The Astros acquire Clint Barmes from Colorado for P Felipe Paulino. Barmes is slated to be Houston’s starting SS next year, after playing 2B with the Rockies last season.
Commissioner Bud Selig states that Major League Baseball is considering expanding the postseason by two teams, by adding a second wild card in each league. The two wild card winners would face each other in a best-of-three series to open the postseason, with the three division winners getting a bye. The proposal will now be discussed at the December Winter Meetings and will need to be accepted by the Players Association. A slightly modified version of the proposal will come into effect in 2012.
Despite an unspectacular 13-12 record, Felix Hernandez is named the American League Cy Young Award winner ahead of Tampa Bay’s David Price (19-6) and New York’s CC Sabathia (21-7). King Felix’s league-leading 2.27 ERA and the lack of run support provided by the last-place Mariners made the Seattle ace an easy choice for the Baseball Writers’ Association of America, who placed him first on 21 of the 28 ballots cast.
Ron Gardenhire, a day after being selected as the American League Manager of the Year, accepts a two-year extension through the 2013 season from the Twins. The 53 year-old skipper has compiled a record of 803-656 (.550) record en route to winning six division during his nine-year tenure in Minnesota.
Free-agent backstop John Buck signs a three-year, $18 million contract to catch for the Marlins, the team that sought his services a minute after free agency opened. The signing of the 30 year-old catcher, who enjoyed a career year with the Blue Jays, hitting .281 with 20 home runs, continues Florida’s active participation in the early off-season, that also includes the acquisition of four relievers and an infielder.
Jim Tracy is named the National League Manager of the Year, becoming just the second person to cop the honor after taking over a team during the season, joining Jack McKeon who also accomplished the feat with the 2003 Marlins. The 53 year-old skipper, who piloted the Rockies to the NL Wild Card from a 14.5 game deficit at the end of May, is rewarded by Colorado with a three-year contract.
Mike Scioscia, who piloted the Angels to its third consecutive division title and sixth postseason appearance in the last eight year and guided Los Angeles past a myriad of injuries to key players, is named the AL Manager of the Year for the second time. The 50 year-old Angels skipper helped to ease the team’s deep sorrow caused by the sudden death of 22 year-old starter Nick Adenhart, who died in a hit-and-run car accident just hours after pitching six shutout innings against Oakland for the Halos.
Joining Cal Ripken Jr. (Orioles – 1983) and Ryan Howard (Phillies – 2006), Dustin Pedroia (.326, 17, 83) becomes the third player in major league history to win the Most Valuable Player award a season after being selected as the Rookie of the Year. The scrappy Gold Glove second baseman, the tenth Red Sox player to earn the American League honor, received 16 of the 28 first-place votes to easily outdistance heavy-hitting Twins first baseman Justin Morneau (.300, 23, 129).
Ryan Dempster (17-6, 2.96) and the Cubs agree to a $52 million, four-year deal. The 31 year-old right-handed starter had been the club’s closer, saving 87 games in 102 chances during the 2005-07 seasons.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice introduces Ken Griffey, Jr. as an American Public Diplomacy Envoy, a position in which the future Hall of Famer will represent the “values of the United States, not the government of the United States.” The free-agent outfielder, who played for the Reds and White Sox last season, joins Cal Ripken Jr. as a major leaguer serving his country in the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.