In his latest notes column for the Boston Globe, Nick Cafardo looks at the remarkable list of front office talent incubated by John Hart during his stint as the Indians’ general manager from 1989-2001. Such names as Chris Antonetti, Mark Shapiro, Neal Huntington, Ben Cherington, Paul DePodesta, Josh Byrnes and Dan O’Dowd worked together in the Cleveland front office and went on to run their own front offices as general managers, baseball operations heads and/or club presidents. Of course, those executives all developed their own notable staffers, to the point that Hart’s front office tree extends to virtually every team in the sport. Here’s some more from Cafardo’s column…
- Mark Melancon will draw a lot of interest in free agency this winter, both as a closer and potentially, Cafardo opines, as an Andrew Miller-style hybrid reliever. Melancon could be willing to accept such a role if he still gets paid like a top-flight closer, and Cafardo thinks firemen could eventually surpass closers as the highest-paid members of a bullpen. “Don’t kid yourself, one reason Miller accepts his role is because he earns closer money,” Cafardo writes.
- “The Nationals are expected to go hard” for Melancon, Cafardo reports, which isn’t a surprise given how well he pitched for Washington after he was acquired at the trade deadline.
- Major League sources often cite a three-year/$45MM contract for Rich Hill in free agency this winter, and Hill could even get more the better he pitches during the Dodgers’ postseason run. Last month, MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes outlined five reasons why he is predicting Hill to receive at least $45MM, despite Hill’s age and injury history.
- Angels first base coach Gary DiSarcina could be a candidate for two jobs with other clubs, based on his past experience working in the Red Sox front office and managing their A-ball and Triple-A affiliates. Cafardo suggests that Mike Hazen (the former Red Sox GM and newly-hired Diamondbacks GM) could consider DiSarcina as the new D’Backs manager. Boston bench coach Torey Lovullo has been rumored to be a top contender for the Arizona job, so if he indeed leaves, Cafardo wonders if DiSarcina could return to Fenway for a job on John Farrell’s staff.
I love the idea of firemen type relievers. I really hope Terry Francona just started a trend that will end the traditional closer and have the best pitchers pitching to the best hitters.
Really hard to do in regular season. A guy who has to be loosened up and available at any point from 6th inning on, and is ALWAYS (by definition) working with men on base, is not gonna last the year and no one is going to want to do it.
I don’t see this happening during the season, but it’s a great idea in the playoffs. That’s how you win in the playoffs, at key points you pitch your best pitcher whether it’s Randy Johnson, Kershaw, Bumgartner, or Miller.
Somebody should explain to Carfardo that the Dodgers can’t qualify Hill. They traded for him in the middle of the season. Same type of misinformation floated about when the Red Sox acquired Cespedes.
Wow, how can a professional journalist make a mistake like that that even a casual fan should know is not possible to happen
The ongoing mystery is why MLBTR continues to treat Cafardo as a serious observer of the national baseball scene. Not only does he make bush league mistakes of this kind, his demonstrated knowledge of teams outside of his timezone tends to be seriously lacking.
Wow, Cafardo didn’t mention in his latest how Encarnacion is a shoe in for the Red Sox like the rest of the Boston media? Amazing
I don’t think the Sox are even a little interested in Edwin. They really don’t sign that kind of player (mid-30’s, one trick pony on a multi year deal) anymore. And don’t really need him. They’ve got much bigger problems with pitching.
Considering they’re losing 127 RBIs from a retiring DH, it’s a bit hard to understand why they wouldn’t be more than a little interested in taking 127 RBI away from a divisional rival. And 4th in the league in ERA is hardly a big pitching problem.
Fascinating to see the fireman concept return. Mike Marshall and Sparky Lyle were indispensable at their peak and won CYAs in the role. As early as August, I was campaigning with my baseball buddies to consider Miller as a CYA candidate…largely because, saves notwithstanding, I think he’s actually a more valuable asset than Zach Britton. The postseason is making it seem that argument to be a more viable one.