With the start of the World Series just a day away, here are three things to keep an eye around baseball today:
1. World Series Workout Day:
While the World Series isn’t set to start until tomorrow, both the Dodgers and Yankees will be at Dodger Stadium today as they get in their final team workouts before the series begins. Managers Dave Roberts and Aaron Boone as well as Game 1 starters Jack Flaherty and Gerrit Cole are expected to speak to the media today, and the managers’ respective comments could be illuminating regarding the availability of certain key players.
As things currently stand, the Dodgers expect veteran first baseman Freddie Freeman to be back in the lineup for Game 1 tomorrow. What’s as of now unclear is if he’ll be joined by shortstop Miguel Rojas, who was left off the club’s NLCS roster due to an adductor strain, or if relievers Alex Vesia and Brusdar Graterol will be ready to rejoin the bullpen. The Yankees, meanwhile, have fewer key injuries of note in play for the World Series but are hoping to roster southpaw Nestor Cortes despite him having suffered a flexor strain towards the end of the regular season. Cortes had a throwing session earlier this week and indeed expects to be on the roster despite the risk of a larger injury. The left-hander gave reporters quite the quote in signaling his willingness to put his health on the line to help his team in the Fall Classic (X link via Newsday’s Erik Boland): “If I have a ring and then a year off of baseball, then so be it.”
2. News from Asia’s top leagues:
While the current focus is obviously on the looming World Series and the start of the offseason for 28 other clubs, we’ve had a few reminders this week already that this time of year also tends to bring notable news from overseas. The Chunichi Dragons of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball announced this week that they’ll post left-hander Shinnosuke Ogasawara for MLB teams to bid on, and the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters announced just yesterday that they’ve re-signed former big league slugger Franmil Reyes for an additional year after a huge 2024 season that saw him hit .290/.348/.564 with 25 homers in just 368 plate appearances.
The days and weeks ahead figure to bring similar items of interest. All eyes are on 22-year-old phenom Roki Sasaki, he of the career 2.02 ERA with the NPB’s Chiba Lotte Marines, and whether he’ll be posted. At last check, the Marines’ GM said the club was still talking the situation over with Sasaki and had not yet made a decision (X link via Yakyu Cosmopolitan). Over in the Korea Baseball Organization, 25-year-old Kiwoom Heroes infielder Hyeseong Kim is widely expected to be posted for MLB clubs after hitting .326/.383/.458 — his fourth straight season hitting at least .304 with at least a .372 on-base percentage.
A few other names will surely pop up. It’s commonplace for an unexpected name or two to surface this time of year and land on MLB radars. There are a handful of former big leaguers who’ve played well overseas and could signal their intent to return to North American ball (or re-sign, as Reyes did). And, once the Korean Series and Japan Series have reached their conclusions, we’ll surely start to see some former big leaguers sign in the KBO or in NPB.
3. Where will the Rays open the 2025 season?
After Hurricane Milton devastated the Tampa Bay area, the Rays’ Tropicana Field has been left with severe damage, including much of the roof being torn off. The damage is so great that the Rays almost certainly won’t be able to open the season at the stadium, and with a new stadium already set to be built for the 2028 season questions remain as to whether or not the local government has interest in financing the repair of a stadium that’s scheduled for demolition in just three short years. Commissioner Rob Manfred has expressed a desire to keep the Rays in their current market for the years leading up to the new stadium’s construction, while potential temporary relocation options such as Montreal and Durham have seemingly taken themselves off the table. Further details are sure to unfold as the team continues to assess the damage at the Trop and explore alternate scenarios.
The Rays should move to Oakland for 2025 and become the Oakland R(A’s)
Yea this is the best idea they need to be at O.Co next year
Yankees, Blue Jays, Red Sox & Orioles will all have their hands up objecting to that idea. Manfred has stated their #1 option is keeping the Rays in the Tampa Bay region for the next 3 seasons.
Looks like they are going to stay in Tampa. White players will need to pack their sunscreen
If the Commissioner wants the Rays to stay in the Tampa Area, then
MLB can pay for it.
I am wondering if playing at the trop without the tarp is being considered
Nope. Since it was built as domed stadium, they never built proper drainage system into. Field can’t drain any rain what so ever
Good info!!
The idea of taxpayers building a “summer” home for the Rays for three years, to be followed by taxpayers building a “permanent” home after is a strange one. But, I don’t get the “financed” part….no insurance?
It all comes down to what insurance will cover (no pun intended) and whether it’ll be enough money to restore and improve the fixtures to be able to withstand another possible similar weather event over the next three years. Damage assessment is already underway.
I am a Yankee way back to 1961, so I am rooting for the Dodgers!!
You’ll be back after the WS!
I’ll bite……. Why?
I am rooting for both teams to lose
So who are rooting for to lose less?
Steven, same goes for this household. Who cares who wins
It’s almost as if owning things is a responsibility. Weird, Stu.
MLB collectively can pay to repair the Trop. They make billions every year, they can afford it. Especially for a venue that’s not going to be used in three years…
For as big of news as Yankees Dodgers in WS is, Rays situation could be equally exciting
Here’s hoping the club that signs Hyeseong Kim will also sign Ha-Seong Kim and make things easy on us.
I’m not suggesting Sasaki is terrible but one has to understand that NPB has been in a deadball era for a while now. This year had quite a bit of deadball. So, when we see very low ERAs and such, understand that the ball isn’t flying out of parks like they do here.
Yep. A different game there. They bunt and move up runners. No one is trying to knock down fences. Pitchers throw more breaking stuff and know how to pitch rather than try to break the radar gun. There is a big adjustment here, for hitters as well as pitchers.
Reds – Baseballs in Japan are smaller, and also smaller players means less powerful swings.
Indeed, the league leader in home runs had just 34 this year and only 10 hitters in all of NPB had 20 or more.
And the Japan series starts tonight, Hawks v DeNA
I’m sure MLB is loving their big money series brought to you by Draft Kings and BetMGM.
Advertising on the helmets last time, do we see “Chico’s Bail Bonds” on the jersey this time?
I know !!!
Ridiculous—- Right???
There isn’t any good reason that the World Series begins later than tonight
So people/kids can stay up late to watch games on a weekend and MLB doesn’t have to compete for eyeballs against football Sunday? I’m surprise that that they didn’t push start times later than 5:08pm for west coasters.
World Series is up against college football on Saturday and NFL on Monday night.
BTW, the Series would’ve begun Tuesday nite (10/22) had the NLCS been decided in 4 or 5.
Will the Padres replace Ha Seong King with Hyeseong Kim?
Better hitting infielder.
Good for Nestor. Finally someone acting like a competitive athlete and not a baseball player.
The man would have a heart attack if he sprinted to first, but yeah, he’s an athlete. Or something.
The Rays Spring Training complex in Port Charlotte would accommodate them until the Trop can be made playable again. They trade Yandy Diaz and save the money for repairs.
Pogo, they are not fixing the Trop. They can split their games with Wide World of Sports at Disney and Miami’s ballpark
I like to see the Rays play in Puerto Rico and the A`s in Monterrey Mexico at least for 2025. Just don’t make it a minor league park.
This is the time to try if this could work or not. Expand to new horizons.
Neither one of those places will ever have a team.
Great spots for a few games a year but the reality is that those two simply don’t have the median income necessary to support a MLB team on a full time basis. There’s significantly more dollars in too many locations in the United States.
I can see a 3 million attendance in Monterrey for 81 games, granted not the same ticket price (prob 30% less) but with that attendance ??
It’s safe to say that Sasaki is going to the team that wins the WS.
Launch a World League. 40 teams from around the globe. After first year of play top 20 teams go to League A and bottom 20 to League B. Top 4 teams from B move to A and bottom 4 from A to B, yearly.
Make regular season shorter than MLB season allowing for other games through cup type competitions between all 40 teams.
Bring it to the masses through main stream TV and radio. MLB is becoming elitist here. Hell, gotta watch game 1 of the WS on FUBO. Criminal.
Player pay is a base plus bonus that is based on previous years performance in comparison to all other league players at your position. Down with agents, unions, middle m. Enough.
WS game 1 is on FOX, no? It’s always on FOX.
I’ll be darn, it is on Fox. The other day could’ve sworn site i was on had FUBO only listed? Hmm.
All said; finding games on reg TV throughout a season and way too much of playoffs is becoming pre historic. Pay to view too expensive for my liking. I listen to games on radio.
“Meanwhile” needs to come at the start of the sentence. It can’t come in the middle between commas. Furthermore, “and” should not have a comma after it when it starts a sentence.