MLB Hot Stove Morning Brew: Shortstop Paul DeJong agrees to 1-year contract with the White Sox, Yankees name new bench coach, Padres have a new skipper
Veteran shortstop Paul DeJong has agreed to a one-year contract with the Chicago White Sox, per ESPN’s Jeff Passan.
The 30-year-old, played for the St. Louis Cardinals from 2017 until he was traded to Toronto this past Aug. 1. He was released by the Blue Jays on Aug. 21 and signed two days later with the Giants.
The Illinois State alumni was an All-Star in 2019 when he batted .233 with 30 homers and 78 RBIs. DeJong hit .226 with 14 homers and 37 RBIs this year in the final season of a $26 million, six-year contract. He has a .229 career average with 116 homers and 344 RBIs.
The veteran should be in the mix to be the White Sox’s shortstop next season. The club declined the $14 million option on Tim Anderson, making him a free agent.
Brad Ausmus becomes Yankees bench coach for manager Aaron Boone
Brad Ausmus was hired by the New York Yankees on Tuesday to replace Carlos Mendoza as their new bench coach.
Ausmus managed the Tigers from 2014-17 and the Angels in 2019, winning the AL Central at 90-72 in his first season with Detroit.
The 54-year-old spent 2022 as the Oakland Athletics’ bench coach serving under manager Bob Melvin.
The Yankees had been looking for a new bench coach following Mendoza’s departure. New York was linked to now Red Sox pitching coach Andrew Bailey.
New York went 82-80 this past season, missing the playoffs for the first time since 2016.
Padres hire Mike Shildt as their next skipper
The San Diego Padres name Mike Shildt as their next skipper.
Shildt signed a two-year contract on Tuesday to replace Bob Melvin, who was hired away by his hometown San Francisco Giants on Oct. 25 with a year left on his contract with the Padres.
That ended a fractured two-year relationship with general manager A.J. Preller.
“I’m really grateful for a second act,” Shildt said at a Petco Park news conference. “Not everybody gets it. You take for granted there are only 30 of these jobs. I promise you I won’t take this one for granted. I’m excited about our team.”
Shildt has been in the Padres organization for two years and said he met often with Seidler “to talk baseball, talk life, talk community, talk charity. What a beautiful soul, as everybody knows. I was very blessed to have gotten to know such a fine gentleman. There was such a pure goodness about him.
“I’m going to be a big part in helping carry his vision for the San Diego Padres moving forward to ultimately us winning a first World Series championship,” Shildt added. “That’ll be one way we can remember the great legacy of Peter Seidler.”
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