VIRUSES, RELOCATIONS, & NON-TENDERINGS: BASEBALL IN NOVEMBER
2023-11-20 · 3 min read · MLB/Baseball
Carmen Mandato/Getty Images
Marking the first month, err, seventeen days without baseball, there certainly hasn’t been a lack of drama since Texas shutout Arizona to win the 2023 World Series. Here are some major headlines, in case you’ve missed out:
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THE GENERAL MANAGER MEETINGS:
One week after the final out of the World Series, Major League Baseball hosted its annual GM Meetings - an unofficial beginning to offseason procedures, and to allow organizations to come together in one centralized place and discuss, well, everything and anything. Held in Arizona, the event only lasted about a day-and-a-half before MLB made the decision to preemptively end the meetings due to a stomach virus - originally thought to be food poisoning, though disproven since - that affected roughly 30 of the 300 attendees. Moni Montelucia Resort, along with members of the Arizona Diamondbacks medical staff, concluded that the bug was noteworthy enough to justify a pivot to Zoom meetings - something, unfortunately, that has become a common occurrence. There were no serious side-effects reported, and MLB’s next prominent event will be the Winter Meetings from December 3rd through 6th in Nashville.
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THE LAS VEGAS ATHLETICS:
After an immensely harrowing and overtly painful battle, the final nail in the coffin for fans of the Oakland Athletics came when a unanimous vote came down from all 30 team owners accepting a relocation to Las Vegas. John Fisher, widely regarded as public enemy number one across the North American baseball landscape outside of Nevada, concluded his cowardly betrayal of one of the most storied organizations in professional sports by giving a proverbial flipping of the bird to two Oakland fans’ last ditch effort to get him to sell - leaving a restaurant, Fisher was told to “do the right thing and sell” to which he, allegedly, mumbled “I am doing the right thing”. Fisher, one of the many money-hungry men who have far too much say in Major League Baseball, will forever be known as the man who refused to provide the people of Oakland any support - rightfully regarded as someone who cares more about a five-dollar bill than doing what’s right.
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On the logistical side, it was also announced that the newly-minted Las Vegas A’s will be playing out of multiple faux-home ballparks until the construction of their new stadium is complete in 2028. Though the A’s have a lease at Oakland Coliseum through 2024, it has been no secret that the team will not re-up after that, which in turn leaves 2025-2027 with no official home ballpark. Oracle Park - home of the San Francisco Giants - is one band-aid solution, while utilizing the club’s AAA Las Vegas Ballpark is another. Scheduling for either-or would be nightmarish, as having two summer-long squads play on the same field is no easy feat. There are, of course, a gazillion other glaring issues with any solution - capacity, equipment, MLB regulation, housing, broadcasting, just to name a few. The important thing to remember is that John Fisher could have done the right thing, sold the A’s, made a boatload of profit, and have the new owner sustain the Athletics in Oakland - where they belong.
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NON-TENDERINGS:
With November 17th having passed, there were a number of decently high-profile players who were not tendered contracts through arbitration - all of whom have become Free Agents and most of whom should have no trouble finding a contract, in some capacity, for 2024. The following players were non-tendered:
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- Adam Cimber - P, Toronto Blue Jays
- Wyatt Mills - P, Boston Red Sox
- Lou Trivino - P, New York Yankees
- Albert Abreau - P, New York Yankees
- Anthony Misiewicz - P, New York Yankees
- Jovani Moran - P, Minnesota Twins
- Ronny Henriquez - P, Minnesota Twins
- Josh Staumont - P, Kansas City Royals
- Diego Hernandez - OF, Kansas City Royals
- Austin Cox - P, Kansas City Royals
- Logan Porter - C, Kansas City Royals
- Austin Meadows - OF, Detroit Tigers
- Spencer Turnbull - P, Detroit Tigers
- Garrett Hill - OF, Detroit Tigers
- Freddy Pacheco - P, Detroit Tigers
- Brenan Hanifee - P, Detroit Tigers
- Kevin Smith - IF, Oakland (Las Vegas) A’s
- Jose Marte - P, Los Angeles Angels
- Mike Ford - 1B, Seattle Mariners
- Matt Bush - P, Texas Rangers
- Brett Martin - P, Texas Rangers
- Dominic Smith - 1B, Washington Nationals
- Cory Abbott - P, Washington Nationals
- Josh Fleming - P, Philadelphia Phillies
- Kolby Allard - P, Atlanta Braves
- Yonny Chirinos - P, Atlanta Braves
- Angel Perdomo - P, Atlanta Braves
- Penn Murfee - P, Atlanta Braves
- Michael Tonkin - P, Atlanta Braves
- Chadwick Tromp - C, Atlanta Braves
- Luke Williams - OF, Atlanta Braves
- Jacob Stallings - C, Miami Marlins
- Garrett Hampson - OF, Miami Marlins
- Luis Guillorme - IF, New York Mets
- Dan Vogelbach - 1B, New York Mets
- Jeff Brigham - P, New York Mets
- Sam Coonrod - P, New York Mets
- Trevor Gott - P, New York Mets
- Osvaldo Bido - P, Pittsburgh Pirates
- Hunter Stratton - P, Pittsburgh Pirates
- Codi Heuer - P, Chicago Cubs
- Ethan Roberts - P, Chicago Cubs
- Brandon Hughes - P, Chicago Cubs
- Brandon Woodruff - P, Milwaukee Brewers
- Rowdy Tellez - 1B, Milwaukee Brewers
- J.C. Mejia - P, Milwaukee Brewers
- Nick Senzel - 2B, Cincinnati Reds
- Reiver Sanmartin - P, Cincinnati Reds
- Derek Law - P, Cincinnati Reds
- Andrew Knizner - C, St. Louis Cardinals
- Dakota Hudson - P, St. Louis Cardinals
- Jake Woodford - P, St. Louis Cardinals
- Juan Yepez - 1B, St. Louis Cardinals
- Austin Nola - C, San Diego Padres
- Tim Hill - P, San Diego Padres
- Jose Espada - P, San Diego Padres
- Taylor Kohlwey - OF, San Diego Padres
- Kyle Lewis - OF, Arizona Diamondbacks
- Tommy Doyle - P, Colorado Rockies
- Thomas Szapucki - P, San Francisco Giants
- Jose Cruz - P, San Francisco Giants
- Cole Waites - P, San Francisco Giants
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A number of trades also occurred to clear roster room for Free Agent signings and 40-man roster additions, which we’ll touch on in another article. Brandon Woodruff, of note, is out for most or all of 2024 which led Milwaukee to non-tender him. Players like Nick Senzel have been shopped around over the last week or so, however with no deal being made off to the non-tendered list he went.
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In Blue Jays land, submariner Adam Cimber was the only non-tender. Rumours had circulated that potentially utilityman Santiago Espinal could have been non-tendered as well, though evidently he was and will be kept as either a trade piece or backup infielder to begin 2024.
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By: Gus Cousins
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