Moustakas, Grandal Decline Mutual Options; Brewers Outright Austin, Spangenberg  —  The Brewers have announced some early-offseason roster moves.  As anticipated, Mike Moustakas and Yasmani Grandal have each declined their side of mutual options and will become free agents.

Why did those World Series games last so long?  —  MLB, Houston Astros, Washington Nationals  —  Baseball's regular season has the pace-of-play problem with which we're all familiar: Many of the 2,430 games take on dead time until they are boring, lulling.  It's a good dish, watered down until you don't love it as much.

Mets Name Carlos Beltran Manager  —  The Mets have officially named Carlos Beltran their next manager.  He'll reportedly earn approximately $3MM over the guaranteed three-year term, with a club option to follow.  —  If indeed a deal is ticked and tied, it'll launch a fascinating new chapter in Mets history.

Matheny hired as Royals' manager, says something ‘very special about to happen’ in KC  —  The Royals hired Mike Matheny as their 17th manager in franchise history Thursday.  —  Matheny, 49, a former major league manager with the St. Louis Cardinals, takes over for Ned Yost, who retired after the 2019 season.

Sam Dyson declines minor league assignment from Twins, becomes free agent  —  The veteran reliever will miss the 2020 season following surgery on his right shoulder.  —  TEXT SIZE  —  The Twins outrighted Sam Dyson from their major league roster, and the veteran righthander rejected …

Cleveland Indians radio announcer Tom Hamilton named finalist for 2020 Ford C. Frick Award  —  The Cleveland Indians' longtime radio voice is among eight finalists for the 2020 Ford C. Frick Award, presented by the National Baseball Hall of Fame.  —  CLEVELAND — Cleveland Indians radio play …

Travis d'Arnaud, Avisail Garcia, Eric Sogard among Rays' free agents  —  The end of the World Series is the start of free agency and roster shuffling for Rays, other teams with an eye toward 2020.  —  ST. PETERSBURG — The end of the World Series is the beginning of free agency …

Juan Soto Had His First Beer With Nationals Teammates After Winning World Series  —  Juan Soto turned 21 just in time to celebrate winning the World Series with his Nationals teammates.  —  While the Nationals celebrated winning their first World Series in franchise history on Wednesday night …

Chapman Hopes For Extension With Yankees, Will Otherwise Exercise Opt-Out Clause  —  Yankees closer Aroldis Chapman is pursuing an extension but otherwise plans to utilize the opt-out clause in his five-year contract, per MLB Network's Jon Heyman (Twitter link).

Proposal for free-agent signing deadline in Major League Baseball dies quickly  —  Major League Baseball this month proposed a deadline in free agency for any player signing a multi-year deal.  The deal was a non-starter for the Major League Baseball Players Association, citing an impact on leverage and ultimately, salaries.

Rangers Acquire Welington Castillo  —  The Rangers have acquired catcher Welington Castillo and international draft bonus pool money from the White Sox in exchange for minor league outfielder and corner infielder Jonah McReynolds, as per Rangers executive VP of communications John Blake (Twitter link).

Joe Maddon doing charity work, talking Rays, Cubs and more baseball  —  Wearing the bright red of his new/old Angels squad, Maddon shared thoughts on his former teams, the Trop and more.  —  Updated  —  Earlier today  —  TAMPA - The red T-shirt was a little bright, but Joe Maddon thought the color looked good on him.

Texas Rangers Hall-of-Famer Josh Hamilton accused of hitting, throwing chair at daughter  —  Hamilton, 38, was arrested Wednesday on a felony charge of injury to a child.  —  Former Texas Rangers outfielder Josh Hamilton was arrested Wednesday on a felony charge after being accused of hitting one of his daughters last month.