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Tony Clark Skeptical Of Organizational Spending Plans

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After a 2018 offseason that saw countless veterans linger on the free agent vine much longer than anticipated, MLBPA executive director Tony Clark is expecting yet another cooled stove this winter–and, judging from comments made to The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal on Thursday, he doesn’t sound particularly pleased about it.

“The Hot Stove season has traditionally been about ticket sales and fan engagement,” Clark told Rosenthal. “Yet several clubs are laying the groundwork for more of the same [this offseason], even as franchise values skyrocket and central revenues continue to increase. These blanket proclamations send precisely the wrong message to fans, and undermine the competitive landscape that fuels interest in the game from day one of spring training through the final game of the World Series.”

For context, it’s important to note that Clark is largely responding to recent comments made by several C-level club executives and owners around the game: Red Sox brass has indicated a desire to get under the CBT threshold in advance of 2020; the Rockies, fresh off of a fourth-place season, indicated a lack of “flexibility” in regard to finances for 2020; and, just this week, our own Steve Adams delved into the possible maneuvers the Astros could undertake in avoidance of the luxury tax line, after owner Jim Crane poured cold water on the idea of a Houston-Geritt Cole reunion. For teams at every position in the standings, “spending” has become a center-stage PR concern in 2019.

Clark also took pains to note that MLB saw a decline in gate attendance for the fourth consecutive season, with, specifically, a 1.6 year-over-year drop from 2018 to 2019. That such a decline would occur while another term–“tanking”–is also becoming common parlance would seem to add some teeth to Clark’s comments. In 2019, 20 teams finished with 90-or-more losses or 90-or-more wins, while a whopping eight teams finished with 100-or-more losses or 100-or-more wins.

Rosenthal’s column also features comments from MLB deputy commissioner Dan Halem, who takes–as one might expect–a more tempered view of game-wide spending patterns, noting that the Minnesota Twins saw a huge jump in 2019 attendance despite a quiet 18-19 offseason in terms of spending (the club’s two “major” expenditures being a collective three years of commitment to Marwin Gonzalez and Nelson Cruz). Certainly, this instance of public back-and-forth represents an interesting bit of repartee occurring between both league and players union in advance of the current collective bargaining agreement’s expiration in December of 2021.

Quick Hits: Yankees, Sanchez, Astros, Peacock, Giants

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While Yankees catcher Gary Sanchez has always been known for his ability to send balls into the stratosphere, Kristie Ackert of the New York Daily News writes that his improvement defensively is paying dividends for the World Series-hopeful Yankees. Per Ackert, relievers Zack Britton and Adam Ottavino were admittedly skeptical of their new backstop when they first joined the Yankees, but both have been pleasantly surprised with Sanchez’s work not only blocking the ball (after catching his fair share of flak for surrendering passed balls, Sanchez has cut his total from 18 last year to just seven in 2019), but also managing a pitching staff that includes a deadly stable of hard-throwing bullpen arms with different tendencies. That could very well be magnified as the Yankees play in the postseason; with many questioning the team’s rotation, Aaron Boone figures to rely heavily on what might be the deepest bullpen of the remaining contenders.

Some other notes from around the baseball landscape…

  • With the Giants’ search for a new manager underway, John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle inspects ten candidates who could be the first new manager in San Francisco since Bruce Bochy took over in 2007. They include incumbent Giants coaches, staff members from Farhan Zaidi’s time in Oakland, and other outsiders. Hensley Meulens, Eric Chavez, Mark Kotsay, and others could all be in contention, though Shea notes that some names are more realistic than others, and that those discussed are merely speculative. Still, for Giants fans interested in what each brings to the table, it’s a worthwhile summary.
  • If the Astros advance to the ALCS, right-hander Brad Peacock could be added to the roster, per Brian McTaggart of MLB.com. Peacock was a notable omission from the Division Series roster after he struggled in a late-season return from a shoulder injury. There’s hope that he could be fully up to speed ahead of the Championship Series, should the Astros advance. He’s set to throw a simulated game today to stay sharp during his time off the field. With just 11 pitchers on the roster for the first round, Peacock could replace a position player if he is indeed added to the ALCS roster.

Farhan Zaidi: “High Priority” For Giants To Hire GM

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Since Bobby Evans was removed from his post as the general manager of the Giants in September of last year, the team has yet to decide on a replacement for Evans. Of course, that doesn’t mean that the organization has been flying blind, as Farhan Zaidi was installed as the president of baseball operations in San Francisco in November of 2018 and has spearheaded the department for the better part of a year.

Now, though, Zaidi has made it clear that he and other Giants decision-makers plan to move quickly in their search for a general manager to co-pilot the franchise’s baseball ops department, according to Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area. After playing out the 2019 season without a second-in-command, Zaidi referred to the search for a GM as a “high priority” as the organization has also begun to vet candidates for the vacant managerial position.

It’s possible that the new GM could be hired in time to take part in the interviewing process for the Giants’ next manager, but that’s far from a foregone conclusion, with Zaidi saying that “there’s no favorite” for the job yet and that the hiring processes will be conducted simultaneously. Still, Zaidi and company are well aware that those two figures will need to have a close working relationship and will have that in mind during the hiring cycle. The interplay between front office and manager has grown in importance in recent years, with the two levels of administration needing to be on the same page as teams implement plans throughout all levels of the organization.

Despite Zaidi’s assertion that no one candidate has separated from the pack, Pavlovic speculates that Athletics assistant GM Billy Owens, familiar with Zaidi from their time together in Oakland, could have the inside track to the job. Owens was considered for the job last offseason, though ultimately the Giants elected to hold off on filling the post for the time being. Owens has experience in the scouting and coaching departments, serving as a minor-league hitting coach prior to assuming a position in the front office.

Per Zaidi, the Giants aren’t hunting for a candidate with a particular area of expertise, but rather looking for someone who will jibe well with the current front office and “[share] the load of managing the overall operation.” He hopes that such an approach will expand the pool of potential candidates, regardless of whether their background comes in scouting, player development, administration, or elsewhere.

In his first year at the helm, Zaidi already has his fingerprints all over the Giants’ makeup. He’s worked to expand the Giants’ analytics department to catch up to the rival Dodgers, his former employer. A seemingly endless cycle of bargain-bin outfield acquisitions has brought some potential pieces to the forefront, including solid performances from rookie Mike Yastrzemski and cast-off Alex Dickerson. Elsewhere, Donovan Solano and Trevor Gott looked like savvy acquisitions, while the signing of Drew Pomeranz later yielded Mauricio Dubon in a July trade.

While the Giants’ midseason hot streak ultimately expired too soon, the team improved its 2018 season and reached 77 wins, appearing to have made some marginal improvements to the roster. In his first full offseason running the Giants, the vacant GM and manager positions are the next priorities for Zaidi, who will have the chance to bring aboard his own staff to carry out an organizational plan.

 

AL Notes: Twins, Astros, Gurriel, Angels

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Although the Twins’ have enjoyed a rapid turnaround from 78 wins a season ago to 101 wins and a division title this year, that breakout has roots tracing back to 2009, writes Dan Hayes of The Athletic. A decade ago, the Twins landed a transformative class of international amateurs—Miguel Sano, Max Kepler, and Jorge Polanco—that blossomed into franchise cornerstones and 2019 stars. At the time, the $4.65MM the team doled out to land the three 16-year-olds was uncharacteristic for the Twins franchise, which had largely been a non-factor in the international scene; the team had no academy in the Dominican Republic and had virtually no connections with the players’ pseudo-agents. That made it especially difficult to land Sano, a coveted prospect who commanded a $3.15MM bonus and captured the attention of nearly every MLB club. On the other hand, there was less competition for Kepler, a German-born prospect, and Polanco, a scrawny teenager who lacked the projectability of Sano. Of course, those signings have delivered immense value to a team that has ridden Polanco, Kepler, and Sano to the franchise’s first division title since 2010. According to Baseball-Reference’s version of WAR, those three have been the 2019 Twins’ first-, third-, and seventh-most valuable players, combining to contribute 12.8 wins of value to the team.

  • At age 35, Astros first baseman Yuli Gurriel could be playing himself into another contract with Houston’s club, writes The Athletic’s Jake Kaplan. Gurriel has enjoyed a career year at an age where he should be declining, perhaps a reflection of his acclimation to the game in the United States. The 2020 season will be the last under his current contract, a five-year, $47MM deal inked prior to 2016, when he defected to the U.S. as one of Cuba’s most accomplished players. He’s by no means the star of a stacked lineup in Houston—he most often slots into the sixth spot for the Astros—but he has delivered solid offensive value, thanks in part to an in-season mechanical change, a focus on lifting the ball, and a heightened focus on preparation.
  • With eliminated teams beginning to consider offseason decisions, the Angels will have to decide whether to protect 26-year-old infielder Jose Rojas or expose him to the Rule 5 Draft. He posted career-best numbers at Triple-A this year, slugging 31 home runs and a .293/.362/.577 batting line. Mike DiGiovanna of Baseball America takes a look at Rojas’s case, pointing out that teams around baseball are having some difficulty tuning their evaluation of Triple-A players to the drastically altered offensive environment at the level. Since Triple-A leagues introduced the MLB-used baseball for the 2019 season, power numbers have universally spiked in Triple-A. With the reliability of raw home run numbers in question, DiGiovanna points out that teams are increasingly reliant on their scouts’ eyes in their valuation of Triple-A players.

John Gibbons Hopes To Interview For Managerial Vacancies

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Former Toronto Blue Jays manager John Gibbons is throwing his hat in the ring for the many managerial openings across Major League Baseball, per MLB Network’s Jon Morosi (via Twitter).

Gibbons last managed a major league team in 2018 when he led the Toronto Blue Jays to a record of 73-89. It was the final season of a 6-year stint in Toronto during which the Blue Jays went 488-484, winning the AL East with a 93-win season in 2015. Toronto came within two wins of reaching the World Series, falling in six games to the eventual World Series champion Kansas City Royals in the ALCS.

They made the playoffs twice in Gibbons’ tenure, also capturing the Wild Card in 2016. The Blue Jays won that WC game in thrilling fashion when Edwin Encarnacion walked off Ubaldo Jimenez in the bottom of the 11th with a 3-run home run. That game is more famous for the decisions made in the opposing dugout, as Buck Showalter never got uber-closer Zack Britton into the ballgame, despite owning a 0.54 ERA across 69 games on the season. Showalter’s decision certainly played a role in the expansion of the fireman concept in contemporary bullpens, as teams are far less likely these days to save someone like Britton for a save situation that may never come.

Gibbons’ teams performed well in the postseason, winning not just the WC game but also sweeping the Rangers in the ALDS. Losing two straight seasons in the ALCS won’t etch Gibbons name anywhere in Cooperstown, but it was an achievement nonetheless. He helped end a 22-year postseason drought that extended from their World Series victory in 1993 until the division title in 2015.

Of course, Gibbons was well aware of the drought, as his first and only other managerial experience came with the Blue Jays from August 2004 until June of 2008. Those Blue Jays teams were always competitive, despite never reaching the postseason. His entire Blue Jays tenure ended with a record of 793-789, a .501 winning percentage.

There are a number of managerial vacancies around the MLB at present, including high profile offices in New York and Chicago. The Royals, Padres, Pirates, Giants and Angels are the other clubs hunting a new field manager. For what it’s worth, Gibbons began his professional coaching career with the Mets in 1990. He also served as a bench coach in Kansas City, and Double-A manager in the Padres system for the 2012 season.

MLBTR Poll: Will Stephen Strasburg Opt Out?

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Three games into the Washington Nationals 2019 postseason and Stephen Strasburg has already played the part of hero twice. In the other game, the Nats lost. Last night’s mastery spun 6 innings of 3-hit ball with 10 strikeouts to zero walks as he took the win at Dodger Stadium. His brilliance in the 2017 NLDS against the Cubs is largely forgotten since they didn’t advance, but it does add to the mounting pile of evidence suggesting Strasburg is indeed one of the game’s best big game pitchers.

Strasburg has a decision looming whenever the magic of the Nationals 2019 postseason runs dry. He has an opt-out clause in his contract that he could exercise to become a free agent this winter. Given the depressed market of recent offseasons, the possibility that Stras would opt-out seemed far-fetched not too long ago. That’s no longer the case. After completing perhaps the healthiest season of his career, one in which he could finish as high as second in Cy Young voting, one in which he registered league-leading marks in wins (18) and innings (209), as well as notching a career-high 251 strikeouts, Strasburg’s opt-out is more certain now than ever.

His agent, Scott Boras, is sure to make that pitch, though he has thus far refrained from speaking specifically about Strasburg’s intentions. He is, however, laying the groundwork for potential free agency by declaring stud starters such as Strasburg immune to any downturns in the market, per Bill Shaikin of the LA Times. With four-years and $100MM remaining on his contract already, he won’t exactly be hard-up for cash either way. Strasburg, 31, is also the rarest of Boras client – one who signed before reaching the open market.

If he doesn’t opt-out, his deal would expire after his 35th birthday. Strasburg could view this winter as his last opportunity to lock-in a major payday for his elder years. Zack Greinke signed his six-year, $206.5MM deal at a similar point in his career – after a career season in which he turned 31-years-old and finished second in Cy Young voting. In raw totals, Greinke’s 9.1 bWAR 2015 with the Dodgers eclipses Strasburg’s 6.3 bWAR 2019 by a decent margin, and Greinke’s overall track record was a tad more impressive at the time. He had been worth 48.9 bWAR to that point in his career versus 32.6 bWAR for Strasburg now. Even if you attribute the difference largely to durability (323 GS, 2094 2/3 innings for Greinke post-2015, 239 GS, 1438 2/3 innings for Strasburg post-2019), that’s hardly an insignificant attribution in contract negotiation.

A similar contract would more than double Strasburg’s guaranteed money while only tacking on two additional years. From the team perspective, it’s hard to fault the Diamondbacks for the deal now, as despite the whopping gross total, Greinke did deliver 16.4 bWAR across 3+ seasons, a playoff appearance, utility player Josh Rojas and their #4, #11 and #12 prospects as ranked by MLB.com.

Jake Arrieta signed a free agent contract when the Phillies inked him to a 3-year, $75MM deal the same week he turned 32. Arrieta had an even more uneven history than Strasburg, with 20.2 bWAR earned at the point of his free agency and a chasm of difference between the glory years in Chicago and his humble beginnings in Baltimore. This also feels less comparable to Strasburg as – despite being close to the same age at the time of free agency – Arrieta appeared headed for the downswing of his career. Strasburg is just now coming into his own, as written about here by Barry Svrluga of the Washington Post.

That same offseason, Yu Darvish signed his 6-year, $126MM deal with the Cubs in the winter of his 31st year. Darvish was coming off a 4.0 bWAR season split between Texas and Los Angeles, though a pair of disastrous World Series outings certainly colored the narrative of his free agency.

Regardless, Strasburg, Scott Boras, and the Nationals will have a lot to talk about this winter. If Strasburg can further grow his October legend, Boras may be right about his value transcending that of the market. Not to mention, Strasburg’s hometown of San Diego has a team on the rise, money to spend, and a gigantic ballpark with which to lure Strasburg home. In terms of competition, he’d be the clear-cut second-best starting pitching option on the free agent market after Gerrit Cole. You tell me: what comes next in the Strasburg saga?

(Poll link for app users)

Joe Girardi Doing His Due Diligence On Mets

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Joe Girardi does his homework. Whether he’s the right man to lead the New York Mets in the wake of Mickey Callaway’s firing will ultimately be decided by GM Brodie Van Wagenen and COO Jeff Wilpon, but one thing is for certain, Girardi will do his due diligence before officially throwing his hat in the ring.

Girardi began doing his research on the Mets a couple of weeks before Callaway was let go, per Mike Puma of the New York Post. His ability to co-exist with the front office was one of the driving factors of his dismissal as the manager of the New York Yankees, despite having managed them to a title in 2009. If he does return to the bench, whether that be in New York, Chicago, or elsewhere, the foundations of a solid working relationship with upper management will be an important box to check.

The Mets are investigating all of the big names out there on the open market, with Dusty Baker, Joe Maddon, and Buck Showalter surfacing alongside Girardi. Former players like David Cone and Carlos Beltran have also been linked with the position, though we’ve yet to reach the stage of real legitimacy in this search process. Remember, there are no bad ideas in brainstorming.

There are bad hiring decisions, however, and as he enters his second season on the job, this could be Van Wagenen’s one chance to find the right field manager. The Mets have a tall task ahead of them considering the relatively crowded field of contenders in the NL East. The Braves aren’t going anywhere, the Nationals have some free agency questions to answer, but they could very well return as good or better than they were in 2019, and Bryce Harper and the Phillies will enter 2020 with an increased level of urgency after fading in the second half.

Even the Marlins are building towards a future of some significance, though they remain a year or two away. Seeing Girardi helm the Mets for 19 games a season against Derek Jeter’s Marlins would certainly provide interesting opportunities for repartee between former colleagues. Furthering the fun, Miami manager Don Mattingly was under consideration for manager of the Yankees when the role ultimately went to Girardi.

It’s worth wondering whether Girardi’s straight-shooter style is too similar to the recently-departed Callaway, though Girardi’s open communication is perhaps a touch more sophisticated than Callaway, who famously lost his temper with a reporter while the team was in a skid. It’s clear Girardi wants to return to the dugout, and if there’s a spot for him, the Mets or Cubs seem like the most obvious landing spots due to his obvious connections to New York and Chicago, respectively.

Victor Robles Tweaks Hamstring

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The Nationals hung on for a 4-2 win over the Dodgers in Game 2 of the NLDS on Friday, but they may have suffered a major loss in the process. Center fielder Victor Robles departed after laying down a sacrifice bunt in the top of the eighth inning. He’s dealing with a tweaked hamstring and is day-to-day at the moment, Jamal Collier of MLB.com tweets.

The severity of Robles’ injury isn’t clear yet, but the Nationals know all too well that a hamstring tweak can lead to a long absence. Reliever Roenis Elias received the same diagnosis a month ago and hasn’t pitched since. If Robles’ issue is similarly severe, he might not play again in 2019.

An elite prospect during his days in Washington’s farm system, Robles has emerged as a strong contributor during his first full MLB campaign, evidenced by his 2.5 fWAR in 617 plate appearances. Robles didn’t show off Juan Soto-esque dominance with the bat in the regular season, when he hit .255/.326/.419 with 17 home runs, though he did swipe 28 bases and perform brilliantly as a defender. He led all MLB outfielders in DRS (24) and finished eighth in UZR (7.0).

When Robles exited Friday, Washington replaced him with Michael A. Taylor – a lesser hitter than Robles who also brings speed and defense to the table. Taylor and Gerardo Parra joined Robles as the only members of the club who garnered starts in center in the regular season. Parra’s also on the Nats’ five-outfielder NLDS roster, and if the team wants to keep that setup intact in the event Robles misses time, it could call on Andrew Stevenson as a replacement.

Latest On Giants’ Managerial Opening

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Before the Athletics’ season ended earlier this week, quality control coach Mark Kotsay made it known he’d be interested in managing a major league club in 2020. A few days later, at least one team is showing significant interest in Kotsay. He’s “a strong candidate” for the Bay Area rival Giants, per Jon Heyman of MLB Network.

Based on Heyman’s report, it seems Kotsay will be one of the six to eight external managerial candidates Giants president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi interviews as he seeks a successor to outgoing potential Hall of Famer Bruce Bochy. The Giants have also been linked to former major league outfielder and current Dodgers special assistant Raul Ibanez, who’s believed to be close to the top of Zaidi’s list, Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports California writes.

Like Ibanez, Kotsay’s an ex-MLB outfielder with no managerial experience. But while Ibanez has no coaching experience in the bigs, the 43-year-old Kotsay has filled multiple roles on staffs since his playing career ended in 2013. Kotsay worked as a hitting coach with the Padres prior to joining the Athletics ahead of the 2016 season. He served as the A’s bench coach that year before eventually shifting to his current role in advance of the ’18 campaign.

Padres Could Pursue Joe Maddon

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The Angels look like the front-runners to land coveted free-agent manager Joe Maddon, but the Padres are also considering a pursuit of the 65-year-old. They’re “doing background work on” Maddon, Jon Heyman of MLB Network tweets.

The well-respected Maddon, who has enjoyed outstanding runs atop the Rays and Cubs, looks like a logical target for the Padres on paper. The club did just wrap up a dismal 70-92 season, its 13th straight year without a playoff berth. However, the Padres plan on finally pushing to contend in 2020, and they’d reportedly prefer an experienced manager to replace the fired Andy Green. Furthermore, executive chairman Ron Fowler spoke out in disgust this week over the Padres’ results this year, which seems to indicate they’ll be active this offseason as they seek a return to relevance.

Whether the Padres end up hiring Maddon, fellow potential candidate Brad Ausmus or someone else, that individual will be joining a franchise with at least a few enviable building blocks on hand. The left side of the Padres’ infield is in great shape with shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. and third baseman Manny Machado, while right-hander Chris Paddack is coming off a tremendous rookie season. The Padres also continue to boast one of the majors’ most loaded farm systems. At the same time, though, there are quite a few roster needs to address for a team that has resided at the bottom of the MLB standings for far too long.

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