MLB Hot Stove Evening Briefing: Orioles GM earns award, White Sox add to their coaching staff, Cardinals make a minor trade
The Orioles won 101 games and made the postseason with one of baseball’s young and up-and-coming rosters. This was all made possible with the leadership from general manager Mike Elias.
The 40-year-old front office leader was voted Major League Baseball’s executive of the year on Tuesday after the team finished with the American League’s best record for the first time since 1997.
The Orioles finished 101-67 with a $67 million payroll. 29th out of 30 teams, only ahead of the Athletics.
Elias was hired by the Orioles in 2018 after spending time with the Cardinals and Astros.
White Sox add two new coaches to their staff
The White Sox are adding to the 2024 coaching staff, adding former big leaguers Grady Sizemore and Marcus Thames.
Sizemore will serve as the White Sox outfield and base running coach, per 670 The Score’s Bruce Levine. This will be his first on the field role, after serving as an advisor to the Guardians’ development department in 2017.
The 41-year-old is a veteran of 10 MLB seasons, he missed two years, 2012 and 2013 due to injuries. He spent time with Cleveland, the Red Sox, Phillies and Rays.
Sizemore made his MLB debut in 2004 and saw success immediately. He garnered four consecutive seasons earning AL MVP votes, made three All-Star appearances, winning two Gold Gloves and a Silver Slugger.
Thames has been big league coach since 2016 spending time with the Yankees, Marlins and was the Angels hitting coach in 2023.
Cardinals acquire hard-throwing minor league pitcher
The St. Louis Cardinals are looking to add pitching this offseason after a down 2023 campaign. While they’ll be linked to the top-tier starters on the free agent market, the Cards added a hard-thrower to increase their organizational depth.
The Cardinals added hard-throwing right-handed pitcher Riley O’Brien from the Mariners.
The 28-year-old is coming off a strong season where he was a 2023 Pacific Coast League All-Star, striking out 86 batters over 55 innings. He was 2-5 with a 2.29 ERA, making three starts and notching nine holds and 15 saves in 19 opportunities.
St.Louis finished 71-91 last season, good for last place in the National League Central, which was their first last place finish in 33 years.
The Cards are thin on pitching and will be involved in the free agent market to bolster their staff after losing Adam Wainwright who will retire. They also traded Jordan Montgomery, Jordan Hicks, Jack Flaherty, Chris Stratton and Génesis Cabrera at the deadline last year.
Miles Mikolas and Steven Matz are a lock for next season, Zack Thompson and Dakota Hudson could be options for their rotation, but the need to jump into free agency will be a top priority.
O’Brien, a former eight-round pick by the Rays in 2017 is considered to be a Rule-5 draft candidate this winter. The Cardinals will likely add him to their 40-man roster in the coming weeks.
Padres looking to move Jake Cronenworth
The Padres are looking to slash payroll and will look to trade infielder Jake Cronenworth as part of that mission.
Cronenworth is coming off of signing a seven-year, $80 million extension that will begin in 2024. The two-time All-Star struggled last season and dealt with injuries which will complicate a possible trade.
He slashed .229/.312/.378 with a .689 OPS and a 92 OPS+, which were all career lows. On top of his poor slash line, the managed to only hit 10 homers in 127 games.
The versatile utility man seems like a logical choice for the Padres to deal in their efforts to slash payroll. However, they’ll need to eat some of that contract in order to entice any team to acquire Cronenworth.
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