Barkett to interview with Pirates
The Pirates plan to interview Andy Barkett, the assistant hitting coach for the Boston Red Sox who formerly managed Class AAA Indianapolis, for their hitting coach position, according to a source.
Barkett is in his first year with the Red Sox, who are currently leading the Houston Astros, 2-1, in the best-ofseven American League Championship Series.
The Texas Rangers will also interview Barkett. ESPN’s Enrique Rojas first reported that the Pirates would interview Barkett.
Barkett, 45, managed at Indianapolis last season after joining the Pirates organization the year before as the assistant minor league hitting coordinator. With Indianapolis in 2017, he managed Elias Diaz, Jordan Luplow and Kevin Newman, who all are either already on next year’s opening-day roster or have a good shot to be.
The Pirates fired hitting coach Jeff Branson and assistant hitting coach Jeff Livesey after the season.
The Pirates scored 4.3 runs per game, tied for eighth in the National League, and finished 13th in home runs.
Barkett and hitting coach Tim Hyers oversaw a Boston lineup that scored 5.4 runs per game, the most in Baseball. Mookie Betts and J.D. Martinez both had MVP-caliber seasons, and Xander Bogaerts and Andrew Benintendi also had strong years.
Astros
Baseball concluded Houston was not trying to steal signs when they had an employee monitor opposing dugouts during the postseason. The Cleveland Indians filed a complaint following Game 3 of the ALDS after the employee was observed aiming his cellphone into their dugout and taking pictures or video. The league issued a statement saying its department of investigations determined “that an Astros employee was monitoring the field to ensure that the opposing club was not violating any rules.”
Dodgers
Manny Machado was fined for the incident that sparked a bench-clearing event Tuesday at Dodger Stadium. Machado was not suspended. In the 10th inning Machado hit a routine ground ball to shortstop. As he arrived at first base, he hit the bag with his right foot, then appeared to swing his left leg and kick it against the back foot of Milwaukee first baseman Jesus Aguilar. Benches cleared, but no punches were thrown.
Yankees
Shortstop Didi Gregorius had Tommy John surgery on his right elbow that is expected to keep him out of action for much of next season. The team didn’t provide a timetable for Gregorius to return.