November 20, 2024
By Kevin Glew
Cooperstowners in Canada
It has been a busy few days for Canadians in the professional baseball ranks.
Here are some mid-week notes:
Pivetta declines Red Sox qualifying offer
As predicted by ESPN’s Jeff Passan, right-hander Nick Pivetta (Victoria, B.C.) declined the Boston Red Sox qualifying prior to yesterday’s 4 p.m. E.T. deadline.
The 31-year-old right-hander is now a free agent who will likely garner a multi-year deal. The Red Sox can still sign him but if he signs with another club, they will receive a compensatory pick prior to the third round in next year’s draft.
In an article last week, Passan wrote that the market for Pivetta is strong and that the Canuck righty is “looking at one of the biggest deals of the winter for a starter.”
Chris Cotillo, of MassLive.com, wrote on Tuesday that Pivetta is unlikely to return to the Red Sox. Cotillo added that Pivetta has been linked to the Chicago Cubs, Atlanta Braves, Baltimore Orioles, Houston Astros and Tampa Bay Rays.
When the Red Sox extended a qualifying offer to Pivetta on November 5, it surprised many in the industry. The veteran Canadian went 6-12 with a 4.14 ERA in 27 games (26 starts) for the Red Sox in 2024, but he also struck out 172 batters in 145 2/3 innings.
The amount of the qualifying offer (which is calculated based on the average of the top 125 salaries in MLB) for 2025 is $21.05 million, which is nearly three times what Pivetta made in 2023 ($7.5 million).
Selected in the fourth round of the 2013 MLB draft by the Washington Nationals, Pivetta has pitched in eight major league seasons for the Philadelphia Phillies and Boston Red Sox. He owns a career 56-71 record and a 4.76 ERA in 223 games (178 starts).
On May 25, 2024, he became just the sixth Canadian to record 1,000 strikeouts in their MLB career.
Smith finishes fifth in AL Rookie of the Year voting
New York Yankees right-hander Luis Gil was named the American League Rookie of the Year on Monday. Somehow Cleveland Guardians right-hander Cade Smith (Abbotsford, B.C.), who authored one of the greatest seasons by a rookie reliever in major league history, finished fifth. If you read my column on Sunday, you’ll know I was disappointed that Smith wasn’t a finalist for the award.
I’d like to include a shout out here to Michigan Live’s Evan Woodbery who was the only baseball writer to have Smith first on his Rookie of the Year ballot. He published an excellent column to explain his decision here.
Caissie, Cerantola and Clarke added to 40-man MLB rosters
Three Canadian prospects were added to 40-man MLB rosters on Tuesday. This ensures that they will not be selected in the upcoming Rule 5 draft.
Owen Caissie was added to the Cubs’ 40-man roster. Caissie spent the season with the triple-A Iowa Cubs and batted .278 with 19 home runs, 75 RBIs and 11 stolen bases, while posting an .848 OPS, in 127 games. His 19 home runs were the most by a Canadian in the affiliated minor league ranks.
The Kansas City Royals selected right-hander Eric Cerantola (Oakville, Ont.) to their 40-man roster. The 24-year-old Cerantola just completed his fourth season in the Royals’ organization. In 2024, he posted a combined 2.97 ERA in 37 appearances between double-A Northwest Arkansas and triple-A Omaha. He had 101 strikeouts in 72 2/3 innings.
And finally the Oakland A’s added Denzel Clarke (Pickering, Ont.) to their 40-man roster. The 6-foot-4 outfielder batted .269 with 13 home runs, eight triples and 36 stolen bases in 116 games with the A’s double-A Midland RockHounds this season. He followed that up by hitting .382 with two home runs, 13 RBIs and nine stolen bases in 19 games with the Mesa Solar Sox of the Arizona Fall League (AFL). For his performance, he was named to the AFL All-Star Team.
Rob Thomson finishes fifth in NL Manager of the Year voting
Phillies manager Rob Thomson (Corunna, Ont.) received a first-place vote and finished fifth in the National League Manager of the Year voting. Pat Murphy, the Milwaukee Brewers’ first-year skipper, was the winner. Thomson also finished behind Mike Shildt (Padres), Carlos Mendoza (Mets) and Torey Lovullo (Diamondbacks).
Though the Phillies disappointed in the playoffs, Thomson has guided the Phillies to post-season appearances in each of his first three seasons since taking over as manager. That’s a feat that just two other skippers in big league history have accomplished – Ralph Houk with the New York Yankees from 1961 to 1963 and Dave Roberts with the Dodgers from 2015 to 2017.
During the 2024 season, Thomson led the Phillies to a National League East title with 95 wins, which are the sixth-most in franchise history.
Since taking over as manager from Joe Girardi on June 3, 2022, the 61-year-old Thomson has guided the Phillies to a 250-185 record.
Leblanc signs with Braves
The Braves have signed infielder Charles Leblanc (Laval, Que.) to a minor league contract.
The signing was listed on the MLB transactions page on November 13.
Leblanc, 28, had elected to become a free agent after the Los Angeles Angels outrighted him off their 40-man roster on October 24.
In 2024, Leblanc saw his first big league action since 2022 when he belted two home runs, had seven walks, six runs and posted an .869 OPS in 11 games for the Angels. The 28-year-old infielder spent the bulk of the campaign in triple-A, where he batted .254 with 12 home runs and a .379 on-base percentage (OBP) in 98 games.
Leblanc made his major league debut with the Miami Marlins on July 30, 2022. In 48 big league contests with the Marlins that year, he hit .263 with four home runs, 10 doubles and 12 walks.
Selected by the Texas Rangers in the fourth round of the 2016 MLB draft, Leblanc spent five seasons in the Rangers’ organization, rising as high as triple-A in 2021. He was then chosen by the Marlins in the Rule 5 draft in December 2021.
Come on a Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame tour with me to raise money for Easter Seals
I’ve written about my nephew Kalin before. He is an inspiration, an absolute joy and a wonderful young man. Kalin and I are very close. He has cerebral palsy and is an ambassador for Easter Seals Ontario, an organization that has supported him greatly over the years. Easter Seals Ontario is holding their annual Holiday Online Auction to raise money for their organization. One of the items up for bid is a personal tour of the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in St. Marys, Ontario with the Hall’s director of operations Scott Crawford and myself. So, if you want to listen to my baseball nerd-dom in person and also support Easter Seals, you can bid through this link.
Thanks for the updates.
Thanks for reading this, Bob.
Tons of great info Kevin. Great to get all this information each time to keep us up to date. Thank you.
Thanks for your kind words and support, Scott.