NEW YORK — The New York Yankees claimed left-hander Matt Gage off waivers from the Houston Astros Monday.
Last season, the 30-year-old went 1-1 with a 4.58 ERA in 34 games at Triple-A Sugar Land. He posted a 2.70 ERA in five major league bullpen appearances. He is 0-1 with a 1.83 ERA in 16 big league bullpen appearances over two seasons, including a stint with Toronto in 2022.
Gage was designated for assignment on January 22nd, as Houston required a roster spot to conclude their $95 million, five-year contract with All-Star closer Josh Hader.
Diego Castillo, an infielder and outfielder, has been designated for assignment by New York. The Mets grabbed Castillo off waivers on Jan. 19, after claiming him from Arizona on Jan. 5.
Angels, OF Aaron Hicks agrees to a deal; Yankees owe $19 million.
On Monday, the Los Angeles Angels agreed to terms on a one-year contract with veteran outfielder Aaron Hicks, who will join Mike Trout, Taylor Ward, Mickey Moniak, and Jo Adell in the outfield.
Hicks is still on the seven-year, $70 million contract he signed with the New York Yankees, which runs through the 2025 season. The deal pays Hicks $9.5 million in 2024 and $9.5 million in 2025, with a $1 million buyout for a club option in 2026. The Yankees are still responsible for everything, minus the big league minimum of $740,000 that the Angels will pay him in 2024.
Hicks, 34, was dismissed by the Yankees after hitting just.188/.263/.261 in the first two months of the 2023 season, but he improved drastically after joining the division foe Baltimore Orioles, with his slash line climbing to.275/.381/.425 during the final 65 games. Hicks’ finest streak occurred from 2017 to 2020, when he had an.819 OPS, 60 home runs, and 8.7 FanGraphs wins above replacement in 338 games.
Hicks is a switch-hitter who has usually played center field, but he also has extensive experience at both outfield corners. His signing may allow the Angels to deploy one of their other outfielders to acquire a starting pitcher or an impact hitter in a trade, but he also provides vital depth given Adell’s development problems.
Trout is unlikely to move from center field as a result of Hicks’ arrival.
“Mike’s our center fielder,” Angels general manager Perry Minasian stated during a video conference with local reporters. “We’ve learned this in the previous several years, at least while I’ve been here: you need guys that can play multiple roles. You don’t know what will happen. He’s played center before; he did so for Baltimore last year in some cases, and they were obviously a very successful team that made the playoffs. He can play right, left, and throw quite well, so he can help us in a variety of ways.”
Jimy Williams, a former manager of the Red Sox, Blue Jays, and Astros, died at the age of 80.
BOSTON — Jimy Williams, the Boston Red Sox’s 1999 American League Manager of the Year who won 910 games in 12 seasons, including stops with the Toronto Blue Jays and Houston Astros, has died. He was eighty.
The Red Sox announced Williams’ death Friday at AdventHealth North Pinellas Hospital in Tarpon Springs, Florida, following a brief illness. Williams resided in nearby Palm Harbor.
Williams was named AL Manager of the Year after leading the Red Sox to their second consecutive postseason appearance. He stated it was simpler to be calm in a clubhouse than at home.
“I have a wife and four children. “You want chaos?” Williams stated when he was recruited to manage Boston in 1996. “You need to discuss. You can’t pick sides and declare, ‘Let’s see who wins this battle.'”
Williams, an infielder, was born James Francis Williams in Santa Maria, California on October 4, 1943. He graduated from Arroyo Grande High School in 1961 and originally spelled his name Jimy as a prank.
Williams attended Fresno State and got a bachelor’s degree in agribusiness in 1964. That summer, he joined Tom Seaver and Graig Nettles on the Alaska Goldpanners’ baseball team. Williams signed with Boston, played in Class A Iowa, and was taken by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 1965 Rule 5 draft.
On April 26, 1966, Williams made his major league debut, striking out against Sandy Koufax of the Los Angeles Dodgers in his first at-bat. His first hit came on May 7 with an RBI single off the San Francisco Giants’ Juan Marichal, who, like Koufax, is a future Hall of Famer.
“I can remember my first big league hit, but when you only get three, you remember them all,” he said to the Houston Chronicle.
Williams appeared in 14 major league games, finishing 3 for 13 (.231) with one RBI.
He was dealt to the Cincinnati Reds and spent 1968 at Triple-A Indianapolis before being selected by the Montreal Expos in the expansion draft and playing for Triple-A Vancouver in 1969.
Williams’ playing career was cut short by a shoulder injury, so he became a manager for the California Angels in the Midwest League’s Class A Quad Cities in 1974. After six seasons in the minors, he became Bobby Mattick’s third base coach in Toronto in 1980.
Bobby Cox took over as manager of the Blue Jays in 1982, and when Cox left in 1986 to become general manager of the Atlanta Braves, Williams took his position in Toronto’s dugout.
In 1987, Toronto led the AL East by 3½ games with a record of 86-76. However, they finished 0-7 and finished two games behind Detroit. The Blue Jays finished 87-75 in 1988, and Williams was replaced by Cito Gaston following a 12-24 start in 1989. Williams had frequent disagreements with star George Bell, who did not want to be a designated hitter.
Williams returned to the Braves as Cox’s third base coach from 1991 to 1996, when he famously gave Sid Bream the go-ahead for the pennant-winning run on Francisco Cabrera’s single that beat Barry Bonds’ throw from left field and won Game 7 of the 1992 NL Championship Series over the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Williams succeeded Kevin Kennedy as Boston’s manager following the 1996 season. The Red Sox won 78 games in his debut season, followed by two consecutive 90-win seasons. They came from a 0-2 deficit to defeat Cleveland in the 1999 Division Series.
“I probably see life a lot differently than when I was with Toronto,” he remarked after winning Manager of the Year, “maybe not as excitable, from the standpoint of having to say something all the time.”
Boston won 85 games in 2000, and Williams was fired in August 2001, when the club was 65-53.
The Astros signed Williams that fall, and after two winning seasons, he was sacked when the Astros were 44-44 in 2004. He was fired a day after fans at Minute Maid Park booed him as he was presented as an All-Star coach.
Williams’ managerial record was 910-790.
He worked as a roaming instructor with the Tampa Bay Rays in 2005 and 2006 before becoming Charlie Manuel’s bench coach for the Philadelphia Phillies in 2007 and 2008, where he won a World Series title in his second season.
Brady Williams is the Rays’ third base coach, while Shawn Williams is a former minor league manager. In addition to his sons, Williams is survived by his wife of 47 years, Peggy; daughters Monica Farr and Jenna Williams; and eight grandchildren. Farr was an All-American swimmer for Texas A&M who won two gold medals at the World University Games.
Brewers’ Rhys Hoskins (knee) expects ‘little to no limits’
Milwaukee — Brewers first baseman Rhys Hoskins believes he will have minimal limitations in his first spring with his new team after missing the entire 2023 season due to a damaged left ACL.
“I’ll be stoked to get on the field,” Hoskins said Monday in a Zoom press conference after signing a $34 million, two-year contract with an opt-out following this season. “I’m pretty bored as a competitor in not having played in so long.”
Hoskins injured his knee in March 2023 while fielding a grounder in a spring training game for the Philadelphia Phillies, where he had spent his entire major league career prior to joining the Brewers.
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Brewers sign Hoskins for two years at $34 million (3d).Jeffrey Passan
2023-24 MLB free agency and trade grades: The D-backs land Rangers add Pederson to their bullpen (3d).Bradford Doolittle & David Schoenfield
Predicting full MLB All-Star rosters for both AL and NL in 2024 is way too early (3d).David Schoenfield
“There are still some things that I’ve had to accomplish over the offseason just to progress with the rehab, but February 1st will be right around 10½ months, “It’s been 11 months since the injury,” Hoskins remarked. “So that by the time I get to Arizona for spring, I’m sure I’ll be eased back in because it’s been a year or so since I’ve been on the field, but I really should have little to no limitations once we get there and once games start, which is just exciting for me.”
Hoskins, who turns 31 on March 17, could fill a significant need for the Brewers as a power-hitting first baseman. In 2022, Hoskins batted.246 with a.332 on-base percentage, 30 home runs, and 79 RBI, his fourth consecutive season with at least 27 home runs.
In 667 regular-season games, he has a.242 lifetime average,.353 on-base percentage,.492 slugging percentage, 148 home runs, and 405 RBI. Hoskins has batted.342 in nine career games with Milwaukee, with a.405 on-base percentage,.790 slugging percentage, five home runs, and eight RBI.
“Honestly, I wasn’t sure we’d be able to access a player like him,” Brewers head of baseball operations Matt Arnold admitted. “I could not be happier to have this type of profile here because he fits so perfectly. It’s exactly the type of player we needed.”
Hoskins’ contract may include $16 million for one season or $48 million over three years. He will earn $12 million this year, and the contract promises a $18 million compensation in 2025. If Hoskins opts out, he will receive a $4 million buyout payment on February 1, 2026.
If Hoskins does not opt out, the agreement includes a $18 million mutual option for 2026. If that option is declined, Hoskins will receive a $4 million buyout on February 1, 2026.
The Brewers didn’t have much output at first base last season, but they won the NL Central despite having a.705 OPS that placed 14th out of 15 NL teams, ahead of only the San Francisco Giants.
Rowdy Tellez hit 35 home runs for the Brewers in 2022, but only 13 last season and was non-tendered before signing with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Carlos Santana, who spent much of his time at first base for Milwaukee after being acquired at the trade deadline, is still a free agent.
The Brewers also signed Jake Bauers, who hit.202 with a.279 on-base percentage, 12 home runs, and 30 RBI for the New York Yankees last season. However, Hoskins is expected to be the Brewers’ primary first baseman, as they think he can maintain the output he gave for the Phillies.
Hoskins was a Philadelphia fan favorite who provided one of the most memorable moments in the Phillies’ journey to the 2022 World Series when he slammed his bat after hitting a three-run homer off Spencer Strider in Game 3 , their NL Division Series triumph over the Atlanta Braves.
The Phillies decided not to pursue a new contract with Hoskins after moving two-time MVP Bryce Harper from the outfield to first base.
“I’ll have very fond memories of my time in Philly and I’ll be excited to go back whenever that is [June 3-5],” Hoskins told reporters. “They were up-front with me at the start of the offseason, which I think was probably good for me emotionally, just being able to kind of get a little closure after a weird year and move on to whatever is next, which ended up I think being a great fit here in Milwaukee.”
