MLB Rumors: Red Sox get dealt another demoralizing blow in GM search

Add James Click to the list of people who don't want to be the Red Sox's next general manager. In the latest development in the GM search over at Fenway Park, Click, the Blue Jays' vice president of baseball strategy, declined to pursue the open position due to "family considerations."

Click put himself on the map as the Astros general manager who won a World Series last season. As reported by the Boston Globe's Alex Speier, it appears as though he doesn't want what's making out to be a highly undesirable position in the Red Sox staff.

Before Click, the candidates who rejected the general manager job included Jon Daniels, Brandon Gomes, Sam Fuld, Derek Falvey, and Michael Hill. And the list goes on.

The Chaim Bloom sacking in mid-September has led the Red Sox to search far and wide for a potential external replacement. Following the influx of rejections, the franchise may be inclined to look inward for a promotion.

Still, many qualified candidates remain. Ex-Marlins executive Kim Ng is now on the market, and there is a short list of people who haven't yet turned the Red Sox down, which includes in-house candidates Eddie Romero, Michael Groopman, and Paul Toboni.

MLB Rumors: Yankees have horrendous plan to 'fix' rotation for 2024

Yankees fans, look away. The following news report will likely cause an unfavorable, gut-churning reaction.

After a disappointing 2023 season, much ink has been spilled on how the New York Yankees can improve for next year. At the center of the Yankees' problems is their offensive woes, and at the center of that stands one man named Giancarlo Stanton.

What to do, what to do about Stanton?

Stanton slashed .191/.275/.420 with an OPS of .695 and recorded 24 homers in 101 games, career-worsts across the board. Instead of looking for a potential replacement or upgrade to Stanton, the Yankees are just going to.... do the same thing?

MLB's Bryan Hoch gave his take on the Stanton dilemma and said the Yankees are stuck between a rock and a hard place. Stanton is owed $98 million through 2027 and has a no-trade clause in his contract. Per Hoch, the most plausible "solution" the Yankees will work toward in 2024 is to "plug Stanton back in as an outfielder and designated hitter." That's it. That's the "fix" for the hitting rotation.

Yankees coaches and players have since expressed their optimism in Stanton's ability to rebound next year, and Stanton himself said he thinks he only needs "minor" tweaks to re-discover his All Star form.

Good to see the level of delusion is at an all-time high after the Yankees' nightmare of a season.

MLB Rumors: Shohei Ohtani leaving Angels could result in teardown

With Shohei Ohtani packing his bags and set to find a new home this winter, would the Los Angeles Angels really tear everything down in his wake?

The Angels are rumored to be in the mix to try and re-sign Ohtani, but the two-way phenom reportedly wants to join a winning franchise. The Angels don't exactly fit that description.

In the event Ohtani signs elsewhere, one source believes Arte Moreno and the Angels may be incentivized to gut the team and do a full rebuild starting in 2024. According to The New York Post's Joel Sherman, one veteran agent said that "if the Angels do not re-sign Shohei Ohtani....they would pivot and become sellers."

Sherman doesn't see this happening given Moreno's decision-making history, but it's a fanciful notion to entertain.

The Angels haven't tasted postseason action since 2014 and may be on track for a rebuild in the near future. However, Moreno has rarely prioritized winning in the recent years of his two-decades-long tenure as owner of the club -- the Angels' eight consecutive losing seasons are a testament to that fact.

Another winter is coming, and the Angels' problems still loom larger than ever.