The Brewers have now been World Series champions for just one week (minus a few hours) and they should still be basking in the glory for quite a while. As the offseason marches on, the next big date will be Nov. 17, when decisions on qualifying offers are due from the eight players who received one.
In the meantime, the rumor mill should be ever-so-slowly churning. We'll round it up here.
Astros to interview Pujols for manager opening
The Houston Astros moved on from general manager Dana Brown in August and fired manager Joe Espada after the 2026 season. Newly hired general manager Randy Flores is now tasked with landing a new dugout boss, and a three-time MVP and future Hall of Famer is in the mix. The Astros will interview Albert Pujols for the manager job this week, per The Athletic.
Pujols has long made it known that he desires to be an MLB manager. He recently interviewed for vacancies with the Padres and Angels (both last offseason) and he also managed the Dominican Republic in the World Baseball Classic this past spring. It should be further noted that Pujols is in the fourth year of a 10-year, $100 personal services contract with the Angels that was part of the mega-deal he signed with them as a player prior to the 2012 season as a player.
Other known candidates for the Astros manager job are Rangers bench coach Luis Urueta and Yankees bench coach (not to mention former Tigers and Angels manager) Brad Ausmus.
Orioles looking to deal for SP and OF help
The Orioles are willing to listen to trade offers on any player other than Pete Alonso as they seek both rotation and outfield help, according to The Baltimore Banner. The Orioles reportedly aren't "actively shopping" any players, but they are looking for upgrades at starting pitcher and outfielder and realize one of the ways that could happen is via a trade.
Surely they wouldn't sell low on Gunnar Henderson, given his immense upside, so we can probably take him off the table unless some team makes it worth their while. There is a glut of infielders, though. With Alonso at first base and Henderson at short, they have Jackson Holliday, Christian Encarnacion-Strand, Jordan Westburg and Coby Mayo for two spots. Even using one of the four at designated hitter, it's easy to see where a deal could happen.
Westburg and Encarnacion-Strand are under team control through 2029 while Holliday is controlled through 2030 and Mayo through 2031.
Rays want to keep Rasmussen
The American League champion Rays recently picked up the $20 million club option on All-Star starting pitcher Drew Rasmussen. That would be a franchise-record salary for one player in a single season. It might seem odd to exercise an option and then deal a player to an outsider, but locking Rasmussen in for a one-year deal makes him an attractive trade candidate instead of just letting him walk in free agency, and this is how the Rays generally operate. We've seen it so many times: they get ahead of losing guys to free agency, sometimes even dealing them a year or two earlier. They've done it with Randy Arozarena, Isaac Paredes, Tyler Glasnow and even going back to franchise legends like David Price, Evan Longoria and Ben Zobrist.
The Rays right now are saying they intend to keep Rasmussen for 2027.
"Not a declarative this, that, whatever, but I can sit here very confidently and say that every intention right now is thinking about Ras anchoring our rotation and how to make this team better going into next year," club president Erik Neander said on Tuesday, via the Tampa Bay Times.
If they want to contend again next year, it sure seems like they need Rasmussen, with Nick Martinez and Freddy Peralta off to free agency. That leaves Rasmussen atop the rotation, followed by Shane McClanahan, Griffin Jax, Ryan Pepiot and a bunch of question marks. There are questions attached to McClanahan, Jax and Pepiot too.
