Team news
[AZ Central] Diamondbacks land Red Sox exec Amiel Sawdaye - The Diamondbacks’ new-look front office continued to take shape Monday with the addition of Red Sox executive Amiel Sawdaye, who will become the club’s senior vice president and assistant general manager, a source said Monday night. Sawdaye, who has been with the Red Sox since 2002, will be the second in command to new General Manager Mike Hazen. The two overlapped in Boston for 11 years. Sawdaye ran the amateur draft for the Red Sox from 2010 to 2014, during which time the club selected Mookie Betts, Jackie Bradley Jr., Blake Swihart and Matt Barnes, among others.
[dbacks.com] D-backs to hire Amiel Sawdaye as assistant GM - D-backs general manager Mike Hazen made his first significant hire since being named general manager last week when he tabbed Amiel Sawdaye on Monday to become senior vice president and assistant general manager, according to a source. The D-backs have not announced the hire. Sawdaye joins Bryan Minniti, who is also an assistant GM for Arizona. Like Hazen, Sawdaye comes to the D-backs from the Red Sox, where he was the team's vice president in charge of amateur and international scouting.
[AZ Central] Maricopa County extends Chase Field negotiations - Private investors seeking to buy Chase Field, home of the Arizona Diamondbacks, won't finish negotiations before an Oct. 31 deadline, prompting the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors to extend the deadline through Jan.16. "The talks are still ongoing with the possible buyer and the Diamondbacks," said Board Chairman Clint Hickman, who described his view of the negotiations as "optimistic." The board agreed by a unanimous vote Mondayto delay the deadline "to afford both of those groups more time to discuss, negotiate and do whatever else they need to get this deal done."
[dbacks.com] Will D-backs, Mike Hazen deal Greinke, Segura? - Hopefully in the coming weeks, we'll get a better feel for the direction Hazen plans on taking. As for Greinke if -- and that's a big if -- the D-backs wanted to trade him, they would no doubt have to eat part of what's left on the $206.5 million deal he signed last offseason. In addition, Greinke is coming off a subpar season, so his trade value is lower than what it would typically be. Given those two factors, my guess is they will hang onto him, but this is also going to be a very thin free-agent market when it comes to pitching, so that could change the equation.
Former D-backs news
[TKB] Mariners Agree To Terms With RHP Micah Owings - Owings participated in the Atlantic League this summer. During that time, he was clocked between 91 and 93 mph while accumulating 88 strikeouts against 33 walks across 106.3 innings pitched. In August, he looked particularly good, throwing 31 innings with 33 strikeouts, 13 walks and a 3-0 record.
[The Guardian] Curt Schilling joins Breitbart to fight 'progressive, socialist agenda' - “I am proud to be a part of a team that will continue to point out the very thing that’s ruining this country: liberal, progressive, socialist agenda driven by the elite globalist connected to American politics and the Clinton family,” the announcement quoted him as saying. [Editorial comment: sigh...]
[cleveland.com] Carlos Baerga to throw out ceremonial first pitch before Game 2 in Cleveland - The '90s Indians are considered something of a gold standard, even though the group didn't secure a championship. And now those players will return to Cleveland to usher in the start of a long-waited World Series appearance. Kenny Lofton will throw out the ceremonial first pitch prior to Game 1 of the World Series on Tuesday night. Carlos Baerga will toss out the first pitch before Game 2 on Wednesday. Baerga played two seasons with Arizona, mostly off the bench (184 games, 44 starts), and his .343 BA in 2003 is still the team record for any hitter with 200+ PA.
https://www.reddit.com/r/baseball/ - Luis Gonzalez, a little-known outfielder who played for the Detroit Tigers and was traded for Karim Garcia and cash, will be doing an AMA on Reddit, beginning at 11am Arizona time. I've no clue why, since he never did anything of note, and it's not as if his sole World Series appearance was in any way memorable... :)
And, elsewhere...
Meanwhile, the World Series kicks off, between the two teams with the longest active droughts in title history - the Cubs, of course, have been waiting 108 years, but the Indians last won it all in 1948, so I imagine almost everyone reading this have never seen EITHER of these teams win a World Series. [In case you're wondering, the next-longest droughts belong to the Rangers and Astros, both of whom are still waiting for their first championships, despite having been in existence for more than fifty years] Fun fact: the Yankees have played 153 World Series games since the last time the Cubs played in one.
For the Cubs, Kyle Schwarber is expected to join the roster and likely DH for them in Game 1. I imagine he is the first player ever to appear in the Arizona Fall League and the World Series in the same season... Meanwhile, the Indians will get a boost of their own, with Danny Salazar being added back to their roster, though his lack of live-game experience will limit his pitch count, and may well mean he doesn't start. It promises to be a fascinating series, and I'm looking forward to it. More on that too, in Clefo's preview, later in the day.