1. Bellinger, PCA win Platinum Gloves

Cody Bellinger and Pete Crow-Armstrong were announced as Gold Glove winners last Sunday, and the two outfielders earned additional recognition Friday when Rawlings named the duo as the AL and NL winners of the Platinum Glove.  This is the award given to the best defensive player (at any position) in each league, and both of this year’s recipients are first-time winners.  The Platinum Glove adds to a laundry list of plaudits coming PCA’s way, as beyond his Gold Glove and Fielding Bible Award for best defensive player of 2026, the Cubs center fielder is widely expected to capture NL MVP honors on November 12.

2. Blue Jays, Cubs, awarded team Gold Gloves

Rawlings also announced that the Blue Jays and Cubs won the team Gold Glove awards, given to the best overall defensive clubs in each league.  Crow-Armstrong was just one piece of an incredible run-prevention unit for the Cubs, who led the majors with 72 Outs Above Average and +115 Defensive Runs Saved.  To give you an idea of Chicago’s dominance, the second-place teams in these categories were the Diamondbacks’ 44 OAA and the Rays’ +87 DRS.  Toronto posted 15 OAA and +51 DRS, finishing 11th and sixth in the majors in each category.  Since Rawlings started issuing the team Gold Glove in 2020, the Cubs and Blue Jays have each won three times.

3. Recapping the Nationals’ busy day

Jacob Young’s four-year, $23MM contract extension is the biggest headline, but it was just one piece of a transaction-heavy Friday in the District.  The Nats also bolstered their relief mix by acquiring southpaw Reiver Sanmartin from the Giants for minor league right-hander Robert Cranz, and Kyle Nicolas was designated for assignment to create room for Sanmartin on Washington’s 40-man roster.  Sanmartin, Nate Furman, and Braxton Roxby have all gone from San Francisco to D.C. within the last nine days, as the Nationals have been taking advantage of a Giants team facing a major roster crunch.  The Nats’ moves required some roster maintenance of their own, and after Jose Tena was DFA’ed earlier this week, Tena was claimed off waivers by the Guardians yesterday.

Young, 27, has been the Nationals’ primary center fielder since 2024. He posted poor offensive numbers in 2024 and particularly in 2025, but was close to league-average at the plate in 2026 (.252/.318/.390). Since establishing himself as a big league regular in ’24, Young carries a .248/.311/.340 batting line (82 wRC+).

While the righty-hitting Young doesn’t provide much in the batter’s box, he’s a high-end defender with excellent speed. He’s swiped 66 bags over the past three seasons but hasn’t been overly efficient, as those steals have come in 91 attempts (72.5% success rate). However, Young went 18-for-22 in steals this past season, and the real selling point on his skill set lies in his glove anyhow.

Statcast credits Young as the second-best defensive outfielder in baseball across the past three seasons. His 46 Outs Above Average in that time trail only likely NL MVP Pete Crow-Armstrong. More broadly, Young ranks fourth among all major leaguers in OAA since 2024; Bobby Witt Jr., Crow-Armstrong and Andrés Giménez are the only players who’s posted larger OAA totals in that span. Defensive Runs Saved did ding Young for a slightly negative mark this year, due in part to some poor throws, but both metrics agree that he’s one of the rangiest defenders in the game dating back to ’24.

The new contract for Young buys out all three of his arbitration seasons and gives the Nats control over two would-be free agent years — one of which is a club option that’ll be at their discretion, of course. With a $2.3MM projection for his first arb year, Young could probably have expected to command somewhere in the $12-15MM range for his three arb years, depending on how well he hits in subsequent seasons. If he can continue his nearly average offensive output from ’26 or even improve upon it, he could be on the higher end of that range. Regression might’ve left him a bit lower. Either way, the deal is effectively paying somewhere in the $8-11MM range to lock in one free agent year with a club option for a second.

Young’s plus-plus speed and strong glovework give him a high enough floor that the Nationals probably feel he’ll justify this commitment even if 2026 proves to be a peak offensive year. He’s also a particularly solid hitter versus lefties (.282/.353/.423 in 2026, .265/.336/.355 in his career), which gives him a good chance to hold value as a fourth outfielder even if his overall game slips in subsequent seasons.

Broadly speaking, it’s a sensible deal for both clubs. Young’s glove and speed aren’t likely to evaporate in sudden fashion, barring some sort of unexpected injury of note. However, his skill set also isn’t one that’s necessarily paid all that handsomely in arbitration. He’s able to lock in a life-changing amount of money, while the team secures some cost certainty over a starting center fielder whose worst-case scenario would still render him a useful fourth outfielder.

Today’s extension is the second in the past few months for the Nats and now gives them three players under long-term control: Young, top starter Cade Cavalli and catcher Keibert Ruiz. Cavalli, who inked a four-year, $47MM deal with a club option back in September, had a breakout year atop Washington’s rotation now that his prior injury troubles have seemingly been put in the rearview mirror. Ruiz, who signed an eight-year, $50MM contract under the Nationals’ former Mike Rizzo-led front office, enjoyed a rebound campaign after a trio of poor seasons.

Cavalli, Young and Ruiz are now all signed through 2030 with a team option for 2031. (Ruiz’s deal has a second club option covering the 2032 season.) That 2030 season is the same year through which Washington controls star young slugger James Wood, around whom this growing core will continue to be focused.

Talk Nats first reported the agreement and the $2MM assignment bonus upon a potential trade away from the Nationals. Robert Murray of FanSided first reported the terms of the contract.

Harris has spent the last two seasons in the Boston system. He didn’t get a major league opportunity with the Red Sox, instead pitching mostly with Triple-A Worcester. Harris posted a 4.15 ERA in 31 outings with the WooSox in 2025. Harris missed the first half of the ’26 season to injury, returning to throw 24 2/3 frames of 2.55 ERA ball down the stretch. He struck out more than a quarter of opponents but walked over 15% of batters faced, which wasn’t enough to get a look in a strong Boston bullpen.

The 33-year-old Harris has 16 games of major league experience, all of which came with the 2023 Nationals. He surrendered 12 runs (11 earned) with more walks than strikeouts across 19 1/3 innings. Harris has a 95 mph fastball but leans more heavily on his splitter and cutter. The University of Pittsburgh product carries a 4.26 ERA across parts of six Triple-A campaigns.

Harris may have an opportunity to win a bullpen spot in Kansas City early next season. The Royals had one of the worst bullpens in the league this year. They finished 29th in ERA (5.07) and dead last in strikeout rate (18.9%). Daniel Lynch IV was the only K.C. reliever who had a strong season in more than brief playing time, and he finished the season in the rotation. Nate Pearson and Steven Cruz are their top projected leverage arms. It’s as weak as any on-paper bullpen in the league, and while the Royals are surely going to look for clearer upgrades in the late innings, it’s a good landing spot for journeymen on NRIs given the wide open middle relief picture.

Díaz was claimed off waivers from Arizona in late June. He spent most of the remaining season on optional assignment with Toledo, though he made a couple brief appearances on the big league roster. Díaz pitched four times as a Tiger, allowing four runs across 5 1/3 innings. He’s thrown 37 1/3 big league frames over parts of three seasons, posting a 6.27 earned run average. Díaz has a modest 15.5% strikeout rate against a lofty 11.9% walk percentage at the MLB level.

The Venezuelan-born Díaz was viewed as one of the better starting pitching prospects in a thin Arizona farm system a couple years ago. He has a power arsenal but was held back as a starter by a lack of a viable changeup and subpar command. The D-Backs moved him to the bullpen in 2025. Díaz has posted big strikeout numbers in the minors but still isn’t throwing enough strikes to stick in the majors, even in a middle relief capacity. He worked 54 innings of 3.50 ERA ball with a 28% strikeout rate and an untenable 15% walk percentage in Triple-A this year.

This is the first time that Díaz has cleared waivers in his career. He’ll remain in the Detroit organization and should receive a non-roster invite to Spring Training. Díaz has exhausted his minor league option years, which limits the flexibility to shuffle him back and forth between Triple-A moving forward.

Martínez played five seasons in the big leagues. He’s best known for his 2016-19 run with the Cardinals, for whom he had a trio of double digit home run seasons. He split the 2020 season between the Rays and Cubs. He signed with the Mets for the ’21 campaign but suffered a meniscus tear during a Spring Training in a collision with an umpire. Martínez missed the season, was dropped from the roster at the end of the year, and never appeared in the majors again.

The right-handed hitter finished his career with a lifetime .289/.356/.447 batting line. He didn’t have a lengthy MLB run but was 18 percentage points better than an average hitter on a rate basis, measure of wRC+. This will be his first coaching stint in affiliated ball.

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Carroll tells Piecoro that he felt some discomfort in that right elbow, which is his non-throwing arm, during the season. That discomfort worsened lately, which eventually led to this surgery. The NanoNeedle is a fairly new technology. In essence, it’s smaller than other arthroscopes, which hopefully leads to smaller incision and therefore less pain, swelling and recovery time. In Skubal’s case, it seemed to work, as he returned in about six weeks from a procedure that would usually take a few months.

With Carroll, it should be even less significant. As mentioned, this surgery was performed on his non-throwing arm. Also, position players can usually return from elbow surgeries quicker than pitchers. Carroll’s offseason swinging program was set to start in November but will now be pushed by a few weeks into December. Apart from that, it will hopefully be a normal winter for Carroll.

Little injuries were a recurring theme for Carroll in 2026. He require hamate surgery in February. He was ready by Opening Day and avoided the injured list but had a few minor absences related to his left hip, his lower back and his elbow. Carroll tells Piecoro that the back was actually more of an issue than the elbow during the campaign and something he is focused on getting right before the next season.

Despite the various issues, it was still a strong season for Carroll. He hit 22 home runs and stole 21 bases. He slashed .239/.328/.467 for a 115 wRC+. FanGraphs credited him with 4.2 wins above replacement. As impressive as those stats are, they were all a bit down from the prior season. In 2025, Carroll had 31 homers, 32 steals, a .259/.343/.541 line, 140 wRC+ and 6.6 fWAR. The drop could have been typical annual fluctuation or perhaps the injuries dragged him down a bit.

Carroll is a huge part of the Arizona club. Naturally, he and the Snakes will hope that he is 100% healthy and as productive as possible next year. The club made it to the World Series in 2023 but missed the playoffs in the three most recent seasons. Carroll is going into the fifth year of the eight-year extension he signed with the club back 2023. There’s also a club option for 2031.

Photo courtesy of Thomas Shea, Imagn Images

It’s a homecoming for Swanson, who is now 44 years old. He’s a native of Washington state and played college ball for various schools there. He eventually moved into coaching at the high school and college levels. He entered the professional ranks when the Twins hired him as a minor league catching coordinator in 2017. He got his first big league job with the Yankees in November of 2019.

As Sherman points out, Yankee catchers have generally been well regarded in recent years. He points out that current Yankees Austin Wells and J.C. Escarra have strong framing marks while former Yankees such as Kyle Higashioka, Jose Trevino and others have also done well.

Swanson will presumably doing far more than working with catchers in Seattle. A bench coach is generally considered a manager’s second-in-command, so Swanson’s duties could be more diverse with his new club. He will be working under a relatively green manager. The Mariners hired Jason Kanzler this week. In addition to being a first-time skipper, Kanzler is just 36 years old and has a pretty short coaching résumé.

Swanson will try to help Kanzler learn quickly on the job as the Mariners try to bounce back from a disappointing 2026 season. Manny Acta was the bench coach in 2026. He and several other coaches were dismissed in September shortly after the Mariners parted ways with manager Dan Wilson.

Photo courtesy of Nathan Ray Seebeck, Imagn Images

Kelly, 32 next March, has a solid big league track record and pitched well in limited action with Boston this season before a fracture in his right elbow ended his season. He tossed 16 1/3 innings and recorded a 3.31 ERA with a 19.7% strikeout rate and 9.9% walk rate. Dating back to his 2022 major league debut, the former undrafted free agent has pitched 131 big league innings with a 4.04 earned run average, a 22.4% strikeout rate, a 10.2% walk rate and a 45.4% ground-ball rate.

Kelly averages about 96 mph on his four-seamer and sinker alike — the latter of which he only began throwing in 2025. He used to rely on a changeup as his go-to secondary pitch, but he’s more recently ramped up the usage of a new 90-91 mph cutter and paired that with an 81 mph slider to round out his repertoire.

It’s not yet clear exactly how long Kelly will be sidelined. His original IL placement came in late July and was first attributed to elbow inflammation, but follow-up testing eventually revealed the fracture. Wherever he signs next, he’ll be controllable for at least three more years if he’s added back to a major league roster. However, he’s also out of minor league options, which means he’ll have to stick in the majors or else be designated for assignment again.

The fact that Kelly passed through waivers makes it quite likely that he’ll sign a minor league deal once he’s officially a free agent — whether back with the Red Sox or with a new organization. A silver lining to doing so will be that he’ll be able to remain in contact with that team throughout the looming lockout; players on 40-man rosters won’t be in contact with their teams and won’t be allowed to play in any games until a new collective bargaining agreement has been finalized.

Anthony Franco

• Good afternoon, hope all is well!
• Looking forward to another of these, let’s get it going

Ranger13

• CY has expressed his hope to trade one of his big four contracts in a two for one scenario. What trade partner(s) would be the best fit for that scenario and what players would be involved?

Anthony Franco

• Cubs or Braves would make the most sense on deGrom and Eovaldi if they’re willing to waive the NTC. Those teams have a ton of short-term payroll space and need playoff-caliber starters
• Yankees feel like the best fit on Seager (again pending the 10-and-5 rights). Could include McMahon in the return as a short-term salary offset — plus the Rangers eating future cash — and plug Seager in at third
• I feel like they’re just kinda stuck with Nimmo. Mid-30s, declining defensive grades, didn’t hit much after April. He’s still a useful player but another four years at $20.5M annually is not appealing

Carlos Garcia

• Tarik is the best FA this upcoming season, Who is the best FA for 27-28 and 28-29?

Anthony Franco

• Tim rounded up the ’27-28 group this week:
• https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2026/11/2027-28-mlb-free-agents.html
• Peña’s the top guy there for me. It’s a deeper class than this year but he’s a pretty weak headliner
• No slight on him, really good player, but I think he’s a little shy of the true superstar you’d really want to lead the class
• Haven’t considered the ’28-29 group, it’s way too far out to say with much confidence on that one. Just eyeballing the 4-5 year arbitration group, could see any of Gunnar Henderson, CJ Abrams, Riley Greene or Hunter Brown as possibilities
• Acuña and Yordan Alvarez on guaranteed deals that’ll be up then. Going to be tough to be the #1 player in the class as early 30s corner guys but if they’re hitting at MVP levels, they’ll be up there

Dave

• Hi Anthony – how do MLB teams address high strikeouts – get more contact oriented hitters or hire new hitting coach or perhaps change team approach to contact as opposed to power?  Just one person’s opinion here, but I feel the biggest weakness the Red Sox had this year (besides obvious injuries) was lack of making contact with the ball and some folks like Durran and Story (when healthy) had too many strikeouts.  thanks

Anthony Franco

• Yeah you’d have to mostly change this in terms of the personnel you target. Some guys make consistent contact improvements (Bellinger jumps to mind, completely different hitter than the guy who came up in L.A.) but it’s a tough thing to teach
• You can select for it in free agency — signing Arraez is going to bring your team strikeout rate down by a percentage point or two by itself — but if you want to do it organizationally, it needs to be something you’re selecting for in the draft and on the international amateur market. It’s usually smaller guys with shorter arms who are quick to the ball
• Obviously that typically comes with a power tradeoff. You’d love to only draft a bunch of Kevin McGonigles but there’s a decent chance you push this too far and get too many Ernie Clement types

Burgh Capologist

• Is CJ Abrams still on the trade block? Could Pittsburgh be interested in putting him at 2b in the event they don’t re-sign Lowe?
• 

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  ]]> 10 https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2026/11/guardians-claim-jose-tena.html https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2026/11/guardians-claim-jose-tena.html#comments Fri, 06 Nov 2026 19:55:04 +0000 https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/?p=917774 The Guardians have claimed infielder José Tena off waivers from the Nationals, per a team announcement. He’d been designated for assignment earlier in the week. Tena was originally a Cleveland signee as an amateur out of the Dominican Republic but was traded to the Nats back in the 2024 deadline deal that brought outfielder Lane Thomas to the Guardians.

  Now 25 years old, Tena once ranked as one of the top prospects in Cleveland’s system. He sat ninth in their system at MLB.com ahead of the 2022 campaign and 11th at Baseball America’s rankings. He’s a lefty-swinging infielder who’s experienced at every spot on the dirt to the left of first base, though he’s far better suited at second and third than he is at shortstop.

  Tena has appeared in parts of four major league seasons between Washington and Cleveland. He’s taken 659 plate appearances in the bigs and turned in a .240/.303/.358 batting line — 17% worse than average, by measure of wRC+.

  It’s not an especially encouraging line, particularly when juxtaposed with Tena’s career 27.5% strikeout rate (including a 31.3% mark in a career-high 288 plate appearances this past season). However, he has good bat speed, makes plenty of hard contact and boasts a stout .295/.362/.486 batting line in nearly 700 career plate appearances at the Triple-A level. There’s above-average raw power in Tena’s bat, but his penchant for whiffs has undercut his ability to drive the ball.

  Tena is out of minor league options, so he’ll have to either break camp with Cleveland next year or else be designated for assignment once again. If the Guards can manage to sneak him through waivers at some point, they could outright him to Triple-A Columbus to stick around as a depth option without occupying a spot on the 40-man roster. For now, he profiles as a lefty-hitting bench option who could back up third baseman Jose Ramirez, second baseman Travis Bazzana and, in a pinch, shortstop Brayan Rocchio.

  ]]> 11 https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2026/11/nationals-dfa-kyle-nicolas-reliever.html https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2026/11/nationals-dfa-kyle-nicolas-reliever.html#comments Fri, 06 Nov 2026 19:09:37 +0000 https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/?p=917771 The Nationals have designated righty Kyle Nicolas for assignment, the team announced Friday. His spot on the 40-man roster goes to newly acquired left-handed reliever Reiver Sanmartin, who just came over in a trade with the Giants.

  Nicolas, 27, was acquired from the Orioles in early July after they’d designated him for assignment themselves. He’s pitched a nearly identical number of big league innings (105 1/3) to the man to whom he’s losing his roster spot (105 2/3) but with shakier recent results. Nicolas had a nice showing with the 2024 Pirates, but the former No. 61 overall draft pick (2020) has been rocked for 27 runs in 45 1/3 innings (5.36 ERA) over the past two seasons.

  Although Nicolas throws quite hard, sitting better than 97 mph and at times reaching triple digits, he doesn’t miss bats like one would expect for a pitcher with such high-end velocity. He’s fanned only 21.5% of his major league opponents, and most of the whiffs he garnered came in his rookie campaign back in 2023. He’s punched out just 19.6% of his opponents over the past two seasons — and he’s done so while walking a whopping 14.8% of the batters he’s faced.

  Nicolas posted a 3.29 ERA and fanned 29.1% of his opponents in 27 1/3 innings with the Nationals’ Triple-A club in Rochester this season. That sounds good until also weighing the jarring 18.7% walk rate he issued. He’s pitched 138 2/3 career innings at the Triple-A level, missing plenty of bats but also doling out free passes at a 16.6% clip.

  Nicolas will be out of minor league options in 2027, so any team who claims him or trades for him would need to carry him on next year’s Opening Day roster or else designate him for assignment. The Nats have five days to look around for a trade partner before they’d be obligated to place him on waivers, which is another 48-hour process. His DFA will be resolved in no more than one week’s time.

  ]]> 2 https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2026/11/giants-trade-reiver-sanmartin-nationals.html https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2026/11/giants-trade-reiver-sanmartin-nationals.html#comments Fri, 06 Nov 2026 18:45:22 +0000 https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/?p=917761 12:45pm: The two teams have announced the swap.

  12:30pm: The Nationals are acquiring left-handed reliever Reiver Sanmartin from the Giants, reports Spencer Nusbaum of The Athletic. Minor league righty Robert Cranz is headed back to San Francisco in return. The Giants designated Sanmartin for assignment earlier in the week.

  Sanmartin, 30, pitched 21 1/3 innings with the Giants this past season and logged a 4.22 ERA, 17.2% strikeout rate, 7.5% walk rate and colossal 63.8% ground-ball rate. The 6’1″ southpaw has pitched in parts of five major league seasons — the other four all coming with Cincinnati — and carries a 5.37 ERA in 105 2/3 frames overall.

  Sanmartin works primarily off a sinker that sat 91.7 mph this past season. He complements the pitch with a slider and changeup both used about equally (roughly 27% apiece) and a seldom-used four-seamer that checks in about a half-mile north of Sanmartin’s sinker.

  In parts of 10 minor league seasons, Sanmartin carries a 3.40 ERA in 564 1/3 innings. That includes a 4.04 mark in 214 Triple-A frames, where he’s fanned a batter per inning (23.6% overall) with very strong command (6.2% walk rate). As one might expect looking at his big league work, Sanmartin has a track record of posting huge ground-ball rates throughout all levels of the minors — including a rate north of 60% across the past three Triple-A campaigns.

  Since Sanmartin is out of minor league options, he’ll need to break camp with the Nationals next year or else be designated for assignment. Given that the Nats traded a relatively decent relief prospect for him, it seems likely that president of baseball operations Paul Toboni envisions Sanmartin opening next year in at least a middle relief capacity.

  Sanmartin crossed two years of major league service time during the 2026 season, so the Nats can control him for another four seasons. The bullpen-hungry Giants would probably have preferred to hang onto him themselves, but San Francisco finished the season with an astounding 16 players on the 60-day injured list and needed to open 40-man roster spots for most of them no later than this past Monday afternoon, leading to some tough decisions.

  As for the 23-year-old Cranz, he was Washington’s seventh-round pick (No. 200 overall) in the 2024 draft. The Oklahoma State product posted strong numbers at every minor league stop until getting tagged for 17 earned runs in 11 2/3 frames during his first promotion to Triple-A late in 2026. It was a rude introduction to the game’s top minor league level, but Cranz had posted a 2.02 ERA across two Class-A levels in 2025, a 2.25 mark in 16 High-A frames this season and a 3.42 mark in 26 1/3 Double-A innings.

  Along the way, Cranz has shown an aptitude for missing bats but has also demonstrated poor command. He’s fanned more than 32% of his opponents in pro ball but has also issued walks at an untenable 12.6% clip. More advanced Triple-A hitters, in particular, exploited his lack of precision; they drew walks at a mammoth 20% clip against just a 13.8% strikeout rate.

  While Cranz’s Triple-A debut was ugly to say the least, it’s a relatively small number of innings for a young pitcher who’d already pitched more innings by the time he was promoted (42 1/3) than he did in all of 2025 (35 1/3). Cranz comes to the Giants with a repertoire that features a four-seamer just north of 95 mph, an 88 mph cutter, an 83 mph slider and a very seldom-used changeup that also checks into the 83-84 mph range. He wasn’t considered a top prospect in Washington’s system but is pretty close to MLB readiness and could factor into San Francisco’s bullpen as soon as the 2027 season if he can make some strides with his command.

  ]]> 28 https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2026/11/hitting-coach-aaron-bates-to-leave-dodgers-organization.html https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2026/11/hitting-coach-aaron-bates-to-leave-dodgers-organization.html#comments Fri, 06 Nov 2026 16:28:40 +0000 https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/?p=917756 Dodgers hitting coach Aaron Bates is departing the organization, reports MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes. He’d been offered a multi-year contract to stay, but the two parties couldn’t come to terms on a final agreement. Bates’ departure closes a 12-year run with the Dodgers that saw him contribute to World Series titles in 2020, 2024 and 2025.

  Bates, 42, had a nine-year playing career, mostly in the minors. He was a third-round pick by the Red Sox back in 2006 and briefly reached the majors in 2009, going 4-for-11 with a walk in what would be the only 12 plate appearances of his MLB career. He spent a couple years in the Twins’ system after signing minor league contracts and briefly appeared with the Cardinals’ top affiliate before closing out his playing career in the Dodgers organization.

  While Bates only played 11 games in the Dodgers’ system in 2014, that proved to be a serendipitous landing spot. The Dodgers gave him his first coaching opportunity in 2015 after he retired as a player. Bates was a minor league hitting coach and coordinator before climbing to the big league staff as an assistant hitting coach in 2019. Bates and Robert Van Scoyoc have jointly carried the title of “hitting coach” with the Dodgers since 2023.

  The Dodgers had seemingly been planning to retain their entire staff. Bates’ departure comes as something of a surprise. Van Scoyoc is still on board with the “hitting coach” title, but time will tell whether Bates’ decision to explore other opportunities will prompt the L.A. front office to bring in an additional hitting coach or perhaps promote someone from their minor league coaching ranks. Regardless, an eight-year run on a perennially successful Dodgers staff should create plenty of interest for Bates as he weighs his next steps in baseball.

  ]]> 34 https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2026/11/cardinals-promote-rob-cerfolio-general-manager.html https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2026/11/cardinals-promote-rob-cerfolio-general-manager.html#comments Fri, 06 Nov 2026 15:40:26 +0000 https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/?p=917732 9:40am: The Cardinals have formally announced Cerfolio’s promotion.

  8:40am: The Cardinals are promoting assistant general manager Rob Cerfolio to the title of general manager, reports Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. He’ll serve as the No. 2 executive under president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom.

  Cerfolio, 34, joined the Cardinals two offseasons ago. He’d previously been the Guardians’ director of player development and was given the title of AGM with a focus on player development and performance. He’s held that role for the past two seasons and now climbs another rung on the ladder.

  It’s perhaps no coincidence that Cerfolio receives this title bump (and presumably pay increase) after his name emerged as a candidate in the Athletics’ GM search. He’s one of several known candidates that interviewed, joining Brewers assistant GM Matt Kleine and, of course, Red Sox assistant GM Taylor Smith, who ultimately landed the president of baseball operations title with the A’s. Cerfolio’s promotion to the GM post in St. Louis means that in order to be hired away by another organization in the future, he’d likely need to be offered a new team’s president of baseball ops title himself.

  Meanwhile, St. Louis did lose one of its top executives — fellow assistant GM/scouting director Randy Flores — who was named general manager of the Astros last week (after Kleine turned down an offer in Houston and opted to remain in Milwaukee). Cerfolio and Flores had been two of the Cardinals’ three assistant GMs, alongside Moisés Rodríguez. The promotion for Cerfolio helps maintain some continuity at a time when the Cardinals’ baseball ops leaders have been attracting interest from other teams. It shouldn’t come as a surprise if they promote another in-house exec an AGM post or bring someone in from outside the organization in the wake of Flores’ departure.

  Presumably, the promotion comes with a new contract for Cerfolio. Time will tell whether the Cardinals divulge specifics, but Bloom’s contract as president of baseball operations covers the 2026-30 seasons, so one would imagine Cerfolio will be looking at a similar timeline as that pair tries to oversee a transitional/rebuilding period for the Cardinals.

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