Notes: Playoffs Roll On; Golden Key?; Leyland HoF Candidate; Pirates & Minor League Notes; Ex-Buccos On the Move

A long season...

Notes:

• Texas and Houston are tied at threes in the ALCS; they're playing for all the marbles tonight at Minute Maid Park. Philly leads Arizona in the NLCS, 3-2, and are the early evening game tonight at Citizens Bank Park.
• There has been plenty of speculation on who the FO will target in the FA market (besides Cutch). While the names have been all over the board, the positions thought to need outside help are starting pitching, a 1B and a 2B (although there are plenty of internal middle infield wanna-bes). The early consensus is that there is no consensus, although pitchers Jack Flaherty and Sean Manaea have been mentioned pretty regularly by the media/blogger forecasting gang.

• Ke'Bryan Hayes is one of three NL 3B to be nominated for a Rawling's Golden Glove, along with Austin Riley of the Braves and Ryan McMahon of the Rox. He's about due... Carlos Santana, who started here and ended up with Milwaukee, is a 1B candidate.
• For the touted youth movement of the past season, the Pirates didn't get a player on the two-deep MLB Pipeline All-Rookie Team.
• Jim Leyland was named as one of the eight candidates under consideration by the Contemporary Baseball Era Committee for Managers, Executives and Umpires for entry into the 2024 HoF class. The others are Cito Gaston, Davey Johnson, Ed Montague, Hank Peters, Lou Piniella, Joe West and Bill White. Joe West?
• The Pirates are one of five finalists for the Selig Award for charitable work. The club teamed with Allegheny Healthcare to provide a converted RV (the "Chill Mobile") that traveled to schools to provide kids with a safe space to learn coping and social skills. The program reached 6,000 students last year. It's a fan vote award, so click on the link if you want to back the Bucs.
• Ex-Pirates GM Neal Huntington, Ben Cherington's predecessor, is a candidate for the BoSox head of baseball operations spot. NH was part of the Cleveland Guardians FO last season.

• Guess what logo made a Rolling Stones cover...?
• The Reds have re-signed C Luke Maile to a one-year contract with a club option for 2025. Maile is guaranteed $3.5MM on the new deal. The Bucs inked him in 2020 for $900K to be Jake Stalling's caddy, but he lost the season after he broke a finger in a spring game and underwent surgery. The Pirates released Luke after the campaign.
• The Nationals outrighted IF Michael Chavis to AAA. He hit ,229 w/14 HR for the Bucs in '22 and in a reduced role (48 games, 91 AB), .242 w/2 long balls for Washington this past season.
• OF Bligh Madris, who got into 39 games as a Buc last year (.177 BA) and was waived after the season to Tampa Bay, then to Detroit, which sold his contract to Houston for the '23 campaign, has declared free agency. He batted .154 in a dozen games for the 'Stros.
• The Mets waived C Michael Perez, who backed the dish for the Bucs in 2021-22.
• You may remember RHP Nate Webb; he signed a minor league deal with the Bucs for 2023 and then lost the whole year to TJ surgery. He was recently released and just signed a two-year minor league agreement with the Baltimore Orioles.