Category: Baseball

While the season is over, Braves-related news continues to roll in.

On that front, first baseman Matt Olson and utility player Mauricio Dubón each were given Gold Glove Awards Sunday night. It’s the second straight Gold Glove for each of them, Olson’s fourth overall and Dubón’s third.

Additionally, former Braves owner Ted Turner, who made the Atlanta Braves a household name through the TBS Superstation, is one of eight Contemporary Era candidates for the 2027 Baseball Hall of Fame class. It’ll be voted on at the MLB Winter Meetings in December, with Turner needing 12 of 16 votes from committee members to earn induction.

For those who still haven’t gotten rid of that baseball fix and are already counting down the days until the 2027 season (hopefully) begins, you can watch the premiere of “Becoming a Brave” which will provide a behind-the-scenes look at how the Braves’ 2026 draft class came together, tonight at 6 p.m. on BravesVision.

The Phillies announced some waiver claims today as they prepare to trim the edges around their roster.

Stubbs announcing free agency was not a surprise. I’d expect him back on a minor league deal. The other four coming off of the injured list is a rule following procedure. Players cannot be on the injured list during the offseason.

Whitcomb is an option from the Giants that basically gives them some roster depth. He played three infield positions this past season with the Astros and Giants, slashing .203/.233/.336 in 122 plate appearances. He offers some versatility around the diamond, a modicum of power and almost no ability to take a pitch. He swings at almost everything. It’s the type of move the Phillies needed to start doing more of to have actual options on the roster in case of injury.

Harris offers the same type of thing as Whitcomb, only in the corners. He was with three teams last year and played well in the minors, hitting .288/.399/.449 at the Triple A level, but failing out once he saw big league pitching. Again, not really much more here than depth that they actually badly need.

This qualifying offer should be less controversial than the last one the Yankees gave out.

The club on Monday extended the $23.15 million qualifying offer to closer David Bednar ahead of the 5 p.m. deadline, the first attempt to retain the important bullpen piece entering an offseason in which he should be one of their top priorities.

Bednar has until Nov. 17 to accept or reject the one-year offer at a higher average annual value than he is likely to get on the free-agent market, but less overall money.

If he declines it, the Yankees can still try to sign him to a contract as a free agent, but have the protection that if he signs with another club, they would receive draft pick compensation.

The Yankees did not make the qualifying offer to fellow pending free agent Jazz Chisholm Jr., a year after they gave one to Trent Grisham and he accepted, only to take a step back after a career year in 2025.

Chisholm is coming off a rough season that could result in him signing a pillow contract, making it risky that if the Yankees extended him the qualifying offer (in order to get draft pick compensation), he might accept it. And while Chisholm has plenty of talent, the Yankees were not able to bring it out of him consistently enough, making a split seem inevitable.

Bednar, meanwhile, has proven to be valuable, durable and low-maintenance in his year and a half in The Bronx after the Yankees acquired him from the Pirates. Relievers can be volatile from year to year – even Bednar was demoted to Triple-A early in the 2025 season – but the 32-year-old right-hander may be worth the investment from the Yankees.

Across 86 games as a Yankee, Bednar pitched to a 2.39 ERA with 45 saves and 111 strikeouts in 94 innings, while giving up one run in eight playoff appearances. He did not spend a day on the injured list with the team, having avoided any IL stints for arm injuries throughout his big league career.

Since signing Aroldis Chapman to a five-year, $86 million contract in 2016 (with a three-year, $48 million extension in 2019) and Zack Britton to a three-year, $39 million deal in 2019, the Yankees have shied away from big-money, longer-term pacts for relievers. They have been adept at unearthing cheap bullpen arms from the scrap heap, including two that became future closers in Clay Holmes and Luke Weaver.

But Bednar’s potential return this offseason is especially important given that the Yankees are facing the challenge of having to build almost an entire bullpen. The only sure thing returning is lefty setup man Brent Headrick, who ran out of gas late this season after being leaned on heavily. Fernando Cruz has a partially torn UCL that he is trying to come back from without surgery, which is hardly a given. And their other top reliever from 2026, righty setup man Paul Blackburn (the latest reclamation project), is now a free agent and poised to earn significantly more than the $2.1 million the Yankees paid him this year.

If Bednar declines the qualifying offer, he should have some leverage on his side, even with the draft-pick compensation attached to him. He would arguably become the top reliever in free agency, with the other notable bullpen arms including Padres lefty Adrian Morejon (who was also extended a qualifying offer on Monday) and Braves closer Raisel Iglesias.

Last year, 13 players received the qualifying offer and a record four accepted, including Grisham.

On Thursday, the first chunk of transactions the San Francisco Giants needed to make before 2pm’s 40-man roster deadline. All players on the injured list needed to be activated, qualifying offers made, and player options either picked up or declined. The Giants didn’t have those, but they did have a ridiculous number of players on the IL. They finally managed to get down from the 52 players they were at on Thursday to near the 40 needed, thanks in large part to the waiver wire.

Relievers José Buttó (Rangers) and Duncan Davitt (Reds), infielders Brett Harris and Shay Whitcomb (both Phillies), and catcher Zach Morgan (Baltimore) were all claimed by other organizations while Joel Kuhnel, Seth Lonsway, and Tristan Beck all cleared waivers. The Giants opted to outright Kuhnel and Lonsway (retaining their rights) while releasing Beck.

With yesterday’s Nate Furman’s trade and last week’s transactions — Andrew Knizner being outrighted, JT Brubaker electing free agency — the San Francisco Giants now have a 40-man roster of 41.

The two big question marks remaining: reliever Rowan Wick and outfielder Harrison Bader. Wick has an option for 2027. The Giants had suspended Harrison Bader without pay and may need to roster him rather than release him as part of the grievance process (I could be wrong about that). The roster currently looks like this:

Catchers

Daniel Susac, Drew Cavanaugh, and Jesus Rodriguez

Infielders

Willy Adames, Matt Chapman, Rafael Devers, Bryce Eldridge, Christian Koss, Marcelo Mayer

Outfielers

Harrison Bader, Scott Bandura, Victor Bericoto, Jonah Cox, Bo Davidson, Drew Gilbert, Turner Hill, Jung Hoo Lee, Casey Schmitt

Pitchers

Logan Webb, Landen Roupp, Adrian Houser, Anthony Molina, Cesar Perdomo, Matt Wilkinson, Hayden Birdson, Camilo Doval, Trent Harris, Sam Hentges, Yunior Marte, Trevor McDonald, Miguel Mendez, Joel Peguero, Randy Rodriguez, Reiver Sanmartin, Carson Seymour, Dylan Smith, Blade Tidwell, Ryan Walker, Carson Whisenhunt, Rowan Wick, Keaton Winn

Th Mets have claimed a pair of right-handed pitchers off waivers on Monday. 

Jack Anderson was selected off waivers from the Minnesota Twins, and Pierson Ohl from the Colorado Rockies.

Anderson appeared in seven games last season, pitching 12.1 innings of relief action for the Boston Red Sox and Minnesota Twins while posting a 2.19 ERA and 1.054 WHIP. He allowed three runs on 10 hits and three walks with 12 strikeouts in that time, his first action in the big leagues.

During his time at Triple-A in 2026, which was split between Worcester and St. Paul, he pitched to a 4.92 ERA and 1.44 WHIP in 93.1 innings over 28 games (16 starts) with 79 strikeouts to 30 walks.

Anderson was mostly a four-pitch reliever during his time in the majors, with a four-seam fastball (33.3 percent), splitter (23.3 percent), slider (22.2 percent), and sweeper (15.6 percent) comprising his arsenal. He is not a hard thrower, with his average fastball velocity coming in at 90.8 mph.

Anderson, who turns 27 later this month, allowed a run on two hits with three strikeouts over 3.0 innings while pitching for Great Britain at the WBC before the 2026 regular season. 

Ohl missed all of last season after undergoing Tommy John surgery in late February.

He last pitched in the big leagues in the 2025 season with Minnesota. In 14 games (three starts) that year, he pitched to a 5.10 ERA with a 1.500 WHIP with 27 strikeouts to seven walks in 30 innings. That same season, Ohl produced a 3.29 ERA and 1.134 WHIP in 27.1 innings over nine games (four starts) at Triple-A St. Paul with 30 strikeouts to six walks.

The 27-year-old was predominantly a two-pitch reliever, relying on his fastball (43.8 percent) and changeup (37.7 percent) during his lone big league work. And like Anderson, he has not shown much heat on the fastball, with his four-seamer averaging 91.1 mph.

The Mets lost two players in waiver claims on Monday. Left-hander Philip Abner was claimed by the Baltimore Orioles, and right-hander Cameron Weston was claimed by the Miami Marlins.

In other roster moves, outfielder Christian Pache was outrighted to Triple-A Syracuse, and infielder Eric Wagaman elected free agency in lieu of accepting an assignment to Triple-A.

Robinson Canó Jr. has a home in MLB.

The son of former Yankee Robinson Canó agreed to a $1 million contract with the Marlins, The Post’s Jon Heyman reported on Monday.

The 16-year-old is set to join the franchise’s 2028 international class.

Canó Jr. reposted various Instagram stories on Monday, showing photos of him celebrating with friends and family.

A photo of him seemingly signing his contract also includes a message in Spanish that means “Congratulations to the best, as always.”

His father, the 44-year-old Canó, made his debut with the Yankees in 2005 and spent nine seasons in the Bronx where he earned five of his eight All-Star nominations and all five of his Silver Slugger awards.

He also won a World Series in 2009 — the last time the franchise won a title.

Canó went on to spend five years in Seattle followed by stints with the Mets, Padres and Braves across his 17-year career that was also marred by two suspensions involving performance-enhancing drugs.

In 2018 while with the Mariners, he was banned for 80 games after testing positive for furosemide, which was followed by a full season suspension with the Mets in 2020.

He went unsigned following the 2022 season and the elder Canó moved on to take his professional career internationally.

This year, Cano Jr. hit .291 with 15 home runs and 72 RBIs in the Mexican League with the Diablos Rojos del México.

The Marlins are currently slated to open their spring schedule with games against the Mets and Cardinals on Feb. 19 in Port St. Lucie and Jupiter, Fla., respectively.

The Seattle Mariners have made a few roster moves over the last several days as they circle their candidates for manager. Free agency opens officially at 2 PM PT today (Monday, November 2nd), and there are likely to be several M’s headed out the door or at least off the 40-man roster, which must be cut down to a true 40 by the deadline as well. This means players like Logan Evans and Brennen Davis will need to have spots found, as the 60-day injured list does not exist during the offseason.

Still, Seattle has reportedly been adding. Last week, they claimed OF Grant McCray from the San Francisco Giants, and Monday they added RHP Isaac Mattson from the Pittsburgh Pirates as well. The waiver moves are not necessarily big shakes, like the addition of OF/1B Michael Toglia in October, but the depth of the M’s roster failed to produce big production as it had in years past.

McCray offers tri-positional defensive coverage, but the 25 year old has been sledding uphill at the dish since his big league debut in 2024. Watching McCray roam the outfield is graceful and impressive, but when tasked to cover the spacious confines of Oracle Park he’s struggled to shine. What McCray has done is run hard, play hard, and hit the ball hard. It’s a family legacy, as his father Rodney McCray was a longtime pro baseball player who earned parts of three years in the big leagues himself and coached for years afterwards. However, the elder McCray’s prominent legacy has local roots, having run through the right field fence at Civic Stadium (what has now become Providence Park) in Portland, OR with the Vancouver Canadians in an brave-but-doomed pursuit of a fly ball.

Savvy collectors may be able to track down a bobblehead from the Portland Beavers of this incident, which you’ve likely seen on a blooper real somewhere. Rodney’s son plays with a similar fearlessness and maximum effort.

His barrel rate is 12% for his 247 PA career over the past three seasons, and as a prep 87th overall pick back in 2019, the Gigantes were willing to give their hard-charging youth some extended chances. Unfortunately, McCray’s undoing thus far has been his inability to get the bat on the ball often enough. He’s punched out nearly 40% of the time as a big leaguer, and despite quality performance in the minors it’s been clear that contact will make or break the youngster’s career. In his favor, and sorely missing from Seattle’s outfield beyond Julio Rodriguez this past year, is a cannon of an arm and elite foot speed.

Then there’s Mattson. The 31 year old was dealt from his drafting club of the Anaheim Angeles of Orange County to the Baltimore Orioles in 2019 for Dylan Bundy, something I would have assured you occurred 25 years ago. While he debuted with the O’s, he ultimately bounced around indy ball and the Minnesota Twins organization in the early 2020s before returning home to the Pirates. Growing up in Erie, PA and attending the University of Pittsburgh, the homecoming may have been impactful for the reliever. After another dominant display in the minors in 2024, Mattson finally cracked through to stay in 2025, with an extreme fly ball tendency that has been catnip for lazy pop-ups for most of the last several seasons.

It’s fairly easy to grasp what makes Mattson’s stuff work when he’s on. The 6’2 righty has a fairly over-the-top delivery, backspinning his four-seamer well to get above-average ride that sits at the top of the zone in the 93-96 range. That is, when well-located, a barrel dodger, and he uses it overwhelmingly, more than 70% of the time in an era rarely so heavy on a single type of heater.

That’s possibly where the M’s want to make some tweaks, however, as Mattson’s secondaries show some promise. The slider and changeup he’s flashed have some potency, and the M’s were undone among many areas by incompetence in the middle relief realm a season ago.

Both players retain minor league options that can be used for 2027 if needed.

With a 40-man roster crunch, we knew the Nationals would have to make some moves today. A little while ago, the Nats announced a plethora of roster moves that got the 40-man roster back down to 40. Players on the 60-day IL had to be removed, so there was some shuffling required here.

As you can see, there was a lot going on at the back of the 40-man roster. Several players were DFA’d, but in my opinion the two most notable are Mitchell Parker and Jose Tena. Those two have gotten meaningful playing time for the Nats over the past few seasons. Each has shown glimpses, but at the end of the day, they had not done enough to justify bringing them back for next season.

Tena is honestly a player that I have been intrigued with for a while. He is a smaller guy at 5’10 195 pounds, but he has a lot of raw power in that frame. Tena has hit the ball hard throughout his Nationals career, including a 90.6 MPH average exit velocity this year. 

This season, Tena had a career high 257 at bats. He hit .222 with 7 homers and a .672 OPS. Those numbers were actually slightly better than fellow left handed hitting bench infielder Jorbit Vivas. However, Vivas’ defense and on-base skills gave him the edge over Tena. In 2026, the Nats did not trust Tena in the field, mainly playing him at DH. Honestly, that lack of a defensive home is the biggest reason he was DFA’d.

I still think Tena has some interesting offensive traits, especially after having a big bat speed increase this year. However, there is a lot of swing and miss in his game and he could not really play the field. That is just a tough profile to roster.

Over the last three seasons, Mitchell Parker has gotten a lot of burn in the Nats pitching staff. He was used as a starter in 2024 and 2025, before being converted to a relief role this season. After a solid rookie season where he posted a 4.29 ERA in 151 innings, Parker fell off in a big way. His ERA was 5.68 in 2025 and 6.58 in 2026. Following 22 appearances this year, Parker was forced to undergo Tommy John Surgery.

Despite the struggles, the Braves still decided to claim Parker. There is a chance they will try to sneak him through waivers later in the offseason, but it is clear that the Braves like something about Parker. The lefty did just turn 27 and has plenty of big league experience.

Both Tena and Parker have been mainstays on the Nats roster the past couple seasons, but now they are gone. Paxton Schultz was also claimed by the Reds during this flurry of activity.

We also saw two lefty relievers hit free agency after exiting the Nats 40-man roster. Both PJ Poulin and Richard Lovelady had somewhat respectable ERA’s, but their under the hood data was poor. The low slot lefties both cleared waivers and are now free agents. Poulin is a guy I wouldn’t mind seeing back on a minor league deal.

I was expecting Matt Waldron to be DFA’d, but he survived this round of cuts. Waldron’s knuckleball makes him a unique arm, so it seems like the Nats want to experiment further with him. The 40-man roster is back to 40, but I would not be surprised if we see more minor moves in the coming days.

Baseball’s Hall of Fame announced their Contemporary Era ballot for managers and executives Monday, and it is a Cubs-heavy ballot.

Three former Cubs managers, Dusty Baker, Joe Maddon and Lou Piniella, all have a chance to be inducted in Cooperstown this summer.

My opinion: All of them deserve induction.

Now, obviously the tenures of Baker and Piniella did not go well in Chicago. But their overall careers, both as managers and players, deserve honor in Cooperstown.

Baker ranks eighth all-time among managers with 2,173 wins. He won three league pennants and the World Series with the Astros in 2022. Baker also had a long and distinguished playing career with the Braves, Dodgers, Giants and A’s, with 242 home runs and 1,981 hits over 19 seasons, with 37.1 bWAR. He won a WS ring as a player with the Dodgers in 1981.

Piniella won 1,835 games as a manager and a World Series title with the Reds in 1990. He also had a long and productive 18-year playing career, was AL Rookie of the Year in 1969 and won WS rings with the Yankees in 1977 and 1978.

Both of those men should be voted in. Piniella especially, as he’s now 83 years old.

Maddon did not play in the major leagues, but has 1,382 managerial wins. He won two league pennants and is, of course, the manager who helped the Cubs break the World Series drought. I think he rates induction for that alone. Plus, he’d give an amazing speech. I suspect Maddon might have to wait for next time, though I think he could get voted in now.

The manager on this ballot who clearly will be voted in is Bruce Bochy, who ranks sixth all-time with 2,252 managerial wins and won three World Series titles with the Giants. That’s a no-brainer.

Managers could dominate this ballot. The executives on the ballot are Sandy Alderson, Brian Sabean, Ted Turner and Bill White. Honestly, I’m not sure any of those four deserves induction.

The next time managers and executives from the Contemporary Era (after 1980) will be considered will be in the fall of 2029.

The results of the Contemporary Baseball Era Committee vote will be announced live on MLB Network’s “MLB Tonight” at 7 p.m. CT on Sunday, Dec. 6.

Any candidate who receives votes on 75 percent of the ballots cast by the committee will earn election to the National Baseball Hall of Fame and will be inducted in Cooperstown on July 25, 2027, along with any electees who emerge from the 2027 Baseball Writers’ Association of America election, to be announced on Jan. 19, 2027.

Two former Rays franchise managers have been named to the eight-person non-player ballot that will be considered by its Contemporary Baseball Era Committee for Hall of Fame election for the Class of 2027. The Contemporary Baseball Era Committee will meet on Dec. 6 in San Diego.

Here’s the rest of the press release:

Four managers and four executives comprise the eight-name Contemporary Baseball Era ballot, which can include managers, umpires and executives and features candidates whose primary contribution to the game came since 1980.

The Contemporary Baseball Era non-player ballot includes Sandy Alderson, Dusty Baker, Bruce Bochy, Joe Maddon, Lou Piniella, Brian Sabean, Ted Turner and Bill White. All candidates except Turner are living.

The results of the Contemporary Baseball Era Committee vote will be announced live on MLB Network’s “MLB Tonight” at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT on Sunday, Dec. 6.

Any candidate who receives votes on 75 percent of the ballots cast by the committee will earn election to the National Baseball Hall of Fame and will be inducted in Cooperstown on July 25, 2027, along with any electees who emerge from the 2027 Baseball Writers’ Association of America election, to be announced on Jan. 19, 2027.

The Contemporary Baseball Era Managers/Umpires/Executives group is one of three groups eligible for consideration as part of the Era Committee process, which provides an avenue for Hall of Fame consideration to managers, umpires and executives, as well as players retired for more than 15 seasons. The Contemporary Baseball Era features two distinct ballots: One for managers, umpires and executives (considered this fall) and one for players (to be considered next in the fall of 2028). The Classic Baseball Era Committee, which considers all candidates whose primary contributions to the game came prior to 1980, will next meet in the fall of 2027.

The eight Contemporary Baseball Era finalists were selected by the BBWAA-appointed Historical Overview Committee from all eligible candidates among managers, umpires and executives whose most significant career impact was realized since 1980. Eligible candidates include managers and umpires with 10 or more major league seasons and retired for at least five years (candidates who are 65 years or older are eligible six months following retirement); and executives retired for at least five years (active executives 70 years or older are eligible for consideration regardless of the position they hold in an organization and regardless of whether their body of work has been completed). All candidates must not be on Baseball’s Ineligible List.

The Contemporary Baseball Era non-player ballot was determined this fall by the Historical Overview Committee, comprised of 11 veteran historians: Adrian Burgos (University of Illinois); Bob Elliott (Canadian Baseball Network); Steve Hirdt (historian); La Velle Neal (Minnesota Star Tribune); David O’Brien (formerly The Athletic); Jose de Jesus Ortiz (Our Esquina Media), Jack O’Connell (BBWAA); Jim Reeves (formerly Fort Worth Star-Telegram); Glenn Schwarz (formerly San Francisco Chronicle); Susan Slusser (San Francisco Chronicle); and Mark Whicker (formerly Southern California News Group).

The 16-member Hall of Fame Board-appointed electorate charged with the review of the Contemporary Baseball Era non-player ballot will be announced later this fall. The Committee will meet to discuss and review the candidacies of the eight finalists on Dec. 6 in San Diego, Calif.

The eight candidates for Contemporary Baseball Era Committee consideration for the Class of 2027:

Sandy Alderson became the Athletics general manager at age 35 and built the team that won three American League pennants and a World Series title from 1988-90. Alderson later worked in the Commissioner’s Office as executive vice president for baseball operations before serving in the front office of the Padres and the Mets, where he led both franchises to Postseason berths.

Dusty Baker managed the Giants, Cubs, Reds, Nationals and Astros for 26 seasons, totaling 13 Postseason appearances, 10 first-place finishes and the 2022 World Series title. A three-time Manager of the Year Award winner (1993, 1997, 2000) and three-time runner-up, Baker led his teams to the Postseason in each of his final eight seasons as a manager. He was a two-time All-Star as a player over a 19-year career that featured a World Series win with the 1981 Dodgers.

Bruce Bochy managed the Padres, Giants and Rangers over 28 seasons, amassing 2,252 wins and leading his clubs to nine Postseason berths, six first-place finishes and four World Series titles. The 1996 National League Manager of the Year, Bochy finished in the top three of the MOY voting seven times. Bochy, who played nine seasons in the big leagues as a catcher, is one of only six managers in history with at least four World Series wins.

Joe Maddon managed the Angels, Rays and Cubs over 19 seasons, winning 1,382 games while leading his team to the Postseason eight times. A three-time Manager of the Year Award winner, Maddon led the Rays to their first American League pennant and first winning season in franchise history in 2008 and skippered the Cubs to their first World Series win in 108 years in 2016.

Lou Piniella managed 23 seasons for the Yankees, Reds, Mariners, Devil Rays and Cubs, winning 1,835 games. Piniella skippered the Reds to the 1990 World Series title and led the 2001 Mariners to an American League record 116 victories. Piniella guided his clubs to seven Postseason appearances and was named Manager of the Year in his league three times (1995, 2001, 2008) following an 18-year playing career that saw him hit .291 and take home World Series rings with the 1977-78 Yankees.

Brian Sabean joined the Yankees front office after a stint as head coach at the University of Tampa and helped sign and develop many of the players who powered New York to four World Series titles from 1996-2000. Joining the Giants early in the new decade, he became the team’s general manager following the 1996 season and built the teams that won three World Series titles from 2010-14. His 18 years as general manager of the Giants marked the longest tenure by a GM in franchise history.

Ted Turner purchased the Atlanta Braves in 1976 and quickly established the team on the national level by putting their games on his WTBS television station, which was beamed to cable providers across the country and established a new template for distribution. Turner led the team as the Braves became a dynasty, winning 14 straight division titles (1991-2005) in completed seasons, an MLB record.

Bill White served as the president of the National League from 1989-94 following a successful career as a player and broadcaster. An eight-time All-Star and seven-time Gold Glove Award-winning first baseman, White presided over the addition of the Marlins and the Rockies to the NL and helped consolidate both the American and National leagues under one administrative umbrella. He was named the Hall of Fame’s Buck O’Neil Lifetime Achievement Award winner in 2026.

Monday is a big one in terms of administrative deadlines as teams close the books on the 2026 season and look towards 2027. Chief among them is the need for players who finished the 2026 season on the 60-day IL to be returned to the 40-man roster, and that creates quite the roster crunch for some franchises.

Some, though, are positioned well to take advantage of that, and the Cincinnati Reds are one. They entered the day with only 35 players on their 40-man, whereas a team like the San Francisco Giants was in need of dumping 9 players in order to scale their way down to 40. So, it’s unsurprising that the Reds jumped at the chance at a free fringe player when the option arose, and that’s precisely what happened between them and RHP Duncan Davitt.

Cincinnati claimed Davitt, 27, as well as RHP Paxton Schultz from the Washington Nationals on Monday, the team announced.

Both pitchers made appearances at the big league level during the 2026 regular season, yet both were viewed as fringe and/or depth arms within their two previous systems. Both also have options remaining, which is key as the Reds are going to need to craft a bullpen in 2027 capable of cycling through arms when needed given just how many holes they have in that corner of player development.

Davitt was originally an 18th round pick by the Tampa Bay Rays out of the University of Iowa, and he’s spent time in with each of the Chicago White Sox, Atlanta Braves, and Giants already in his career. He’s got ample experience as both a starter and reliever and at least can boast a career K/9 of 9.4 at the minor league level even though he only has 8.0 IP in his career at the big league level.

Schultz, meanwhile, is a former 14th round pick out of Utah Valley University by the Milwaukee Brewers, who was dealt to the Toronto Blue Jays in 2021. He spent five years in Toronto’s system prior to being claimed off waivers by the Nationals last January, though he does have considerably more experience at the big league level (57.0 IP) than Davitt.

Both arms will fall firmly in the ‘Chase Petty, Zach McCambley, Connor Phillips’ realm of ‘throw something at the wall and hope it sticks’ corner of the Cincinnati bullpen mix, which does have some value. It also wouldn’t be a shock to hear that one, or both, is claimed by another team later in the offseason as the Reds look to use their final 40-man roster spots on more established pieces.

For now, though, they both look like savvy, no-cost additions.

A Mets architect, an invaluable pair of eyes who helped put together the dynastic Yankees and a longtime major league manager who was beloved in The Bronx are vying for Cooperstown.

Sandy Alderson, Brian Sabean and Lou Piniella are on the eight-person, non-player ballot that will be considered by the Contemporary Baseball Era Committee for Hall of Fame election for the Class of 2027, the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum announced Monday.

The committee will meet on Dec. 6 in San Diego to vote on a group that also includes Dusty Baker and Bruce Bochy, who are World Series-winning managers and front-runners, along with Joe Maddon, Ted Turner and Bill White.

The candidates, who will be considered by this committee because their primary contribution to the game has come since 1980, will need 75 percent of the vote from the 16-person panel to earn induction.

Locally, the most relevant candidates are:

Sandy Alderson

Mets GM from 2011–2018 and president from 2021–2023

With a résumé that also includes a World Series and three pennants as GM of the A’s, a pair of division titles as chief executive officer of the Padres and work in the commissioner’s office, Alderson guided the Mets to various heights and through plenty of turbulence beginning in 2011.

As GM, he signed David Wright; helped stitch together the Fab Five rotation of the mid-2010s, trading for Zack Wheeler and Noah Syndergaard and overseeing the development of Matt Harvey, Jacob deGrom and Steven Matz, which culminated in a World Series appearance in 2015; and was a face of an often dysfunctional and penny-pinching Wilpon era.

Alderson stepped away from his day-to-day duties after a cancer diagnosis in 2018, and returned early in the 2020s as a trusted voice to lead an organization that Steve Cohen was buying.

Brian Sabean

Yankees scout, scouting director and director of player development from 1985-1992 and executive senior adviser from 2023-26

Sabean is better known for his GM reign with the Giants, with whom he won World Series in 2010, 2012 and 2014.

But prior to building an even-year dynasty, the old-school scout planted the seeds for one in The Bronx. Sabean was a critical talent-finding voice who helped the Yankees decide on drafting and signing Derek Jeter, Andy Pettitte and Mariano Rivera.

Sabean returned to work under Brian Cashman in ’23 and served as one more voice for the organization before his contract was not renewed this offseason.

Lou Piniella

Yankees manager 1986-87, ’88; general manager 1988

A fan favorite as a player, when the clutch hitter helped the Yankees win World Series titles in 1977 and ’78, Piniella’s potential Hall of Fame managerial career began in New York, too.

Piniella went from Yankees outfielder (and hitting coach) in 1984 to manager by October 1985. “Sweet Lou” was sent upstairs to become GM in 1988 as Billy Martin returned, then went back to his seat in the dugout midseason when George Steinbrenner fired Martin again.

Piniella was briefly a Yankees broadcaster before managing the Reds in 1990, with whom he won a World Series. 

In all, he managed for 23 major league seasons, primarily for the Mariners but also the Devil Rays and Cubs, and retired with a career mark of 1,835-1,713.

Folks, we have a transaction! It’s November 2, which means that 40-man rosters across baseball have to be cleaned up with free agency officially starting at 5:00 p.m. ET today. As such, minor moves like this are going to be expected and the Atlanta Braves have gotten some business done this afternoon.

The Braves are taking a bit of a flier with this particular move, as the team announced today that they’ve claimed left-handed pitcher Mitchell Parker off waivers from the Washington Nationals.

Mitchell Parker was part of Washington’s rotation in 2025 but the team decided to move him to the bullpen ahead of the 2026 season, which is where he had a bit of a rough season with Washington. Parker finished with an ERA of 6.58 (154 ERA-) and a FIP of 5.47 (128 FIP-) across 39.2 innings and 22 appearances. Unfortunately, he saw his season get cut short once he got diagnosed with a Grade 3 UCL sprain in his throwing elbow in early July.

He went under the knife for an internal brace surgery in late July and as such, it’s reasonable to expect that we won’t see Parker in action until September 2027 — hopefully there will be big league baseball going on by then! If not, then it wouldn’t be particularly shocking to see Mitchell Parker just end up missing the 2027 season entirely.

For now, he’ll be trying to get back right again as a member of the Atlanta Braves. Our friends over at Federal Baseball seemed to believe that he may have found something with his swingman role with the Nationals, so maybe the Braves will tap into that once he returns from injury. We’ll see what happens going forward.

The first transaction of the offseason has arrived as the Cubs have come to an agreement on a one-year deal for $2 million with right-handed reliever Jacob Webb. Robert Murray appears to have been first with the story.

Webb already had a team option for 2027 at $2.5 million. So what this deal does is move $500k of that money to 2028 (in the form of the buyout) or it gives the Cubs a $4 million option for 2028. For Webb, it means that 20 percent of his salary will be deferred for a year but also a smaller amount will be subject to being cut if the lockout cuts out a significant part of the seasons. A lockout that extended one month into the season would only cost Webb 1/6 of $2 million rather than $2.5 million, for example.

The Cubs had a lot of problems with the bullpen this past year, but Jacob Webb was not one of them. After playing for the Rangers in 2025, Webb signed a one-year deal with the Cubs for $1.5 million last winter, plus the option for this year. He went on to make 68 appearances for the Cubs and went 6-5 with a 3.38 ERA. The 33-year-old Webb eventually became the Cubs’ closer for a while, until a few blown saves by Webb in August caused manager Craig Counsell to go with a more mix-and-match approach to the ninth inning rather than relying on just one guy. In any case, Webb did lead the team in saves last year with nine.

The Cubs will likely look to other pitchers to get saves in 2027, but this deal means they clearly expect him to pitch important innings in games. It also means the Cubs have their first piece of rebuilding the bullpen done by brining back one of the better pitchers of 2026.

A quartet of Word Series-winning managers headline the eight Contemporary Era finalists for the 2027 Baseball Hall of Fame.

Dusty Baker, Bruce Bochy, Joe Maddon and Lou Piniella all spent at least 19 years in a major-league dugout with a total of seven World Series rings among them. They are joined on the ballot by former executives Sandy Alderson and Brian Sabean, along with broadcasting pioneer and former Atlanta Braves owner Ted Turner, and eight-time All-Star and former National League president Bill White.

A 16-member panel selected by the Hall will consider those eight candidates who made their contributions to the game after 1980. The ones who receive at least 75% of the vote will be announced on Dec. 6 before the start of the Winter Meetings in San Diego.

Here's a look at the eight Contemporary Era finalists:

Sandy Alderson, executive

After two years serving as general counsel, Alderson was named general manager of the Oakland Athletics in 1983. He was the architect of an A's team that went to three consecutive World Series from 1988-90. After leaving the club in 1997 (and being succeeded as GM by Billy Beane), Alderson became MLB's executive vice president for baseball operations from 1998-2005. He also served as CEO of the San Diego Padres and general manager of the New York Mets.

Dusty Baker, player/manager

Though Baker is perhaps best known as a beloved manager for five different major league teams, he also had a 19-year career as a player. An outfielder, Baker hit .278 with 242 home runs for the Atlanta Braves, Los Angeles Dodgers, San Francisco Giants and Oakland A's, earning two All-Star nods, a Gold Glove and two Silver Sluggers. He went on to manage the Giants, Chicago Cubs, Cincinnati Reds, Washington Nationals and Houston Astros to a total of 2,143 wins (eighth-most all-time) and a .540 winning percentage. The only manager in history to take five different teams to the postseason, Baker finally won a World Series in 2022 with the Astros.

Bruce Bochy, player/manager

After nine years in the majors as a catcher, Bochy began his managerial career with the San Diego Padres in 1995, taking them to the World Series in his fourth season. He then moved to the San Francisco Giants in 2007 and guided them to World Series titles in 2010, 2012 and 2014 before retiring after the 2019 season. However, he came out of retirement in 2023 to manage the Texas Rangers and lead them to a World Series championship that season. Retiring again after the 2025 season, Bochy ranks sixth on the all-time wins list with 2,252 in 28 seasons.

Joe Maddon, manager

A three-time manager of the year with the Tampa Bay Rays and Chicago Cubs, Maddon became the first skipper in 108 years to lead the Cubs to a World Series title when they accomplished the feat in 2016. He began his coaching career in the Angels organization, serving as interim manager in both 1996 and 1999. He got his first full-time managing job in 2006 with the lowly Tampa Bay Devil Rays, a franchise he turned into an AL pennant winner in his third season. After managing the Rays for nine years, he moved to the Cubs in 2015, making the playoffs in four of his five seasons. He left Chicago to return to Anaheim in 2020 for three more seasons, finishing with a career record of 1,382-1,216 (.532).

Lou Piniella, player/manager

A fiery competitor as both a player and coach, Piniella won two World Series rings as an outfielder for the New York Yankees in 1977 and 1978. The 1969 AL Rookie of the Year with the Kansas City Royals, Piniella was a .291 career hitter over 18 seasons in the majors. Two years after he retired, he was hired to manage the Yankees, but was fired by owner George Steinbrenner in the middle of Year 3. Hired by the Cincinnati Reds in 1990, Piniella guided them to a World Series championship in his initial season. He went on to manage the Seattle Mariners, Tampa Bay Devil Rays and Chicago Cubs − totaling 1,835 wins in 23 seasons.

Brian Sabean, executive

A former scouting director and player development director with the New York Yankees, Sabean was hired by the San Francisco Giants as general manager in 1997. He remained in that role for 29 seasons and became the architect of three World Series championship teams under Bochy from 2010-2014. Sabean was twice named Baseball America's Executive of the Year.

Ted Turner, executive

The founder of Turner Broadcasting and CNN, Turner was a lifelong baseball fan who paired his TV reach with his ownership of the Atlanta Braves to turn the franchise into "America's Team" in the 1980s. With unprecedented live coverage of every regular-season game, the Braves developed a national following as they built a National League dynasty in the early 1990s. Turner, who died earlier this year at the age of 87, finally got a World Series title in 1995 before selling the team the following year.

Bill White, player/broadcater/executive

An eight-time All-Star and seven-time Gold Glover as a first baseman for the St. Louis Cardinals, New York/San Francisco Giants and Philadelphia Phillies, White joined the broadcast booth of the New York Yankees once his 13-year playing career came to an end. He teamed with Phil Rizzuto for 18 seasons before being named president of the National League in 1989. The first Black president of any major North American sports league, he served in that post until 1994. He received the Hall of Fame's Buck O'Neil Award for Lifetime Achievement in 2026.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Bruce Bochy, Dusty Baker headline Baseball Hall's Contemporary Era ballot