Notes: Dodgers Champs, Tri Wins Golden Glove, Buc FA's, Moves & News

HOPE YOU HAD A 🎃🎃 WEEK & the Fall Classic envelope, please…

Pirates Stuff: 

• Pirates who declared for free agency after the World Series: OF Andrew McCutchen, C Yasmani Grandal and pitchers Aroldis Chapman, Ryan Borucki & Jalen Beeks. 
• 1B/3B Malcom Nuñez, 23, re-signed with the Pirates on a minor league deal with an invite to spring training. He hit .250 w/11 HR for Indy last year, playing 87 games at the hot corner, 40 at first and a handful as DH.
• Hey, another infielder who was on layaway: The Pirates claimed IF Tristan Gray, 28, off waivers from the A’s. The Pirates drafted Gray in 2017 and traded him, along with Daniel Hudson, to the Rays for Corey Dickerson in 2018. He’s been an insurance minor league piece with 17 MLB games in the past two seasons. Gray isn’t a big BA guy but has some pop and may be worked at 1B when he joins Indy.

World Series Stuff:

• LA went to Yankee Stadium and took their third straight game, 4-2, behind the arm of Walker Buehler and the bat of Freddie Freeman, who in three games has three homers. Shohei Ohtani gave the Dodger fans a scare by banging his shoulder on Saturday, but was back as DH for Game #3. Freeman set the Fall Classic mark with another dinger in Game #4; that’s six straight WS games that he’s gone long in. But it was far from enough; sparked by Anthony Volpe’s grand slam, the Bronx bats woke up to stay alive with a runaway 11-4 dub. In Game Six, the Yankees wasted an impressive display of muscle and a 5-0 lead before an inning of little league glove/brain work let LA tie the score and eventually claim the crown, 7-6. Freeman was the MVP.

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• Jared Triolo won the Golden Glove as a utility player. He played every infield position, mainly the unsettled third and second base spots.
• 2023 Pirates 1B and current Twins first-sacker, Carlos Santana, won a Gold Glove. Slamtana, at 38, is the oldest first-time non-pitcher to earn the award.
• Royal’s C Salvador Perez won this year’s Roberto Clemente Award.
• Inspired by basketball and soccer, plans are afoot to start a Women’s Pro Baseball League (WPBL), which hopes to begin play during the summer of 2026.
• Yankees RHP Gerrit Cole, 34, opted out of his contract. The club could either void the option by adding one year/$36M to his current deal or allow him free agency.
• The Rangers claimed RHP Roansy Contreras off waivers from the Angels, where his line was 1-4-2/4.13 after LA bought his contract from the Pirates (1-0/4.41) in May. He’s controllable for another four seasons but has no minor league options.
• Plum HS RHP Scott McGough, 35, had his option declined by Arizona. He pitched a bit for Miami, went to Japan for four years and returned in ’23 with the D-Backs.
• RHP Daniel Hudson, 37, who pitched for Pittsburgh in 2018 before being traded, retired from the LA Dodgers with a World Series ring, his second (he got his first in ’19 with the Nats) after 15 years in the show.