Two men were gunned down and killed at a gas station in East Oakland's Elmhurst Park neighborhood Thursday morning at about 11:30 am. Neither of the two male victims has been identified, though both died on the scene, and thus far there is no information about any possible suspect. [KTVU] Beloved former Giants manager Bruce Bochy, who delivered us three championships, is finalizing an agreement to return to the Giants in some sort of advisory role with the front office.
Well the offseason has officially begun and we will see decisions on a bunch of player and team options in the next five days, as well as likely a managerial hire and some roster churn. Mark Bowman seemingly reported that Pierce Johnson and Tyler Kinley's team options would be picked up, which both seemed likely but not guaranteed, while casting a little doubt on Albies' option, not to suggest that Ozzie is unlikely to return, however.
Willy Adames became the first player in a Giants uniform to slug 30 home runs since Barry Bonds, and Rafael Devers anchored the lineup with a combined 35 homers between San Francisco and Boston, but neither player was the club's lone finalist for a Silver Slugger award. The honor belonged to Matt Chapman, who was passed over when Gold Glove finalists were announced earlier this month but is being recognized for his bat.
Cal Raleigh homered, Jorge Polanco drove in the go-ahead run with a sixth-inning single and the Seattle Mariners beat the Toronto Blue Jays 3-1 Sunday night as they returned to the AL Championship Series for the first time in 24 years. George Springer homered on the first pitch from Bryce Miller, who then escaped a two-on jam in a 27-pitch first inning. Anthony Santander singled in the second for Toronto's only other hit, and Seattle pitchers retired 23 of the Blue Jays' final 24 batters.
Despite the early exit, the club is not looking to make major leadership changes on the field or in the front office. Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune reported that both manager Mike Shildt and president of baseball operations A.J. Preller are expected to maintain their roles heading into the 2026 season. Shildt has two years remaining on his contract after signing an extension last offseason.
The Rockies officially parted ways with general manager Bill Schmidt this morning, finalizing what had become an expected decision after one of the worst seasons in MLB history. The Rox have already announced they'll go outside the organization for their next baseball operations leader. That alone is a change for a franchise that has promoted from within for its past two GM hires. Jeff Bridich and Schmidt had each been longtime members of the Colorado front office before ascending to the top of the staff.