SAN DIEGO — The San Francisco Giants were officially eliminated from the National League West race Monday night despite defeating the Padres 4-2 in the opener of a three-game series.But the Giants could celebrate a very small consolation prize Tuesday at Petco Park.Any combination of a Giants win and a Padres loss — remember Michael Lorenzen Jersey , they are playing each other — will clinch fourth place for the Giants in the division.Article continues below ...The Giants will send Derek Holland (7-8, 3.46 ERA) to the mound against rookie Joey Lucchesi (8-8, 3.67 ERA) in a match of left-handers.The 31-year-old Holland is on a late-season run. Over his last six starts, he has a 1.59 ERA (six earned runs in 34 innings) and a .197 opponents’ batting average.Holland will be making his fifth career start against the Padres, with three of the previous four coming this season. Overall, Holland is 1-1 with a career 6.20 ERA against the Padres. In his three starts this season, he is 1-0 with a 4.91 ERA. But he has a 4.66 ERA (five earned runs in 9 2/3 innings) and a .270 opponents’ batting average in two previous starts at Petco Park this season.Tuesday will be Holland’s 33 appearance and his Giants’ leading 29th start of the season. He has worked 158 2/3 innings, giving up 67 runs (61 earned) on 139 hits and 61 walks with 159 strikeouts for a .237 opponents’ batting average and a 1.26 WHIP.Holland is 3-5 on the road this season with a 3.42 ERA in 17 games (16 starts). Right-handed hitters are batting .251 against Holland while left-handers are batting only .186 with no homers in 129 at-bats. Right-handed hitters have 17 homers in 458 at-bats. The Padres’ offensive strength is the power in such right-handed bats as Hunter Renfroe, Franmil Reyes, Austin Hedges and Wil Myers.Lucchesi, meanwhile, will be making the 24th start of his rookie season. He has faced the Giants only once — and that was back on April 15 at Petco Park when he held San Francisco to one run on five hits and no walks with nine strikeouts over six innings in a 10-1 Padres win.Lucchesi has worked 115 1/3 innings, allowing 51 runs (47 earned) on 107 hits and 40 walks with 123 strikeouts. He has a .248 opponents’ batting average and a 1.27 WHIP. Like Holland, Lucchesi has allowed 17 homers.Lucchesi is 5-5 with a 3.97 ERA in 14 starts at Petco Park, where opponents have 12 homers and .260 batting average against him. He has a 1.40 WHIP at home compared to a 3.23 ERA and a 1.10 WHIP on the road http://www.rockiesfanproshop.com/authentic-chad-bettis-jersey , where opponents are hitting only .230 against him.Right-handers are hitting .249 against Lucchesi with 16 homers in 338 at-bats. Left-handers are batting only .245 with one homer in 94 at-bats.The Giants are now 9-5 against the Padres this season and will clinch the season series with one more win. John McCoy/Getty ImagesThe MLB offseason is underway, and free agency will begin in earnest on Saturday, Nov. 3 after the five-day exclusive negotiating period with free agents ends.With no salary cap in baseball, free agency doesn't move quite as quickly as it does in the NBA or NFL, but the rumor mill should kick into full swing as teams start reaching out to top free agents.In the meantime, ahead is a look at some of the notable rumors that have trickled out recently:Bryce Harper'Not Part of the Plan' for the YankeesDustin Bradford/Getty ImagesDespite years of speculation, it's sounding less and less like Bryce Harper will be wearing Yankees pinstripes.Andy Martinoof SNY.tv recently wrote: "As the Yankees wrapped their pro scouting meetings last week and determined a preliminary offseason strategy, a pursuit of free-agent outfielderBryce Harperwas not part of the plan, according to major league sources."It makes sense given the current roster makeup.Aaron Judge and Aaron Hicks should return in the starting right field and center field spots, respectively.Giancarlo Stanton is also back, and while he spent the bulk of his time at DH in his first season with the Yankees, he's a solid defensive outfielder and could see more time with the glove in 2019.The Yankees also hold a $12.5 million club option on Brett Gardner, and even if it's declined, the team could look to re-sign its longest-tenured player at a lower price point.Jacoby Ellsbury is also still on the books, and a healthy Clint Frazier is capable of making an impact.Down on the farm Jonathan Lucroy Jersey , touted outfield prospect Estevan Florialfinished the 2018 season at High-A and could be in the majors by 2020, so not blocking his path could also be on the team's mind.If they were dead set on adding Harper, they could find a way to make him fit.That said, it makes perfect sense that the Yankees would be prioritizing other things, especially with a clear need to bolster the starting rotation.So where will Harper wind up?Nick Cafardo of theBoston Globenamed the Washington Nationals, Philadelphia Phillies and San Francisco Giants as his three most likely landing spots earlier this month. Yankees also just 'lukewarm' on Manny MachadoSean M. Haffey/Getty ImagesSo if the Yankees aren't planning on making a serious push for Harper, that has to up their odds of signing Manny Machado, right?Maybe not.In another article on the team's offseason plans, Martino wrote: "But we are here to tell you that the baseball operations and scouting departments, which spent most of last week meeting to plot an offseason strategy, was not impressed by Machado's postseason antics, and are now "lukewarm" on pursuing the former Oriole and Dodger, according to major league sources."He added: "As the team watched this postseason, and weighed it against what they already feared about Machado鈥攖hat he didn't always run out ground balls, that opponents thought he was a dirty player鈥攖hey became even more wary of committing to him for the better part of a decade."From a roster standpoint Carlos Gonzalez Jersey , Machado is also by no means an obvious fit.Didi Gregorius and Miguel Andujar both played well on the left side of the infield for the Yankees this season.Granted, Gregorius is a free agent after the 2019 season and Andujar might eventually need to move off the hot corner if his defense doesn't improve, but both players appear to have earned the starting spots going forward.If the market doesn't unfold as expected, the Yankees could still jump at the chance to get involved, but for now, Machado doesn't appear to be a priority.Instead, expect the Yankees to be in hot pursuit of top starting pitcher Patrick Corbin, as well as guys like Dallas Keuchel, J.A. Happ and Charlie Morton as they look to fill out the starting rotation behind Luis Severino and Masahiro Tanaka.Standout reliever David Robertson is also a free agent, which could be reason enough to pursue a late-inning relief arm. All stats courtesy of Baseball Reference, unless otherwise noted.
