AWARDS
NL Rookie of the Year: Corbin Carroll (Dbacks)
AL Rookie of the Year: Gunnar Henderson (Orioles)
NL Manager of the Year: Skip Schumaker (Marlins)
AL Manager of the Year: Brandon Hyde (Orioles)
NL Cy Young: Blake Snell (Padres)
AL Cy Young: Gerrit Cole (Yankees)
NL MVP: Ronald Acuna Jr. (Braves)
AL MVP: Shohei Ohtani (Angels)
ARIZONA FALL LEAGUE (AFL)
The Surprise Saguaros (19-11) beat the Peoria Javelinas (15-14) 6-5 in the AFL Championship game. Peoria scored 4 in the top of the 9th to make it a 1 run game. Justin Yeager of the Brewers came into the game to strike out the only batter he faced. This is back-to-back championships for Surprise and their 4th AFL Championship overall.
Jakob Marsee of the Padres won the AFL MVP. He led the AFL in runs (25), hits (36), doubles (12), extra base hits (18) and total bases (65). He had a slash line of .391/.508/.707. Marsee is the Padres number 12 prospect.
Michael Trautwein of the Reds won the Dernell Stenson Sportsmanship Award, which is voted on by the field staff. In limited playing time he had 3 HR’s and 11 RBI’s. He was drafted in the 13th round of the 2021 MLB Draft out of Northwestern.
NEWS
The Astros have announced they hired Joe Espada to he their newest manager. He’s been the Astros bench coach over the past 6 seasons.
MLB announced that the Texas Rangers will host the Chicago Cubs for Opening Night on March 28, 2024.
The Brewers have settled on a new manager. They promoted Pat Murphy who has been a bench coach for the Brewers since 2015.
MLB’s competition committee has proposed reducing the pitch clock with runners on base from 20 seconds to 18 seconds.
MLB owners have unanimously voted to approve the A’s move from Oakland to Las Vegas.
TRANSACTIONS
The A’s have acquired INF Abraham Toro from the Brewers. The Brewers will receive minor league RHP Chad Patrick.
The Braves have acquired RHP Aaron Bummer from the White Sox. The White Sox will receive RHP Michael Soroka, LHP Jared Shuster, INF Nicky Lopez, SS prospect Braden Shewmake (Braves #15 prospect) and minor league RHP Riley Gowens.
The Brewers signed INF Yonny Hernandez to a minor league deal with a Spring Training invite.
The Rockies acquired RHP Cal Quantrill from the Guardians. The Guardians will receive minor league C Kody Huff.
The Brewers acquired OF Jake Bauers from the Yankees. The Yankees will receive OF prospect Jace Avina (Brewers #29 prospect) and minor league OF Brian Sanchez.
The Royals have acquired RHP Nick Anderson from the Braves. The Braves will receive cash considerations.
The Marlins have acquired UT Vidal Brujan and RHP Calvin Faucher from the Rays. The Rays will receive RHP prospect Andrew Lindsey (Marlins #16 prospect), minor league INF Erick Lara and a PTBNL.
The Guardians have acquired RHP Scott Barlow from the Padres. The Padres will receive RHP Enyel De Los Santos.
The Mariners have acquired INF Luis Urias from the Red Sox. The Red Sox will receive RHP Isaiah Campbell.
The Royals have acquired RHP Kyle Wright from the Braves. The Braves will receive RHP Jackson Kowar.
RUMORS
C Martin Maldonado reportedly drawing interest from several teams.
The Cubs reportedly have interest in 1B Rhys Hoskins.
The Angels have a “strong interest” in SS Tim Anderson.
The Rays have discussed OF Manuel Margot in trade talks with multiple teams.
The Yankees are among the most active teams in the starting pitcher market.
The Dodgers, Dbacks and Tigers are among the teams interested in RHP Yoshinobu Yamamoto.
The Padres, Dodgers and Giants are all interested in LHP Blake Snell.
The Astros have discussed OF Jake Meyers in trade talks with a few teams.
The Nationals are among the teams that have shown interest in INF Jeimer Candelario.
The Brewers are discussing trading RHP Brandon Woodruff.
The Cubs have shown some interest in Japanese LHP Shota Imanaga.
The Mets are discussing RHP Drew Smith in trades.
The White Sox have been getting calls on DH/OF Eloy Jimenez.
The Mets are interested in RHP Luis Severino.
The Mariners are not expected to pursue DH/RHP Shohei Ohtani.