As he does every Sunday, Bob Nightengale dropped a column this week with news and notes from around the MLB, including plenty of breadcrumbs and tidbits coming off of the GM meetings that took place in Arizona earlier this week.
Here's some of the cherry-picked items of importance we learned from his latest column:
Astros next manager seems firm
Joe Espada, current bench coach of the Houston Astros, is expected to get promoted from his role as bench coach to manager on Monday, filling the role for the recently retired Dusty Baker. Espada has experience coaching with multiple organizations, including serving as third base coach for the Marlins and Yankees.
Espada has been the Astros bench coach since 2017 and has interviewed for managerial roles multiple times, now finally getting the call-up to the manager role.
Tim Anderson pursuer wants to change his position
Tim Anderson is being pursued by the Los Angeles Angels, but their interest comes with a sizable twist: The Angels hope to convert him from a shortstop to a second baseman.
Anderson had a -1 outs above average in 2023, a -2 in 2022, and a +2 in 2021. He's always been better known for his bat, and a move to the less pressured second base slot could allow him a relief of pressure on the defensive side which could help him focus on improving his offense in 2024.
That improvement is of utmost importance for the once All-Star in 2024, as he put forth a 60 OPS+. 100 is league average, and it was his first year falling short of that average line since 2018. He didn't just slump, he fell off a cliff.
Given the fact that he projects as an average defender at best, he needs to find his rhythm offensively.
A.J. Preller really wants to keep Juan Soto
Nightengale also reports that the San Diego Padres, specifically, A.J. Preller, really hope to keep Juan Soto in tow to start the 2024 regular season. Preller is, "trying to persuade ownership," to keep him until the trade deadline.
That phrasing, specifically, might indicate what we already know: He's widely expected to be traded because the Padres hope to shed payroll and could net a good haul for a player who is otherwise going to walk in free agency relatively soon. Right now, it seems as if Preller is just pushing off the inevitable.
But Preller seems to want to keep him around, hopeful the team he's built can actually make something of itself after falling entirely short of expectations the last few years. In 2023, the Padres didn't even make the postseason despite rostering a talented squad headlined by Blake Snell, Manny Machado, Fernando Tatis Jr., and Soto.
Cody Bellinger suitors revealed
The front-runners are in: Cody Bellinger is expected to be courted by the San Francisco Giants, New York Yankees, and the incumbent Cubs.
Each team could make great use of Bellinger. The Cubs, of course, rostered him last year on a reputation-restoring one-year contract and would love to bring him back. The Yankees have holes in left field and center field after waiving Harrison Bader toward the end of last year and never finding anyone solid after waiving Aaron Hicks midseason. The Giants fell short of making major signings last year and could stand to upgrade most of their roster.
Bellinger is projected to command a contract with an average value of above $22 million according to Spotrac's projections.
Mets are out on Ohtani in favor of Yamamoto
The Mets don't believe they will be able to compete for Shohei Ohtani and are instead turning their sights to Yoshinobu Yamamoto, according to Nightengale.
That might be a tough look for the Mets, though, who are expected to have a tougher time securing Yamamoto than the New York Yankees, who seem to still be in on both players.
That last part might be up in the air, though. The Yankees are rumored to be in on Yamamoto, but their interest in Shohei Ohtani is reasonable to assume, but entirely speculative at this point. Though one would think the pinstripes and their massive payroll should be doing whatever it can to accrue talent after a string of disappointing seasons, it skipped out on Bryce Harper years ago.
Regardless, don't expect to see Ohtani in New York in Queens, because that team isn't even trying.
