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A Dodgers Dynasty to Be

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Yoshinobu Yamamoto Signs with LA for $325m

LOS ANGELES – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – After signing reigning American League MVP Shohei Ohtani to a 10-year, $700 million contract earlier this month, the Dodgers have landed star Japanese right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto with a 12-year, $325 million deal Thursday, per multiple media reports.

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Yamamato’s deal would eclipse New York Yankees ace Gerrit Cole’s deal by $1 million, making it the largest contract for a pitcher in major league history. The Dodgers will also pay $50.6 million in a posting fee for Yamamoto.

The New York Yankees, New York Mets, Boston Red Sox, San Francisco Giants, Philadelphia Phillies and Toronto Blue Jays also pursued Yamamoto.

Yamamoto spent the past six-plus seasons with the Orix Buffaloes, compiling a 70-29 record with one save and a 1.82 ERA in 172 games. He has struck out 922 batters over 897 innings.

In 23 games in 2023, he finished with a 16-6 record and 1.21 ERA with 169 strikeouts in 164 innings. Those numbers helped him to his third straight Triple Crown in the Pacific League of Nippon Professional Baseball as he led the league in wins, ERA and strikeouts.

Only three pitchers in Major League Baseball have won the pitching Triple Crown three times — Sandy Koufax, Walter Johnson and Grover Cleveland Alexander.

Yamamoto also has won the Eiji Sawamura Award, which equals the Cy Young Award, three times.

The 5-foot-10 Yamamoto won a gold medal with Japan in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and another in the World Baseball Classic earlier this year.

–Field Level Media

Red Sox Acquire O’Neill

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BOSTON – (Staff, Wire Service and Team News Release) – The Boston Red Sox worked to reshape their outfield when they acquired outfielder Tyler O’Neill in a trade from the St. Louis Cardinals, according to the Red Sox team news release.

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O’Neill, 28, batted .231 with nine home runs and 21 RBIs in 72 games last season as he worked through a lower back strain. O’Neill has struggled to match his production from the 2021 season when he batted .286 and hit 34 home runs with 80 RBIs, while finishing eighth in National League MVP voting.

O’Neill has played all six of his major league seasons with the Cardinals, batting .248 with 78 home runs and 217 RBIs in 477 games.

Boston sent two right handed pitchers to St. Louis in the deal, in Nick Robertson and Carlos Santos.

Nick Robertson, 25, allowed eight runs in 12.0 innings over nine games with the Red Sox after he was acquired from the Los Angeles Dodgers on July 25, 2023. The right-hander also made nine appearances with the Dodgers during 2023, his Major League debut, posting a 6.10 ERA (7 ER/10.1 IP) with 13 strikeouts. Selected by the Dodgers in the seventh round of the 2019 First-Year Player Draft, the Virginia native has recorded a 3.61 ERA (74 ER/184.2 IP), .227 opponent batting average, and 231 strikeouts in 150 career minor league games (three starts).

Carlos Santos, 23, missed the entire 2023 season due to a right elbow injury after attending spring training with Boston as a non-roster invitee. This winter, the Dominican Republic native has made seven appearances (five starts) for Leones del Escogido of the Dominican Professional Baseball League, going 3-0 with a 2.96 ERA (9 ER/27.1 IP), 23 strikeouts, six walks, and only one home run allowed. Signed as an international free agent by the Philadelphia Phillies in November 2016 and acquired by the Red Sox in July 2021, the right-hander owns a 3.72 ERA (184 ER/445.0 IP) over 101 career minor league appearances (71 starts).

The move to acquire the right-handed-hitting O’Neill comes three days after Boston traded outfielder and left-handed hitter Alex Verdugo to the rival New York Yankees.

Castiglione Honored with Frick Award

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COOPERSTOWN – (Staff Report from Official News Release) – Joe Castiglione, who has called Red Sox games on the radio for a record 41 seasons, has been selected as the 2024 recipient of the Ford C. Frick Award, presented annually for excellence in broadcasting by the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.

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Castiglione will be honored during the Hall of Fame Awards Presentation as part of Hall of Fame Weekend, July 19-22, 2024. Castiglione becomes the 48th winner of the Frick Award, as he earned the highest point total in a vote conducted by the Hall of Fame’s 15-member Frick Award Committee.

The final ballot featured broadcasters whose main contributions came as local and national voices and whose careers began after, or extended into, the Wild Card Era. The 10 finalists were: Joe Buck, Gary Cohen, Jacques Doucet, Tom Hamilton, Ernie Johnson Sr., Ken Korach, Mike Krukow, Duane Kuiper, Dan Shulman and Castiglione.

“Bringing knowledge and passion to the booth every day for more than four decades, Joe Castiglione has given voice to the greatest era of Red Sox success in the broadcast era,” said Josh Rawitch, President of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. “Starting with the team in 1983 in Carl Yastrzemski’s final season, Joe has connected generations of Red Sox fans with a delivery that has become part of the New England fabric. His calls of the team’s four World Series wins in the past 20 seasons provided fans with memories that will echo forever throughout Red Sox nation.”

Born March 2, 1947, in Hamden, Conn., Castiglione earned an undergraduate degree at Colgate University and took his master’s degree at Syracuse University – each about an hour from Cooperstown – before beginning his career at WFMJ-TV in Youngstown, Ohio. After moving to Cleveland to work for WKYC-TV, he began calling Indians games in 1979 before working Brewers games in 1981 and then returning to the Indians’ booth in 1982.

Joining the Red Sox radio team in 1983, Castiglione has shared the microphone with partners including Bob Starr, Dave O’Brien, Jerry Trupiano and Will Flemming while also teaching broadcast journalism at Northeastern University, Franklin Pierce University and Emerson College.

Inducted into the Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame in 2014, Castiglione is the longest tenured broadcaster in Red Sox history and has called historic moments that have included both of Roger Clemens’ 20-strikeout games and four no-hitters. In 2022, the home Fenway Park radio booth was named in his honor.

The 15-member Frick Award voting electorate, comprised of the 12 living recipients and three broadcast historians/columnists, includes Frick honorees Marty Brennaman, Bob Costas, Ken Harrelson, Pat Hughes, Jaime Jarrín, Tony Kubek, Denny Matthews, Al Michaels, Jon Miller, Eric Nadel, Bob Uecker and Dave Van Horne, and historians/columnists David J. Halberstam (historian), Barry Horn (formerly of the Dallas Morning News) and Curt Smith (historian).

The list of 10 Frick Award finalists was constructed by a subcommittee of the electorate that included Brennaman, Costas, Hughes, Halberstam and Smith. The Ford C. Frick Award is voted upon annually and is named in memory of the sportswriter, radio broadcaster, National League president and baseball commissioner. Frick was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1970.

For a complete list of Frick Award winners, click here.

As established by the Board of Directors, criteria for selection is as follows: “Commitment to excellence, quality of broadcasting abilities, reverence within the game, popularity with fans, and recognition by peers.”  To be considered, an active or retired broadcaster must have a minimum of 10 years of continuous major league broadcast service with a ball club, network, or a combination of the two.

The Frick Award election cycle rotates between a composite ballot featuring local and national voices whose careers began after, or extended into, the Wild Card Era in four consecutive years, followed by a fifth year featuring a ballot of candidates whose broadcasting careers concluded prior to the advent of the Wild Card Era in 1994. The cycle began with the 2023 Frick Award, with composite ballots of local and national voices continuing with the Awards in 2024, 2025 and 2026 before the pre-Wild Card Era ballot is considered for the 2027 Award.

VERDU- GO! – Red Sox Trade Outfielder to Evil Empire

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NASHVILLE – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – The New York Yankees added an outfielder from their fiercest rival on Tuesday, acquiring Alex Verdugo from the Boston Red Sox in exchange for three right-handed pitchers as the MLB Winter Meetings are underway.

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Boston got Greg Weissert and minor-leaguers Richard Fitts and Nicholas Judice in the swap.

Verdugo, 27, is arguably better known for how he got to Boston rather than anything he has accomplished on the field. He, catcher Connor Wong and infielder Jeter Downs were acquired in the February 2020 deal that sent superstar Mookie Betts and left-hander David Price to the Los Angeles Dodgers.

In four years with the Red Sox, Verdugo hit a composite .281 with a .338 on-base percentage, a .424 slugging percentage, 43 homers and 206 RBIs. He played 142 games in 2023, batting .264/.324/.421 with 13 home runs and 54 RBIs.

Counting the three seasons he spent with the Dodgers, Verdugo has a career .281/.337/.428 batting line with 57 home runs and 255 RBIs in 651 games.

Primarily a corner outfielder, Verdugo also has seen time in center field. He could be a free agent following the upcoming season.

Weissert, 28, made 17 relief appearances for the Yankees this year, netting no decisions and a 4.05 ERA. He broke into the majors with 12 games out of the New York bullpen in 2022, when he finished 3-0 with a 5.56 ERA.

Fitts, 23, spent the 2023 season in Double-A, where he went 11-5 with a 3.48 ERA in 27 starts. He was a sixth-round draft pick in 2021 out of Auburn.

Judice, 22, has yet to make his pro debut after New York selected him in the eighth round of the 2023 draft out of UL-Monroe.

The Red Sox and Yankees have come together for just eight trades since 1969, according to MLB.com.

–Field Level Media

Sox Trade Luis Urias

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BOSTON – (Staff Report from Official News Release) – The Boston Red Sox today announced the following roster moves:

  • Acquired right-handed pitcher Isaiah Campbell from the Seattle Mariners, in exchange for infielder Luis Urías.
  • The club will not tender a 2024 contract to right-handed pitcher Wyatt Mills. As a result, Mills will become a free agent.
  • Boston will tender 2024 contracts to all 29 remaining unsigned players on their Major League roster. Eight players are already under contract for 2024: Rafael Devers, Kenley Jansen, Chris Martin, Rob Refsnyder, Chris Sale, Trevor Story, Garrett Whitlock, and Masataka Yoshida.
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The Red Sox’ 40-man roster is now at 37.

Campbell, 26, went 4-1 with one save, a 2.83 ERA (9 ER/28.2 IP), a .210 opponent batting average, and 33 strikeouts in 27 games for the Mariners during 2023, his Major League debut. The right-hander was one of eight rookies last season to make at least 25 appearances and post an ERA below 3.00. He owns a 2.01 ERA (20 ER/89.2 IP) in 61 career minor league games (four starts), including a 2.63 ERA (8 ER/24.0 IP) in 23 games for Double-A Arkansas in 2023. The Portugal native was selected by Seattle in Competitive Balance Round B of the 2019 First-Year Player Draft out of the University of Arkansas, where he earned a degree in criminal justice.

Urías, 26, was acquired from the Milwaukee Brewers on August 1, 2023 and played in 32 games for the Red Sox, batting .225 (20-for-89) with 13 runs scored, four doubles, two home runs, and 13 RBI. The right-handed hitter played in 52 Major League games overall during 2023, appearing in 39 at second base and 19 at third base. Originally signed as a non-drafted free agent by the San Diego Padres on December 27, 2013, the Mexico native has batted .234 (331-for-1,412) with 192 runs scored, 48 home runs, and 180 RBI in 445 games with San Diego (2018-19), Milwaukee (2020-23), and Boston (2023).

Hyde and Schumaker Honored by BWAA

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NEW YORK – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – The Baltimore Orioles manager Brandon Hyde ran away with the American League Manager of the Year honor on Tuesday, while Skip Schumaker won a close vote for the National League award in his first season managing the Miami Marlins.

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Schumaker is the fourth Marlins manager to win the honor from the Baseball Writers’ Association of America, joining Jack McKeon (2003), Joe Girardi (2006) and Don Mattingly (2020).

He won a congested NL vote with 72 points — eight votes apiece for first, second and third place. Five points are awarded for first place, three for second and one for third.

Milwaukee’s Craig Counsell (now with the Chicago Cubs) was second with 51 points (five first-place votes), Atlanta’s Brian Snitker was third with 48 (eight first-place votes), Arizona’s Torey Lovullo was fourth with 42 (four first-place votes) and Dave Roberts of the Los Angeles Dodgers was fifth with 41 (four first-place votes).

Winning tight contests is nothing new for Schumaker, whose Marlins compiled an MLB-best .702 winning percentage (33-14) in one-run games this season. Miami went 84-78 — a 15-game improvement from 2022 — in qualifying for the postseason for the fourth time in franchise history and the first in a non-shortened season since 2003.

The Marlins lost two straight to the Philadelphia Phillies in their NL wild-card series.

The Orioles went an American League-best 101-61 to win the East Division and were not swept in 52 series the entire regular season, becoming the first in club history and fourth in the MLB since 2000 to accomplish this feat.

Baltimore, among the youngest team in the majors, went down in a three-game ALDS sweep to the World Series champion Texas Rangers.

Hyde, who was runner-up to Cleveland’s Terry Francona in 2022, guided the Orioles to their 10th AL East crown and first since 2014, and their first playoff berth since 2016.

Hyde led the AL vote with 144 points, with 27 first-place votes and three for second place. He was the only manager named on every ballot.

Bruce Bochy of Texas was second with 61 points (three first-place votes), Tampa Bay’s Kevin Cash was third (52 points), Minnesota’s Rocco Baldelli was fourth (eight) and Houston’s Dusty Baker was fifth (four).

Hyde, in his fifth season, is the fourth Orioles manager to receive the award, joining Buck Showalter (2014), Davey Johnson (1997) and Frank Robinson (1989). The awards for each league began in 1983.

–Field Level Media

Gunnar and Carroll Win Rookie Honors

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NEW YORK – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Baltimore Orioles infielder Gunnar Henderson and Arizona Diamondbacks outfielder Corbin Carroll were named the American League and National League Rookies of the Year on Monday night, both by a unanimous vote.

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Henderson and Carroll each received all 30 first-place votes from a panel of sportswriters and broadcasters.

Henderson, 22, joined a litany of Orioles players to win the award that includes Eddie Murray (1977), Cal Ripken Jr. (1982) and, most recently, Gregg Olson (1989).

After appearing in 34 games in 2022, Henderson retained rookie status for 2023 and split his time between shortstop and third base. In 150 games, Henderson batted .255 with a .325 on-base percentage and a .489 slugging percentage. He hit 28 home runs, 29 doubles, nine triples and 82 RBIs en route to winning a Silver Slugger award.

Behind Henderson, Cleveland Guardians pitcher Tanner Bibee placed second in voting with 67 total points. Boston Red Sox first baseman Triston Casas was third at 25 points.

Carroll is the first player in Diamondbacks history to win Rookie of the Year honors.

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Carroll, 23, also made his MLB debut in 2022 in a limited capacity before becoming an everyday player in 2023. Carroll batted .285 with a .362 on-base percentage and a .506 slugging percentage over 155 games for an Arizona team that reached the World Series.

Carroll hit 25 home runs, 30 doubles and 76 RBIs while stealing 54 bases. He was named to the NL All-Star team.

New York Mets pitcher Kodai Senga finished second in voting (71 points) after his first MLB season since coming over from his native Japan. Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder James Outman finished third with 20 points.

–Field Level Media

Texas Rangers Take Series

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PHOENIX — The Texas Rangers, after 62 years as a Major League Baseball franchise and 51 in the State of Texas, can finally call themselves World Series champions.

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A 5-0 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks in Game 5 on Wednesday clinched the Rangers’ first title in three trips to the Fall Classic. Texas took all three games at Chase Field to end the postseason with an all-time-record 11-0 road mark.

Mitch Garver snapped a scoreless tie with a run-scoring single in the seventh inning, Nathan Eovaldi pitched six scoreless innings and the Rangers’ offense broke open a close game with four runs in the ninth inning off Diamondbacks closer Paul Sewald.

Game 5 was a case of wasted chance after chance for the Diamondbacks, who hoped to send the series back to Texas for at least Game 6. Starter Zac Gallen no-hit the Rangers through six innings, allowing only one baserunner over that span.

Can Eovaldi Bring It Home?

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  1. PHOENIX — The Texas Rangers are one win away from their first World Series title, and they will ask Nathan Eovaldi to finish off the Arizona Diamondbacks in Game 5 on Wednesday. Texas grabbed a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven series with an 11-7 win in Game 4 on Tuesday, as leadoff hitter Marcus Semien contributed a three-run homer and a two-run triple.
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The Rangers took the 48,388 fans out of the game early with five-run innings in the second and third. The Diamondbacks scored six runs in the last two innings but still fell far short.

Texas, which is a record 10-0 on the road in the postseason, will look to complete a perfect away run behind Eovaldi. The veteran right-hander is 4-0 with a 3.52 ERA over five postseason starts, with 36 strikeouts and five walks in 30 2/3 innings.

Eovaldi allowed five runs on six hits in 4 2/3 innings in Game 1, which Texas won 6-5 in 11 innings. He fanned eight and walked one.

“I try to play to my strengths. At the same time, I try to learn from my mistakes I had,” Eovaldi said. “So coming in this next start against these guys, I’ll be pitching a little differently. But at the same time, just continue to use my strengths and attack their weaknesses.”

In eight career regular-season appearances (five starts) against the Diamondbacks, Eovaldi is 3-0 with a 2.78 ERA.

To fight off elimination and try to send the series back to Texas for at least a Game 6, the Diamondbacks will turn to their ace, Zac Gallen. The right-hander has not been as sharp in the postseason as he was in the regular season, going 2-2 with a 5.27 ERA in five October starts. He has given up six home runs and walked 13 batters while striking out 18 in 27 1/3 innings.

Gallen was in line for a Game 1 win after throwing five innings of three-run ball, but the Arizona bullpen couldn’t finish off the Rangers.

“For me, I’m treating it just like it’s May, honestly,” Gallen said of the Game 5 assignment. “And I don’t know … hopefully this isn’t the last time I’m experiencing this and this heavy of a workload, this late of a workload.

“I’m still trying to get better each day, really. I just threw like a 35-pitch bullpen (session) Monday, where I think some people might try and taper it off, keep that in the 20s or whatever it is. But I’m still trying to work on things, still trying to get better.

“Until the final bell rings, I’m going to keep plugging away and keep seeing what the deal is with my delivery and all types of different things, feels and whatnot. I mean, it’s maybe not the greatest thing to be throwing as much as I am, but it’s what makes me feel prepared and what eases me mentally.”

The Rangers will have to go the rest of the World Series without injured slugger Adolis Garcia, who racked up eight home runs and 22 RBIs in the postseason. Travis Jankowski took Garcia’s place in right field on Tuesday and delivered a two-run double and a single. Ezequiel Duran replaced Garcia on the World Series roster.

Garcia is sidelined due to an oblique strain he sustained in Game 3.

Texas right-hander Max Scherzer also won’t be available. His back spasms in Game 3 forced his removal from the roster, with left-handed reliever Brock Burke taking his place.

Burke yielded three runs and got just one out in Game 4, his first appearance since he gave up two runs in one-third of an inning in Game 2 of the American League Division Series against the Baltimore Orioles.

Injuries aside, the Rangers are in a good place entering Game 5.

“Going out there and doing all you can to win a ballgame, and that’s where we have to be thinking,” Texas manager Bruce Bochy said. “That’s where our minds have to be.”

–Jose M. Romero, Field Level Media

TEXAS COAST

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PHOENIX — Texas SP Andrew Heaney, on his fourth team in three seasons, helped his latest club move to the brink of a World Series championship. The left-hander gave the Rangers a solid start in Game 4 on Tuesday, and Texas rolled to an 11-7 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks.

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The Rangers dominated, even though they let the Diamondbacks make it interesting in the late innings, to take a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven series. Texas is one victory away from its first World Series crown.

“It’s awesome,” Heaney said after earning a win with five innings of one-run ball. “You know, I’ve had a lot of ups and downs in my career, been on a bunch of different teams and never had this opportunity, obviously. I just want to win the game. I want us to win, and we did that, and we’re in obviously a great position and need to finish it off.”

The Rangers supported Heaney (1-0) by exploding for consecutive five-run innings in the second and third, turning the Halloween contest into a nightmare for the Diamondbacks and their fans.

Marcus Semien, who entered the game batting .197 in the postseason, hit a two-run triple in the second inning and a three-run homer in the third. Corey Seager struck again with his third two-run homer of the World Series, his sixth postseason long ball.

Jonah Heim added a solo home run in the eighth, his third blast of the postseason.

Texas won its 10th consecutive postseason road game, the longest winning streak of its kind in major league playoff history. Another road win in Game 5 on Wednesday would seal the title.

In a bullpen game for Arizona, the Rangers knocked around relievers Miguel Castro, Kyle Nelson and Luis Frias, all of whom allowed three runs without lasting one full inning. Castro yielded Semien’s triple in the second, Nelson served up Seager’s homer in the second and Frias gave up Travis Jankowski’s two-run double and Semien’s home run in the third.

Heaney yielded four hits, walked two and struck out three, leaving with a 10-1 lead. His effort helped the Texas bullpen get extra rest.

The Rangers lost two key players to injuries sustained in Game 3, as right fielder Adolis Garcia (strained oblique muscle) and Game 3 starting pitcher Max Scherzer (back spasms) were removed from the World Series roster. However, Texas didn’t miss the power-hitting Garcia, who had 20 hits, eight home runs and 22 RBIs in the postseason.

“I couldn’t be more proud of these guys, how they bounce back, how resilient they are, how they dealt with things, whether it’s losing streaks, whether it’s injuries,” Rangers manager Bruce Bochy said. “You can’t do anything about it. They’re gonna happen occasionally.”

The Diamondbacks scored their first run in the fourth on a sacrifice fly from Lourdes Gurriel Jr. They added four runs in the eighth on a sacrifice fly from Tommy Pham and Gurriel’s three-run home run, and they didn’t go quietly in the ninth, when Gabriel Moreno hit a two-run single off Texas closer Jose Leclerc.

Ketel Marte, the Diamondbacks’ best hitter in the postseason, had two hits to increase his postseason hitting streak to 20 games, the longest such streak in major league history. But Arizona is on the brink of defeat.

“You commit to the plan and the process for 27 outs,” Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said. “And you close the game up to 11-7, got the fans engaged, got a ton of energy, you got their closer in the game.

“There’s a lot of positives to draw upon, and I will, but we gotta tighten up the things we know that went wrong. And we’ll do that. And then we’ll come out tomorrow and we gotta go 1-0 tomorrow. We gotta be ready to play our finest game tomorrow and not worry about anything else.”

Diamondbacks opener Joe Mantiply (2-1) took the loss after allowing one run in 1 1/3 innings.

–Jose M. Romero, Field Level Media