Three days after winning his seventh consecutive Gold Glove, Yadier Molina became the first three-time Platinum Glove Award winner. The Platinum Gloves, which Rawlings has been presenting since 2011, are given to the top fielders in both the National and American Leagues.

When Bryce Harper dropped out of the Japan All-Star Series for personal reasons, it left the MLB team with only two true outfielders: Dexter Fowler and Yasiel Puig. That means that Ben Zobrist, Chris Carter and Lucas Duda, who started a combined 46 games in the outfield this past season, are all likely to see playing time there in Japan.

With his roster set for next week’s seven-game Japan All-Star Series, manager John Farrell on Friday began the process of constructing his pitching rotation. This much Farrell knows: He has six starting pitchers at his disposal, two of which — Hisashi Iwakuma and Jeremy Guthrie — he plans to use just once to honor individual club requests. That leaves Matt Shoemaker, Chris Capuano, Franklin Morales and Hector Santiago to fill in the other five games.

Oakland’s No. 1 prospect, Daniel Robertson, has continued his breakout season in the Arizona Fall League. On Saturday, he and the Mesa Solar Sox square off with the Surprise Saguaros, who also feature a star shortstop — Padres prospect Trea Turner. Watch the game live at 8:08 p.m. ET/6:08 MT on MLB.com and MLB Network.

For the second year in a row, the Reds are working to convert a highly touted college reliever into a big league starter. This fall, the project is first-rounder Nick Howard, who had his best outing of AFL play Friday.

With the 2014 season now in the rear-view mirror, it’s time to break out the annual end-of-year honors from the Baseball Writers’ Association of America, and Monday will bring us the first pair: the Jackie Robinson Rookie of the Year Awards. The NL finalists are Mets pitcher Jacob deGrom, Reds outfielder Billy Hamilton and Cardinals second baseman Kolten Wong. The AL finalists are White Sox first baseman Jose Abreu, Yankees reliever Dellin Betances and Angels pitcher Matt Shoemaker.

Finding the best fit stands as the most apropos way to describe the White Sox offseason pursuit of a talent upgrade. Of course, many teams follow that same path. But for the Sox, it’s a theory that applies to trades and free-agent signees from players at the high end of the money and years spectrum right on down the line. That philosophy also includes current players, with Dayan Viciedo standing as a prime example of a key decision to be made.

A day after announcing eight candidates for their vacant managerial post, the Rays on Friday conducted phone interviews with Craig Counsell, Don Wakamatsu and Raul Ibanez.

Some moments, some performances, simply command reflection. Madison Bumgarner’s World Series was one of those. It’s been a little more than a week since Game 7, and not a day has gone by without those of us who witnessed Bumgarner’s five shutout innings thinking about that outing. We hear about instant classics all the time. But this was an instant epic.

It usually takes players years in the game to earn that label, but Joe Sclafani has already carved out a niche in the Minor Leagues as a guy who can do a little of everything. Need a left fielder? He’s got you covered. Need him to play second base? He’s there. Need someone to bunt and move a runner? No problem.

The Dodgers not only have a new general manager, they have a new definition of general manager. Farhan Zaidi was given the title Thursday, but at his introductory press conference Friday it was clear the lines have blurred on the autonomy once associated with that position.

The Dodgers continued to fill out their front office Friday by naming Gabe Kapler director of player development and Billy Gasparino director of amateur scouting.

Toronto is currently in the market for at least one outfielder, a second or third baseman and multiple relievers. It’s going to be difficult to get everything accomplished, but trading Adam Lind does provide Alex Anthopoulos with some additional options he might not have had otherwise.

Even before Joe Maddon was hired as manager, the Cubs were rumored to be on the verge of signing nearly every free agent on the market. They do have money to spend, but that doesn’t mean they’re going on a shopping spree this winter.

Andrew Bailey and the Yankees have agreed to terms on a Minor League contract, MLB.com has confirmed. The Yanks have not officially announced the signing of the 30-year-old right-hander, who was with the organization this past season while rehabbing from surgery to repair a torn capsule and labrum in his pitching shoulder.

The Tigers and Torii Hunter remain in a waiting game while Detroit tries to work out the pressing issues elsewhere on its roster, notably at designated hitter. There could be a limit to how long that wait goes.

At the start of every season, there are pitchers who are well-known commodities. That list will be a little longer in 2015 after the breakout seasons enjoyed by several young hurlers this year.