Now that the GM meetings are over, here are three things we'll be keeping an eye on around baseball this weekend:
1. The Platinum Glove winners will be announced:
The Gold Glove Award winners were announced last weekend and recognize each league's best defensive player at each position. Later today, Rawlings will announce the winner of the 2024 Platinum Glove Awards, which honor the best defensive player in each league regardless of position. All 10 Gold Glove winners in each league are eligible for the Platinum Glove, determined by fan voting. Voting took place live from Sunday to Thursday evening.
Two previous Platinum Glove winners are eligible again this year: the Guardians second baseman Andres Giménez and Giants third baseman Matt Chapman. Other strong contenders include the Blue Jays outfielder Daulton Varshowho won Fielding Bible Defensive Player of the Year Awardand Giants catcher Patrick Baileywho led the majors in fielding run value by Statcast.
2. MLB's objection period in the DSG insolvency case:
Diamond Sports Group must demonstrate to bankruptcy court that it has a viable plan of action to avoid liquidation in the future, and Major League Baseball has the right to object to that plan. Accordingly Evan Drellich of The AthleticMLB has until 2:00 p.m. CT this afternoon to file its formal objection. However, it should be borne in mind that this deadline has already been postponed several times.
The Brave, CardinalsAnd Marlins They have reportedly reached agreements to continue broadcasting their games with Diamond if the company emerges from bankruptcy, while the Twins, Guardians and Brewers will broadcast their games on MLB instead. The Rangers have not yet made alternative plans, but they have indicated they will not negotiate a new contract with Diamond. As Drellich points out, the transfer situations for the Reds, Tigers, Royals, Angels and Rays remain uncertain. ESPN's Alden Gonzalez reports that DSG “continues to have discussions with at least some of these teams.”
3. WBSC Premier12 starts this weekend:
The Premier12 Championship organized by the The World Baseball Softball Confederation is scheduled to begin this Saturday. The game begins with Panama versus the Netherlands, while Puerto Rico takes on the United States later in the day. Other matches of the weekend include Venezuela against Mexico, Venezuela against Panama, Netherlands against the USA and Mexico against Puerto Rico. The tournament, in which the twelve best-ranked national baseball teams worldwide take part, will take place from November 9th to 24th. The games will be played in Mexico, Japan and Taiwan.
Players on a 40-man roster are not eligible to compete in the Premier12, but there are several top-100 prospects on this year's Team USA roster: Rays infielders Carson WilliamsCubs infielder Matt ShawPhillies outfielder Justin CrawfordPirates infielder Termarr Johnson and Braves catcher Drake Baldwin. There are also a handful of free agents with MLB experience on this year's roster, including Rich Hill And Dan Altavilla. The official website of the WBSC has More information about the Premier12 event and full rosters of all teams involved.
