2B Jose Altuve is expected to be Houston's first MVP winner since Jeff Bagwell in the strike-shortened 1994 season. The 5-foot-6 Altuve led the majors with a .346 batting average and to go along with 24 homers and 81 RBIs in 153 games. The other AL MVP finalists are Yankees RF Aaron Judge and Indians INF Jose Ramirez.

LHP Clayton Kershaw, who tied for the major league lead with 18 wins and led the NL with a 2.31 ERA, is vying for his fourth NL Cy Young Award. His competitors are Nationals RHPs Max Scherzer and Stephen Strasburg.

RF Aaron Judge, who led the majors with 52 homers, is a finalist for both the AL Most Valuable Player award and AL Rookie of the Year.Judge is expected to become the Yankees' first Rookie of the Year winner since Derek Jeter in 1996 after hitting .284 with 52 homers, 114 RBIs, 128 runs and 127 walks. While he led the league with 208 strikeouts, Judge also led the league in runs, walks and home runs.

P Boone Logan has his $7 million club option for 2018 declined by the Cleveland Indians. The left-handed reliever, 33, will receive a $1 million buyout. He signed with the Indians in February and made $6.5 million this year. Logan pitched in 38 games before he tore his left lat muscle on July 19, ending his season. He finished 1-0 with a 4.71 ERA while striking out 28 in 21 innings.

OF Andre Ethier received a $2.5 million buyout and will become a free agent after the Dodgers declined his $17.5 million option for next season on Sunday.The 35-year-old was the longest-tenured Dodger after 12 seasons with the club. However, his role was sharply reduced due to a fractured tibia in 2016 and a herniated disk in his back this year. Ethier drove in Los Angeles' lone run with a pinch-hit single in the Game 7 World Series loss to the Houston Astros on Wednesday. Ethier was 4-for-13 (.308) with a homer in the postseason after having just 34 at-bats and hitting two home runs in the regular season.

The Los Angeles Dodgers parted ways with veteran outfielder Andre Ethier on Sunday when they declined his $17.5 million option for next season.Ethier received a $2.5 million buyout and will become a free agent.The 35-year-old was the longest-tenured Dodger after 12 seasons with the club. However, his role was sharply reduced due to a fractured tibia in 2016 and a herniated disk in his back this year.Ethier drove in Los Angeles' lone run with a pinch-hit single in the Game 7 World Series loss to the Houston Astros on Wednesday.Ethier was 4-for-13 (.308) with a homer in the postseason after having just 34 at-bats and hitting two home runs in the regular season.The two-time All-Star batted .285 with 162 homers during his time with the Dodgers.He was a minor league player in the Oakland organization when Los Angeles acquired him in a deal that sent Milton Bradley to the Athletics prior to the 2006 season.

OF Michael Brantley's past two seasons have been shortened by injuries, but the Cleveland Indians exercised his $11.5 million option for 2018 on Friday. The 30-year-old Brantley hit .299 with nine homers and 52 RBIs in 90 games this season. His strong first half netted him an All-Star spot but he went on the disabled list twice and had right ankle surgery on Oct. 18. Brantley played only 11 games in 2016 because of a shoulder injury that required surgery. Brantley's option price rose from $11 million because of his top-five MVP finish in 2014. He was third in the MVP voting that season after hitting .327 with 20 homers and 97 RBIs. He hit .310 with 15 homers and 84 RBIs in 2015. If the option had been declined, the Indians would have paid Brantley a $1 million buyout.

INF/OF Marwin Gonzalez had his $5.125 million contract option for the 2018 season picked up by the Houston Astros.

RHP Josh Tomlin, who went 10-9 with a 4.98 ERA in 26 starts in 2017, had his $3 million option picked up by the Cleveland Indians. He was 6-0 with a 3.11 ERA in his last 10 appearances of the season. Tomlin, 33, would have been paid a $750,000 buyout if the option not been exercised.

2B Jose Altuve had his $6 million contract option picked up by the Houston Astros.

OF Ichiro Suzuki had his contract oprion for the 2018 season declined the 2018 by the Miami Marlins on Friday. Suzuki, 44, is now a free agent after receiving a $500,000 buyout. The Marlins passed on the $2 million club option.

OF Justin Upton agreed to a five-year contract extension, the Los Angeles Angels announced on Thursday. Financial terms were not disclosed by the club, but MLB.com's Jon Paul Morosi reported the deal is worth $106 million. Upton's new contract will span through the 2022 season and will supersede his existing deal that paid him $88.5 million through the 2021 campaign. The four-time All-Star was acquired from the Detroit Tigers on Aug. 31 for right-handed prospects Grayson Long and Elvin Rodriguez. Upton batted .245 with seven homers and 15 RBIs in 27 games with the Angels after hitting .279 with 28 homers and 94 RBIs in 125 contests with the Tigers. Upton set career highs in homers (35), doubles (44), extra-base hits (79), RBIs (109), slugging percentage (.542) and OPS (.904) last season.

2B Jed Lowrie's $6 million contract option for the 2018 season was exercised on Thursday, the Oakland Athletics announced. Lowrie's deal included a $1 million buyout if the option had been declined. The 33-year-old Lowrie batted .277 with 14 homers, 69 RBIs and a franchise-best 49 doubles in 153 games last season.

OF Yasiel Puig had his home burglarized as he was at Dodger Stadium during Game 7 of the World Series on Wednesday night. A window was smashed at the 26-year-old slugger's San Fernando Valley home, with TMZ Sports reporting the burglar grabbed jewelry and ran from the premises. The incident was caught on surveillance cameras. Puig's home also had been burglarized in March, with TMZ reporting that approximately $170,000 worth of jewelry was stolen at that time.

3B Miguel Sano will undergo surgery for a left shin injury that sidelined him for six weeks during the regular season, the Minnesota Twins announced Thursday. The surgery, which will include Sano having a permanent titanium rod inserted into his left shin, is scheduled for Nov. 13 in New York. Sano is expected to have a six-to-eight week recovery period before returning to baseball activities. Sano was named an All-Star for the first time last season. He batted .264 with 28 home runs and 77 RBIs in 114 games.

RHP Lance McCullers drove in a run in the second inning on a ground out. He became the first pitcher to drive in a run in a World Series gave since the Gants' Barry Zito in Game 1 of the 2012 Fall Classic. He is the first AL pitcher with an RBI since the Yankees' Andy Pettitte in 2009.

OF Carlos Beltran held the Astros record for extra-base hits in a single postseason when he had 11 in 2004. He is now joined by CF George Springer, who had 11 in the 2017 postseason. Overall, Beltran and Springer are tied for the fourth-most extra-base hits in a single World Series.

CF George Springer tied a record with his fifth World Series home run. He joins Reggie Jackson (1977) and Chase Utley (2009) as the only players to hit five home runs in a single World Series. Springer also became the first player to hit a home run in four consecutive games of the same World Series. He was named the World Series MVP.

SS Carlos Correa finished the World Series with eight hits, second most on the club to the 11 from CF George Springer. Correa's 15 total bases were also tied for second most with 1B Yuli Gurriel. Springer led that category too with 29 total bases, easily eclipsing the previous World Series record of 25 shared by Reggie Jackson and Willie Stargell.Correa proposed to his girlfriend, Daniella Rodriguez, live on television afterward.

RHP Charlie Morton was given the victory in Game 7 after finishing off the Dodgers over the final four innings. The victory was handed out at the official scorekeeper's discretion after RHP Lance McCullers did not go the necessary five innings to qualify for the victory himself. Morton pitched 10 1/3 innings in the World Series, giving up two runs.