Legendary Pirates manager Jim Leyland was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame yesterday at the Winter Meetings. Leyland garnered 15 of 16 votes by the contemporary baseball era committee, which consists of managers, umpires and executives.
Leyland won 1,769 games during his 22-year career, 851 of which came with the Pirates, whom he managed from 1986 to 1996. He then won a World Series title with the Florida Marlins in 1997 and went on to manage Colorado and Detroit. With the Tigers, he made two postseason appearances. He also won three Manager of the Year Awards.
Leyland will be enshrined in Cooperstown on July 21.
MLB’s Winter Meetings continue today. Agents and teams can negotiate free agent deals and trades throughout Wednesday.
The biggest free agent, former Angels two-way star Shohei Ohtani, is expected to sign with the Los Angeles Dodgers, per multiple reports, and a deal could come within the next 48 hours. Padres outfielder Juan Soto is expected to be traded in the coming days, with the Toronto Blue Jays the heavy favorite to land him, according to insider Hector Gomez.
No names have been linked to the Pirates, but they have glaring needs at starting pitcher and first base. Their rotation is down to one proven starter (Mitch Keller) after Johan Oviedo underwent Tommy John Surgery last week. Connor Joe and Jared Triolo are the team’s lone options at first base.
The MLB Draft Lottery takes place tomorrow and the Pirates have a three percent chance at getting a second straight first-overall pick. Oakland, Kansas City and Colorado each have the best odds at securing the top pick at 18.3 percent.
The Rule 5 Draft wraps things up on Wednesday.
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