November 1, 2026
By Kevin Glew
Cooperstowners in Canada
Some Canadian baseball news and notes:
Padres decline Pivetta’s 2027 option
The San Diego Padres have declined right-hander Nick Pivetta‘s $14-million option for 2027, according to Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union Tribune.
Pivetta (Victoria, B.C.) is now a free agent.
In his report on Saturday, Acee noted that the Padres are concerned about the health of Pivetta’s elbow which sidelined the Canuck righty for several months in 2026.
Still, the move comes a surprise. The $14-million salary Pivetta would’ve received in 2027 is very reasonable in today’s market for a starting pitcher that has gone 16-7 with a 2.87 ERA in 39 starts over the past two seasons. With that said, Pivetta was limited to just eight regular season starts and two postseason starts in 2026 due his elbow injury.
In February 2025, Pivetta signed a four-year, $55-million contract with the Padres that included opt-outs after the 2026 and 2027 seasons. However, the Padres also negotiated an injury protection clause that stipulated that if Pivetta were to miss 130 consecutive days on the injured list in one of the first two seasons of the contract that a conditional $14-million team option would be triggered for the 2027 season. Pivetta did, in fact, miss more than 130 consecutive days in 2026. So, team option was activated which voided his opt-out clauses and the final two years of his contract.
The 33-year-old Victoria Eagles and Junior National Team grad just completed his 10th MLB season.
Melvin to receive first World Series ring
Longtime MLB general manager and Canadian Baseball Hall of Famer Doug Melvin (Chatham, Ont.) has been involved in professional baseball as a player or executive for more than 50 years.
As a GM, he built teams in Texas (1996, 1998 and 1999) and Milwaukee (2008, 2011) that have advanced to the postseason, but it wasn’t until the Brewers won the World Series on Wednesday night that he was part of a World Series-winning squad.
Melvin is currently a special assistant to the general manager with the Brewers.
Born in 1952, he pitched in the minors in the Pittsburgh Pirates and New York Yankees organizations from 1972 to 1978 then moved into the front office ranks.
He worked in a number of prominent posts, including as scouting director with the Yankees (1985) and as assistant GM and director of player personnel with the Baltimore Orioles (1988 to 1993) before landing his first general manager’s job with the Rangers in 1994. During his time with the Rangers, he was named MLB executive of the year twice in 1996 and 1998.
After his tenure with the Rangers, he was named executive vice-president and general manager of the Brewers in 2002 and was voted executive of the year in 2011 after the team won 96 regular season games and captured a National League Central Division title.
Melvin stepped down as Brewers’ GM in 2015 but he remains a respected member of the club’s front office.
In a previous article, I noted that the Brewers also employ the following Canadians:
Player: Bo Naylor (Mississauga, Ont.) – He was not on the Brewers’ World Series roster.
Minor league Players: INF Tyler Black (Stouffville, Ont.), INF Dylan O’Rae (Sarnia, Ont.)
Coach: Jim Henderson (Calgary, Alta.), MLB pitching coordinator
Executives: Doug Melvin (Chatham, Ont.), special assistant to the general manager; Gord Ash (Toronto, Ont.), vice-president, baseball projects; Taylor Green (Comox, BC), director of international scouting and player personnel, Brad McKay (Fredericton, NB) head strategist, skill acquisition
Scouts: Tyler Hollick (Calgary, Alta.), Doug Mathieson (Langley, BC), Pete Orr (Newmarket, Ont.), Taylor Frederick (Ottawa, Ont.)
Another Canadian executive with the Brewers
On top of the Canadians I’ve already mentioned, I recently learned that the Brewers have another Canadian in their front office.
Michael Cosentino, the team’s senior vice-president of ticket sales and service, is from Toronto. I didn’t know this until Hazel Mae gave him a shoutout on X on Friday.
Cosentino is a York University graduate who has more than 20 years experience in the sports and entertainment industry. Prior to joining the Brewers, he was executive vice-president of business development for the New York Islanders. He has also worked for Canucks Sports & Entertainment, the parent company of the Vancouver Canucks, as well as Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment, which is the parent company of the Raptors, Maple Leafs and Toronto FC.
Cosentino began his position with the Brewers in March 2024.
And another Canadian working for the Brewers
Yesterday, I also learned that Adam Auer, the Brewers’ team dietician, is from Waterloo, Ont.
Auer has been serving in this role since November 2024. Before that, he held the same position with the Miami Marlins.
The University of Arizona graduate began his work in professional baseball with the Los Angeles Angels organization as their minor league strength and conditioning coach from 2013 to 2018. He was promoted to assistant major league strength and conditioning coach in November 2018 and he held that position for more than five years.
Auer played his minor ball in the Kitchener/Waterloo region. After graduating from high school, he excelled as a catcher for the Colorado State (Pueblo) Thunderwolves (NCAA Div. II), with whom he earned Second Team All-Region Honours in 2007.
Hicks had strong World Series for Rays
The Tampa Bay Rays may have lost the World Series to the Brewers in five games but they received a strong performance from catcher Liam Hicks (Toronto, Ont.).
Hicks went 4-for-14 (.286 batting average) in the series. And Canadian Baseball Network statistician Neil Munro noted that Hicks topped the Rays in RBIs (4), slugging percentage (.571) and OPS (.946) during the Fall Classic. The Toronto Mets alum also clubbed the Rays’ only home run of the series – a two-run shot in the first inning of Game 2, which made him the first Canadian catcher to hit a home run in the World Series.
Overall in the postseason, Hicks went 10-for-41 (.244 batting average) and topped the Rays with eight RBIs.
Sabrowski’s 28 holds for Guardians rank near top among Canadians
Also according to Munro, the 28 holds Erik Sabrowski (Edmonton, Alta.) registered during the regular season for the Cleveland Guardians are tied for the second-most by a Canadian in an MLB season.
Right-hander Paul Quantrill (Port Hope, Ont.) had 32 holds for the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2002, which is the most in a season by a Canuck.
Three others are tied with Sabrowski for second with 28 holds: Quantrill (2003, Dodgers), Rheal Cormier (Cap Pele, N.B., Philadelphia Phillies, 2004) and Cade Smith (Abbotsford, B.C., Guardians, 2024).
Davalan playing some second base in Arizona Fall League
Los Angeles Dodgers outfield prospect Charles Davalan (St-Bruno-De-Montarville, Que.) has been playing some second base with the Glendale Desert Dogs of the Arizona Fall League.
The Dodgers are hoping this will make him more versatile and expedite his ascent to the big leagues.
Selected 41st overall in the 2025 MLB draft, Davalan had an outstanding season with the High-A Great Lakes Loons this year. In 115 games, he had a .292/.402/.535 slash line with 24 home runs and 17 stolen bases. He also scored 103 runs.
The ABC and University of Arkansas grad is the Dodgers’ No. 7 prospect, according to Baseball America.
Blue Jays dealt Lind for Estrada 12 years ago today
Twelve years ago today, the Toronto Blue Jays traded 1B/DH Adam Lind to the Brewers for right-hander Marco Estrada.
At the time, the deal was not greeted warmly by Blue Jays fans, but Estrada evolved in a key starting pitcher for the club for four seasons and was particularly effective in the postseason, registering a 2.16 ERA in six starts.
Lind, meanwhile, batted .277 with 20 home runs in 149 games in his sole season with the Brewers before he was dealt to the Seattle Mariners.
Remembering Pascual Perez
It was 14 years ago today that former Montreal Expos right-hander Pascual Perez passed away at the age of 55.
Perez pitched parts of three seasons with the Expos from 1987 to 1989. What I tend to forget about Perez is that beyond his enthusiasm, energy and zaniness on the field, he was an excellent pitcher. In 10 starts for the Expos in 1987, he went 7-0 with a 2.30 ERA. He followed that up with 12 wins and a 2.44 ERA in 27 starts in 1988 and a 3.31 ERA in 33 appearances in 1989.
You can watch some fun Expos highlights of him by clicking on the following video.
47th anniversary of big Blue Jays’ trade with Yankees
Forty-seven years ago today, the Blue Jays traded Rick Cerone, Tom Underwood and Ted Wilborn to the Yankees for Chris Chambliss, Paul Mirabella and a little-known prospect named Damaso Garcia.
Just over a month later, the Blue Jays swapped Chambliss to the Atlanta Braves for a package of players that included Barry Bonnell and Joey McLaughlin.
And while Mirabella was mostly ineffective in parts of two seasons with the Blue Jays, Garcia blossomed into an All-Star second baseman. In his seven seasons with Toronto, Garcia was selected to the Midsummer Classic in 1984 and 1985, won a Silver Slugger Award in 1982, batted over .280 five times and was the leadoff hitter on the Blue Jays’ 1985 division-winning team.
This trade still stands as one of the most underrated transactions Pat Gillick made as Blue Jays GM.
Canadian ball hall adds hat from Wilkinson’s MLB debut
The Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in St. Marys, Ont., recently added a game-worn hat from left-hander Matt Wilkinson‘s major league debut to their collection.
On August 19, Wilkinson (Ladner, B.C.) made his first big league start for the San Francisco Giants against the Cleveland Guardians. He pitched two scoreless innings in the Giants’ 1-0 win at Progressive Field.
In total, Wilkinson made eight appearances (six starts) for the Giants in 2026, posting a 1-3 record and a 3.58 ERA.
Prior to being called up in August, the 23-year-old Okotoks Dawgs grad went 3-4 with a 5.15 ERA in 10 starts for the Giants’ triple-A Sacramento River Cats.
Mulliniks launches Legends Sports Cave channel
Former Blue Jays third baseman Rance Mulliniks has launched a Legends Sports Cave channel in which he shares his insights on baseball, the Blue Jays and hitting.
His next session is this Wednesday at 7 p.m. E.T. and it will focus on the mental side of hitting. The following day he will discuss the lessons he learned from Blue Jays manager and hitting coach Cito Gaston.
You can watch the 60-minute sessions for just $5 to $9 USD each. Or you can get access to all of his sessions for just over $30 USD. Here’s the link to register.
During his 11 seasons with the Blue Jays, from 1982 to 1992, Mulliniks was a key part of four division-winning teams and one World Series winner. And when you crunch the numbers on his long tenure with the Blue Jays, you can understand why he was named to the club’s all-time team in 2001.
Mulliniks ranks first in franchise history in pinch-hits (58), seventh in walks (416), ninth in on-base percentage (.365) and 10th in doubles (204). He also topped the team in batting average with runners in scoring position in multiple seasons.
Platts hired by Mariners
Congratulations to Brett Platts (Albany, P.E.I.) who has been hired to be the assistant MLB strength and conditioning coach of the Seattle Mariners.
This will be Platts’ first big league gig after serving as the strength and conditioning coach for the Texas Rangers’ double-A Frisco Roughriders for the past four seasons. In 2022, he worked in a similar role in the Chicago Cubs’ organization.
The Carleton University alum cut his teeth as a strength and conditioning coach with the Western Canadian Baseball League’s Okotoks Dawgs from 2019 to 2022.
Trivia question
This week’s trivia question: Now that the Brewers have won a World Series, there are four major league teams left that have not won a World Series. Can you name two of them? Please share your answer in the “Comments” section below.
Last week’s trivia question answer
The answer to last week’s trivia question (Outside of Liam Hicks (Toronto, Ont.) and Larry McLean (Fredericton, N.B.), there has been one other Canadian-born catcher to start a World Series game. Can you name him?) was George Gibson (London, Ont.) for the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1909.
Thanks again for my Sunday morning Canadian baseball fix.
Would the answer to the trivia be Tapa Bay Rays and Seattle Mariners?
Thanks for your support. Nice work. You are correct with the Mariners and the Rays.
Tampa Bay and Seattle Mariners and Colorado Rockies have not won a World Series since inception.
Rick Downton
Nice work, Rick. You are correct. Thanks for your support.
San Diego, Tampa, Seattle, Colorado
Nice work, Paul. You got all of the teams. Thanks for your support.