Tag Archives: Chicago Cubs

Alex Cora Agrees to New Deal with Boston Red Sox

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Alex Cora is getting a much-deserved pay raise…

The 43-year-old Puerto Rican Major League Baseball manager, the Boston Red Sox‘s first-year manager, has agreed to a new deal with the team that includes a one-year extension through the 2021 season and, most likely, a significant raise. Terms have not been announced.

Alex Cora

Cora was one of the lowest-paid skippers in the MLB last season on his way to winning a franchise-record 108 games and the World Series.

“We have consistently been impressed by Alex at every turn,” said Red Sox chairman Tom Werner. “His knowledge of the game, ability to connect with our players, and his incredible instincts and decisiveness led us to an historic championship season. We know we are in good hands, and could not be more pleased to know he will be with us for the foreseeable future.”

“Alex did a tremendous job for our club all year long and we wanted to reward him for his efforts after an amazing season,” president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said. “We are extremely happy that he will be with us and leading our club on the field.”

Last season, Cora made $800,000, tied with the Braves’ Brian Snitker and the Mariners’ Scott Servais for the lowest salary among managers to start the season.

Snitker won Manager of the Year in the National League, and Cora finished second in voting for the American League award.

“Since day one, John and Linda Henry, Tom Werner, Mike Gordon, Sam Kennedy, and Dave Dombrowski have been incredibly supportive of me and my family, and for that I am extremely grateful,” Cora said. “For me, 2018 was not only historic, but it was special as well, both on and off the field. We have a great appreciation for our accomplishments this past year, but now our focus moves forward to the season ahead and defending our World Series title.”

Chicago Cubs manager Joe Maddon, San Francisco Giants manager Bruce Bochy and Los Angeles Angels manager Mike Scioscia, who retired following the season, all made $6 million last season.

Cora became only the second Puerto Rican-born manager in major league history, joining Edwin Rodriguez, who managed the Florida Marlins for parts of the 2010 and 2011 seasons.

Cora was the fifth major league manager to win a World Series in his first season, joining Bob Brenly (2001, Arizona Diamondbacks), Ralph Houk (1961, New York Yankees), Eddie Dyer (1946, St. Louis Cardinals) and Bucky Harris (1924, Washington Senators).

Jake Arrieta to Make Debut with the Philadelphia Phillies on April 8

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Jake Arrieta is ready to Philly the pitching void…

The 32-year-old part-Puerto Rican Major League Baseball (MLB) pitcher is set to make his debut with the Philadelphia Phillies next month.

Jake Arrieta

Arrieta is set to pitch before the home crowd in Philadelphia against the Miami Marlins on April 8, according tomanager Gabe Kapler announced Saturday.

Arrieta and the Phillies finalized a three-year, $75 million contract on March 12. He pitched his first spring training game for the Phillies on Thursday, striking out two, allowing three hits and walking none over two innings.

He previously played for the Baltimore Orioles and Chicago Cubs. He has won the Cy Young Award and has been selected an All-Star.

Arrieta helped lead the Cubs to a World Series championship in 2016.

Hector Rondon Agrees to Two-Year Contract with Houston Astros

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Hector Rondon has made an astronomical decision…

The 29-year-old Venezuelan professional baseball player and World Series champion, a free-agent pitcher, has agreed to a two-year contract with the Houston Astros, the team announced Friday.

Hector Rondon

Rondon spent his first five seasons with the Chicago Cubs, compiling an 18-13 record with 77 saves, 28 holds and a 3.22 ERA. He went 4-1 with a 4.24 ERA and a career-best 10.83 strikeouts per nine innings last season.

The former closer might be best remembered for his save in Game 4 of the 2015 National League Division Series against the St. Louis Cardinals.

Rondon finished 2016 with a 2-3 record and a 3.53 ERA in 54 appearances. The Cubs won the 2016 World Series over the Cleveland Indians, ending the Cubs’ 108-year drought. He was non-tendered and became a free agent on December 1, 2017.

The Astros also announced that they had designated outfielder Preston Tucker for assignment to maintain their full 40-man roster.

Welington Castillo Signs Lucrative Two-Year Contract with the Chicago White Sox

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It’s a big catch for Welington Castillo…

The 30-year-old Dominican professional baseball free-agent catcher has agreed to a $15 million, two-year contract with the Chicago White Sox.

Welington Castillo

Castillo will make $7.25 million in each of the next two years, and the White Sox have a club option for $8 million for 2020 with a $500,000 buyout.

Castillo, who broke into the majors with the crosstown Chicago Cubs in 2010, hit .282 with 20 homers and 53 RBIs in 96 games with the Baltimore Orioles last season. He also threw out 24 of 49 would-be base stealers for a major league-best 49 percent success rate.

“Adding Welington benefits us both in the short and long term,” general manager Rick Hahn said in a statement. “He has been one of the more productive catchers over the last several seasons, and we believe his presence will have a lasting positive effect on our younger pitchers and catchers as they continue their development at the major league level.”

Castillo played for White Sox manager Rick Renteria when he skippered the Cubs in 2014.

Miami Marlins’ Star Giancarlo Stanton Named MLB’s National League MVP

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Giancarlo Stanton is a National (League) hero…

The 28-year-old part-Puerto Rican baseball star, an outfielder for the Miami Marlins, won the National League MVP title, edging Joey Votto of the Cincinnati Reds in the closest vote since 1979.

Giancarlo Stanton

Stanton became only the sixth player to win from a losing team. The Marlins were 77-85.

“I’m so thankful it happened and I’m going to enjoy this and work to get better,” Stanton said on ESPN’s SportsCenter.

Stanton finished the season batting .281 with 168 hits, 59 HRs and 132 RBIs. His homer total was the most in the majors since 2001, when Barry Bonds hit a record 73 and Sammy Sosa had 64.

Stanton got 10 first-place votes and 302 points in balloting by members of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America. Votto also got 10 firsts and had 300 points.

“Just so close,” Votto said, according to MLB.com, after learning the outcome. “[I’m] really, really grateful for the support. I cannot believe how close it was. I just can’t believe coming up two points short. It’s so cool in a way coming up that short. Most of the time it’s a landslide or it’s clear. This wasn’t that. That was one of the entertaining aspects of it. Because Giancarlo and I did things so differently and because we’re both on losing clubs, it was for me a very interesting vote.”

“I don’t feel terribly disappointed, not really because I think that it was just two very, very good seasons that went head-to-head,” Votto said.

Stanton is the first player in Marlins history to win an MVP award.

He led the majors in home runs, RBI, extra-base hits and slugging percentage, each of which set a Marlins single-season record, according to ESPN Stats & Information.

Votto topped the majors with a .454 on-base percentage. Arizona first baseman Paul Goldschmidt was third in the voting.

The last player from a losing team to win an MVP was Alex Rodriguez, who took the AL award in 2003 with Texas. The last NL MVP from a losing team was Andre Dawson with the 1987 Chicago Cubs.

Stanton joins Dan Marino and LeBron James as the only Miami pro athletes in a major sport to win MVP.

“That’s definitely good company,” Stanton said.

Houston Astros’ Star Jose Altuve Named MLB’s American League MVP

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Jose Altuve is an American (League) hero…

The 27-year-old Venezuelan baseball star, a second baseman for the Houston Astros, has won the American League MVP award, beating out New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge by a wide margin and capping the Astros’ championship season with another top prize.

Jose Altuve

Altuve , whos stands at 5-foot-6, received 27 of the 30 first-place votes in balloting by members of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America

“I was surprised that I won it,” Altuve said. “I wasn’t expecting this.”

Altuve batted a Major League Baseball-best .346. He had 204 hits, 24 home runs and 81 RBIs for the World Series champion Astros.

It’s been over a decade since Altuve signed with Houston from Venezuela — only after he was sent home from one tryout and told he was too short.

“They told me not to come back,” Altuve said. “It was something me and my dad, he went with me that day, we were like, ‘We have to go again. We have to try again.'”

“It’s not a rule that you have to be 6-foot or you have to be really strong to play baseball and become a good player,” he added.

Altuve beat out a player who couldn’t be more different. The 6-foot-7 Judge won the AL Rookie of the Year award Monday. He set a rookie record with 52 home runs.

Jose Ramirez of the Cleveland Indians finished third.

Altuve said on ESPN’s SportsCenter that winning the MVP has fueled him for years to come.

“Winning the MVP has made me want to keep getting better and keep helping my team for the next whatever years.”

Altuve is one of two second basemen in MLB history to hit .330 in a season with 20 home runs and 30 stolen bases, along with Hall of Famer Roberto Alomar (once). Altuve has done it in each of the past two seasons, according to ESPN Stats & Information.

Altuve is the second Astros player to win an MVP, joining Hall of Famer Jeff Bagwell in 1994.

He is the third player during the wild-card era to be named his league’s MVP in the same year that his team won the World Series. The other players to do that since 1995 are Buster Posey (2012 San Francisco Giants) and Kris Bryant (2016 Chicago Cubs), according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

 

Molina Agrees to Three-Year, $60 Million Extension with St. Louis Cardinals

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Yadier Molina is embracing the spirit of St. Louis for longer…

The 34-year-old Puerto Rican professional baseball catcher has agreed to a three-year, $60 million extension with the St. Louis Cardinals, the multiple Gold Glove winner told ESPN.

Yadier Molina

The Cardinals have scheduled a 2 p.m. ET media conference Sunday at Busch Stadium, presumably to discuss Molina’s contract extension.

The deal will keep Molina in St. Louis through at least 2020.

General manager John Mozeliak said Friday that he was optimistic a deal would get done by the first pitch of the Cardinals’ Sunday Night Baseball game against the World Series champion Chicago Cubs, scheduled for 8:35 p.m. ET.

Mozeliak said over the past few days that he worried Molina’s contract extension could be a distraction if it wasn’t taken care of by Sunday.

Molina’s current contract, signed ahead of the 2012 season, contained a mutual $15 million option for 2018 with a $2 million buyout.

His strong play for Puerto Rico in the World Baseball Classic, coupled with his hot hitting following the 2016 All-Star break and his comments after returning from the competition, had put pressure on the Cardinals to get a deal done as quickly as possible.

Molina’s biggest impact to the Cardinals over the years has been in run prevention. He became the full-time starter in 2005 and made seven All-Star teams while winning eight Gold Gloves.

Just when his hitting seemed to be in serious decline, Molina, 34, batted .365 with a .926 OPS following last season’s All-Star break.

Herrera Agrees to One Year Contract with the Kansas City Royals

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Kelvin Herrera has agreed to a Royal deal…

The 27-year-old Dominican professional baseball pitcher and the Kansas City Royals have agreed to terms on a one-year contract, avoiding salary arbitration with the hard-throwing right-hander.

Kelvin Herrera

The Royals announced the deal on Friday but didn’t disclose financial terms.

According to multiple reports, the sides settled at $5.325 million to avoid arbitration.

Herrera, who is slated to be Kansas City’s closer this season, tweeted that he and the Royals decided to “put our differences aside.”

Herrera is assuming the closer job after the Royals traded Wade Davis to the Chicago Cubs this offseason. He went 2-6 with a 2.75 ERA and 12 saves last season, his sixth with the Royals.

Herrera has a 2.63 ERA in 351 career relief appearances for Kansas City, which has signed all of its arbitration-eligible players.

Arrieta Agrees to Lucrative One-Year Deal with the Chicago Cubs

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Jake Arrieta is staying in the Windy City…

The 30-year-old part-Puerto Rican baseball star and 2015 National League Cy Young Award winner have agreed to a one-year, $15.64 million deal with the Chicago Cubs, avoiding arbitration, according to ESPN.

Jake Arrieta

FanRag Sports first reported the agreement.

“It’s nice to get that done so we don’t have to exchange numbers,” Cubs president Theo Epstein said. “I’m glad we were able to come to terms. We’ll see if other conversations take place, great.”

The right-hander is eligible for free agency in 2018.

“There is certainly a chance he could be here beyond next year, but we don’t have any ongoing talks or anything specific scheduled,” Epstein said. “I’m sure it will come up at some point.”

Arrieta made $10.7 million through arbitration in 2016. He went 18-8 with a 3.10 ERA during the 2016 regular season and then helped the Cubs win their long-awaited World Series championship.

Former Indians Star Baerga to Throw Out First Pitch Before Game 2 of the World Series

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Carlos Baerga is heading back to the World Series…

The 47-year-old Puerto Rican former Major League Baseball player, a star of the Cleveland Indians in the 1990s, will throw out the ceremonial first pitch at the World Series.

Carlos Baerga

Baerga, a three-time All-Star second baseman, will handle the duties before Game 2 of the series that pits Cleveland against the Chicago Cubs.

Kenny Lofton, Cleveland’s former fleet-footed center fielder, will have the honor before Game 1.

It’s Cleveland’s third World Series appearance since 1995.

Indians fans had pushed on social media to have actor Charlie Sheen — who played hard-throwing pitcher Ricky “Wild Thing” Vaughn in the movie Major League — throw out the first pitch. But, team officials had already decided on Lofton and Baerga, who played together on Cleveland’s 1995 World Series team.