Before Wednesday, the Atlanta Braves’ winter had been centered around fortifying their bullpen. That strategy made sense — Atlanta’s reliever WAR was just inside the bottom third of baseball last year, so keeping the most important pieces of that bullpen around and adding extra talent around them had to be a priority. The Braves wasted little time in signing Will Smith, arguably the best reliever on the market, to a three-year, $40-million deal, and retained midseason acquisition Chris Martin and 37-year-old Darren O’Day on short-term deals as well. Their focus on keeping the band together applied to other areas of the roster too, as they quickly re-signed catcher Tyler Flowers and outfielder Nick Markakis before bringing in another catcher in free agency by adding Travis d’Arnaud via a two-year, $16-million deal.

An area that had gone untouched was the starting rotation, but as of Wednesday afternoon, that is no longer the case. The Braves signed 35-year-old left-hander Cole Hamels to a one-year, $18-million contract, according to ESPN’s Jeff Passan.

Left-hander Cole Hamels and the Atlanta Braves are in agreement on a one-year, $18 million deal, sources tell ESPN.

— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) December 4, 2019

Right away, the addition of Hamels brings to mind the upgrade the Braves made to their rotation via free agency last offseason — er, sorry, last June. That’s when Atlanta finally became the team to sign Dallas Keuchel after his extended free agency period, bringing him in on a one-year deal worth $13 million. Keuchel, like Hamels, was a low-velocity veteran southpaw, and after a somewhat rocky first couple of starts, settled in quite nicely down the stretch, earning the chance to start Games 1 and 4 of the NLDS. Read the rest of this entry »

In their contribution to the recent flurry of league activity, the Tigers and Pirates quietly made a deal last Monday: Pittsburgh sent right-hander Dario Agrazal to Detroit in exchange for cash considerations.

While the trade didn’t make headlines, it may still provide insight into Detroit’s 2020 plans. Agrazal, who turns 25 in late December, debuted this season with Pittsburgh and appeared in 15 games, making 14 starts. His results were mixed: He posted a 4.91 ERA and a 5.90 FIP over 73.1 innings, striking out only 13% of opponents while walking 6%. Among pitchers who threw at least 70 innings, Agrazal had the third-lowest strikeout rate in the majors.

Upon first glance, pitching to contact seems like a poor strategy in today’s three-true-outcome game, and Agrazal may ultimately be no more than a spare arm in Motown; we’re guessing that he’ll start the season in Triple-A. Still, under the right circumstances, Agrazal has the ability to turn into more than organizational depth. Read the rest of this entry »

When the A’s acquired Jake Diekman for the first time back in July, they hoped that he might pair effectively with a then-recovering A.J. Puk in neutralizing left-handed hitters, who through that point in the season had hit Oakland relievers to the tune of a .305 wOBA — not terrible, but also behind Houston, Tampa Bay, Cleveland, and New York in the American League. They also hoped that 2019 would end up being the first year since 2006 in which the A’s won a postseason series.

Neither of those things happened. Diekman, who has allowed a .293 wOBA to left-handed hitters over the course of his career, allowed a .314 figure to the 47 lefties he faced for Oakland, walking seven and hitting one with a pitch. The A’s, meanwhile, lost the AL Wild Card game to the Rays, 5-1. Diekman faced one batter.

Still, all the potential the A’s saw in Diekman last summer is still there, and so too is Billy Beane’s thirst for a World Championship. If you thought that last week’s Jurickson Profar trade was evidence of a step back from that goal (which I do not), think again. Diekman alone isn’t enough to put the A’s over the top (frankly, three Diekmans wouldn’t be enough) but teams that plan to punt on a season don’t sign relievers to two-year, $7.5 million deals, as the A’s have just done. Read the rest of this entry »

The following article is part of Jay Jaffe’s ongoing look at the candidates on the BBWAA 2020 Hall of Fame ballot. Originally written for the 2017 election at SI.com, it has been updated to reflect recent voting results as well as additional research. For a detailed introduction to this year’s ballot, and other candidates in the series, use the tool above; an introduction to JAWS can be found here. For a tentative schedule and a chance to fill out a Hall of Fame ballot for our crowdsourcing project, see here. All WAR figures refer to the Baseball-Reference version unless otherwise indicated.

A savant in the batter’s box, Manny Ramirez could be an idiot just about everywhere else — sometimes amusingly, sometimes much less so. The Dominican-born slugger, who grew up in the Washington Heights neighborhood of upper Manhattan, stands as one of the greatest hitters of all time, a power-hitting right-handed slugger who spent the better part of his 19 seasons (1993–2011) terrorizing pitchers. A 12-time All-Star, Ramirez bashed 555 home runs and helped the Indians and the Red Sox reach two World Series apiece, adding a record 29 postseason homers along the way. He was the World Series MVP for Boston in 2004, when the club won its first championship in 86 years.

For all of his prowess with the bat, Ramirez’s lapses — Manny Being Manny — both on and off the field are legendary. There was the time in 1997 that he “stole” first base, returning to the bag after a successful steal of second because he thought Jim Thome had fouled off a pitch… the time in 2004 that he inexplicably cut off center fielder Johnny Damon’s relay throw from about 30 feet away, leading to an inside-the-park home run… the time in 2005 when he disappeared mid-inning to relieve himself inside Fenway Park’s Green Monster… the time in 2008 that he high-fived a fan mid-play between catching a fly ball and doubling a runner off first… and so much more. Read the rest of this entry »

Designing a pitch can be an arduous but rewarding process for a pitcher. When you find two or more pitches that have the potential to work well together, it may be worthwhile to make some changes if, for example, one isn’t yielding positive results. It’s not always as simple as it sounds, and sometimes the option of not using the pitch at all ends up being the best choice.

For an older pitcher, this process tends to be harder, though not impossible. They’ve gone through the majority of their career throwing a pitch with certain mechanics or gripping the ball in a particular way. Changes to either of those can be uncomfortable, which may create a developmental roadblock. However, there may come a point when becoming a more dynamic pitcher is necessary, especially as the aging curve starts its downward trend.

At 31 years of age, the Rangers’ Mike Minor put together the best season of his eight-year career. He posted a 3.59 ERA, an almost 3-1 K/BB rate, allowed his lowest ever contact rate in the strike zone, and had career highs in strikeouts (200) as well as innings pitched (208.1).

It might be a stretch to expect Minor to repeat his 4.2 WAR season, but it’s not out of the question. He still possesses a decent fastball and has developed a really good changeup. Yet his curveball and slider both took steps back in 2019, so Minor should consider working on at least one of them prior to the 2020 season. Read the rest of this entry »

Please note, this posting contains two positions.

Position: Front End Developer, Baseball Operations

Location: Cleveland, Ohio

Primary Purpose:
The Front End Developer will focus on building applications and systems to support Cleveland’s players, coaches, and front office. The position will collaborate with Baseball Operations personnel, along with colleagues and peers in Information Systems, to rapidly deliver working software, from ideation to delivery, break/fix, and everything in between.

This role will report to the Manager, Front End Development in Cleveland’s Information Systems department.

Essential Duties & Responsibilities:

Design and Development of Baseball Systems

• Work closely with Baseball Operations and Information Systems departments to design, develop, and improve new and existing baseball applications
• Create tests and documentation for bug fixes and new application features/functions
• Design and develop dashboards and various analytical tools to directly support front office and field personnel
• Ensure technical feasibility of user interface and user experience designs
• Build and/or support mobile-friendly user interfaces and experiences
• Build and/or support web services and business-layer applications that speak to both back end databases and front–end interfaces
• Collaborate with other teammates and stakeholders

Support of Baseball Systems

• Provide development support and guidance to Baseball Operations power users and general support to all Baseball Ops front-office and field personnel, as needed
• Examine and where appropriate, prototype new technologies in the pursuit of creating competitive advantages through software, applications and tools; considers future requirements and possibilities
• Work closely with Data Architects and Infrastructure/Operations resources on the Information Systems team to ensure secure, scalable and high-performing applications

Education and Experience Requirements:

• Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, or a related field is preferred
• At least 3 years of experience in software development in a web-based development environment
• Experience in consuming Service Oriented Architectures is preferred
• Knowledge of Web Development languages/standards, including Javascript, HTML5, and responsive design Use of Open Source JavaScript libraries such as JQuery and Vue
• Experience with Tableau a plus Experience with Node.js a plus
• Experience working with baseball data or delivering sports analysis tools and/or applications is a plus
• Extensive general knowledge and experience with computer system hardware, networks, operating systems and business applications software
• Knowledge of Microsoft SQL server database design, programming and access methods is a plus

Job Requirements:

• Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills
• Highly self-motivated
• Ability to work extended hours and weekends as necessary.

Standard Requirements:

• Reads, speaks, comprehends and communicates English effectively in all communications.
• Represents the Cleveland Indians in a positive fashion to all business partners and the general public.
• Ability to develop and maintain successful working relationship with members of the Front Office.
• Ability to act according to the organizational values and service excellence at all times.
• Ability to work with multicultural populations and have a commitment to fairness and equality.
• Ability to walk, sit or stand for an entire shift.
• Ability to work extended days and hours, including holidays and weekends.
• Ability to move throughout all areas and levels of the Ballpark.
• Ability to work in a diverse and changing environment.
• Occasional physical activity such as lifting and carrying boxes up to 25lbs.

To Apply:
To apply, please complete the application, which can be found here.

Position: Back End Developer, Baseball Operations

Location: Cleveland, Ohio

Primary Purpose:
To design, implement, manage, and troubleshoot the Baseball Department’s information architecture, and to expose that data to UI developers through a web service layer or direct SQL. The Back-End Developer will partner with the Baseball Analytics and Software Development teams to maintain data infrastructure, support needs, implement solutions, and drive innovation in baseball’s data-driven decision process. Key functions will include data modeling, integration, warehousing, and consumption, as well as the development and maintenance of web services in C# that expose data through REST web services.

This role will report to Manager, Back End Development in Cleveland’s Information Systems department.

Essential Duties & Responsibilities:

Work with the baseball department and software development team to design, develop, test and deploy new functionality, applications, and systems.

Data Consumption

• Support data and reporting requirements for a variety of applications, analysts, and end-users in all departments.
• Provide technical and strategic advice of the management in the creation and implementation of new data standards, databases, products, and vendors.

Data Integration

• Create and support ETL (extract, transform, load) data integration processes.
• Understand the format, definitions, limitations, and content of external and internal data feeds.
• Reconcile differences across data sources and consolidate into a single master repository.
• Develop processes ensuring data standards, security, stewardship, lineage, and metadata management.
• Spearhead efforts to identify, obtain and integrate new data sources useful for decision-making

Data Modeling

• Understand and document existing database structures, historical design decisions, business rules, and future requirements.
• Develop and document a comprehensive information model that describes the data and maps the workflow that transform and manipulates it into usable information.
• Ensure “single version of the truth” consistency across applications and reports.

Data Warehousing

• Manage a data warehouse to support reporting and analytics.
• Assist end users in extracting data for their purposes

Web Services Development

• Creating and supporting REST-based web services to expose data to various UI layers (web, desktop, mobile app).

Education & Experience Requirements:

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Computer Engineering or related field.
• At least 3 years of experience in software development or in a similar role
• Experience with business intelligence, data warehousing, OLAP, and/or data integration.
• Experience with data modeling.
• Thorough knowledge of design and integration principles for complex, heterogeneous databases
• Advanced knowledge in query development, including SQL, MDX, and stored procedures.
• Experience with ETL and BI reporting tools (e.g. Microsoft SSIS & SSRS, Tableau).
• Experience using JSON formatted data.
• Experience in C# or other .NET language.
• Knowledgeable about software development best practices and long-term maintainability of code
• Familiarity with baseball data and sabermetrics strongly desirable.
• Experience supporting or using statistical and/or data-mining applications is desirable.
• Familiarity with any of application development and/or web technologies is a plus.

Standard Requirements:

• Reads, speaks, comprehends and communicates English effectively in all communications.
• Represents the Cleveland Indians in a positive fashion to all business partners and the general public.
• Ability to develop and maintain successful working relationship with members of the Front Office.
• Ability to act according to the organizational values and service excellence at all times.
• Ability to work with multicultural populations and have a commitment to fairness and equality.
• Ability to walk, sit or stand for an entire shift.
• Ability to work extended days and hours, including holidays and weekends.
• Ability to move throughout all areas and levels of the Ballpark.
• Ability to work in a diverse and changing environment.
• Occasional physical activity such as lifting and carrying boxes up to 25lbs.

To Apply:
To apply, please complete the application, which can be found here.

The content in this posting was created and provided solely by the Cleveland Indians.

Position: Developer, Baseball Systems – Research and Development

Location: Chicago, IL

Role Overview:
This role will focus on the development and maintenance of Cubs’ internal baseball information system and all of the data flows that support it. This may include creating web interfaces and web tools for the user interface; building ETL processes; maintaining back-end databases; deploying machine learning models; and troubleshooting data source issues as needed. Successful candidates will also bring strong analytical skills, work ethic and communication skills.

Responsibilities:

• Assist in the design and implementation of the Baseball Ops information system, creating performant and beautiful user interfaces.
• Develop and maintain ETL processes for loading, processing and quality-checking new data sources.
• Identify, diagnose and resolve data quality issues.
• Assist in design and deployment of machine learning models for active predicting.

Required Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s Degree or above in Computer Science or similar discipline
• Experience working in a Linux environment
• Experience building scalable software in a collaborative setting
• Knowledge of data structures
• Ability to debug and profile applications, driving towards optimal performance
• Experience with modern database technologies and SQL
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Working knowledge of advanced baseball statistics and sabermetric concepts

Desired Qualifications:
Depending on the candidate, any or all of these skills may be utilized.

• Experience with JavaScript
• Experience with Python, especially with machine learning frameworks (PyTorch, TensorFlow, Scikit Learn)
• Experience with R
• Experience building web or native applications for mobile devices
• Experience building and supporting ETL processes

To Apply:
To apply, please complete the application, which can be found here.

Response Expectations:
Due to the overwhelming number of applications they receive, the Cubs unfortunately may not be able to respond in person to each applicant. However, they can assure you that you will receive an email confirmation when you apply as well as additional email notifications whether you are selected to move forward for the position or not. Please note, they keep all resumes on file and will contact you should they wish to schedule an interview with you.

The Chicago Cubs and its affiliates are an Equal Opportunity Employer committed to inclusion and employing a diverse workforce. All applicants will receive consideration without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, veteran status, disability, or other legally protected characteristics.

The content in this posting was created and provided solely by the Chicago Cubs.

Monday evening during a squall of non-tender news, the San Diego Padres continued to sculpt their 40-man roster during what is likely to be a very active offseason, this time swapping power-hitting “catching” prospect Austin Allen and a player to be named for famous non-tender candidate Jurickson Profar in a deal with Oakland.

From a roster construction standpoint, the deal makes an awful lot of sense for both teams. The Padres had four catchers on their 40-man and were suddenly shallow in the middle infield after they traded Luis Urias to Milwaukee last week. Profar wasn’t as productive as he had been the season before, and Oakland has a tight budget imposed by ownership as well as two young and enigmatic-but-talented infielders coming up in Jorge Mateo and Franklin Barreto. The club also needed catching reinforcement behind oft-injured prodigy Sean Murphy.

Profar, who agreed to a one-year, $5.7-million deal with San Diego after the trade, is now the favorite to be the Padres’ everyday second baseman next year. While his surface-level 2019 production (.218/.301/.410) was down from the previous year (.254/.335/.458), his peripherals (9% walk rate, 14% strikeout rate) were identical, he golfed out 20 homers again (mostly left-handed, though Profar is a better hitter from the right side), and he offers some amount of defensive versatility (2B/LF last year, all over the place the year before), though he’s not a great glove anywhere. As Craig Edwards noted on Twitter, Profar had a horrendous April before he righted the ship and was a slightly above-average offensive performer for the rest of the year. Read the rest of this entry »

The following article is part of Jay Jaffe’s ongoing look at the candidates on the BBWAA 2020 Hall of Fame ballot. For a detailed introduction to this year’s ballot, and other candidates in the series, use the tool above; an introduction to JAWS can be found here. For a tentative schedule and a chance to fill out a Hall of Fame ballot for our crowdsourcing project, see here. All WAR figures refer to the Baseball-Reference version unless otherwise indicated.

No other player, not even 2019 Hall of Fame inductee Mariano Rivera — the first player ever elected unanimously by the writers — typified the Yankees’ late-1990s resurgence and evolution into a dynasty more than Derek Jeter. A 1992 first-round pick out of Kalamazoo, Michigan, the 6-foot-3 shortstop seemed not only to be built for stardom but engineered to withstand the spotlight’s glare. Famously instilled with a level-headedness by his parents, who during his childhood made him sign code-of-conduct contracts, he pulled off the remarkable feat of simultaneously exuding a cocky charisma and an off-the-charts baseball IQ while remaining completely enigmatic even in the country’s largest media market. Not only did he avoid mental mistakes on the field, he ably evaded virtually every controversy that surrounded the Yankees; by the time he turned 29 years old, he had been named team captain. During his two decades in pinstripes, he played a pivotal role for 16 playoff teams, seven pennant winners, and five champions. Not until he was 34, deep into his 14th season, did he play a game in which his team had been mathematically eliminated from postseason contention.

With an inside-out swing that yielded consistently high batting averages and on-base percentages, Jeter was a hit machine, an ideal table-setter among the Bronx Bombers. In 15 of his 18 full seasons, he collected at least 179 hits, and 13 times, he scored at least 100 runs. He did both with such consistency and longevity that he ranks sixth all-time in hits (3,465) — not just more than any other shortstop, but more than any other infielder — and 11th in runs scored (1,923). Though he had less power than Alex Rodriguez and Nomar Garciaparra, the pair with whom he formed the “Holy Trinity” of shortstops, he was fully capable of hitting a well-timed home run. In fact, his 20 postseason homers are third all-time, yet one of the rare October (and November, ahem) records that he does not hold. He wasn’t without flaws, of course. Though his strong arm, sure hands, and low error totals helped him pass the eye tests of casual fans, broadcasters, and even the opposing managers who bestowed five Gold Gloves upon him, his defensive metrics are brutal. Even so, they’re outweighed by contributions in every other aspect of the game.

Thanks to his 3,000-plus hits and his collection of championship rings, Jeter will have no trouble gaining first-ballot entry to the Hall of Fame. With the precedent of non-unanimity finally broken, the primary suspense of this cycle is whether he’ll match Rivera by receiving the full 100% from the writers. Secondarily, and more frustratingly, the possibility exists that his presence on the ballot will overshadow other worthy candidates. Either way, he’ll be standing on the dais in Cooperstown next summer. Read the rest of this entry »

Wichita’s windy season is said to last from early February to late May, when the gusts change from frigid blasts to hot breaths. The windiest day of the year is historically April 4; a day when hairdos and stacks of loose papers must stand strong against gales blustering at an average of 13 mph.

Occasionally, there will be a spike in velocity that knocks out the power or rolls back a tin roof or tries to tear the awning off of the Valero gas station on Caulfield and Kemp. A fire inspector once cast a wary eye on the 1916 Wichita Fair and Exposition, concerned, per the The Wichita Daily Eagle on October 22, that the flammable structures of the event created a great risk of conflagration due to the “high, dry winds we have in the fall,” his fears rooted in both science and the fact that this very thing had happened the previous year.

So in Wichita, they are aware of the wind. They know that it blows, that it carries the cold and the heat of the plains, and that it occasionally bends a gas station in half. They do not all understand why it is the name of the town’s new Triple-A franchise, the Wichita Wind Surge, an affiliate of the Miami Marlins.

“I guess it’s windy here,” says Wichita resident Eric Pierce, “but… wind’s kind of everywhere.” Read the rest of this entry »