Boston Red Sox slugger David Ortiz hit his 499th and 500th career home runs today against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field.
Ortiz, 39, becomes the 27th member of the 500 home run club and continues to solidify his status as one of the greatest home run hitters of the 2000s, hitting all but 10 of his career home runs in the "new millennium." In the first inning, Ortiz took a Matt Moore pitch to the right-field stands for his 499th home run. He then flew out to center in the third. Then, in the fifth, Ortiz took Moore deep again, launching his milestone home run. Ortiz did not even wait a single game between hitting his 499th and 500 home runs. In fact, he only becomes the second player in Major League Baseball history to hit both Nos. 499 and 500 in the same game (Albert Pujols) and the second to do both off of the same pitcher (Pujols). Congratulations to David Ortiz and the Red Sox on his accomplishment. --Devan Fink
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The Philadelphia Phillies announced today that they elected to not extend general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. for the 2016 season, effective immediately.
Basically, what this means is that Amaro is out as the Phillies' general manager, without the team outright firing him. Philadelphia announced that assistant general manager Scott Proefrock will take over as interim GM. The team's search for a new permanent GM will begin today, the press release said. Amaro is just the first domino to fall in what will likely be a multitude of changes in the Phillies front office. With Andy MacPhail stepping in as team president following the season, it is expected that he will clean the house and put his touch on the organization. The 50-year-old Amaro became the Phillies general manager starting in 2009. His first three seasons were successful, leading the team to playoff appearances in each, including National League Championship in 2009. Following a 2011 season when Philadelphia set the record for most single-season wins in team history with 102, the Phillies took a step downward from their previous prowess. Many overpaid veterans, including Ryan Howard, Cliff Lee, and Carlos Ruiz, as well as others, constituted into quite a fall for the team, who has since been one of the worst in the NL. As the Phillies struggle to a 54-86 record thus far this season, Amaro's tenure looked to be coming to an end with the team. Despite a seemingly successful trade deadline, acquiring top prospects such as Jorge Alfaro, Nick Williams, and Jake Thompson for Cole Hamels, and making other "solid" deals, it just appeared that enough was enough for the Phillies' top brass. One candidate for the possible permanent GM position is Angels' assistant general manager Matt Klentak, who has been connected to Philadelphia more than once.
The Oakland Athletics and manager Bob Melvin announced a contract extension on Wednesday, as first reported by Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle.
Melvin's new deal is a two-year extension that will run through the end of the 2018 season. Prior to the deal, Melvin was only under contract through next year. The 53-year-old Melvin has been successful in his tenure with Oakland and is respected in their organization as a manager that combines the usage of analytics with "old-style," traditional managing methods. With the Athletics, Melvin has managed his team to a 385-339 record in five years (coming into tonight). He led the team to two American League West division titles and won the American League Manager of the Year award in 2012. "I'm fully committed to this team, this organization and this fan base to get this thing turned around sooner than later," Melvin said in a press conference. Melvin's extension was surely based upon his track record and not his seasonal performance, which can be quite rare. This season, the Athletics are a underwhelming 60-79. --Devan Fink
The New York Mets and outfielder Yoenis Cespedes have restructured the language in his contract, Joel Sherman of the New York Post first reported Tuesday.
Cespedes, when signing with the Athletics out of Cuba, had a clause in his deal that forced his team to release him from his Major League contract following the World Series, thereby making him ineligible for any qualifying offer. However, Cespedes could not re-sign with the team that released him until the following May, as part of Major League Baseball's Collective Bargaining Agreement. With the restructuring of the language in his contract, this clause has been removed, thereby allowing the Mets to pursue a re-signing Cespedes following the season. One plus for Cespedes is that with his midseason trade from the Tigers to the Mets, he is still ineligible for the qualifying offer regardless. It turns out to be a win-win for both player and team in this case. Cespedes is not bound by any qualifying offer and thus has another suitor for his services that he would not have had in the past. For the Mets, the win is obvious. The team is now allowed to re-sign one of the best players on their team since acquiring him at the trade deadline back in July. On the season, the 29-year-old is hitting .298/.333/.550 with 31 home runs and 92 RBIs over 586 plate appearances. Since being traded to the Mets, Cespedes has a 1.027 OPS in 159 plate appearances. He has accumulated 2.6 fWAR in just 34 games. --Devan Fink
The Los Angeles Dodgers promoted top shortstop prospect Corey Seager to the Major Leagues, Jon Heyman of CBS Sports first reported Thursday morning.
The younger brother of Mariners All-Star third baseman, Kyle Seager, Seager was ranked baseball's No. 2 overall prospect, according to MLB.com's midseason updated rankings. Seager made his Major League debut with Los Angeles this evening, batting eighth and playing shortstop. The 21-year-old Seager was drafted in the 1st round (18th overall) by the Dodgers in the 2012 MLB Draft and has progressed quite quickly through the minor leagues. After he posted a monster .349/.402/.602 line (526 PA) in High-A and Double-A ball last year, Seager's name began to be thrown around as one of the best prospects in the minor leagues. He shared the Dodgers' minor league player of the year award that year with current Los Angeles center fielder Joc Pederson. So far this year, Seager has performed quite well in the upper levels of the minor leagues, hitting .292/.343/.486 in 545 plate appearances between Double- and Triple-A. It's hard to know exactly what impact Seager will have on the Dodgers from the get-go. He was called up as shortstop depth behind Jimmy Rollins, as fellow prospect Jose Peraza has reportedly been dealing with a sore hamstring and will miss three to five games. Seager's cup of coffee in the Major Leagues allows the Dodgers to see if they believe he is ready for the MLB full-time next Opening Day as well. Overall, according to MLB.com, Seager is quite a well-rounded prospect. On the 20-80 scouting scale, he does not have one specific tool that quite pops out. Rather, Seager's tools rate in the 40-60 range and overall MLB.com believes he is a 70 (well above average player). --Devan Fink |
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