#roland-hemond

#roland-hemond

It was really cool. He's a great guy and really helpful. Wade Boggs is a Hall of Famer. That's crazy in itself, but he didn't act like it.

In retrospect, knowing what occurred, it's easy to say, 'I knew it, I saw it.' But I did see it! I really did. Or I felt that. You can't ever project someone's going to [win] 11 rings.

January 31st: The White Sox have agreed to a deal with outfielder Austin Hays, ESPN's Jesse Rogers reports. The one-year deal will pay Hays $6MM, according to Jon Heyman of the New York Post, and the contract will be official following a physical. Hays will earn $5MM in salary in 2026, and there is a $1MM buyout on a mutual option for 2027, The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal writes. Another $375K is available for Hays in incentive bonuses based around plate appearances.

The Baseball Hall of Fame will have two new members in a few months, as Carlos Beltran and Andruw Jones were officially elected yesterday. The two Red Sox legends on the ballot, Dustin Pedroia and Manny Ramirez, failed to hit the 75% vote threshold. Pedroia, though, is only in his second year on the ballot and saw his vote percentage jump from 11.9 to 20.7, which bodes well for his campaign going forward.

In the end, though, all the White Sox got were Luisangel Acuña and a 12th-round overslot signee arm from last year's draft that registers as a fringy prospect at best. Not to denigrate Ronald Acuña Jr.'s younger brother too much, but Luisangel looks like an all-glove utility infielder based on his 200ish PAs of MLB exposure thus far, and a big chunk of his defensive value to date.

David Ross spent a couple of years as an analyst with ESPN after his playing days were over, but before becoming the Cubs manager. But he set down his mic and headset to take over the Cubs starting in 2020. Although Ross' managerial career (four seasons, 262-284 record) wasn't strictly successful, the decision to move on from him was more about the availability of Craig Counsell, whom the Cubs loved, than any perceived shortfalls of Ross himself.

Beede, 33 in May, has had a uniquely winding career but is not coming off a good year. He signed a minor league deal with the Twins in April of 2025. He made seven appearances for Triple-A St. Paul but allowed eight earned runs in nine innings via 12 hits and nine walks while striking out seven opponents. He was released in June and then landed a deal with the Long Island Ducks of the independent Atlantic League.

The White Sox announced that right-hander Jairo Iriarte and catcher have cleared waivers and been outrighted to Triple-A Charlotte, per Scott Merkin of MLB.com. Both will be in big league camp in spring training as non-roster invitees. The two were designated for assignment earlier this week as corresponding moves when the White Sox acquired Jordan Hicks and David Sandlin from the Red Sox.

Thornton, a Wasserman client, has pitched in parts of seven big league seasons, all coming between the Blue Jays and Mariners. The 32-year-old had more success with the latter, pitching to a combined 3.65 ERA in 140 2/3 frames from 2023-25. Thornton was sitting on a 4.68 ERA in 42 1/3 innings this past season, his numbers still recovering from a five-run meltdown early in the season, when he suffered a torn Achilles that ended his season.

Ketel Marte is officially off the market, but even if the Diamondbacks aren't swinging a big trade this winter they still have plenty of work to do. The team's biggest move of the offseason has been reuniting with Merrill Kelly in free agency. They've also signed right-hander Michael Soroka and catcher James McCann to one-year deals while shipping lefty Kyle Backhus and outfielder Jake McCarthy out in trades. Those relatively small moves aren't the end of the team's offseason maneuvers, as general manager Mike Hazen told reports (including Alex Weiner of Arizona Sports) that he would like to bolster the pitching staff and also add "a couple of bats" to the offense.

Pete Crow-Armstrong says extension talks with the Cubs have happened and will continue to occur, but the two sides are in no rush. 'I'd like to keep it that way because I'm going to go out and play regardless. There's bigger fish to fry right now than getting me paid.'

Machado spent the majority of that time in the minors. He played nearly 1300 minor league games, more than half of which came at the Triple-A level. The Venezuelan-born infielder had a four-year MLB run with the Tigers between 2015-18. He spent the '19 campaign in the Cubs' system before moving to Korea as a member of the Lotte Giants for two seasons.

The Cubs made a major splash over the weekend by landing star third baseman Alex Bregman on a five-year deal. As a multi-time All-Star who reliably offers Gold Glove defense at third base and posts offense in the 125 wRC+ range, Bregman is sure to provide a major lift to the club headed into 2026. Strong as the signing is for the team, however, it also creates questions about the future of some of their other players.