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The New York Yankees continued to get younger Thursday by trading veteran catcher Brian McCann to the Houston Astros in exchange for two pitching prospects.

The Yankees’ PR staff announced the deal on Twitter, noting the Astros were sending back right-handed pitchers Albert Abreu and Jorge Guzman for McCann.

ESPN’s Buster Olney reported the Yankees will be sending the Astros $5.5 million in each of the next two years to help cover the $17 million McCann is owed in 2017 and 2018. Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports confirmed the Astros would be paying McCann $11.5 million each of the next two seasons.

Rosenthal noted there is some expectation that McCann will catch 100-110 games with Evan Gattis covering the remaining games in 2017. 

“We got better today,” said Astros manager A.J. Hinch, per Brian McTaggart of MLB.com. 

McCann is among the best offensive backstops of his generation, but he struggled in 2016 to the tune of a .242 batting average with 20 home runs and 58 RBI. That marked the lowest RBI total of his career in a season in which he played at least 130 games.

Although B-Mac hit just .232 in 2015, he set a career high with 26 home runs and tied a personal best with 94 RBI, which led to him winning his sixth career Silver Slugger Award—his first since making the leap to the American League from the Atlanta Braves.

The 32-year-old Georgia native is a seven-time All-Star selection, and he is a dangerous threat from the left side of the plate when swinging the bat to the best of his ability.

That wasn’t the case in 2016, and with the Yankees finding a long-term answer at catcher in Gary Sanchez, he became expendable.

McCann has two seasons left on his contract and a vested option for $15 million in 2019, according to Spotrac. Trading him now gives the Yanks more flexibility moving forward, and in doing so they dealt from a position of strength.

With Sanchez looking like a perennial All-Star and Austin Romine serving as a quality backup, New York has enough catching depth to get by without McCann for the remainder of 2016 and in the years to come.

The Yankees also continue to add depth to a much-improved farm system after last summer’s deals that sent Aroldis Chapman to the Chicago Cubs, Andrew Miller to the Cleveland Indians and Carlos Beltran to the Texas Rangers.

Abreu is the prize for the Yankees in the deal. Per MLB.com, he is now ranked as New York’s No. 10 prospect with a fastball that has peaked at 99 mph. The 21-year-old has to harness his control after walking 58 in 101.2 innings last season, but he allowed just 74 hits and had 115 strikeouts between Low-A and High-A.

McCann’s struggles last season—particularly from a power perspective—were somewhat surprising considering the fact Yankee Stadium is tailor-made for lefties with pop.

He took advantage of that in both 2014 and 2015, but 2016 didn’t yield the same results.

The Astros are hopeful he can regain the power stroke that has made him such a valuable commodity over the course of his 12-year MLB career, but gambling on a catcher over the age of 30 comes with some risk.

Catcher is the most physically demanding position in baseball, and there is no guarantee McCann will ever be the same offensive player he once was.

Because of that, the Yankees may have parted ways with him at the perfect time, especially since they have other catchers capable of producing in a big way.

New York hasn’t been a seller often over the past two decades, but after getting a great haul for several assets at last season’s trade deadline, this is another move that could allow it to return to contention in the near future.

The Astros are fortunate to have a deep lineup with Jose Altuve, George Springer, Carlos Correa and Alex Bregman. They don’t need McCann to return to his superstar form to justify this deal. Staying healthy and producing even average numbers at catcher would be a huge boost for them in 2017.

Follow @MikeChiari on Twitter.

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Major League Baseball and the Texas Rangers are reportedly investigating an alleged sexual assault involving multiple players at the Rangers’ academy in the Dominican Republic.

On Thursday, Fox Sports’ Ken Rosenthal reported the alleged assault involved four players from the Rangers’ academy. Charges have not been filed.

The Rangers released a statement confirming they are cooperating with MLB during the investigation, per Rosenthal:

The Texas Rangers became aware of an incident at our Academy in the Dominican Republic and we acted promptly to open an investigation. We have reported the incident and are cooperating fully with Major League Baseball and the authorities in the Dominican Republic. With this being an ongoing investigation, we will have no further comment at this time.

Citing sources, Rosenthal reported the players allegedly involved were placed on administrative leave under the guidelines of the minor league domestic violence policy. They will reportedly remain on leave until the investigation is complete.

According to a 2011 article from ESPN.com’s Richard Durrett, the Rangers’ academy—like several in the Dominican Republic—is designed to immerse developing players in baseball on an all-day basis. 

“It’s a 24/7 baseball environment,” Rangers field coordinator Jayce Tingler said at the time. “We have a chance to teach them, get them game experience, help them learn English and make them stronger.“

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With Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association in negotiations for a new collective bargaining agreement, one topic being discussed is the size of the rosters teams can use during the season.

On Thursday, Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports reported the proposal the sides are discussing would expand rosters from 25 players to 26 for the bulk of the campaign. In exchange, the agreement would introduce a new limit in September, when rosters have traditionally expanded to 40 players. 

September roster expansion has drawn criticism because it changes the dynamic for managers as they navigate their way through games with more players at their disposal than the rest of the year. 

After speaking to multiple general managers and team executives, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe wrote about roster expansion in August, noting the union may not be “as on board with the change as much as MLB because it would limit major league participation.”

Baltimore Orioles general manager Dan Duquette suggested keeping the roster size at 40 players, with teams having to designate 30 players from that group as active before each game. 

Rosenthal noted the sides have discussed a similar scenario in their negotiations: “The new limit likely would be 28, and the rules would permit teams to swap out players, though not on a daily basis.”

One reason the union may not be keen to give up roster spots is because it would limit service time for many players, which would prevent them from reaching arbitration and free agency as quickly.

A lot of players who get called up in September are relievers, which allows managers to ease the burden on pitchers who have had heavy workloads over the first five months of the season. In July, MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred told ESPN’s Mike & Mike (via ESPN.com) that he would be in favor of placing a restriction on the number of relief pitchers who can be used in an inning or game. 

Rosenthal noted the topic is also being discussed during CBA negotiations, though it “could be resolved separately from the CBA,” per a source.

The CBA will expire Dec. 1. There’s been little to suggest a work stoppage is looming, and there is plenty of time for the sides to come to an agreement.

MLB hasn’t had a work stoppage since the 1994-95 strike, which led to the cancellation of the 1994 postseason and a shortened 144-game schedule in 1995.

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Oakland Athletics managing partner and co-owner Lew Wolff is stepping down. 

According to Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle, Athletics primary owner John Fisher will be taking over Wolff’s role.

Slusser also reported Wolff will be selling a majority of his stake in the Major League Baseball franchise to the other partners and will be named chairman emeritus. 

The A’s officially announced the organizational shake-up Thursday. Dave Kaval moves into the role of team president, and Michael Crowley will transition into a senior adviser role. 

Kaval said the A’s are committed to staying in Oakland, per John Hickey of Bay Area News Group. Kaval said the team is looking at several potential sites but likes the idea of a “ballpark village” concept, according to Joe Stiglich of CSN Bay Area.

Wolff was part of a group that purchased the A’s from Stephen Schott and Ken Hofmann in 2005 for $180 million. The franchise has made four playoff appearances since that group took over; most recently, Oakland lost to the Kansas City Royals in the American League Wild Card Game in 2014. 

The A’s organization, particularly Wolff, has drawn heavy criticism in recent years for a number of reasons, both on and off the field. 

In October 2015, Eno Sarris of ESPN.com wrote about some of the issues that have plagued the A’s under their current ownership group:

Wolff has long refused to spend on the players or the stadium, which has led to situations like Scott Hatteberg at first base and sewage in the dugout. And fans are, quite frankly, tired of the concrete bunker that is the Coliseum — ranked worst in all of sports in stadium quality and fan-friendliness. Local transportation problems have contributed, and the stadium doesn’t sit in a part of Oakland that might attract foot traffic. 

The problems at the Oakland Coliseum have been well-documented, including several instances of flooding after heavy rains that have led to sewage seeping into the building. 

The A’s haven’t finished higher than 18th in payroll since 2000, per Cot’s Baseball Contracts. They have made questionable trades, notably sending Josh Donaldson to the Toronto Blue Jays in November 2014 before he was eligible for arbitration when his salary would exceed the MLB minimum for the first time.

Wolff’s decision to step down from a heavy hands-on role with the Athletics to a less prominent position gives the franchise an opportunity to move forward with greater success than they have had in recent years. 

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Major League Baseball announced Boston Red Sox ace Rick Porcello won the 2016 American League Cy Young Award on Wednesday, which left Detroit Tigers hurler Justin Verlander in second place.

His fiancee, supermodel Kate Upton, was not pleased with the results (Warning: NSFW language):

As Upton mentioned, Verlander finished in second place despite garnering the most first-place votes. She was wrong, however, about Porcello’s failing to receive any first-place votes, as the Baseball Writers’ Association of America shared:

Upton wasn’t the only one upset with the results. Verlander’s younger brother, Ben, weighed in on the Cy Young voting:

Verlander has a case that extends beyond the first-place votes he received. He finished with a slightly better WHIP than Porcello (1.00 to 1.01) and threw more innings (227.2 to 223.0) in the process. He also posted a better ERA and comparable numbers to Porcello and fellow finalist Corey Kluber in other categories, per FanGraphs:

However, the numbers were close across the board, and Porcello enjoyed advantages in some of the statistics as well. His Red Sox also won the American League East at 93-69, while Verlander’s Tigers were left on the outside of the playoffs looking in at 86-75.

While team performance isn’t necessarily a final determinant of individual awards, that Porcello’s team made the playoffs likely helped his cause.

The Cy Young results were more personal to Upton given her relationship with Verlander, but this isn’t the first topic from the sports world she discussed on her Twitter page. For example, she was not pleased when Arian Foster and other NFL players knelt during the national anthem earlier this year, either:

Upton isn’t happy her fiance missed out on the Cy Young, but she can take solace in knowing he already has the award on his resume. Verlander won the 2011 Cy Young the same year he captured the AL MVP when he won the pitching version of the Triple Crown by leading the AL in wins (24), ERA (2.40) and strikeouts (250).

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In two hotly contested races, Rick Porcello of the Boston Red Sox and Max Scherzer of the Washington Nationals took home the American League and National League Cy Young Award on Wednesday. 

Porcello beat out Justin Verlander of the Detroit Tigers and Corey Kluber of the Cleveland Indians. Verlander led all AL pitchers with 14 first-place votes, but the Red Sox right-hander had more points by virtue of Verlander being left off two ballots. 

Scherzer overcame stiff competition from Jon Lester and Kyle Hendricks of the Chicago Cubs.

Here are the full voting results for the 2016 Cy Young awards, per BBWAA.com:

MLB GIFs provided the amazing celebration from Scherzer and his family when he was announced as the NL winner:

All six pitchers had a compelling Cy Young case.

In the NL, Hendricks led Major League Baseball with a 2.13 ERA and 188 ERA+ and had the lowest fielding independent ERA (3.20) among the three NL finalists. 

Lester finished second to Hendricks in MLB with a 2.44 ERA, but he also threw 12.1 more innings and had 27 more strikeouts than his Chicago teammate.  

Christopher Kamka of Comcast SportsNet Chicago noted the Cubs’ team ERA was better than all but one pitcher in either league:

Scherzer‘s case turned out to be the strongest among all of the NL finalists. He satisfied the old-school voters with a league-leading 20 wins, 284 strikeouts and 228.1 innings pitched.

Washington’s ace also tickled the fancy for the analytically inclined minds by leading MLB in WHIP (0.968) and the NL in wins above replacement (6.2) and strikeout-to-walk ratio (5.071). The only negative to Scherzer‘s game this season was allowing 31 homers, five less than the combined total for Lester and Hendricks.

If those stats aren’t enough, MLB Stat of the Day offered another nugget to make Scherzer‘s case:

Per MLB Stat of the Day, Scherzer joins an illustrious list of six pitchers to win the Cy Young Award in both leagues, as he previously won the award in 2013 with the Detroit Tigers:

According to ESPN Stats & Info, Scherzer did something in 2016 only two other pitchers in NL history had done before:

One thing that may have hurt the Cubs duo’s case is the team’s defense. ESPN.com’s Sam Miller wrote after the season how good Chicago was at turning balls in play into outs:

It’s been 34 years since a team converted balls in play at a higher clip than the Cubs, and that was when the league as a whole hit 15 to 20 points lower on balls in play than modern players do. No team since at least 1950 has converted a higher percentage of outs, relative to the rest of the league, than the Cubs just did

That still shouldn’t take away from the brilliance of Lester or Hendricks. It just elevates what Scherzer was able to do with a defense that wasn’t historically awesome. 

After being named the NL Cy Young winner, Scherzer did acknowledge he wants what Lester and Hendricks experienced earlier this month, per Bruce Levine of 670 The Score:

However, Scherzer was excited about what he accomplished in 2016 while also looking ahead to next year.

“In 2017 I want to be a better pitcher…but right now it’s all about celebrating what happened in 2016,” Scherzer said, per MLB Network PR. 

Scherzer put himself on the list of historic 2016 performances with his May 11 start against the Detroit Tigers, via MLB.com:

Over in the AL, there were legitimate arguments to be made for at least five pitchers who didn’t even make the top-three list, including Chris Sale and Jose Quintana of the Chicago White Sox, Masahiro Tanaka of the New York Yankees and Aaron Sanchez of the Toronto Blue Jays. 

Baltimore Orioles reliever Zach Britton received more first-place votes (five) than Kluber (three), but he finished fourth in the voting because he was left off six ballots. 

The separation between Porcello, Kluber and Verlander was minuscule. Porcello led MLB with 22 wins and a 5.906 strikeout-to-walk ratio. 

Verlander was one of the great rebound stories in MLB this season. He turned things around after a June 26 start against the Indians in which he allowed eight runs in 4.2 innings, raising his season ERA to 4.30. 

After the All-Star break, Detroit’s ace had a 1.96 ERA with a 0.861 WHIP and 134 strikeouts in 110.1 innings. 

In response to a comment from Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun about the lack of a dominant starting pitcher in the AL, Verlander pointed out how great he was in comparison to four of the AL’s top starters in 2016:

Kluber was virtually tied with Verlander in wins above replacement (6.6 to 6.5) and led the league in ERA+ (149), fielding independent ERA (3.26) and shutouts (two). 

Yet Porcello‘s transformation in 2016 after posting a 4.92 ERA last season was one of the great stories in MLB. 

When asked about what changed for Porcello this season, he didn’t have a magic formula to become the Cy Young winner. 

“Basically get back to basics and do simple better, and it worked,” Porcello said, per MLB Network PR. 

Per Red Sox Notes, Porcello‘s win gives the franchise its seventh Cy Young Award:

Jason Lukehart of Let’s Go Tribe had a humorous note about this year’s Cy Young winners and their previous connection in the AL:

Red Sox Notes also listed a key streak Porcello had during the 2016 season that deserved more attention than it got:

Innings pitched is an underrated factor in the Cy Young equation. The ability to go deep into games, giving your team a chance to win every fifth day and saving the bullpen, is what separates an ace from every other pitcher in the sport.

Britton was brilliant for the Orioles in 2016, but his impact in one-inning stints doesn’t compare to what Porcello and the other AL Cy Young finalists were able to do. 

One year ago, Porcello looked like a total bust for the Red Sox months after signing a long-term extension in April 2015. 

Now, the 27-year-old Porcello is the No. 1 starter on a loaded Red Sox team that will be a playoff contender for years to come with the deepest collection of young position player talent in the American League. 

Stats per Baseball-Reference.com unless otherwise noted.

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What a difference a year makes. In 2015, Rick Porcello had one of the worst seasons of his MLB career. In 2016, the Boston Red Sox ace is the American League Cy Young Award winner.

MLB shared the news on Twitter:

Below are the full results from the Cy Young vote, per the Baseball Writers’ Association of America:

Based on this year’s numbers, Porcello’s win wasn’t a surprise. At the least, he was as good as fellow finalists Justin Verlander and Corey Kluber:

At the beginning of the season, many fans in Boston likely expected a Red Sox starting pitcher to be among the Cy Young finalists. The team spent $217 million in the offseason to have David Price anchor the rotation, in part due to Porcello’s lackluster first year with the team.

However, Price and Porcello swapped roles. The latter became Boston’s best pitcher, while the former was a high-priced disappointment.

During his six years with the Detroit Tigers, Porcello showed signs of promise but often failed to find much consistency from one start to the next. The Red Sox acquired him in December 2014 and signed him to a four-year, $82.5 million deal the following April.

At the time, the contract looked risky, and Boston may have had buyer’s remorse after Porcello finished 2015 with a 9-15 record and a 4.92 ERA.

In an interview with the Boston Globe‘s Alex Speier, Porcello said he felt a lot of pressure during his debut campaign with the Red Sox:

I wouldn’t say that the contract itself entirely was a factor last year. I think that coming to a new place, teammates, organization, fans, all of that collectively, Boston, the Red Sox, all of that collectively was something that I have a lot of respect for. I wanted to put my best foot forward. It really took an adverse effect. It kind of got worse and worse as the season went on. The more I tried to get better and produce, it didn’t happen. It went in the opposite direction.

Porcello’s improved level of comfort showed in his walk rate. He averaged a career-low 1.29 walks per nine innings in 2016.

His turnaround will provide optimism to the team, which will hope Price has a similar improvement in his second year with the Red Sox.

The big question will be how much—if any—Porcello’s performance was an outlier relative to the rest of his career.

Cliff Lee had a similar arc with the Cleveland Indians. He went from having a 6.29 ERA in his age-28 season in 2007 to winning the 2008 Cy Young before cementing himself as one of MLB’s best pitchers.

Porcello has always had the tools to become a top-end starter. Now, he may be putting it all together.

As much as they spent to bolster the rotation last year, starting pitcher is an area of concern for the Red Sox. Clay Buchholz continues to be erratic, and the Drew Pomeranz trade was a flop in the second half.

If Porcello carries his 2016 numbers over to 2017, then he can help compensate for the rest of the rotation’s problems. Should he regress back to previous years, though, it will further exacerbate the problem.

Stats are courtesy of FanGraphs unless otherwise noted.

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Washington Nationals starter Max Scherzer has won the 2016 National League Cy Young Award, announced Major League Baseball.

The pitcher earned 25 first-place votes, per the Baseball Writers’ Association of America, beating out Chicago Cubs starters Jon Lester and Kyle Hendricks. Here is a full look at the voting results in a tightly contested race:

Players like Johnny Cueto, Madison Bumgarner, Noah Syndergaard, Clayton Kershaw and Jose Fernandez also deserved consideration in a loaded field of aces.

Scherzer posted a 2.96 ERA this season to go with a 20-7 record, giving him the most wins in the National League. He also led his league in innings pitched (228.1), strikeouts (284) and WHIP (0.968).

After throwing two no-hitters a year ago, the 32-year-old was just as effective in 2016, gaining an advantage thanks to a better team around him.

“These guys absolutely supported me the whole year, playing defense, going out there and scoring runs, and our bullpen coming in and shutting the door,” Scherzer said in October, per Jorge Castillo of the Washington Post. “I don’t win 20 without the rest of these guys in the clubhouse. They’ve been grinding the whole year for me. It’s just an unbelievable honor.”

Playing for a first-place team helped Scherzer go from 14 wins to 20, as well as fifth in the Cy Young voting to first. This represents his second career Cy Young Award after winning the American League version in 2013. He has finished in the top five in each of the past four seasons, earning an All-Star nod in all of them.

The Nationals signed Scherzer to a seven-year deal worth $210 million before the start of the 2015 season. While he will remain on the books for a long time, Washington is getting more than its money’s worth through the first two years.

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Few championships have meant more to a franchise than the Chicago Cubs‘ 2016 World Series title.

After 108 years without a title and 61 years since its last pennant, the team finally broke through with a Game 7 victory over the Cleveland Indians to win the title Nov. 2.

As owner Tom Ricketts told Bob Nightengale of USA Today, the meaning wasn’t lost on him:

It was just so important for this organization, to put this lovable loser crap to bed.

Despite all of the successes of the year, had that game gotten away from us, the next morning’s stories were going to be all about the Cubs losing again. … That’s why it’s so important to get this behind us. We had to get past that and put that in the history of the Cubs, and not the future. We changed that dialogue, and now, it’s all a thing in the past.

The lovable-loser label has defined the Cubs for the past century, with the team usually either well out of contention or falling just short of success for one reason or another.

Fans have blamed the Billy Goat Curse from 1945, a black cat running on the field in 1969 and fan Steve Bartman in 2003—the last of whom might finally get his chance at redemption in the coming year.

Bartman is known for reaching out for a foul ball during Game 6 of the National League Championship Series, preventing outfielder Moises Alou from catching it. The Cubs were five outs away from reaching the World Series at the time. However, a collapse ensued, and the team lost to the Florida Marlins.

While Bartman has been harassed for years following the incident, this year’s championship could be a chance for fans to finally let it go.

“I’m sure we’ll reach out to him at the right time, and I’m sure we’ll figure something out that provides closure for everybody. Hopefully, we can make it work,” Ricketts said.

Meanwhile, Cubs fans are happy to focus on the team that just won the title. According to WGN Radio, an estimated five million people were in attendance at the victory parade. If the numbers are correct, it ranks as the seventh-largest gathering in recorded history and the biggest in the Western Hemisphere.

“I feel like I’m still not sure it ever happened,” Ricketts said. “It’s still sinking in. Still, slowly sinking in.”

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Former Houston Astros catcher Jason Castro has become a sought-after commodity on the free-agent market.

Continue for updates.

Braves Lead Among Suitors

Wednesday, Nov. 16

Per Buster Olney of ESPN, the Atlanta Braves are a top bidder for Castro’s services.

According to Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports, Castro reportedly already has offers from three different American League teams. 

The Astros could also look to re-sign the catcher, with only Evan Gattis a realistic option to replace him on the roster. The team was reportedly looking at a trade for Brian McCann, but as Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports reported, that potential deal is “at an impasse.”

The 29-year-old has spent his entire career in Houston, playing in over 100 games in each of the last four years. He batted .210 with a .307 on-base percentage and 11 home runs in 113 games this past season. 

Castro was also named an All-Star in 2013, when he hit .276 with 18 home runs.

In a limited free-agent class featuring Matt Wieters and an injured Wilson Ramos as top options, Castro could be a hot commodity as a left-handed catcher with home run power and good defensive play behind the plate.

If he can return to his level of play from 2013, he could end up being a steal this offseason.

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