up his option may be another red flag for teams.

Second, right-hander Michael Soroka has dealt with a lot of injuries in his career but he managed to throw 116 innings last season for the Braves with a 3.41 ERA/3.19 FIP and an 8.84/2.25 K/BB/9, and didn’t have any arm issues. He’s 29 years old and has thrown over 150 innings just once in his career, in 2019. MLB Trade Rumors projects Soroka for 2/$26M and FanGraphs says 2/$34. Again, if the Guardians can sell themselves as an organization that can help pitchers stay healthy, Soroka is a great mid-rotation-arm when healthy. Maybe there’s a similar two-year deal with a player opt-out that would make sense for both sides.

In summary, add Pivetta and Soroka to the list of potential Guardians’ starting pitcher targets in free agency, joining the linkes of Brandon Woodruff, Foster Griffin, David Peterson, Tyler Mahle, Nick Martinez, Dustin May, Kris Bubic, Shane Bieber, and Pablo Sandoval. Will the Guardians make a move before December 1st? Who knows? Which one of these eleven pitchers are of the most interest to you? Let us know in the comments below

The Houston Astros have hired Brad Ausmus as their new manager, per reports.

Ausmus had an 18 year major league career that included two stints with the Astros, for whom he played the majority of his career. He was the manager for the Detroit Tigers from 2014-17, and then managed the Angels in the 2019 season. His first year with the Tigers, Detroit won the division, but got swept in the division series. The Tigers then had a pair of last place finishes sandwiched around a second place finish, but didn’t make the playoffs again. The year with the Angels…well, they are the Angels. Most recently, he was bench coach for the Oakland A’s in 2022, and for the New York Yankees for 2024-26.

The Astros are an interesting franchise right now. The selection of Ausmus, who is reportedly close with former teammate Jeff Bagwell, an advisor to owner Jim Crane, leads one to wonder how much power new general manager Randy Flores has. The Houston decision-making dynamic has not been clear for a while, and it will be interesting to see how this plays out going forward.

Brad Ausmus, who served as the Yankees’ bench coach under Aaron Boone from 2024 through 2026, is reportedly headed to the Astros, for whom he played from 1997-98 and then again from 2001 through 2008. He will become their next manager after the recent announcement that Joe Espada won’t be returning for the 2027 campaign.

Astros insider Brian McTaggart had the report; Ausmus will be the first big hire under new GM Randy Flores, who succeeded the dismissed Dana Brown under oft-meddling owner Jim Crane.

Ausmus, a former defensive-minded catcher, has some managerial experience in the majors, having led the Detroit Tigers from 2014 to 2017 and then the Los Angeles Angels in 2019. Before succeeding Carlos Mendoza as the Yankees’ bench coach, he had a stint with the Athletics in 2022, filling the same position.

The Yankees will now have to find a new bench coach. They had already lost Tanner Swanson, who was their major league quality control coach and catching coordinator, to the Seattle Mariners, to become their new bench coach. Matt Blake was extended as pitching coach and both Luis Rojas and Dan Fiorito will remain the base coaches, but James Rowson’s contract as the hitting coach has expired and news just broke that he will become the Giants’ “offensive coordinator.”

That, according to head of baseball Brian Cashman, creates a “fluid” situation about who might fill the position.

As for Ausmus, he gets another chance to be a manager in an organization he is very much familiar with from his playing days. He has a combined 386-422 managerial record with the Tigers (2014-17) and Angels (2019), including a division title with Detroit in 2014.

The next few days will be crucial for the Yankees, as they work to fill a coaching staff that has been somewhat raided after recent hires around the league.

Dru Baker
Center Fielder
5´10´´
205 pounds
Age 27
2026 South Side Sox Top Prospect Ranking 53
2026 High Level Charlotte (AAA)
Age relative to high level -0.1 years
SSS rank among all center fielders in the system 8
Overall 2025 stats 94 games ⚾️ 8 HR ⚾️ 44 RBI ⚾️ .266/.322/.504 ⚾️ 20 BB ⚾️ 88 K ⚾️ 19-of-23 (82.6%) SB ⚾️ .970 % FLD ⚾️ 0.9 WAR

Dru Baker brings contact hitting and strong defense to a White Sox organization that could always use bench depth, especially in the outfield. Drafted in the fourth round in 2021 by the Rays, scouts clocked Baker as a utility player with fourth-outfielder upside, but his time to play that role never came in 2026. 2027 could be the year.

Baker slowly progressed through Tampa Bay’s minor league system before arriving in Chicago in the Matt Thaiss exchange in May. Baker got out to a fast start in 2022, slashing .297/.399/.467 while driving in 32 runs and drawing 29 walks in 47 games, which were nearly evenly split between Low- and High-A. His shortcoming, however, was 48 strikeouts, and contact continues to be an ongoing concern.

Baker’s productivity remained high in 2023 and 2024 in High- and Double-A, regressed slightly in 2025 while facing Triple-A pitchers, but bounced back in 2026. He’s a bit more patient at the plate, and he more than doubled his RBIs from 2025 while breaking the .700 OPS benchmark. Truist Field helps pad his stats, but Baker needs to sustain his power and keep his whiffs down if he’s going to break through the 40-man roster.

One way Baker can shoehorn his way onto the squad is with his defensive versatility. Having played every outfield position while also getting a few reps in at DH and second base, Baker is a healthier version of Brooks Baldwin, with a slightly better arm. Baker’s speed gives him a slight edge, but he’s coming up on 27, and his age and major league inexperience will work against him in the Sox’s already young and defensive platoon outfield.

A healthy and improved 2026 steers Baker on the right path to make his debut in 2027 when Chicago’s down an outfielder, but he needs to step it up if he wants to stand out among the several Charlotte prospects who have shown more big league potential.

Full 2027 South Side Sox Top 100 White Sox ProspectsStorystream