The Nationals reportedly agreed to hire Bud Black as their manager before going with Dusty Baker, but GM Mike Rizzo has a slightly different version of events. “We definitely had financial parameters discussed with (both), at the same time,” Rizzo said at a press conference, according to The Associated Press.
“We felt that was the best track to go by,” Rizzo said, “because sometimes the negotiating process also tells you a lot about the people that you’re negotiating with. As we discussed baseball in the interview process, and parameters in the financial process, we came to the conclusion that Dusty Baker was the perfect guy for us.”
Here’s more from the NL East..
- The Marlins will explore making an extension offer to second baseman Dee Gordon, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald writes. For his part, Gordon says that he would be receptive to such an offer. The NL batting and stolen base champ is under team control for a few more years and will not be eligible to hit the open market until after the 2019 season. Recently, team president David Samson remarked that the organization has “three of the top ten players in baseball” — referring to Giancarlo Stanton, Jose Fernandez, and Gordon.
- The Marlins are less optimistic about signing shortstop Adeiny Hechavarria, however. Miami is under the impression that the 26-year-old (27 in April) will seek a deal in the neighborhood of Elvis Andrus’ eight-year, $120MM pact. Hechavarria, under team control through 2018, slashed a career-best .281/.315/.374 in 2015. Of course, he is valued more for his glove, which resulted in a stellar 17.7 UZR/150 this past season.
- Catcher Jeff Mathis remains a possibility to return to the Marlins because of his defense and the way he handles the pitching staff, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald writes. Mathis, 33 in March, slashed just .161/.214/.290 in 103 plate appearances last season. For his career, he owns a slash line of .194/.254/.306 over the course of eleven big league campaigns. While he won’t be winning any battling titles soon, Mathis is valued for plenty of other things outside of his bat.
Hechavarria would be a huge piece to get extended. Each year the kid takes huge strides towards the All-Star level.
How long can you be in MLB and make “huge strides” and not be an all star?
Because he was completely awful in 2012-2013.
Hechavarria was solid in 2015. He’s proven to be a capable everyday short-stop but to get a deal even close to Andrus’ would be beyond foolish. Yeah he is the better defender of the two, but he doesn’t steal bases or get on base as much as Andrus. Besides, the extension Elvis signed already looks like a mistake.
Who the heck is gonna give Adeiny Hechavarria 100M+.
I know the market is crazy now, but comeeee onnn.
Andrus had 3 straight 4+ WAR seasons. Hech had a career high 2.1 last year.
Yeah, that’s plain ridiculous. Hechavarria has never had an OPS above .700. At least Elvis Andrus had speed on his side. Adeiny doesn’t even have that, having a career high of 11 SB in 2013.
No one but it’s good to dream.
Why sign Gordon to an extension at the height of his value? Don’t get me wrong, he is an outstanding player. The guy has loads of speed, played solid defense in 2015, and is a capable hitter. However, Gordon almost surely won’t hit .330+ again, has very little power, and he doesn’t draw a lot of walks. I expect him to go back to his 2014 numbers which are good numbers, but it would be a big mistake if the Marlins were to pay him for what he did in what was likely a career year.
That’s exactly what the new Dodgers brass thought when they dealt him to the Fish. What did they get, one decent year of Howie Kendrick (so far). I’d roll the dice on Gordon.
Love the quote by Rizzo (“…because sometimes the negotiating process also tells you a lot about the people that you’re negotiating with.”) mostly because Bud Black could (and should) have said the exact same thing.
Does Mike Rizzo actually think we’re going to believe his story??? Franchise in turmoil. They offered Bud Black one year which has s how much longer Rizzo has.
While one can certainly make cases for Stanton & Fernandez, Dee Gordon is a top 50 player in baseball, not 10. What a joke of an evaluation.
Oh course hes going to talk up his own guys. Thats just how it works. No one that has a job with an actual MLB team thinks Gordon is a top 10 player.
Kershaw, Grienke, Goldy, Miggy, Trout, Harper, Machado, Arenado, Arrieta, Price, Stanton, Fernandez, J.Upton and Rizzo are all significantly better than Gordon. (Those are just some guys off the top of my head)
Agree. Gordon is no way a top 10 player.
I don’t even think a case could be made for Fernandez. The guy has talent, but he has only pitched in 19 games over two seasons. The most important ability for any player is always availability. If you’re not playing, then it doesn’t matter how much talent you have. I wouldn’t even have him as a top 10 PITCHER let alone a top 10 player.
Rizzo is so full of it. This explanation is nothing more than spin, the Potomac Two-step. He has continually mishandled the managerial situation and has continually done so since Riggleman quit, regardless of one’s opinion of the latter’s response.
That coupled with the Strasberg shut-down (’12), the redundancy of the Soriano-Papelbon acquisitions, the Werth contract (another $42M for a 37- and 38-year-old OF already trending south), why didn’t Rizzo fired too.
Whoa! Now it makes sense, why Black got stiffed, the $42M going out the door the next two years.
The Nats are lost. Rudderless ship. After their FAs bail, look for 3rd in the East. I agree that they had promise and talent that was mismanaged by Rizzo.