Traditionally, the first couple of weeks of November aren’t the busiest times of the baseball offseason. However, there’s been enough going on this week that it seems worthwhile to catch up on everything that has happened.
Under New Management
More than a month after Bruce Bochy retired, the Giants have hired Gabe Kapler as his replacement. Kapler, of course, was fired by the Phillies following the season after just two years on the job. He was not necessarily a popular choice among Giants fans, but Kapler and team president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi worked together for a few years when both were with the Dodgers with Kapler working as director of player development.
The hiring of Kapler came just a day after the Giants announced the hiring of new general manager Scott Harris, who was previously with the Cubs.
One More Year?
Adam Wainwright isn’t done yet. The 38-year-old pitcher re-signed with the Cardinals this week on a one-year deal, although financial terms weren’t immediately shared. Wainwright signed a $2 million deal last year but ended up making close to $10 million with incentives after going 14-10 with a 4.19 ERA over 31 starts.
Wainwright should help to stabilize the back half of the St. Louis rotation in 2020 behind young aces Jack Flaherty and Dakota Hudson.
Not Throwing Away My Shot
There are rumblings from the Red Sox front office that longtime second baseman Dustin Pedroia is hoping to play in 2020. Pedroia has been limited to just nine total games over the past two seasons because of chronic knee issues and multiple surgeries. He seemed like he was leaning toward retirement last summer, but he’s been working out and getting into shape as if he’s expecting to play next season.
The Red Sox brass isn’t sure how Pedroia checks out medically, but the team is without a full-time second baseman, so the opportunity is there for Pedroia to take another shot with two years left on his contract.
Way to Go, Rookie
Rookie of the Year awards were handed out on Monday, with a pair of power hitters taking home the honors. In the National League, the only surprise is that Mets first baseman Pete Alonso didn’t win unanimously after hitting 53 home runs to set a rookie record and driving in 120 runs. Braves pitcher Mike Soroka received one first-place vote to prevent Alonso from being the unanimous choice.
In the American League, Yordan Alvarez of the Astros took home Rookie of the Year honors in unanimous fashion. Alvarez didn’t make his big league debut until June but still managed to hit 27 home runs and 26 doubles while driving in 78 runs.
Could Get Serious
The poop could be about to hit the fan in Houston, as former Astros pitcher Mike Fiers and three other unnamed sources have gone on record saying that the Astros have used a video feed from center field to steal signs in clear violation of MLB rules, most notably during their World Series run in 2017. There have been rumblings around the league for the past couple of years of the Astros skirting the rules, but a pitcher like Fiers going on record with such accusations is a huge step forward in a story that is far from over.
