Category: Baseball

UNDISPUTED PRESENTS ALL FACTS NO BRAKES

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The Miami Marlins are hiring former Los Angeles Dodgers first-base coach Clayton McCullough as their next manager, a person with knowledge of the hiring told The Associated Press.

The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the agreement hadn’t been announced. ESPN first reported the hiring.

McCullough, 44, was hired by the Dodgers in 2015 as their minor league field coordinator and had been the first-base coach on Dave Roberts’ staff since the 2021 season. The Dodgers defeated the New York Yankees in five games last month to win their eighth World Series title.

A former minor league catcher, McCullough was a manager in the Blue Jays’ minor league system for seven seasons.

He takes the job previously held by 2023 NL Manager of the Year Skip Schumaker, who parted ways with the team in September after just two seasons. The Marlins went 146-178 under Schumaker, who was hired in 2022.

McCullough, a Greenville, North Carolina, native, spent one season at Vanderbilt before transferring to East Carolina University. He was drafted by the Cleveland Indians in the 22nd round in 2002 and played in their minor league system from 2002-2005.

The Marlins also considered former Cleveland Guardians bench coach Craig Albernaz and Will Venable, a former associate manager for Texas. Venable was hired by the Chicago White Sox as their manager on Oct. 30, and Albernaz reportedly withdrew from Marlins’ managerial consideration.

Reporting by The Associated Press.

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The latest pitching sensation out of Japan appears bound for Major League Baseball in 2025. 

The Chiba Lotte Marines announced that they have decided to begin the process of posting star pitcher Roki Sasaki, clearing the path for the hard-throwing 23-year-old to transfer from Nippon Professional Baseball to MLB. Sasaki will be subject to international amateur free-agent restrictions, making him available for all 30 teams to sign at a much more modest cost than he would go for on the open market. 

Players who are posted under the age of 25 can only sign a minor-league deal from an MLB club’s international bonus pool money. Think more Shohei Ohtani, who was under the same limitations when he signed with the Angels for a paltry $2.3 million in December 2017, than Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who was 25 when he signed with the Dodgers for a record $325 million last offseason. 

While Yamamoto was the more decorated and durable pitcher in NPB, Sasaki is younger, bigger and throws harder. The flamethrower has been on the international radar dating back to his high school days and gained further acclaim in April 2022, when he threw a 19-strikeout perfect game for the Marines at just 20 years old. 

RELATED: 2025 MLB free-agent rankings, team fits: Where does Roki Sasaki slot in?

Sasaki can light up a radar gun. His fastball has clocked in over 102 mph in Japan and touched 101.9 at the World Baseball Classic, where he sat 100.5 mph and got a bevy of whiffs with his devastating splitter. He was teammates with Yamamoto and Ohtani when Samurai Japan won that 2023 tournament, and there is heavy speculation that he’ll team up with them again next year in Los Angeles. The Dodgers are among the clubs who have expressed interest in Sasaki for years. 

But unlike the pursuit for Yamamoto, every team will be in the mix to acquire Sasaki, given the restrictions capping his earnings. 

Orix received more than $50 million from Yamamoto’s posting fee last year. Chiba Lotte would likely have seen a similar return had the Marines waited another two years until Sasaki was 25. NPB teams control their players’ rights for nine seasons, after which they become free agents and are no longer subject to posting fees. 

But Sasaki has long expressed his desire to pitch in the majors, and while that request wasn’t granted last year, his Japanese club now appears willing to satisfy its young star’s wishes, as it stated Saturday in a statement on X. 

After throwing his perfect game two years ago, Sasaki followed that pristine performance with eight perfect innings. He finished 2022 with 173 strikeouts in 129.1 innings, then registered an even higher strikeout rate a year later, fanning 135 batters in 91 innings. 

Over his four years in NPB, Sasaki tallied a 5.74 strikeout-to-walk ratio — more than a full strikeout higher than Yamamoto, whose 4.48 mark was still good enough to make him the highest-paid pitcher in MLB history. That stat demonstrates Sasaki’s ceiling. His durability presents the red flag. 

While Yamamoto routinely crossed the 170-inning mark in Japan, Sasaki has never thrown even 130 innings in a season. Arm issues this year limited him to 111 innings and likely contributed to slightly diminished velocity and overall stuff. He was still plenty productive, but his 2.35 ERA, 1.04 WHIP and 4.03 K/BB all represented dips from the dazzling 1.78 ERA, 0.75 WHIP and 7.94 K/BB he posted the season prior. 

Still, he is one of the most intriguing arms available this winter. All 30 clubs will have 45 days to negotiate with Sasaki after he is posted. Once he signs, he is subject to the same rules and team control as any other rookie player. 

It is not yet clear if Sasaki will be posted before the 2024 signing period ends on Dec. 15 or when the 2025 signing period begins on Jan. 15. Whenever he does, he will slot in alongside Corbin Burnes, Blake Snell and Max Fried as one of the most desired pitchers on the market. 

And unlike those other aces, he won’t break the bank. 

Rowan Kavner is an MLB writer for FOX Sports. He previously covered the L.A. Dodgers, LA Clippers and Dallas Cowboys. An LSU grad, Rowan was born in California, grew up in Texas, then moved back to the West Coast in 2014. Follow him on Twitter at @RowanKavner.

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THE HERD WITH COLIN COWHERD

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Aaron Boone will return for an eighth season as New York Yankees manager after the team exercised his 2025 option on Friday.

Boone has led the Yankees to a 603-429 record, three American League East titles and one pennant. New York reached the World Series this year for the first time since 2009, losing to the Los Angeles Dodgers in five games.

Boone agreed in October 2021 to a three-year contract that included a team option for 2025. General manager Brian Cashman said the deadline for the option is 10 days after the World Series.

“Aaron is a steadying presence in our clubhouse and possesses a profound ability to connect with and foster relationships with his players,” Cashman said in a statement. “Consistently exhibiting these skills in such a demanding and pressurized market is what makes him one of the game’s finest managers.”

Boone is the third Yankees manager to lead the team to the postseason in six of his first seven years after Casey Stengel and Joe Torre.

New York said Boone will discuss the decision during a news conference on Monday.

“I am grateful for the trust placed in me to lead this team,” Boone said in a statement. “It’s a responsibility — and an opportunity — that I will never take lightly.”

Reporting by The Associated Press.

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Three-time Cy Young Award winner Clayton Kershaw is “planning to crush some rehab” in his recovery from two surgeries.

Kershaw posted on Instagram that he had foot and knee procedures on Wednesday. He thanked Drs. Kenneth Jung and Neal ElAttrache for performing the operations.

“Planning to crush some rehab and be as good as can be come next year,” Kershaw posted on Thursday.

The 36-year-old Kershaw is 212-94 with a 2.50 ERA in 429 starts and three relief appearances over 17 seasons — all with the Los Angeles Dodgers. He declined a $10 million player option in favor of free agency, but he is expected to return to L.A. after vowing to do so at multiple points during and after the Dodgers’ run to a 2024 World Series championship.

Kershaw was hurt for much of last season, finishing with a 2-2 record and a 4.50 ERA over seven starts. He was sidelined throughout the postseason.

Reporting by The Associated Press.

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Juan Soto was going to get a hefty payday, regardless. But surely his uptick in production this season in the Bronx will raise the already exorbitant cost for prospective buyers to secure his services. 

For other players in this year’s free-agent class, a surprise breakout or resurgent year came at just the right time.

Below we rank the 11 players who increased their market value the most with their 2024 production, including reasons to be both excited (green light) and skeptical (red light) about their future output. 

1. Juan Soto, OF 

2023: 5.5 bWAR/6.0 fWAR 
2024: 7.9 bWAR/8.1 fWAR

Green Light: It might feel strange to see him on this list. After all, he was already going to command more money than any free agent this offseason. But putting together the most productive offensive season of his career, and doing it in his first (lone?) season for the Yankees, added many, many millions to the total sum he is about to command. He always had an unrivaled eye at the plate, but his 41 homers and .569 slugging percentage both marked career highs for a full season (he had a ridiculous .351/.490/.695 slash line during the shortened 2020 season). He also hit the ball harder than ever before. By WAR, this was the most valuable season of his career. And, after turning 26 in October, he should just now be entering his prime.

RELATED: Juan Soto sweepstakes: Is he the Yankees’ to lose? Analyzing 9 potential suitors

Red Light: If we had to nitpick, it’d be defensively. It was a bit of a farce that Soto was a Gold Glove finalist, and the older he gets, the worse he’ll probably look out there defensively. But, c’mon, it’s Juan Soto. You can live with it. 

2. Jurickson Profar, OF 

2023 (COL/SD): 0.4 bWAR/-1.6 fWAR
2024 (SD): 3.6 bWAR/4.3 fWAR

Green Light: No one on this list had a more dramatic turnaround in a contract year than Profar, who finished a breakout season setting career highs in every slash line category as well as hits, homers, runs, RBIs and games played. The only qualified National League player with a higher on-base percentage than Profar was Shohei Ohtani. He had the fourth-highest year-over year jump in OBP and the sixth-highest year-over-year jump in slugging percentage in the majors. Coming off a season in which he hit nearly 20% below league average, he suddenly started chasing and whiffing less and hitting the ball significantly harder than ever before. He transformed himself into an All-Star, a decade after everyone expected. As surprising as the breakout was, everything under the hood suggested it wasn’t luck. 

Red Light: The former top prospect never did anything like this in his first 10 big-league seasons. This career year came at 31 years old, in his second stop in San Diego after starting the previous year in Colorado and spending time in Texas and Oakland. With a revival that seemingly came out of nowhere, I’m not sure how any team can know with any certainty what to expect going forward. One thing is clear: Wherever he signs next, it won’t be for $1 million again. 

3. Luis Severino, RHP 

2023: -1.5 bWAR/-0.5 fWAR
2024: 1.6 bWAR/2.1 fWAR

Green Light: Another player who took advantage of a one-year deal, a clean bill of health and an updated repertoire had Severino finding his form again. In his first year making more than 20 starts since his 2018 All-Star season, the right-hander logged 31 outings with the Mets and cut his home run rate in half from where it was the previous year with the Yankees. The addition of a sweeper, which got 60 strikeouts, was particularly useful. While he’s no longer the guy sitting close to 98 mph with a strikeout rate hovering near 30% the way he was as an All-Star in his mid-20s, he demonstrated he can still be plenty effective sitting in the mid-90s. At 31, there’s no reason to think he can’t continue to produce. 

Red Light: A year ago in the Bronx, Severino was 4-8 with a 6.65 ERA. By WAR, that made him a bottom-10 pitcher in baseball. The 2024 season represented a considerable leap forward, though he still isn’t missing bats the way he once did. 

4. Jack Flaherty, RHP 

2023: 0.8 bWAR/1.8 fWAR
2024: 3.1 bWAR/3.2 fWAR

Green Light: In a healthy, resurgent 2024 season, Flaherty ditched his cutter, saw a slight uptick in velocity on his four-seamer, got more swings and misses on the pitch and looked like a completely different guy from where he was last year in St. Louis and (especially) Baltimore. He posted the highest chase rate of his career and a significantly elevated whiff rate. While he wasn’t as good in the second half in Los Angeles as he was in the first half in Detroit, his presence in the rotation was crucial in helping the Dodgers win a championship. Even if he’s more of a middle-of-the-rotation arm, he will be an enticing piece at 29. 

RELATED: 2025 MLB free-agent rankings, team fits: Juan Soto leads top 30

Red Light: His velocity dipped down the stretch of the season, which he attributed to timing issues, then his production fluctuated with every October start, providing fodder for both believers and skeptics. When he saw a playoff opponent for the first time on extra rest, he usually dominated. When he saw that team for a second time on regular rest, he got torched. His injury history could also cause some trepidation. 

5. Sean Manaea, LHP 

2023: 0.3 bWAR/1.2 fWAR
2024: 3.0 bWAR/2.8 fWAR

Green Light: Any way you slice it, this was one of the best seasons of Manaea’s career. Take just the second half, after he made the switch to lower his arm slot à la Chris Sale, and his production was unlike anything he had ever done before. Manaea looked like an ace in his final 12 regular-season starts after making the change (10-2, 3.09 ERA, .538 opponents’ OPS) and was clearly the Mets’ top option in October. 

Red Light: At 33, how much will teams trust his finish over his eight previous seasons, especially as teams get to adjust? It’s worth pointing out he had an extremely low BABIP after making the switch, which might be unsustainable. Still, even if it doesn’t continue to the same degree, his consistent production after the arm slot change can’t be ignored. 

6. Teoscar Hernández, OF 

2023: 2.1 bWAR/1.9 fWAR
2024: 4.3 bWAR/3.5 fWAR

Green Light: Hernández didn’t get the offers he was hoping for last winter after a down year in Seattle. So he bet on himself, taking a one-year deal in Los Angeles in the hopes of playing for a winning team and resetting his market. Check, and check. In an All-Star season, Hernández popped a career-high 33 homers, won the Home Run Derby, then won a World Series as a vital cog in the Dodgers’ lineup. He has expressed a desire to return to Los Angeles, but wherever he goes, he can be confident he’ll be getting more than one year this time around. 

Red Light: Swing and miss is part of his game, and he doesn’t offer a ton of value defensively. While he should get more multi-year offers, it might not be a particularly long deal for the 31 years old. 

7. Willy Adames, SS 

2023: 3.0 bWAR/3.3 fWAR
2024: 3.1 bWAR/4.8 fWAR

Green Light: Adames, who just turned 29, is about to get paid. The only reason he’s low on this list is because his value was already so well-established, but his offensive jump shouldn’t be overlooked. Adames set career highs in hits, homers, doubles, RBIs and stolen bases. If he were part of the free-agent class two years ago, he might get lost in the shuffle. This year, though, he’s far and away the best shortstop on the market. His 112 RBIs ranked fourth in the majors, and he was one of six players to log at least 30 homers, 30 doubles and 20 steals. 

Red Light: A high whiff rate has contributed to a fluctuating batting average and on-base percentage the past few years, but his combination of defense and power have made him a top-10 shortstop over the past five years. 

8. Yusei KIkuchi, LHP 

2023: 0.1 bWAR/2.4 fWAR
2024: 1.4 bWAR/3.5 fWAR 

Green Light: Kikuchi made a tweak to his pitch usage after getting traded to Houston and became everything the Astros could’ve imagined. Upping his slider usage considerably, he posted the highest strikeout rate of his career down the stretch while lowering his ERA from 4.75 in 22 starts with the Blue Jays to 2.70 in 10 starts with the Astros. He finished the year with the eighth-best strikeout rate and 11th-best strikeout-to-walk ratio among all qualified MLB starters. 

Red Light: He will turn 34 in June, and while his stuff misses a lot of bats, he also tends to give up a lot of hard contact. Will his next team get the version that looked like one of the best pitchers in baseball in the season’s second half or the one with a career 4.57 ERA? 

9. Nick Martinez, RHP 

2023: 1.5 bWAR/1.4 fWAR:
2024: 4.0 bWAR/3.5 fWAR:  

Green Light: There’s a reason the Reds gave him the qualifying offer. Martinez is coming off the best season of his big-league career, one that featured better command than he had ever demonstrated before (his 3.2% walk rate was the best mark of his career and trailed only George Kirby and Bryan Woo for the lowest mark among pitchers with at least 100 innings). He excelled as both a starter and reliever. Utilizing everything in his six-pitch arsenal — including an elite changeup that’s responsible for most of his swing and miss — Martinez continues to get hitters to chase and has now posted an ERA under 3.50 in each of his three big-league seasons since resurrecting his career in Japan. 

Red Light: He turned 34 in August, and it wasn’t until then that the Reds made him a permanent fixture in the rotation. His swingman abilities, however, should allow him to fit in well wherever he goes. It’s fair to question whether he can maintain the control he demonstrated in 2024, but his vast arsenal should allow him to continue keeping hitters off balance and limit hard contact even as his velocity dips. 

10. Tyler O’Neill, OF 

2023: 0.3 bWAR/0.6 fWAR
2024: 2.6 bWAR/2.5 fWAR 

Green Light: It was only three years ago that O’Neill finished eighth in MVP voting, and this year provided a reminder of what’s still in the tank when his body is cooperating. He hit 32% better than league average while zapping the power back into his bat. After slugging .392 in 2022 and .403 in 2023 in St. Louis, a healthier first season in Boston yielded a .511 slugging percentage. He finished the year with 31 homers, the highest walk rate of his career and 113 games played — his most since his breakout 2021 season. 

Red Light: He is a bit of a baseball conundrum. One of the game’s most volatile talents, his career-best walk rate also came with an abysmal 33.6% strikeout rate. He can look like a top 10 offensive force one month and replacement level the next. He is no longer the Gold Glove outfielder he was a few years ago, but he’s only 29 and his power is still prodigious when he’s right. Can he stay healthy long enough to tap into it consistently? 

11. Joc Pederson, DH 

2023: 0.6 bWAR/0.7 fWAR
2024: 2.9 bWAR/3.0 fWAR

Green Light: On a rate basis, Pederson quietly put together the best offensive season of his 11-year career. It was really similar to his 2022 All-Star season in San Francisco, except he reached base more often and punished offspeed pitches more regularly. It was also a massive step forward from his 2023 season. Pederson finished the year with the fourth-highest year-over-year jump in slugging percentage among all qualified batters. He was one of just 10 hitters to post an OPS over .900 in at least 400 plate appearances. 

Red Light: His outfield days are probably behind him, and he doesn’t hit lefties. That will limit his suitors, but he demonstrated he can still be a massive offensive boost to a team in need of help against right-handed pitching with a DH spot open. 

Rowan Kavner is an MLB writer for FOX Sports. He previously covered the L.A. Dodgers, LA Clippers and Dallas Cowboys. An LSU grad, Rowan was born in California, grew up in Texas, then moved back to the West Coast in 2014. Follow him on Twitter at @RowanKavner.

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Third baseman Alex Bregman had surgery to remove a bone chip from his right elbow.

Agent Scott Boras revealed the operation during a news conference Wednesday at the general managers meetings.

“He’s had his procedure. He’s going to be back swinging here in a few weeks, so he’s all through that process,” Boras said.

The Houston Astros, Bregman’s former team, said any details had to come from Boras.

Bregman became a free agent last Thursday, after the expiration of a $100 million, five-year deal agreed to in March 2019 that covered 2020-24. The 30-year-old hit .260 with 26 homers and 75 RBIs and has a .272 career average with 191 homers and 663 RBIs in nine big league seasons, all with the Astros.

Boras said Bregman is willing to move to second base. The two-time All-Star has played third exclusively since 2020.

Reporting by The Associated Press.

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MLB free agency is about to start picking up. 

And with that, there are a number of stars on the market.

Will those stars stay put with their current teams, or are they destined to take their talents elsewhere?

Let’s check out the odds at DraftKings Sportsbook for a few star players who are potentially on the move this winter, as of Nov. 6.

Alex Bregman next team:

Astros: +380 (bet $10 to win $48 total)
Tigers: +650 (bet $10 to win $75 total)
Blue Jays: +700 (bet $10 to win $80 total)
Mariners: +700 (bet $10 to win $80 total)
Yankees: +750 (bet $10 to win $85 total)
Royals: +800 (bet $10 to win $90 total)
Any other team: +800 (bet $10 to win $90 total)
Mets: +900 (bet $10 to win $100 total)
Red Sox: +950 (bet $10 to win $105 total)

Bregman, 30, is a two-time All-Star third-baseman who has spent all of his nine professional years with the Astros, helping them win the World Series in 2017 and 2022. This past season, he registered the third-lowest batting average of his career (.260). He tallied 26 home runs and 75 RBIs in 145 games, and won his first Golden Glove. The Astros offered Bregman a one-year, $21.05 million qualifying offer on Monday.

Blake Snell next team:

Mets: +550 (bet $10 to win $65 total)
Yankees: +600 (bet $10 to win $70 total)
Red Sox: +600 (bet $10 to win $70 total)
Dodgers: +650 (bet $10 to win $75 total)
Padres: +700 (bet $10 to win $80 total)
Cubs: +750 (bet $10 to win $85 total)
Tigers: +800 (bet $10 to win $90 total)
Any other team: +850 (bet $10 to win $95 total)
Angels: +900 (bet $10 to win $100 total)

Snell, 31, has served as an ace for three different franchises over the course of his nine-year career. He spent five years in Tampa Bay, three in San Diego and pitched for San Francisco this past season. He’s won two Cy Young awards, led the AL in ERA in 2018 and led the majors in ERA in 2023. This past season, he went 5-3 in 20 starts, registering a 3.12 ERA and 145 strikeouts. He opted out of his contract with the Giants last week, becoming a free agent.

Corbin Burnes next team:

Mets: +450 (bet $10 to win $55 total)
Red Sox: +500 (bet $10 to win $60 total)
Dodgers: +700 (bet $10 to win $80 total)
Cubs: +700 (bet $10 to win $80 total)
Padres: +750 (bet $10 to win $85 total)
Orioles: +750 (bet $10 to win $85 total)
Any other team: +750 (bet $10 to win $85 total)
Tigers: +800 (bet $10 to win $90 total)
Giants: +850 (bet $10 to win $95 total)

Burnes, 30, spent the first six years of his career in Milwaukee, winning the NL Cy Young award in 2021. He also led the league in ERA that year. He’s a four-time All-Star, and last season was his first in a new city. He went 15-9 in 32 starts for the Orioles, posting a 2.92 ERA with 181 Ks. The Orioles offered Burnes a one-year, $21.05 million qualifying offer on Monday.

Max Fried next team:

Cubs: +500 (bet $10 to win $60 total)
Dodgers: +550 (bet $10 to win $65 total)
Red Sox: +600 (bet $10 to win $70 total)
Tigers: +700 (bet $10 to win $80 total)
Braves: +700 (bet $10 to win $80 total)
Padres: +800 (bet $10 to win $90 total)
Mets: +800 (bet $10 to win $90 total)
Giants: +850 (bet $10 to win $95 total)
Angels: +900 (bet $10 to win $100 total)

Fried, 30, has spent all eight of his pro years in Atlanta, where he’s been a two-time All-Star and three-time Gold Glove winner. He went 11-10 in 29 starts this past season, with a 3.25 ERA and 166 Ks. The Braves offered Fried a one-year, $21.05 million qualifying offer on Monday.

Pete Alonso 

Next team odds:

Nationals: +600 (bet $10 to win $70 total)
Mets: +600 (bet $10 to win $70 total)
Any other team: +650 (bet $10 to win $75 total)
Mariners: +650 (bet $10 to win $75 total)
Red Sox: +700 (bet $10 to win $80 total)
Yankees: +700 (bet $10 to win $80 total)
Tigers: +800 (bet $10 to win $90 total)
Giants: +900 (bet $10 to win $100 total)
Angels: +900 (bet $10 to win $100 total)

The Polar Bear, 29, is a Mets icon, and has spent all six of his professional years in New York. He’s a four-time All-Star and won the Home Run Derby twice. He played 162 games this past season, tallying 34 home runs and 88 RBIs. The Mets offered Alonso a one-year, $21.05 million qualifying offer on Monday.

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