Tampa Bay Rays Software Developer

Location: St. Petersburg · FL · Open to Remote

The Tampa Bay Rays are looking for an experienced Ruby on Rails Developer to help the Baseball Systems department build the best software and analytics solutions in all of Major League Baseball.

What is Baseball Systems?

• As part of Baseball Operations, our team builds the innovative tools that our players, coaches, analysts, scouts and front office personnel use to do their jobs, make decisions, and win ballgames.
• Our team consists of several data engineers, backend developers and frontend developers and coordinators.
• Every line of code we write — and feature we ship — has a direct impact on the field, helping us compete for the postseason year after year.
• Working within the most innovative and collaborative front office in MLB, your ideas will be welcomed and heard.

We are looking for someone who:

• is an experienced Ruby on Rails developer.
• is proficient creating front-end views using HTML, CSS and Javascript. Don’t worry, we have designers who make things look great!
• has experience with relational databases.
• is familiar with Git version control software.

It’s not required, but would be awesome if you:

• have experience with one of the popular front-end Javascript frameworks. We use Vue.
• are proficient in a language other than Ruby. We use several different languages depending on the task.
• are familiar with NoSql databases like Redis or Elasticsearch.
• have an understanding of baseball.
• have an interest in sabermetrics and statistical modeling.

What will you do each day?

• Build new features or maintain existing features in our proprietary software application.
• Identify and correct bugs quickly.
• Document code and support procedures thoroughly. 
• Meet with Baseball Operations staff that have requested a new feature to gather requirements and help with feature planning.
• Train non-technical users on new features or applications.
• You might take half a day off from time to time to watch a baseball game.
• Help our data engineering team ingest data from new data sources.

Why work for the Rays?

• A top notch development environment with a company provided laptop, Github Enterprise, frictionless CI/CD, bug tracking, top project management and documentation software, and automated testing to minimize bugs to keep you focused on new features.
• Opportunities to choose and work with new technology. We strongly believe in choosing the right tool for the job even if it isn’t part of our current stack.
• Exceptional benefits including: 
  • health, vision and dental coverage at VERY competitive rates. 
  • an enhanced 401k where the company contributes even if you don’t! 
  • free tickets to baseball and soccer games (We also own the Tampa Bay Rowdies) for you, your friends and family. 
  • flexible PTO options and monthly paid volunteer opportunities. 
  • generous family planning assistance and parental leave.
  • annual continuing education assistance.
  • healthy and free lunch right in the office. 
  • in-office yoga and many other other wellness benefits. 
• You’ll be working with some of the sharpest minds in all of baseball.
• You are a good teammate and like working with other driven and caring teammates.
• Your office is in a baseball stadium! Or your office can be remote, your choice!
• We are an organization that prides itself on coaching others so please apply even if you don’t meet every one of the requirements above.

Our Interview Process

1. A ~30 minute phone call to get to know each other and discuss the position in more detail.
2. In some cases, we have a second ~30 minute phone call with one of our recruiting staff.
3. A small take-home coding project. We don’t do coding tests or coding on a whiteboard.
4. Two or three small panel interviews. In addition to covering technical skills, you will also meet other members of Baseball Operations you’d be collaborating with.
5. Make a decision!

All offers contingent on a satisfactory background check.

Statement: All applicants for employment are required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 prior to commencing employment. Applicants who receive a conditional offer of employment will be required to produce proof of vaccination status prior to their first day of employment. Applicants with qualifying disabilities or bona fide religious objections, or who are pregnant, may be exempted from this requirement or otherwise accommodated if they are unable to be vaccinated.

Acknowledgement by applyingI understand that if offered a role and by accepting a role with the Tampa Bay Rays or Rowdies, I will be participating in COVID-19 community risk mitigation practices.

We are an equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, age, disability, gender identity, marital or veteran status, or any other protected class.

Job Questions:

1. In addition to your resume and cover letter, please describe your level of Ruby on Rails experience in 100 words or less.
2. Where did you originally hear about this posting?

To Apply:
To apply, please follow this link.

The content in this posting was created and provided solely by the Tampa Bay Rays.

Sheesh. It’s been exactly one game since our last update on Aaron Judge’s pursuit of hitting 60, 61, and 62 home runs. At that point, Judge seemed more likely than not to eclipse Roger Maris‘ 61-homer mark, though only marginally. But after two home runs last night against the Red Sox, the pace is heating up again. Now, my simulation model thinks Judge is extremely likely to surpass Maris:

If that feels like a huge jump in odds to you, you’re in good company. If you think about it for a bit, though, it’s not so crazy. Judge has played 138 games this year and hit 57 homers. That’s a pace of less than half a home run per game, and still wildly impressive. Two in one game is always unlikely, though; it’s Judge’s 10th time doing it this year, for example. The finish line is getting close now; with 20 games to accrue five homers, one more barrage could put him over the top. Read the rest of this entry »

Hawk-Eye Baseball Product Manager

Department: Product Management
Employment Type: Full Time
Location: USA, Atlanta
Workplace Type: Onsite

A day in the life of a Sports Product Manager
As a Baseball Product Manager at Hawk-Eye Innovations, you will be part of a team that is focused on the global opportunities for Baseball, both now and in the future, combining business development with driving client-led innovation across the sport.

You will work closely with MLB and baseball team clients to identify solutions that will fulfill their strategies from a technical perspective; investigate and understand the current opportunities for Baseball, identify where existing solutions meet demand and create a longer-term vision for Baseball in line with the Hawk-Eye business strategy.

Internally you will work closely with the Product Squads in bringing together expertise for Baseball-specific solutions, the Sales and commercial teams to research the market and competition, and form a strategic roadmap to ensure we are pursuing the most valuable opportunities for our customers and the business. In addition, you will work with the Product Platform Managers to recommend and roll out existing solutions ensuring business viability.

For prioritized initiatives, you will work in collaboration with the Product and Enabling Squads to ideate and create solutions in an iterative, agile environment, to deliver value faster and ensure continuous learning and improvement.

You will be responsible for ensuring the solution meets the demand and continue to monitor and develop the solution over its lifetime, providing an invaluable link between the customer and centralized product squads

Key Responsibilities

• Partner with senior global sports heads to lead the charge of technology within Baseball; ensuring Hawk-Eye remain a global leader in sports innovation
• Understand customer strategies to identify opportunities for technology in Baseball
• Co-create the global Baseball roadmap with major leagues and clients, analyzing their needs and aligning the Baseball roadmap to strategic goals
• Co-create story maps with the product teams to iteratively develop new solutions
• Serving as the voice of the user, client and business goals
• Provide context to and collaborate closely with one or multiple cross-functional teams of product managers, delivery managers, engineers and designers to define, build and deliver high-value products
• Support the ownership of strategic product roadmaps, ensuring there is continual dialogue internally to agree on priorities
• Engage with sales teams/regional MDs to understand opportunities that emerge from client relationships
• Find new applications for existing technology in Baseball
• Work with the Product Owners to provide existing solutions to meet customer demand
• Conduct primary and secondary research to develop insights, and themes and define areas of opportunity
• Create initiatives (Projects) articulating product and market narrative
• Write strategy, key objectives and results and monitor the data to help make business decisions
• Collaborate with stakeholders during the visioning, ideation and concept development of a product
• Recognize all cultural differences across Baseball and regions, and build customer solutions that meet their strategic need in a powerful and culturally sensitive manner
• Accountable for ensuring the solution meets the requirements (UAT)
• Cross regional and global solutions leadership and act as a figure head for Baseball Innovations and ideation across the business
• Informs the risks of Value and Business Viability
• Working at a portfolio level

Skills Knowledge and Expertise

• Deep-level understanding of Baseball incl day to day operational and performance needs and future growth opportunities
• 2-3 years in a Product Manager role managing all stages of the digital product life cycle with relevant stakeholder management experience;
• Experience working with technically complex products;
• Experience working with cross-functional teams to deliver on common goals;
• Defining minimum marketable features and minimum viable products;
• Experience in writing requirements and acceptance criteria;
• Client-facing and internal communication skills;
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills;
• Stakeholder management and leadership;
• Product roadmap definition experience;
• Understanding the technologies used in the products worked on.

Nice to have (but not a deal-breaker):

• Experience working with creating and delivering products within a business-to-business setting;
• Experience working on products that combine software and hardware.

Our Product Team
As a Baseball Product Manager, you will be a part of a larger Product team that consists of experienced Product Managers, Product Engineers, Delivery Managers and UX/UI professionals all reporting to the Product Director.

Our Product Team Culture
Our Product Department at Hawk-Eye is built on a culture shaped by openness and honesty, along with a desire to push the boundaries of technology and innovation. We are collaborative but also run with autonomy, and are focused on providing global opportunities for any given sport. Our business and output are challenging and we thrive in a world that is constantly changing and evolving. We are agile and strive for the highest quality in everything we do. As a team, we are constantly learning, challenging and pushing ourselves.

Our Products
At Hawk-Eye Innovations, we continue to push the boundaries of innovation within the global sports industry. As part of our team, you will work closely with exceptional people and the most cutting-edge products, which we have built in-house along with user-focused solutions.

Equal Opportunity Employer
Hawk-Eye is an equal opportunities employer and as such makes every effort to ensure that all potential employees are treated fairly and equally, regardless of their sex, sexual orientation, marital status, race, colour, nationality, ethnic or national origin, religion, age, disability, or union membership status.

About Hawk-Eye Innovations

About Hawk-Eye
Hawk-Eye Innovations have been at the forefront of sports officiating and broadcast enhancement technology since 2001. The world’s biggest sporting events trust Hawk-Eye to make the right call when it matters most.

Hawk-Eye’s vision-processing, video replay and creative graphic technologies make sport fairer, safer, more engaging and better informed. Our innovations are constantly changing the face of sports officiating, production, content management, and fan engagement in every sport.

Hawk-Eye Innovations form a key part of the Sony Sports Innovations Group with a shared mission to deliver best-in-class officiating, broadcast and digital solutions to the sports world.

Our Values
At Hawk-Eye Innovations, our three core values underpin our success, ensuring that we continue to be a leading innovator in sports technology on a global scale. Our business is filled with exceptional talent that helps to ensure that the World’s biggest sporting events trust us to make the right call when it matters the most. We deliver on this by ensuring that:

WE ARE BRAVE
Confident in solving almost impossible problems, pioneering and ambitious for our clients and for ourselves. We are bold leaders in the industry, driven by possibilities and striving with pace and energy. We understand our risks and love the challenge.

WE ARE OWNERS
Our business is our own; we feel every win, and especially the losses. We take pride in excellence and trust ourselves to do what’s right, relentlessly. We make decisions like owners, with endeavour and entrepreneurialism. We are serious about what we do, and have fun whilst doing it.

WE ARE INCLUSIVE
We are one team; a community that’s connected and open. No secrets, no politics, just honesty and respect. We value diverse thinking, and diverse people – this helps us innovate. We treat people as people, who are all integral to our success and we celebrate as one.

Diversity and Inclusion
Our commitment to diversity and inclusion across race, gender, age, religion, identity, and experience drives us forward every day. We celebrate differences. We encourage different opinions and approaches to be heard, and then we come together and build.

Our response to COVID 19
During this time Team Hawk-Eye is working in a hybrid manner for all of our Head Office roles. Our operational teams are working onsite, Pioneering & Inspiring Change in Sport every day!

Head Office Teams
We are currently working through a blend of in-person interactions (typically two days per week) and remote activity.

Operational Teams
Our operational teams are working on-site to ensure we can provide the highest level of service to our clients. We are taking the current guidance extremely seriously and are ensuring that the health, safety and well-being of our employees are at the highest standard.

To Apply:
To apply, please follow this link.

The content in this posting was created and provided solely by Hawk-Eye Innovations.

Quantitative Analyst Associate (Spring/Summer 2023)

Location: Philadelphia Phillies Baseball Operations Department, Philadelphia, PA

Title: Quantitative Analyst Associate
Department: Baseball Research & Development
Reports to: Assistant Director, Baseball Research & Development
Status: Hourly Part-Time Seasonal

Position Overview:
As a Quantitative Analyst (QA) Associate, you help shape The Phillies Baseball Operations strategies by processing, analyzing, and interpreting large and complex data. You do more than just crunch the numbers; you carefully plan the design of your own studies by asking and answering the right questions, while also working collaboratively with other analysts and software engineers on larger projects.

Using analytical rigor, you work with your team as you mine through data and see opportunities for The Phillies to improve. After communicating the results of your studies and experiments to the GM and executive staff, you collaborate with front office executives, scouts, coaches, and trainers to incorporate your findings into Phillies practices. Identifying the challenge is only half the job; you also work to figure out and implement the solution.

Responsibilities:

• Conduct statistical research projects and manage the integration of their outputs into our proprietary tools and applications (e.g., performance projections, player valuations, draft assessments, injury analyses, etc.)
• Communicate with front office executives, scouts, coaches, and medical staff to design and interpret statistical studies
• Assist the rest of the QA team with their projects by providing guidance and feedback on your areas of expertise within baseball, statistics, data visualization, and programming
• Continually enhance your knowledge of baseball and data science through reading, research, and discussion with your teammates and the rest of the front office
• Provide input in architecting the storage of baseball data

Required Qualifications:

• Deep understanding of statistics, including supervised and unsupervised learning, regularization, model assessment and selection, model inference and averaging, ensemble methods, etc.
• Meaningful work experience with statistical software (R, S-Plus, SAS, or similar), databases, and scripting languages such as Python
• Proven willingness to both teach others and learn new techniques
• Willingness to work as part of a team on complex projects
• Proven leadership and self-direction

Preferred Qualifications:

• Possess or are pursuing a BS, MS or PhD in Statistics or related (e.g., mathematics, physics, or ops research) or equivalent practical experience
• 0-5+ years of relevant work experience
• Experience drawing conclusions from data, communicating those conclusions to decision makers, and recommending actions

Interested applicants should submit both their resume and an answer to the following question:

Suppose you could trade your top pitching prospect (currently in a lower minor league level) for a young, all-star position player currently in the Major Leagues. How would you decide whether to make the trade? (250 word limit)

Tip: There’s no defined right or wrong answer. Responses are used to get some insight into how you approach problem solving and baseball in general.

Applications should be submitted no later than Sunday, September 18, 2022. Applications not submitted through this online application will not be considered.

To Apply:
To apply, please follow this link.

Software Engineer Associate (Spring/Summer 2023)

Location: Philadelphia Phillies Baseball Operations Department, Philadelphia, PA

Title: Software Engineer Associate
Department: Baseball Research & Development
Reports to: Director, Baseball Research & Development
Status: Hourly Part-Time Seasonal

Position Overview:
The work of a Software Engineer (SWE) Associate at The Phillies extends well beyond merely coding. As a SWE you contribute fresh ideas in a variety of areas, including information retrieval, networking and data storage, security, machine learning, natural language processing, UI design and mobile to shape the evolution of The Phillies baseball analytics systems.

Our ideal engineers will have a versatile skill set, be enthusiastic to handle new challenges and demonstrate leadership qualities. You will work closely with end-users across Scouting, Player Development and the Major League Coaching Staff while building software tools from the ground up. By identifying appropriate design specifications through collaboration with those end-users, you will build applications that conform to user needs.

Specific areas of focus may include, but are not limited to, the draft, free-agency, player valuation, player development, in-game strategy, and injury prevention. As a SWE you will have the opportunity to use your technical expertise to create software solutions that impact decision-making at The Phillies.

Responsibilities:

• Improve existing platforms and design new proprietary applications to be used directly by the GM and executive staff
• Collaborate with front office executives, scouts, coaches, and medical staff regarding the design and technical specifications of software solutions for Baseball Operations
• Work together with Baseball R&D department to help optimize the Phillies baseball analytics systems, including crafting solutions to efficiently and effectively synthesize, organize and present data from multiple third-party sources
• Help to augment the technical knowledge of the entire Baseball Operations department by providing training, mentorship and support on the use of all applications and tools built by the team

Required Qualifications:

• Possess or are pursuing a BS degree in Computer Science, similar technical field of study or equivalent practical experience
• Software development experience in one or more general purpose programming languages (including but not limited to: Java, C/C++, C#, Go, Objective C, Python or JavaScript)
• Interest and ability to learn new technologies as needed
• Experience working with two or more from the following: web application development, Unix/Linux environments, mobile application development, design thinking, machine learning, natural language processing, and data architecture
• Proven willingness to both teach others and learn new techniques
• Proven leadership and self-direction

Preferred Qualifications:

• Possess or are pursuing a Master’s, PhD degree, further education or 4+ years experience in engineering, computer science or other technical related field
• Prior experience managing/leading a technical team

Interested applicants should submit both their resume and an answer to the following question:

What is your favorite programming language to use and why do you like it? (250 word limit).

Tip: There’s no defined right or wrong answer. Responses are used to get some insight into your thoughts on what is important in software engineering.

Please submit your resume and question response no later than Sunday September 18, 2022. Applications without a question response will not be considered.

To Apply:
To apply, please follow this link.

The content in this posting was created and provided solely by the Philadelphia Phillies.

2023 Player Development Associate

FORT MYERS, FL, UNITED STATES / BASEBALL OPERATIONS / SEASONAL

Position Overview:

The Player Development Associate will be a member of the Player Development team, and is responsible for assisting with baseball operations at our complex in Fort Myers, FL. This individual will collaborate closely with Player Development front office personnel, coordinators, and coaches.

Responsibilities:

• Assist with day to day logistics for Minor League Spring Training, Extended Spring Training, Florida Complex League, and Instructional League.
• Assist with daily administrative operations.
• Organize and distribute game video in a timely and quality manner.
• Manage video database to make sure it is readily available for staff and players to view.
• Collect non-game video proactively and at the request of staff.
• Operate and maintain various technology such as Blast, Rapsodo, Trackman, and Edgertronic cameras.
• Distribute analytical information to PD staff produced by our Analytics department.
• Assist with various administrative projects as assigned by coaching staff and Front Office.

Characteristics / Qualifications:

• Strong administrative skills
• Organized, proactive, and strong communicative skills
• Proficient in Microsoft Word and Excel
• Willing to relocate to Fort Myers, FL
• Willing to work nights, weekends, and holidays
• Prior softball or baseball experience is preferred
• Prior video experience (BATS, Synergy, Edgertronic) is preferred
• Prior technology experience with one or more of the following: Trackman, Blast, Rapsodo) is preferred

The Red Sox (or FSM) requires proof of being up-to-date on COVID-19 vaccination as a condition of employment, subject to applicable legal requirements. Up-to-date means having received all recommended COVID-19 vaccination doses in the primary series and a booster dose(s) when eligible, per CDC guidelines.

Prospective employees will receive consideration without discrimination based on race, religious creed, color, sex, age, national origin, handicap, disability, military/veteran status, ancestry, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression or protected genetic information.

To Apply:
To apply, please follow this link.

2023 Minor League Video & Technology Associate

MULTIPLE LOCATIONS / BASEBALL OPERATIONS / ASSOCIATE / CO-OP / INTERN

Position Overview:
The Minor League Video & Technology Associate will be a member of the Player Development team, and is responsible for managing video and data collection at their assigned affiliate. This individual will collaborate closely with the coaching staff, coordinators, Player Development, Baseball Systems, and Analytics front office members.

Responsibilities:

• Collect video by setting up multiple cameras and using BATS video software.
• Organize and distribute game video in a timely and quality manner.
• Manage video database to make sure it is readily available for staff and players to view.
• Manage all video equipment and computers making sure it is properly cared for and working effectively.
• Collect non-game video proactively and at the request of staff.
• Operate and maintain various technology used at affiliate such as Blast, Rapsodo, Trackman, Hawkeye, Kinatrax, and Edgertronic cameras.
• Distribute analytical information to coaching staff produced by our Analytics department.
• Assist with various administrative projects as assigned by coaching staff and Front Office.
• Assist in video collection and technology implementation during Spring Training.

Characteristics/Qualifications:

• Strong administrative skills
• Organized, proactive, and strong communicative skills
• Proficient in Microsoft Word and Excel
• Willing to relocate
• Willing to work nights, weekends, and holidays
• Willing to travel with the team
• Prior baseball/softball experience is preferred – College baseball team, summer team, training facility
• Prior video experience (BATS, Synergy, Edgertronic) is preferred
• Prior baseball technology experience (Trackman, Blast, Rapsodo) is preferred

To Apply:
To apply, please follow this link.

2023 Baseball Operations Associate

BOSTON, MA, UNITED STATES / BASEBALL OPERATIONS / ASSOCIATE / CO-OP / INTERN

Position Overview:
The Baseball Operations Associate will support all areas of the Baseball Operations Department, while primarily focusing on one or two areas (Amateur Scouting, International Scouting, Professional Scouting, and Advance Scouting) with day-to-day administrative and office management duties.

Responsibilities:

• Assist with daily administrative tasks for your department.
• Creatively pursue ways to improve internal processes.
• Organize and maintain information from non-office personnel.
• Manage video database including tagging & editing.
• Prepare information and logistics for meetings.
• Assist with various administrative and research projects.
• Operate various technology during home games.

Characteristics / Qualifications:

• Strong administrative skills
• Ability to multitask in stressful situations
• Strategic thinking & planning
• Organized, proactive, and strong communicative skills
• Proficient in Microsoft Word and Excel
• Willing to relocate
• Willing to work nights, weekends, and holidays
• Prior softball or baseball experience is preferred
• Ability to communicate in Spanish is preferred
• Valid Driver’s License

The Red Sox (or FSM) requires proof of being up-to-date on COVID-19 vaccination as a condition of employment, subject to applicable legal requirements. Up-to-date means having received all recommended COVID-19 vaccination doses in the primary series and a booster dose(s) when eligible, per CDC guidelines.

Prospective employees will receive consideration without discrimination based on race, religious creed, color, sex, age, national origin, handicap, disability, military/veteran status, ancestry, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression or protected genetic information.

To Apply:
To apply, please follow this link.

2022-23 Amateur Scouting Development Associate

TAMPA, FL OR JACKSONVILLE, FL / BASEBALL OPERATIONS / SEASONAL

Position Overview:
The Boston Red Sox Amateur Scouting Development Associate is one of the most unique entry-level positions in the industry. It provides the opportunity to hone your skills as an evaluator; directly assisting area scouts and cross checkers with coverage while concurrently supporting the front office staff with video and data collection. In the role, this person will spend most of their time tracking down specific targets, writing reports, and meeting with members of the department to expedite personal and professional growth. The Associate will also get the opportunity to present at draft meetings and gain insight to draft strategy to further development. Cultivating impact evaluators that eventually fit into future openings within the scouting departments of the Boston Red Sox is a priority. These Associate roles hopefully serve as a key step towards achieving that goal.

Responsibilities:

• Assisting local area scouts with coverage
• Writing scouting reports
• Learning to navigate the landscape of internal systems
• Understanding the ancillary job responsibilities of area scouts
• Collecting video
• Building a foundation of understanding baseball technologies
• Developing relationships with the local baseball community
• Assist in on-field player workouts
• Participate in weekly meetings with front office personnel

Characteristics / Qualifications:

• Strong passion for scouting and talent evaluation
• Evident open-mindedness with a high willingness to learn & receive feedback
• Excellent time management skills
• Sound communication skills
• Admirable attention to detail
• Flexible hours including nights & weekends
• Willingness to relocate

To Apply:
To apply, please follow this link.

The content in this posting was created and provided solely by the Boston Red Sox.

Yesterday, the Rays traded C/INF Ford Proctor to the Giants for Triple-A reliever Jeremy Walker. The Rays appear to have been trying to clear 40-man space. The Rays have several players on the 60-day IL who don’t currently occupy a 40-man spot but will need to once they return, including Wander Franco, Manuel Margot, and Harold Ramírez, all of whom are likely to come off of the IL between now and the end of the season. Tampa could also potentially add more big leaguers before the deadline who would require 40-man space. The move was an opportunistic pounce by the Giants, who get a player I happen to like quite a bit.

Proctor was occupying a 40-man spot while hitting .213/.329/.306 at Triple-A Durham, and his strikeout rate has climbed significantly for the second straight year. He was a contact-oriented infielder at Rice and in the lower minors who the Rays moved behind the plate during the early stages of the pandemic. While he’s made huge strides on defense, he still has moments of ineptitude, whiffing on the occasional easy-to-receive pitch, or letting a blockable ball in the dirt get past him. For a convert who has just shy of two years experience wearing the tools of ignorance, Proctor looks pretty good even though he’s 25. Read the rest of this entry »

Are you also furiously following the news ahead of today’s trade deadline? Join me on Twitch this afternoon for a live chat and transaction reactions, with guest appearances from Nick Pollack of Pitcher List and Jason Martinez of our very own RosterResource. You can tune in over on my Twitch channel or right here in this post, starting at 3 PM ET and going until we run out of deals to cover. Happy deadline day!

After months of rumors and loud whispering, the mega-trade for Juan Soto has finally happened, with the winner being the San Diego Padres. It’s hard to overstate the impact of a trade like this; while stars are always traded, Soto is a very young and already quite accomplished player with generational-type talent, and players in that category do not change uniforms by trade all that often. I’m already tempted to type this piece in all capital letters, damaging the eyes of our esteemed editors; the Padres adding an excellent rental in Josh Bell just makes it an even harder test for my willpower.

The stable of talent sent to Washington is impressive, as it should be. Heading to D.C. are starting pitcher MacKenzie Gore, shortstop C.J. Abrams, outfielder Robert Hassell III, outfielder James Wood, pitcher Jarlin Susana, and first baseman Eric Hosmer. For the Nationals, any lingering concerns that someone would have to take Patrick Corbin, thus reducing the value of the return significantly, have now safely evaporated, and they’ll now have to turn to other options there. The Padres even fulfilled Washington’s desire to include a major leaguer who can help the team win games right now in the form of Gore. There are still issues to iron out with Hosmer’s no-trade clause, but for now, we’re going to look at this trade with the assumption that this works out, one way or the other. One possibility is an effort to get a third team into the mix, one that is interested in Hosmer’s services and not on his no-trade list, or at least a team he’d be more willing to waive the clause to join. Who that would be exactly is a tricky question; maybe the Royals?

UPDATE: Hosmer has officially vetoed his move to Washington, though the trade will still go ahead without his involvement. San Diego now has an interesting contract situation to resolve this afternoon.

UPDATE 2: Hosmer is now heading to Boston, per multiple reports, with fellow first baseman Luke Voit now part of the Soto trade in his stead.

UPDATE 3: The deal is now official: Soto and Bell for Voit, Gore, Hassell III, Wood, and Susana.

To wet your whistle — my colleague Ben Clemens will be around shortly with a full rundown of the particulars of this trade, and Eric Longenhagen will run through the prospects — here are some projections which I swear aren’t fan service. (Year-by-year projections for Wood and Susana are unfortunately beyond ZiPS’ scope at this stage of their careers.) Some may be disappointed that Soto’s numbers aren’t quite what they were last year, but his defense looks worse and he’s not quite at his normal level of offense. But considering ZiPS has only “downgraded” his top comp to Carl Yastrzemski, it’s still a great projection!

Much more to come.

Rumors of a contract negotiations between starting pitcher Joe Musgrove and the San Diego Padres have been percolating for the last month, and those discussions bore fruit over the weekend: With a five-year, $100 million contract extension, the Padres have locked up their best and most dependable starter through the end of the 2027 season.

I discussed a possible Musgrove extension a couple of weeks ago, and not much has changed in the right-hander’s valuation since then, when ZiPS thought that a five year, $126 million contract would be fair for both sides. That makes landing Musgrove for $100 million a nice deal for the Friars, likely the result of some unknown combination of canniness, Musgrove’s comfort at the top of the rotation, and his stated desire to stay with his hometown team (Musgrove is from the San Diego area).

For Padres fans, it must be a relief to get this extension done — even when most of the factors suggest a deal can be reached, there’s no guarantee until there’s ink on the paper. Being from Baltimore, I think back on the acrimonious end to Mike Mussina‘s time in Charm City. Mussina had previously given the O’s a very good deal on a three-year, $21 million contract that bought out a year of free agency, but when he actually did hit the open market, the O’s basically underbid the Yankees, working on the assumption that a hometown discount would be permanently built into his contracts. That the second half of Moose’s Hall of Fame career came with the Yankees still makes me sad! ZiPS projects Musgrove as the best pitcher available in free agency — his projection edges out Carlos Rodón’s — and as with Mussina and the Yankees, all bets are off once the 29 other teams can bid on your franchise pitcher. Read the rest of this entry »

Position: Baseball Analytics Apprentice

Location: Arlington, TX

It’s fun to work in a company where people truly BELIEVE in what they’re doing!

We’re committed to bringing passion and customer focus to the business.

• Query and report on data
• Build and maintain analytical tools, metrics, & models
• Create compelling data visualizations and stories
• Research game changing ideas and concepts
• Present information to team leaders and organizational stakeholders

Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s Degree in mathematics, engineering, computer science, data science, or related field
• Strong knowledge of baseball analytics and associated data & technologies
• Proficiency in SQL, R, Python, Tableau and/or other analytical tools
• Familiarity with concepts such as predictive modelling, cloud computing, machine learning, artificial intelligence, and Bayesian analysis
• Strong written & verbal communication as well as visualization skills
• A creative mindset, open-mindedness, and desire to work in a learning culture

If you like wild growth and working with happy, enthusiastic over-achievers, you’ll enjoy your career with us!

To Apply:
To apply, please follow this link.

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