8:07pm: Arizona has exercised its option over Hale for 2017, Jon Heyman reports (Twitter links). As things stand, though, there’s no new contract.
3:06pm: The Diamondbacks and manager Chip Hale have agreed to a contract extension that will run through “at least” the 2017 season, reports Jon Morosi of FOX Sports (on Twitter). Hale had been entering the final guaranteed season of a contract that included a club option for the 2017 season.
Hale, 51, initially signed a two-year deal with the Diamondbacks in what has been his first stint as a big league manager. Hale, a former utility infielder for the Twins and Dodgers from 1989-97, does have extensive experience on Major League coaching staffs, however, and had previously managed at the minor league level as well. Hale led the 2015 Diamondbacks to a 79-win season — a better outcome than many anticipated. The D-backs, in fact were within striking distance of the division lead as late into the season as Aug. 23, when the club sat five games out of first place.
Expectations will be wildly different for Hale as he enters his second season at the helm in Arizona. While few pegged them to even sniff the .500 mark last season, Arizona’s high-octane offseason included the signings of Zack Greinke and Tyler Clippard as well as a blockbuster trade for Shelby Miller. With Greinke and Miller atop the rotation and a full year of Patrick Corbin, who missed the beginning of the 2015 season recovering from 2014 Tommy John surgery, Arizona’s front office has placed pressure on its field staff and player personnel to deliver not only a winning club, but one that can contend for a postseason berth in what should be a competitive NL West division.
Not sure I understand the extension before we see what he can do in 2015. So he got 10 more wins than he should’ve last year. Pollock had a break out year which helped that. I think I would’ve rather of seen what he can do with a loaded roster this year before extending him. Yeah it might be cost effective if he turns out to be a great head coach, but they will lose a lot more money and respect if he turns out to be a dud.
Gibson was great for a year or two, they signed him to a huge extension and then he fizzled out. They can’t predict health conditions, but at least test the waters before you start throwing money out. If Hale doesn’t answer with a 88+ win season, he’ll be fired, the whole team will have a fire sale and we’ll be back where we were before all this happened.
2016*, not 2015.
Without this extension, he would’ve been a lame duck manager in a year where Arizona is looking to make a run at it. Totally worth it to just extend him for at the very least one more season, and not much money spent. Definitely a wise move on Arizona’s end.
It appears that all they did was pick up his 2017 team option and gave him/themselves a 2018 team option, will have to wait for the details.
I thought Hale did a nice job last season and has a nice future. This is the move you make to show Hale and the players you have confidence in him moving forward and avoids the distraction of the FO, Hale and players having to answer contract questions all season. No brainer really, Hale is making peanuts, if the team flops in YR2 you pull the ripcord.
As everyone else has said, it is a standard move to un-lame duck a manager you aren’t planning on firing.
True that. Even the Brewers did it twenty games before firing roenike last year.
Hale brought an impressive level of defensive shifting, defensive substituting, and base running to this dbacks club last year. It will be interesting to see what the team can do with a new pitching coach in Mike Butcher and a reloaded pitching staff, their only glaring weakness last year. Extending him and avoiding the lame duck label in a year they are expected to compete is important.
I like the timing of the announcement. And I agree with cornercreek that Mike Butcher was a key hire and will be a key to this year’s success/failure. He’s a veteran, so that helps. But we have 3 of the 6 potential starters who are going to have restricted innings this year. Corbin and Bradley will probably max out at about 150 innings and Ray at about 180 innings. What if we make the playoffs and go deep? Those 3 may not be available to us in the post-season. That means, we’d have to rely on RDLR as the third starter, and at this point of the pre-season that is a scary proposition!
If they are looking good for the postseason I can see them bringing in a solid veteran at the trade deadline for the playoffs. There are a few decent but not great pitchers that should be available. Arizona still has somewhat of a farm system and I am sure other GMs are just itching to get in on the action while Stewart is still in charge. The Yankees Ivan Nova is in a contract year and if he has a good first half I am sure he will be available. He would do well in the NL West if he can return to his pre-TJ form. There will surely be other sellers out there too. So, don’t worry about the playoff rotation quite yet.