MLB Trade Rumors and News: Nationals take commanding 2-0 lead, Cubs hire David Ross as new manager

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• The first two games of the World Series are in the books and, surprisingly, the Nationals have a 2-0 series lead over the Astros despite having had to go against Gerrit Cole and Justin Verlander for games 1 and 2. The Nationals have already had to slay the heavily favored Dodgers during this playoff run and now they are in prime position to take down the Astros juggernaut.
• The Cubs’ managerial search ended very quickly as they hired David Ross to be their next manager. The Cubs and Ross had been connected even before the team and Joe Maddon parted ways. Now, the team hopefully has a manager that will bring a bit of tough love to a team that looks like a shell of their former selves.
• This is EXACTLY newsworthy, but can we talk for a minute about this amazing flip that Simone Biles did at the mound while wearing jeans right before she threw the first pitch of Game Two of the World Series?
• As soon as the World Series ends, our collective attention will turn towards free agency and who will be where and for how much. Qualifying offers, which attach draft pick compensation to the players who receive them, had a huge impact on the goings on last offseason (see: Kimbrel, Craig and Keuchel, Dallas). As a result, we put together a quick preview of the top 10 players that could/should get qualifying offers this offseason.
• As we creep closer to the offseason, teams are beginning to open up spots on their 40-man roster. Don’t get caught going, “Wait, what happened to that guy?”, and follow our MLB outright assignment tracker here.
• The controversy surrounding Astros assistant GM Brandon Taubman’s public harrassment of female reporters exposes the misogynistic culture that tends to rear its ugly head throughout sports.
• CC Sabathia, who had already had to force his body to get back on the mound due to a knee that is in rough shape, had to leave his final career appearance early with a shoulder injury.
• While several teams have been being methodical with their searches for new managers, the Angels and Joe Maddon seemed to be a match from the beginning and had been linked to each other basically since the job became available. Well, last week things became official as Maddon was named the Angels’ manager for the next three seasons.
• Alex Bregman versus Anthony Rendon is a historically great third base World Series matchup.
• The Phillies are wasting no time in moving on from The Gabe Kapler Experiment. The team is already set to interview Joe Girardi, Buck Showalter, and Dusty Baker, reports Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadelphia and Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune, respectively.
• There are several managerial openings and it is doubtful that we have seen all of the movement that we are going to see. Our own Andersen Pickard took a look at the currently available (or at least likely available) managerial candidates as well as gave some potential fits for each one.
• In a concerning development for the city of Oakland and its sports fans, mayor Libby Schaaf confirmed that commissioner Rob Manfred has threatened to move the Athletics out of the region due to a lawsuit that was recently filed by the Oakland city council against Alameda County — one that would effectively prevent the team from pursuing a new privately-financed ballpark in the area. Manfred mentioned Las Vegas as a possible destination for the A’s, though it’s debatable how feasible that move would be.
• The Nationals, who already saw Bryce Harper walk away last offseason to the rival Phillies, have reportedly offered star third baseman Anthony Rendon a seven-year contract extension worth around $210 million. This is going to be an important offseason for the Nationals as Rendon will be a free agent and it sounds like Stephen Strasburg will opt out of his contract as well. Whether they figure out an extension for these guys or they hit the free agent market to try and replace them, the Nationals appear poised to be VERY busy this offseason yet again.
• Up next on the list of managers officially getting their walking papers: the Pirates have fired manager Clint Hurdle. This was particularly surprising considering the week before it was being reported that Hurdle would stay with the team next season, which turned out to be a massive miscommunication that seemed to fit right in with the season Pittsburgh had this year.
• The Padres fired manager Andy Green after almost four seasons with the club. Despite adding Manny Machado to the roster and developing young phenom Fernando Tatis Jr., Green’s all time 274-366 record was enough for both the fans and upper management to lose faith in him. Stay tuned as we watch for the smoke signals to see who the Padres have elected as their new manager.
• The Marlins, coming off back-to-back seasons where they have finished dead last in the NL East, decided to give manager Don Mattingly a two-year contract extension. Some may be puzzled by this move given the Marlins’ lack of success, but it worth noting that the Marlins aren’t going to be winning much of anything over the next two years, which puts less onus on getting the right guy in there at the moment.
• In an extremely disturbing development, Pirates All-Star closer Felipe Vazquez has been arrested and denied bond after being charged with possession of child pornography, providing obscene material to minors, and soliciting a child. He’s been placed on administrative leave by MLB.