The Colorado Rockies have Brandon Nimmo on their preliminary wish list heading into the offseason, according to a report.

The Rockies are already close to a club-record payroll, according to projections.

Nimmo, 29, hit .274/.367/.433 with 16 home runs in 673 plate appearances.

The Detroit Tigers have made another addition to their front office, hiring Mark Conner from the San Diego Padres to serve as the club's amateur scouting director.

Conner will work under recently hired assistant general manager Rob Metzler.

He joined the Padres as an amateur scout in 2010 and was promoted to northeast regional supervisor in 2014 before eventually serving as the club's scouting director during the 2015-2021 seasons. 

The Kansas City Royals have hired Matt Quatraro as their new manager, the team announced Sunday.

Quatraro has been a longtime member of the Tampa Bay Rays organization, most recently serving as their bench coach, a job he took in October 2018. He replaces the fired Mike Matheny.

The Phillies will give pitcher Ranger Suarez an extra day of rest after he threw in relief in Game 1 of the World Series on Friday and instead turn to righty Noah Syndergaard to start Game 3.

The Astros will counter with veteran Lance McCullers Jr. as the series shifts to Philadelphia on Monday. The Phillies and Astros split the first two games of the series in Houston. Syndergaard, 30, has appeared in two postseason contests this October, including one shortened start. He has pitched a total of 5.1 innings, giving up just a run on three hits.

McCullers has made two playoff starts, allowing three earned runs over 11 innings. 

Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred said he does not believe that the Oakland A's will reach an agreement to remain in Oakland. Team officials have said they, however, think the team will build a new stadium near Jack London Square.

The Astros' Martín Maldonado tried to conjure up some of Albert Pujols' home run magic by asking the future Hall of Famer for one of his bats for the World Series.

Not only did Maldonado get a Marucci-branded Pujols AP5 maple bat, he told ESPN's Buster Olney that Pujols sent him a half dozen of his own bats. The catcher used one of them in Game 1 against the Phillies, but Major League Baseball quickly put a stop to that prior to Game 2.

Major League Baseball ruled that Maldonado could not use the bats because that particular AP5 model was no longer allowed in the majors by a player who wasn't grandfathered in with a 2010 rule change.

It was a credit to the Phillies that a 5-0 Astros lead after five innings of Game 2 of the World Series did not feel like finality. And it was a credit to the Astros that, for the second straight night, they had put together a 5-0 lead against a Phillies ace.

This time, though, the Astros made their early advantage stand, and now we have an even Series to show for it.

In a 5-2 victory Saturday night at Minute Maid Park, the Astros attacked Zack Wheeler and then put their lead in the more-than-capable left hand of Framber Valdez, whose terrific 6 1/3 innings made sure those rare runs off Philadelphia’s finest arm were not for naught. Though the game was not without late-inning drama -- including Kyle Schwarber just barely missing a two-run homer not once but twice in the eighth inning -- it was a game that belonged to the home club.

Astros ace Justin Verlander remains well on his way to Cooperstown. But somewhat surprisingly, still missing from his distinguished 17-year career résumé is a World Series victory.

Verlander cruised through the first three innings of Game 1 of the World Series, retiring the first 10 batters he faced, but the magic of the perfect game ended when Rhys Hoskins hit a single in the top of the fourth inning.

And then everything unraveled.

"Disappointing," Verlander said in describing his performance Friday night. "My team gave me a five-run lead, and I wasn't able to hold it. I feel really confident that 99% of the time that I'm able to hold that lead, and unfortunately today I wasn't."

Cardinals third baseman Nolan Arenado is remaining in St. Louis as he won't opt out of his contract, a source confirmed to ESPN on Saturday.

Arenado, 31, has five years and $144 million left on his deal, a nine-year, $275 million contract he signed in 2019 with the Colorado Rockies. Arenado was traded to the Cardinals before the 2021 season after spending eight years with the Rockies, and Colorado is paying $31 million of the deal. Arenado is set to make a base salary of $35 million next season on the contract that runs through the 2027 season.

Philadelphia Phillies catcher J.T. Realmuto hit a tiebreaking home run in the top of the 10th inning, leading to a stunning 6-5 victory against the Houston Astros in Game 1 of the World Series on Friday night.

The Phillies scored six straight runs after trailing 5-0 early in the game.