MLB - NEWS & NOTES

love playoff baseball except for Joe Buck calling the game.

 

New York Mets Captain David Wright Retires

Nice to see him go out on the field as he should have. He killed the Phils for years. Classy player. Sad to see his skills deteriorate so quickly. That beaning didn't help either.

 

Molitor out as Twins manager; new role offered …

MINNEAPOLIS -- In a surprise move, the Twins will have a new manager in 2019, as Hall of Famer Paul Molitor has been offered a new role in the organization, a source confirmed to MLB.com on Tuesday. The Twins will host a press conference at Target Field on Tuesday to make the announcement official.

Molitor, the American League Manager of the Year in 2017, oversaw a disappointing season with the Twins out of contention by early July and serving as sellers at the non-waiver Trade Deadline. Minnesota finished with a 78-84 record and failed to build on its surprise run to the AL Wild Card Game in '17.

Molitor, 62, ends his managerial career with the Twins with a 305-343 record in four years. He finished third in the balloting for AL Manager of the Year in his first season in '15, when the Twins went 83-79 but finished with 103 losses in '16. After the '17 season, Molitor signed a three-year extension to remain manager, which is why this move was unexpected.

But it allows chief baseball officer Derek Falvey and general manager Thad Levine to choose their own manager, as they inherited Molitor when taking over before last season. They're likely to hire a manager well-versed in analytics.

Molitor, a St. Paul native, finished his Hall of Fame playing career with the Twins from 1996-98. He's served in a variety of roles for the club, including as bench coach and as a roving Minor League instructor.

It's unclear how many coaches the Twins will retain next season. (MLB.com)

 

@Ken_Rosenthal

Buck Showalter will not be back with the #Orioles in any capacity, sources tell The Athletic.

 

"in any capacity?" ouch !

 

Rockies beat the Cubs in extra innings. Will face Brewers next. Braves-Dodgers is other NL series.

 

Duke is out in Baltimore, too.

 

Major League Baseball suspends Addison Russell 40 games...

Major League Baseball has announced that Cubs shortstop Addison Russell has been suspended 40 games without pay for alleged domestic abuse. The suspension is retroactive to September 21 and will carry over into the first 29 games of the 2019 regular season. Russell is not appealing his punishment.

Russell, 24, was accused of domestic abuse — physical, mental, and emotional — by his ex-wife, Melisa Reidy-Russell, who published details in a blog entry two weeks ago. Russell had previously been accused of abuse against Melisa by her friend in the comments of an Instagram post last year in which Melisa accused Russell of cheating on her. Major League Baseball opened an investigation but it didn’t go anywhere as Melisa refused to cooperate. MLB never closed its investigation and picked it back up following Melisa’s blog publishing.

Russell is the 11th player suspended since MLB and the MLB Players Association announced the creation of a domestic violence policy in August 2015. Astros closer Roberto Osuna accepted a 75-game suspension earlier this season, so Russell seems to have gotten off light in comparison.

Javier Báez handled shortstop through the end of the regular season once Russell was placed on administrative leave. That figures to be the case for the start of next season as well. That is, if the Cubs decide to welcome Russell back when his suspension is over. Many in the know believe that Russell’s time with the Cubs is over.

 

^^ wow. that's awful.

 

Yeah it is awful that Osuna is still playing

 

i missed both game 1's. curses.

 

https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/...d-it-could-cost-them-2-5-million-report-says/

only the marlins could be this dumb. $2.5 to get the guy's name off of it and additional cost to move it ? nice.

 

Marlins make big splash, ink Mesa brothers
No. 1 international prospect Victor Victor signed for $5.25 million



MIAMI -- The Marlins have become major players on the international stage.

After nearly two decades of not dabbling significantly in Latin American prospects, the Marlins on Monday announced the signings of Cuban outfield prospects Victor Victor Mesa and Victor Mesa Jr., sending a signal to the industry that Miami intends to be active on the international front.

The brothers were introduced at a news conference attended by Marlins chief executive officer Derek Jeter and president of baseball operations Michael Hill.

Jeter said; "From Day One, we stressed as an organization, the importance of building this organization with depth in the Minor League system, and the need to invest in the international market," Jeter said. "Today, we have done just that. We have had the opportunity to sign two of the top prospects in the international class."

 

^^the phils keep signing these international players at 16 and 17 and i never hear about them afterwards. the marlins sign 2 brothers and it's news? how far off are these kids from actually playing in the ML's?

 

Rocco!

 

Rays are getting raided!

@ShiDavidi




#BlueJays to name Charlie Montoyo manager, per source

 

https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/...row-out-first-pitch-says-snub-was-on-purpose/

Curt Schilling strikes again !

 

RIP Willie McCovey

 

Sad RIP - Great baseballer.

 

Cubs pick up Cole Hamels’ option, trade Drew Smyly to the Rangers...

Jerry Crasnick reports that the Chicago Cubs will exercise Cole Hamels‘ $20 million option for 2019. And, as we talked about this morning, they cleared salary to do so, trading pitcher Drew Smyly to the Rangers.

Hamels was outstanding for the Cubs after being acquired from Texas at the deadline last season, putting up a 2.36 ERA and a K/BB ratio of 74/23 in 76.1 innings in 12 starts. He’ll be entering his 14th season in the big leagues and, for his career is 156-114 with a 3.40 ERA (124 ERA+). He’ll slot in alongside Jon Lester and Kyle Hendricks at the top of the Cubs 2019 rotation. Chicago just picked up Jose Quintana’s option as well, so 1-4 is all set, actually.

Smyly has not pitched in the big leagues since 2016 and has only pitched one single game — a contest for South Bend of the Midwest League — in that time. He’s on the books for $7 million in 2019, however, by virtue of the two-year deal the Cubs handed him last December as he rehabbed from Tommy John surgery he underwent in mid-2017. (NBC Sports)