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Braves Notes: Weber, Allard, Maroth

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Braves righty Ryan Weber is one of several recent call-ups with an under-the-radar minor league career, John Manuel of Baseball America writes. Weber was a standout in high school, starring for USA Baseball national teams as a teenager despite his small frame. He wound up at junior college, though, and then was selected in the late rounds in 2009. He made his way through the Braves’ minor league system slowly, posting unspectacular statistics and not reaching Double-A until last season. But he pitched well in the high minors this year, posting a 2.35 ERA, 5.3 K/9 and a terrific 0.9 BB/9 over 99 2/3 innings split between Double-A Mississippi and Triple-A Gwinnett, and he’s now started three games for a rebuilding Braves club. Here’s more out of Atlanta.

  • The Braves focused on high school talent in last year’s draft, MLB.com’s Jonathan Mayo notes. They used their first four picks on youngsters Kolby Allard, Mike Soroka, Austin Riley and Lucas Herbert. “We’re getting back to the Braves way,” says assistant GM John Coppolella. “When you build a skyscraper, you build it from the bottom up, you don’t build it from the top. We wanted to get the most impact talent we could. We got away from that and we’re paying for it now with a bit of a talent drain at the upper levels.” All four top draftees are now in instructional league play, although Coppolella notes that No. 14 overall pick Allard won’t pitch much — the Braves are taking it slow with him because of the stress reaction in his back that he suffered in high school. (Allard pitched just six innings in his first pro season, but as Mayo notes, they were terrific — he struck out 12 of the 20 batters he faced in six innings in the GCL.) Allard should be “good to go” next season, Coppalella says.
  • The Braves have hired Mike Maroth as their minor league rehab pitching coordinator, David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal Constitution tweets. Maroth will replace Dan Meyer, who will remain with the organization in a role that has yet to be determined. Maroth pitched parts of six seasons with the Tigers and Cardinals, and he spent the last four seasons working as a pitching coach in the Tigers system.

Heyman’s Latest: D-Backs, Freeman, O’s, Samardzija

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Jon Heyman of CBS Sports has published his latest Inside Baseball column and begins by taking a look at his 25 “heroes” of the 2015 season. Here are some highlights from the rest of the piece…

  • Adding a top-tier starting pitcher and a top closer are the main priorities of the Diamondbacks this offseason, Heyman hears. While the D-Backs probably won’t make a run at “the” top starter (presumably David Price), the team does have some money to spend on a starting pitcher. Previous reports have also stated that the Diamondbacks will renew trade talks for Aroldis Chapman this winter, though the asking price on him has, in the past, been said to be exorbitant.
  • The Braves have shown a willingness to listen to trade offers on almost anyone, but sources tell Heyman that Freddie Freeman probably isn’t going anywhere. Atlanta is also said to be open to a return for Craig Kimbrel — the initial trade was made for the purpose of shedding Melvin Upton’s contract — though the ’pen will receive a boost when Shae Simmons, Jason Grilli and Chris Withrow are healthy.
  • The Orioles will make qualifying offers to Chris Davis and Wei-Yin Chen but are not yet certain whether to extend one to Matt Wieters, who has had somewhat of a rough season in his return from Tommy John.
  • Clay Buchholz has been out since July with an elbow injury and will not return this season, according to Heyman, but the Red Sox will exercise his $13MM option for 2016 if he looks good in a bullpen session Sunday. Whatever happens, the Red Sox will look for additional pitching this winter. (Last night, WEEI.com’s Rob Bradford reported that Buchholz still hopes he can pitch an inning in the Red Sox’ last game of the season.)
  • The White Sox considered offering Jeff Samardzija an extension of around $80MM when they acquired him last season, but Samardzija wanted to test free agency. Heyman reports that Samardzija was disappointed the White Sox didn’t deal him in July, since a deal would have allowed him to pitch for a contender and would have prevented him from being extended a qualifying offer.
  • Yankees assistant GM Billy Eppler still looks like the favorite for the Angels GM job, and Rangers assistant GM Thad Levine is another possibility. Heyman also mentions that the name of Padres and Diamondbacks GM Kevin Towers has also come up.
  • Though Eppler may the favorite in Anaheim, he’s also one of two finalists for the Mariners’ GM post, with the other being Jerry Dipoto. Each candidate is in line for a second interview, which could be more than Dana Brown of the Blue Jays and interim GM Jeff Kingston get. Each has interviewed once, as have others, per Heyman.
  • Incoming Blue Jays president Mark Shapiro will retain GM Alex Anthopoulos. Of course, as Heyman notes, that’s hardly surprising given how well the Jays have played recently.
  • Nationals ownership, is, perhaps unsurprisingly, very disappointed with the 2015 team. While nothing is certain, however, GM Mike Rizzo seems likely to return for 2016.

Reactions To And Details On Red Sox’ Promotion Of Mike Hazen

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Roughly six weeks after the Red Sox hired Dave Dombrowski to serve as their new president of baseball operations, prompting GM Ben Cherington to resign, the Red Sox named Cherington’s top lieutenant — assistant GM Mike Hazen — as their new general manager. Hazen’s promotion was officially announced at a press conference yesterday. Here are some takeaways from the conference as well as reactions to the Sox’ decision to stay in house as opposed to selecting someone outside the organization…

  • Via the Boston Globe’s Alex Speier (Twitter link), Dombrowski said yesterday that a list of about 30 general manager candidates was compiled early in the search. However, somewhat surprisingly, only two candidates — Hazen and Astros director of player development Quinton McCracken — were formally interviewed.
  • In a full column, Speier writes that Hazen had the opportunity to pursue advancement with another organization six years ago but elected to remain with the Red Sox. When Jed Hoyer left Boston to become GM of the Padres, he offered Hazen, who was then Boston’s director of player development, the opportunity to be an assistant GM in San Diego. Hazen, a Massachusetts native, spoke yesterday about the decision to remain in Boston due to a passion for the Red Sox. The ability to impact a team for which he grew up cheering trumped the notion of climbing the front-office ladder in a new organization.
  • Speier also spoke to Hazen’s Princeton baseball coach, Scott Bradley, at length about the way in which Hazen broke into the front office game; Bradley introduced Hazen to Peter Gammons after Hazen’s minor league career ended, and after doing some work scouting the Cape Cod League, an impressed Gammons put him in touch with Indians GM Mark Shapiro, encouraging Shapiro to hire him as an intern. Shapiro made the hire, and within a month contacted Bradley and Gammons to profess what a special career he believed Hazen to have in front of him.
  • Gammons recalls the story from his own end (Twitter links from Gammons), explaining that Bradley initially called him seeking an opportunity for Hazen, whom he described as the best leader he’d ever coached. Gammons set up the scouting internship and promised to send Hazen’s reports to GMs around the league, and Shapiro “immediately hired Mike” after being impressed by his work. Gammons considers Hazen one of the most honest people in the game and adds that Dombrowski won’t ever get anything other than what Hazen truly believes in terms of feedback.
  • The promotion of Hazen is a vote of continuity for the Red Sox, writes the Providence Journal’s Tim Britton. Twenty-two members of the current front office piled in the back of yesterday’s press conference to applaud Hazen, and as Britton notes, his ascension to GM all but ensures that there won’t be a mass exodus of front office talent from the pre-existing regime. Dombrowski is quoted as speaking highly of Hazen and the baseball ops staff that he inherited upon being hired. Hazen will have Dombrowski’s ear on all baseball ops decisions, especially early on as Dombrowski familiarizes himself with the system. Britton reports that Hazen interviewed for the Angels’ GM opening last week as well, and Speier noted in the above-linked piece that the Brewers had sought permission to interview him also.
  • Though McCracken wasn’t hired as Boston’s GM, Dombrowski told reporters that he was thoroughly impressed with his interview. Per the Houston Chronicle’s Evan Drellich, Dombrowski sees a bright future for McCracken: “Quinton McCracken is going to be a general manager. There is no doubt in my mind. He’s got a lot of great qualities.” Dombrowski also cited his experience in the game and the fact that many GM candidates seek final authority over baseball operations decisions — something the Sox wouldn’t be offering, given Dombrowski’s role as president — as reasons that only two candidates were interviewed.
  • Scott Lauber of the Boston Herald writes that Hazen’s honesty and personality make him well-suited to fill the sometimes-difficult role of being a GM that works underneath a president. Hazen’s former Princeton coach spoke to Lauber as well, explaining why that’s the case. “I think Mike will be his own person, but he’s also such a team guy that he will work really, really well with Dave in that regard,” said Bradley. “Too many people in those types of (GM) positions in baseball avoid really difficult conversations. I think that’s Mike’s strength. That’s who he is.”
  • Dombrowski will be faced with an offseason of trying to clean up some missteps by the Red Sox — most notably the signings of Hanley Ramirez and Pablo Sandoval, writes ESPN Boston’s Gordon Edes. Ramirez, as was announced yesterday, won’t play again this offseason due to a shoulder injury, of which the origin is unknown. Edes points out that in a way, Dombrowski and Hazen wouldn’t be in this spot were it not for those signings, as Cherington’s job probably wouldn’t have been in danger had neither player been signed to his ill-fated contract. Dombrowski gave a diplomatic answer when asked about Ramirez, as Edes notes, stating that he’d be the team’s first baseman in 2016. That could, clearly, change depending on the course of the offseason.
  • Cherington texted the Boston Herald’s Jason Mastrodonato and expressed praise and congratulations for his former assistant (Twitter link). “Mike is very deserving and ready to be a GM and I think the Red Sox made a smart choice,” said Cherington.

Free Agent Stock Watch: Steve Pearce

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Players don’t get much more difficult to value than Orioles utilityman Steve Pearce. The 32-year-old was little more than a journeyman for much of his career, but that narrative has shifted — and then continued to change — in recent years.

Steve Pearce

Let’s pick things up in 2013, when Pearce put up his first above-average offensive season. He slashed a useful .261/.362/.420 that year for Baltimore, but played in only 44 games. That campaign, combined with the similarly useful .254/.321/.437 line he cobbled together in 28 games the previous season, was good enough for the O’s to give him a $850K arbitration salary. However, that salary wasn’t enough to deter the O’s from an early-season DFA in 2014. The Blue Jays claimed him on waivers, but Pearce declined the claim so he could re-sign with Baltimore.

So, what did Pearce do after going back to the O’s? Only this: slash .293/.373/.556, hit 21 home runs, and post five to six WAR (depending upon one’s preferred source) over 383 plate appearances.

That incredible breakout led to a difficult valuation matter in and of itself, as Pearce presented a hard-to-peg arb case. He and the team split the difference between their widely divergent filing numbers ($2MM from the team, $5.4MM from the player), settling on a $3.7MM salary.

The 2014 version of Pearce looked like a mirage in the early going this year. He limped out of the gates, lost power output and playing time, and ultimately spent a lengthy stretch on the DL. But a funny thing happened, again. It’s a short sample of under 100 plate appearances, but Pearce owns a .230/.316/.529 slash and has hit seven home runs in the season’s second half. However one feels about Pearce’s trajectory, his late-season surge lends some credence to the idea that he can approach — if not replicate — his career-best year.

It’s noteworthy that even the newly-resurgent Pearce doesn’t have the on-base numbers that he carried in his sterling ’14 campaign. Looking at the season as a whole, his walk rate has dropped (from 10.4% to 7%, year over year), and that’s certainly a cause for some level of concern. However, he’s also been had some poor luck. Pearce’s groundball-to-flyball rate and home run-per-flyball rates are steady. His line drive rate is slightly up, and he’s making only slightly less hard contact. But his BABIP has plummeted to .243 — well below his career level and nearly 100 points shy of what he carried last season.

Another thing has occurred along the way that is worthy of note. Pearce had long played exclusively in the corner outfield or at first base. He’s generally received solid-to-good ratings by defensive metrics, though there has been quite a bit of variance in a series of short samples. This year, though, the O’s slotted Pearce in at second when a need arose. He’s only spent 121 2/3 innings there, hardly enough to draw definitive conclusions, but both DRS and UZR combined to value him as an approximately average performer. At the very least, he’s shown enough to think he can play some second base in a pinch, even if there probably aren’t any teams that would consider playing him there with any sort of regularity.

Comps are virtually impossible in this case, but there are at least some data points to consider. Platoon outfielders like Nate McLouth, Rajai Davis, and David Murphy have commanded two-year deals at $5MM to $6MM in annual salary in recent markets. Defensively-limited sluggers such as Michael Morse (two years, $16MM), Marlon Byrd (same), Kendrys Morales (two years, $17MM) and Michael Cuddyer (two years, $21MM) have earned more. On the low end of the spectrum, Jeff Baker and Garrett Jones represent a pair of part-time bats that received relatively minor totals of $3.7MM and $7.75MM on two-year deals. Neither player had ever turned in a season even close to Pearce’s 2014 campaign, so in spite of some 2015 struggles, one would imagine Pearce has separated himself from that range.

Each of the above players was heading into at least his age-32 season when signing, and all but Morales and McLouth were even older than that. Pearce will play next season at the age of 33, so while that certainly adds to the reasons that a longer-term contract will be difficult to strike, it does suggest that multiple years are plausible. There are even some recent lower-AAV three-year deals that ought to be considered, perhaps: Cody Ross ($26MM) and James Loney ($21MM). However, both had a stronger walk year than Pearce as well as a history of more consistent performance, making three years a lofty goal.

It’s hard, really, to know what market to place Pearce in. You could view him as a first base/corner outfield/DH option — a market highlighted by John Jaso and Mike Napoli — or he could be grouped him with super-utility players that could start at multiple positions. That group is, of course, headlined by Ben Zobrist and also includes Daniel Murphy, Kelly Johnson, and — perhaps — Chase Utley.

In terms of 2015 production, Pearce certainly isn’t the most exciting name on the market, but the variety of roles he’s capable of filling and the myriad markets in which he could be included make him one of the more difficult free agents to peg this offseason. Definitive contenders may not wish to guarantee him more than a bench spot, but a non-contending or fringe club could look at Pearce and see a player that has homered 35 times over his past 669 plate appearances and hope that, if given regular playing time, he could hit 25 or more in a single season at what could be a relatively bargain rate.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

AL Central Notes: Holland, Floyd, Rondon

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Congratulations are in order for the Royals tonight, as their victory, combined with a Twins loss, means that Kansas City has officially clinched the American League Central Division championship. The Royals had their doubters — myself included — but have taken the division in decisive fashion. As the champagne flows at Kauffman Stadium, here are a few notes from around the division…

  • Greg Holland will probably undergo Tommy John surgery in the near future, as the Royals announced earlier today that he has a “significant” tear in his right ulnar collateral ligament and will seek a second opinion next week. Manager Ned Yost said at the time that Holland’s ligament damage may date back to last August. As Andy McCullough of the Kansas City Star tweets, trainer Nick Kenney likened the injury to that of Masahiro Tanaka, who suffered a small tear in his own UCL last summer but has pitched without issue in 2015. That would seemingly indicate that Holland’s initial tear was relatively minor in nature but has been exacerbated by pitching through it in the 2014 playoffs and throughout the 2015 season.
  • MLB.com’s Jeffrey Flanagan writes that Holland’s injury brings his future with the Royals into question. As I noted at the time the news broke, Holland’s $8.25MM salary and arbitration eligibility this winter make it a certainty that he’ll be non-tendered this offseason if and when he undergoes Tommy John surgery. Flanagan writes that a two-year deal with a marginal 2016 base salary and an incentive-laden structure in 2017 could be a solution, though I wonder if new agent Scott Boras will be amenable to such a possibility. GM Dayton Moore hopes to see Holland remain with the Royals in the future, per Flanagan, though Moore avoided making any sort of definitive statement: “I will say that Holly is one of the very best competitors I’ve ever been around. I admire him a great deal. I hope he’s a part of our organization the remainder of his career.”
  • Right-hander Gavin Floyd has missed most of the season after re-fracturing the olecranon bone in his right elbow, but he’s returned to the Indians’ bullpen late this season and tells Paul Hoynes of the Plain Dealer that he’d be interested in returning to Cleveland. “Despite the circumstances of not being able to play, I loved getting to know the guys and the city,” Floyd explained. “…I’d definitely be interested (in resigning) for sure.” Floyd has received strong bottom-line results working out of the ’pen, tallying a 2.61 ERA in 10 1/3 innings since returning. Floyd’s 6-to-4 K/BB ratio is less impressive, but his velocity is strong as ever. There’s been speculation about Cleveland perhaps trading a young starter to fill needs elsewhere on the roster, and as Hoynes notes, Floyd could be brought back as veteran depth to fill out the rotation should that scenario play out.
  • Tigers third baseman Nick Castellanos touched on the organization’s decision to send Bruce Rondon home for the season due to his effort level in an appearance with Matt Dery on 105.1 radio in Detroit (audio link). Without getting too specific, Castellanos noted that some in the clubhouse were “unhappy with his antics” but still said the move by management came as a surprise to him. Castellanos said that he and others in the organization feel that Rondon can still be a valuable part of the team going forward, adding that he feels Rondon has the raw talent to be an “All-Star caliber closer” but now needs to harness the necessary intangibles to realize that potential.

Latest On Reported Tension Among Orioles Management

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Earlier this month, ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick reported that Orioles manager Buck Showalter has downplayed growing rumors of tension between him and general manager/executive vice president Dan Duquette, but according to Crasnick, unrest was indeed brewing among Orioles decision-makers. FOX’s Ken Rosenthal writes today that tension has escalated, with Showalter wanting a greater role in personnel decisions (though he does not wish to actually assume GM duties himself).

Rosenthal feels that a change is ultimately unlikely, in part because of the large sum owed to both Showalter and Duquette through 2018 on their current contract. Rosenthal reports that Showalter takes home $3.5MM annually, with Duquette earning $2MM per year. Replacing either would mean owner Peter Angelos paying that as well as the salary of a replacement — an undesirable outcome.

However, one Orioles official tells Rosenthal that if the organizational structure isn’t altered in some capacity, it will be a “disaster.” Both Duquette and Showalter, unsurprisingly, told Rosenthal that the relationship between them is fine, with Showalter noting that each is frustrated by the club’s disappointing season.

Crasnick first reported that some within the organization weren’t happy with minor league pitching development director Rick Peterson’s influence in the organization. Per Crasnick, the decision to release outfielder Delmon Young was also met with mixed reviews internally, upsetting some within the organization. Rosenthal adds that there’s further frustration over the lack of replacements for Nelson Cruz and Nick Markakis, misses in free agency and trades as well as a declining farm system. He also notes that although Showalter continually praises his coaching staff, no member of the field staff besides the manager himself is signed beyond 2015.

Over the past month, there have been multiple mentions of tension among Orioles brass (including some from the Boston Globe’s Nick Cafardo and an earlier report from Rosenthal himself), with both Cafardo and Rosenthal stating that one major source of friction was the fact that Angelos would not allow Duquette to pursue a higher-ranking position with the Blue Jays last offseason.

The Orioles’ front office situation figures to be a story that will develop over the coming weeks and should contribute to a fascinating offseason in Baltimore, as the team is also slated to lose Chris Davis, Matt Wieters, Wei-Yin Chen, Darren O’Day and Steve Pearce to free agency. Given the fact that failure to replace Cruz and Markakis is one of the sources of internal consternation with the O’s, it’ll be interesting to see how Duquette and his staff handle the departure of a larger crop of free agents — particularly due to the fact that Baltimore’s farm system ranks as one of the weakest in Major League Baseball per most rankings.

Nationals Notes: Espinosa, Williams, Fister

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A few notes on the Nationals after the team has just suffered a sweep at the hands of the Orioles…

  • Danny Espinosa has a slight tear in his hamstring and will require four weeks to recover from the injury, Nationals manager Matt Williams told reporters, including CSN Washington’s Mark Zuckerman (Twitter link). As such, his 2015 season is over. Despite the disappointing results of his team, Espinosa can call it a year knowing that he did quite a bit to restore his stock as a valuable Major Leaguer in what was an excellent rebound campaign. Espinosa’s production at the plate — a .240/.311/.409 batting line — wasn’t stellar, but it came in just a bit below league average, which, when paired with his excellent glovework at second base, made him worth about two wins above replacement. It’s a dramatic turnaround from the combined .200/.255/.326 that he batted from 2013-14 and should be enough that the Nationals wouldn’t even consider non-tendering him — a concept that would’ve seemed plausible entering the season.
  • General manager/president of baseball operations Mike Rizzo wouldn’t commit to retaining Williams when asked during a radio appearance on the Grant & Danny Show on 106.7 The Fan. As The Fan’s Chris Lingebach writes, Williams instead said that all evaluations will take place after the season. “We’re certainly going to evaluate this season when it’s over, and we’ll do everything we have to do to make the season in 2016 better than the season in 2015,” said Rizzo. Lingebach also offers additional quotes from Rizzo, stating that the organization will be evaluated “from general manager’s office all the way down to the 40-man roster.”
  • Doug Fister sat down with MLB.com’s Bill Ladson to discuss his move to the bullpen and his upcoming free agency. Fister explained that while he was disappointed with the relatively short leash he was given in the rotation, he took the move to the bullpen with a positive attitude and is happy to have proved to himself that he can be a successful bullpen piece if ever needed. However, Fister said that his goal is to return to a rotation eventually, whether it’s with the Nationals or another team. Fister has a 2.25 ERA with a 15-to-5 K/BB ratio in 16 innings out of the bullpen.

Greg Holland Has “Significant” Tear In UCL; Tommy John Surgery Likely

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4:08pm: Holland has a “significant” tear in his UCL, according to manager Ned Yost (via McCullough). Tommy John surgery is the likely course of action. Yost now believes Holland tore the ligament last August, meaning he pitched last September and the postseason as well as all of 2015 with a tear in the ligament. The Royals asked Holland to get his elbow checked out multiple times this season, McCullough adds, but he declined each time until last month.

3:55pm: Holland tells reporters, including McCullough (Twitter links) that an MRI taken earlier this month revealed ligament damage. He has, in fact, been battling discomfort since last August but did not want to undergo an MRI previously, as his desire was instead to pitch through the pain.

3:47pm: The Royals announced today that closer Greg Holland has been shut down for the season. Andy McCullough of the Kansas City Star reports that Dr. Neal ElAttrache will examine Holland’s elbow next week (Twitter links). Per McCullough, the possibility of Tommy John surgery is looming, but nothing will be known until next week.

Holland was recently removed from the closer’s role in favor of Wade Davis. The formerly dominant closer has seen his velocity dramatically decrease recently and has posted a dismal 5.50 ERA on 24 hits and 11 walks in 18 second-half innings. His decline and subsequent loss for the postseason is a huge blow to the Royals, who reached Game 7 of the World Series in 2014 based largely on the dominant performances of Holland, Davis and Kelvin Herrera. Holland’s departure from the bullpen mix makes GM Dayton Moore’s signing of Ryan Madson look like that much more of a coup, as the former Phillies closer has rebounded decisively after a three-year absence due to injury; Madson has a brilliant 2.31 ERA with 8.3 K/9 against just 1.9 BB/9 in 58 1/3 innings this season.

The injury to Holland will put the Royals in a precarious position this winter. Always a team on a tight budget, there were questions last winter about Kansas City’s ability to pay both Holland and Davis at relatively premium rates. Holland took home an $8.25MM salary via the arbitration process, and he’ll be arb-eligible for the third and final time this winter. That means that Holland, who recently hired Scott Boras as his new agent, could be in line for a salary near or in excess of $10MM in spite of his second half struggles.

In the event that Holland requires Tommy John surgery, he’d be an easy call to non-tender, although that would be a disappointing way to end the Royals tenure of such a key organizational figure. The real dilemma, however, will be what to do with Holland in the event that he does not require Tommy John or any form of major surgery. One would imagine that his trade value is down due to underperformance, salary and, now, injury. The Royals could roll the dice and tender him a contract, but this year’s $112MM payroll is a club record. For a team that typically has operated with a sub-$100MM payroll, paying a potentially damaged relief pitcher $10MM+ is a dicey proposal, so the prospect of a non-tender for Holland has to be considered even in the event that major surgery isn’t required.

Red Sox Name Mike Hazen GM

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The Red Sox have filled their general manager vacancy from within, as the team announced today that assistant GM Mike Hazen will be promoted to the role of general manager to replace the departed Ben Cherington. Hazen, of course, will report to recently hired president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski.

In his previous role as senior vice president/assistant GM, Hazen assisted Ben Cherington (who resigned upon Dombrowski’s hiring) in player acquisitions, player evaluation, contract negotiations, major league, and pro scouting, per the Red Sox. His time with the Red Sox dates back to the 2006 season when he was hired as the team’s director of player development. Before his time with the Sox, Hazen spent five years working in the Indians’ front office, focusing on player development and scouting. The Princeton grad played four years of college ball and was a 31st-round draft pick of the Padres in 1998. He played two minor league seasons before joining Cleveland’s scouting department.

“Over his 10 years with the Red Sox, Mike has proven to be an invaluable member of the baseball operations department,” said Dombrowski in a press release announcing the move. “We are thrilled to have him in this position and I’m excited to have him working with me on every aspect of baseball operations.” Executive vice president/COO Sam Kennedy calls this a “great day” for the Red Sox organization, adding: “Mike’s leadership, work ethic, and passion for the game are second to none.  His experience, combined with his local roots, make him the perfect choice to work alongside Dave as we head into 2016.”

The 39-year-old Hazen was one of many rumored candidates for the GM vacancy in Boston. Former Braves GM Frank Wren and former Rockies GM Dan O’Dowd both were mentioned as possibilities, with Wren believed at one point to be a particularly strong possibility. CBS Sports’ Jon Heyman recently reported, though, that it’s possible Wren could be hired to serve in a non-GM capacity. Boston is said to have recently interviewed Astros director of player development Quinton McCracken, and other names mentioned in the search included Yankees AGM Billy Eppler, D-Backs vice president De Jon Watson and former Angels GM Jerry Dipoto, who is currently working with the Sox in an advisory capacity. It’s unclear how, or if, the hiring of Hazen will impact Dipoto’s role with the club.

One would imagine that the hiring of Hazen bodes well for Boston’s chances at retaining a large number of the executives currently within the front office. It makes sense that Hazen, who comes with a good deal of front office experience and an obvious in-depth familiarity with the Sox’ farm system, would be selected to pair with Dombrowski atop Boston’s baseball operations pyramid.

Jon Heyman of CBS Sports first reported the promotion (via Twitter).

Minor MLB Transactions: 9/24/15

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Here are Thursday’s minor transactions from around the league…

  • Outfielder David Lough is back with the Orioles after being outrighted earlier this season; Baltimore announced today that Lough’s contract has been selected from Triple-A Norfolk. In order to clear a 40-man roster spot, Dylan Bundy was recalled from the minors and placed on the Major League 60-day disabled list. Lough will provide the O’s with some outfield depth — Adam Jones has been hurting of late — and provide the team with another left-handed bat. Lough was a very useful platoon outfielder in 2014, his first season with the Orioles, but his offensive output evaporated in 2015. Despite seeing most of his plate appearances versus right-handed pitching, Lough’s total batting line this season was a mere .202/.243/.318 in 139 plate appearances. The 29-year-old didn’t fare much better at Triple-A, where he batted .259/.290/.310 in 14 games.

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