The Chicago White Sox will host the New York Yankees in the Field of Dreams game in Dyersville, Iowa on Aug. 12, 2021. The White Sox were scheduled to host the St. Louis Cardinals at the former movie site on Aug. 12, 2020, but the game was called off because of the coronavirus pandemic. A bench sits in front of the home at the Field of Dreams movie site, Friday, June 5, 2020, in Dyersville, Iowa. Major League Baseball is building another field a few hundred yards down a corn-lined path from the famous movie site in eastern Iowa but unlike the original, it’s unclear whether teams will show up for a game this time as the league and its players struggle to agree on plans for a coronavirus-shortened season. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall) Charlie Neibergall/Associated Press
The Chicago White Sox will host the New York Yankees in the rescheduled Field of Dreams game at Dyersville, Iowa, on Aug. 12.
MLB said Monday the plan is tentative, contingent on the status of public health next summer.
The teams had been scheduled to play at the 8,000-capacity temporary ballpark next to the Field of Dreams movie site last Aug. 13. When the schedule was revamped because of the delay caused by the coronavirus pandemic, the Yankees were replaced as the opponent by the St. Louis Cardinals, but the game was called off on Aug. 4 because of the pandemic.
The rescheduled game will be MLB’s first in Iowa. The original schedule for 2021 had the Yankees playing a three-game series at the White Sox from Aug. 13-15.
METS: The New York Mets have abandoned their search for a president of baseball operations and will instead focus on hiring a general manager who will report to team president Sandy Alderson. In the meantime, Alderson told Luis Rojas on Monday he will return for a second season as manager.
Alderson returned to the team Nov. 6 when Steven Cohen completed his $2.42 billion purchase from the Wilpon and Katz families and that day fired General Manager Brodie Van Wagenen.
Alderson said then he wanted to hire a president of baseball operations but said Monday he had been thwarted in attempts to gain permission to speak with officials on other teams for lateral moves and another possible candidate had a family issue that prevented a move. He did not contact Theo Epstein, who quit Friday as the Chicago Cubs’ president of baseball operations after leading the Cubs to the 2016 World Series title, their first in 108 years.
“Theo has indicated a desire to take a year off,” Alderson said.
Alderson, who turned 72 on Sunday, said Monday he will have a greater role in baseball operations than originally planned. Alderson originally said he planned to have a seat at the table but not at the head.
INDIANS: Manager Terry Francona has assembled his coaching staff for the 2021 season, but it won’t include his longtime friend and bench coach Brad Mills.
Francona, who missed much of this past shortened season with significant health issues, will replace Mills with DeMarlo Hale. The 59-year-old Hale joins the Indians after spending the past two seasons with the Atlanta Braves.
Hale previously worked on Francona’s staff in Boston from 2006-2011, serving as bench coach in 2010 and 2011. Hale has also been with Texas, Baltimore and Toronto.
Mills, who opted out of the 2020 season for personal reasons, will remain with the Indians in a yet-to-be determined capacity.
Francona intends to return for his ninth season with the Indians. He managed only 14 games this year due to a gastrointestinal issue requiring surgeries and led to blood-clot complications that landed him in the hospital for several days.
With first-base coach Sandy Alomar Jr. filling in for Francona, the Indians clinched a wild-card spot but were eliminated by the New York Yankees.
CUBS: Jed Hoyer has a new contract to go with his new position with the Chicago Cubs.
The team announced Monday it had agreed to a five-year deal with Hoyer that runs through the 2025 season. The 46-year-old Hoyer was promoted to president of baseball operations when Theo Epstein stepped down last week.
“My family and I believe he is going to be an incredible baseball operations president,” team chairman Tom Ricketts said in a statement, “and Cubs fans have one of the best in the business leading the team to continue our commitment to sustained success.”
Hoyer could end up shepherding the Cubs’ roster through significant turnover. Ricketts has spoken about his desire to avoid paying baseball’s luxury tax for big-spending clubs, and the team is still in the middle of expensive multiyear deals for outfielder Jason Heyward and starting pitchers Yu Darvish and Kyle Hendricks. Core players Javier Báez, Kris Bryant, Anthony Rizzo and Kyle Schwarber will all become free agents after next season.
Hoyer had served as the Cubs’ general manager since Epstein took over the franchise. The pair worked together for 17 of the past 19 years in Boston and Chicago. The Red Sox won two World Series under Epstein, breaking an 86-year title drought.
Hoyer spent two years running the San Diego Padres’ baseball operations before reuniting with Epstein in Chicago, where the pair helped bring the Cubs a World Series championship in 2016, their first title in 108 years.
Epstein and Hoyer were known for heavy reliance on analytics. In Chicago, Hoyer revamped the scouting department while creating and expanding its analytics staff, the team said.
Hoyer pitched and played shortstop in college for Division III Wesleyan.
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