Baseball Wiretap

The Los Angeles Angels fired general manager Perry Minasian on Friday as the franchise heads toward its 11th consecutive losing season. The club simultaneously announced that former St. Louis Cardinals executive John Mozeliak will join as a consultant to oversee day-to-day baseball operations while the organization searches for a new GM.

Minasian was in his sixth season and the final year of his contract. The Angels never won more than 77 games under his leadership, lost a franchise-record 99 games in 2024 and currently sit 34-48, tied for the worst record in the American League.

"Perry has been a valued leader who worked tirelessly over the last six years to strengthen our baseball-operations department," said Angels president Molly Jolly in a statement.

Mozeliak, 57, served as Cardinals GM from 2008 to 2025, overseeing 10 postseason appearances, six division titles, two pennants and the 2011 World Series title. He stepped down as president of baseball operations at the end of last season. He is expected to remain with the Angels through the end of 2026.

Minasian's tenure was complicated by ownership constraints. Arte Moreno's reluctance to authorize a full rebuild and a tightening payroll limited his options throughout. The most damaging decision came in the summer of 2023, when Moreno declined to trade two-way star Shohei Ohtani in his final season before free agency. Ohtani signed with the crosstown Los Angeles Dodgers that offseason, a move rival evaluators say set the franchise back several years.

Injuries to Mike Trout and Anthony Rendon further hampered the club, while a young core headlined by Zach Neto, Nolan Schanuel and Logan O'Hoppe failed to develop as projected. Since 2021, the Angels rank sixth-lowest in winning percentage, eighth in runs scored and fifth-highest in ERA leaguewide, while maintaining one of baseball's weakest farm systems.

Whoever succeeds Minasian will be the Angels' fourth full-time GM since 2012.

Hours after the New York Mets fired manager Carlos Mendoza on Friday, prominent members of the organization took turns assuming responsibility for the team's 34-47 start to the season while lauding Mendoza's credentials, acumen and work ethic.

"We failed Mendy," shortstop Francisco Lindor said. "I failed Mendy. I didn't play to my capability to help him win as many games as we could. And, yeah, this one's on us as well."

Brewers starter Jacob Misiorowski threw a first-inning fastball Friday to Chicago Cubs center-fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong that was clocked at 105.5 mph, breaking his own record for the fastest pitch recorded by a starting pitcher in the pitch tracking era (since 2008).

It's also tied for the third-fastest pitch by any hurler, behind two from longtime reliever Aroldis Chapman (105.8 in 2010, 105.7 in 2016) and Ben Joyce (105.5 in 2024).

"It's cool," Misiorowski said after the Brewers 6-2 win. "I think I slipped a little bit on that pitch. My front foot slid out from under me."

The New York Mets dismissed manager Carlos Mendoza on Friday with the club sitting at 34-47 and riding a six-game losing streak. Former San Diego Padres manager Andy Green will serve as interim manager for the remainder of the season.

Mendoza, 46, was in his third season with the club. The Mets declined to exercise a contract option for 2027.

"Carlos has led the organization with passion and grace and is beloved by everyone who works with him on a daily basis," said Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns. "Unfortunately, we know we are falling short and change is necessary to move forward."

Mendoza's tenure produced wildly inconsistent results. He guided the Mets to the National League Championship Series in 2024, rallying the club from one of the worst records in baseball in June to within two games of the World Series. His second season reversed course entirely, as the Mets owned the best record in baseball before collapsing over the final three and a half months and missing the postseason.

The current campaign has been equally dismal despite significant offseason investment. New York carries the second-most expensive roster in Major League Baseball, behind only the two-time defending World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers, yet ranks among the worst offensive teams in the league.

Stearns overhauled the roster extensively this past winter, acquiring Marcus Semien, Luis Robert Jr., Freddy Peralta and Tobias Myers via trade while signing Bo Bichette, Jorge Polanco, Devin Williams and Luke Weaver in free agency. The rebuild was constructed around cornerstones Juan Soto and Francisco Lindor.

Green, 48, joined the Mets organization in 2023 as senior vice president of baseball development. He previously managed San Diego from 2016 to 2019, posting a 274-366 record.

Major League Baseball has proposed capping free agent contracts at five years for players switching teams and six years for clubs retaining their own players under a new collective bargaining framework presented to the MLB Players Association on Thursday. The changes would take effect after the 2027 season.

The league's six-year retention provision, dubbed the Cornerstone Player Provision, mirrors the NBA's Bird Rights system, allowing teams to offer longer deals to keep their own free agents. Under the proposed salary cap structure, a free agent moving teams could sign for a maximum of five years and $202 million, while a team retaining its own player could offer six years at $265 million.

The league also proposed raising the minimum salary from $780,000 to $1 million in 2027 for players with at least two years of service time, the largest single-year minimum increase in MLB history. Players with fewer than two years of service would receive a $900,000 minimum plus an automatic $100,000 bonus from the Pre-Arbitration Bonus Pool upon completing a full season.

Additionally, MLB proposed allowing players who reach five years of service time by age 30 to become eligible for free agency, one year earlier than the current six-year threshold that has been in place since 1976. The league also proposed eliminating deferred contracts and the qualifying offer system.

The league has initially proposed a salary floor of $171.2 million and a ceiling of $245.3 million per team beginning in 2027.

The MLBPA pushed back sharply, rejecting both a hard salary cap and maximum contract lengths.

"These misleading offers are designed to look like 'improvements' but are of little or no value, given they are expressly conditioned on agreement to the league's cap system which eliminates the free market," the union said in a statement. "Owners' attempts to pit players against players are nothing new, but they've failed in the past and will fail again now."

MLB spokesperson Glen Caplin defended the proposals, saying the salary cap structure would level the playing field for small-market clubs and allow the league to share revenue with players on a 50-50 basis.

Bill DeWitt III was named chief executive officer of the St. Louis Cardinals on Wednesday after serving as team president since 2008.

The Cardinals also announced the promotion of Anuk Karunaratne to president of business operations as part of a restructuring following Chaim Bloom's appointment as president of baseball operations last September.

"In some ways, it's not that big of a change, as all of us up here have been working together closely for a couple years now," DeWitt III said. "But in formalizing these roles, we're just firming up the leadership structure that will lay the foundation for the next wave of organizational and team success."

The Chicago Cubs, desperate to bolster a starting rotation ravaged by injuries, agreed to acquire struggling New York Mets left-hander David Peterson in exchange for minor league infielder Cole Mathis on Wednesday night, sources told ESPN's Jeff Passan, hours after completing a doubleheader sweep of the Mets at Citi Field.

 Giants first baseman Rafael Devers apologized to manager Tony Vitello and said his actions at first base in the ninth inning of San Francisco's one-run loss to the Miami Marlins on Sunday are being "blown out of proportion."

Vitello backed his player, calling it a "nonissue."

After drawing a leadoff walk Sunday in Miami, Devers waved off pinch runner Jonah Cox and gestured angrily toward the dugout when the rookie came out. When first-base umpire Nate Tomlinson made the substitution official, Devers covered his face with his helmet and yelled into it. Upon reaching the dugout, he avoided a backslap from bench coach Jayce Tingler and headed directly for the clubhouse.

The Minnesota Twins have "no plans" to deal All-Star outfielder Byron Buxton, the team's general manager said on Tuesday, shutting down speculation the veteran could be moved.

"It's not something we're exploring. It's not something we plan to explore," Jeremy Zoll told reporters, according to MLB.com "We continue to have productive discussions with Byron. I think he was very clear on that point last week. But also just from my seat, from the Twins' perspective, that's not something that we plan to explore. Just wanted to hit that head on."

Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Kyle Tucker was removed from Monday's game against the Minnesota Twins in the second inning because of low back spasms.

Tucker walked with one out in the second and ran lightly to second base on Tommy Edman's single to right field. Then, Tucker was replaced by pinch runner Alex Call. Tucker stayed in the dugout, standing up next to dugout fence before heading into the clubhouse after the inning was over.