Rumors have swirled that Gabe Kapler could be finished as the Phillies‘ manager, though club ownership is taking its time in determining Kapler’s fate, as NBC Sports Philadelphia’s Jim Salisbury tweets that a decision “likely” won’t be made until next week. The Phils have a 161-163 record in two seasons under Kapler’s leadership, with both the 2018 and 2019 squads fading out of contention down the stretch. This past season’s 81-81 record is particularly disappointing given the many high-profile roster additions made by the club last winter, though in Kapler’s defense, the Phillies also suffered through significant injuries to Andrew McCutchen and virtually every member of their bullpen.
The latest rumblings on dugout vacancies from around the sport….
- Joe Maddon has widely been linked to the Angels‘ job and “is set to interview with” the club, ESPN.com’s Buster Olney reports (subscription required). As of Tuesday, there reportedly hadn’t yet been any contact between the Halos and the former Cubs skipper, though many expected it was only a matter of time before Maddon emerged as a candidate in Anaheim, given his longstanding history with the organization. Maddon spent 31 seasons with the Angels as a player, minor league manager and coach, and member of the MLB coaching staff.
- Brad Ausmus, the Angels’ former manager, is expected to interview with the Padres, according to MLB Network’s Jon Heyman (Twitter link). A hiring would represent something of a homecoming for Ausmus, who began his 18-year playing career with 303 games for San Diego. Ausmus is still owed two years’ worth of salary after being — rather surprisingly — fired by the Angels after the season, though it’s also understandable that he would pursue other opportunities for a quick return to managing.
- The Padres had interest in interviewing Carlos Beltran for their managerial vacancy but the former outfielder declined the request, MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand reports (Twitter link). Since retiring after the 2017 season, Beltran was interviewed for the Yankees’ managerial opening that eventually went to Aaron Boone, and had worked for the past season as a special advisor in the Yankees’ front office. Beltran had long expressed interest in working in a front office and potentially even as a manager, though it isn’t known why he turned down the chance to speak with the Padres.
- Given the links between Beltran and the Mets, Feinsand wonders if Beltran could potentially be a candidate to replace Mickey Callaway, though Olney feels Beltran “seems like a total long shot” to be the next Mets’ manager given some of the hard feelings that exist between he and the organization dating back to his playing days. As per Joel Sherman of the New York Post, Beltran’s “relationship with [Mets] COO Jeff Wilpon is not good.”
Mets fans relationship with Beltran is worse, sadly.
I still see him watching strike three float right by with his bat on his shoulder!
Carlos “strike three looking” Beltran
Carlos “Down the plate” Beltran
Stop criticizing Beltran. His one moment of criticism was when he was acting like a Met. All Mets are losers. Beltran is forgiven a long time ago for having a lapse in judgement.
He won’t be the Mets manager for another reason. Jeff has no control. Daddy is cutting overheads as costs are worrying him given that all the insurance money for Wright and Ces is Coming off and he doesn’t know how that they can use smoke and mirrors on the team salary for fans and still drop so much cash back into the Wilson Brooklyn Dodgers fund.
No, it isn’t. Those of us who aren’t reactionary buffoons love Beltran. He was extremely productive, never complained, never criticized anyone, and in the end brought us Wheeler.
Mets gonna either hire Buck Showalter or Mark DeRosa
Not impressed with the Wagon and keeping Someone who doesn’t get along with Management in Thor,May not matter what you do
Phillies will keep Kapler because it’s what they do
What’s worse is they’ll keep Klentak and MacPhail. They’re the real problem.
Ding ding ding!
Yup. Kapler is terrible but not the biggest issue of those 3…
If Ausmus gets hired by another team do they only have to pay the prorated portion of his salary, or do managers get to double dip?
There is no such thing as manager waivers. He got fired.
Yeah he got fired but they still have to pay his contract
there’s no minimum salary for managers that I’m aware of. I’d assume he gets to double dip
Why would any team hire this guy , he sucked as a player and worse as a manager
I forget how many managers were successful players.
Still, … a lousy manager.
@mbauza25
Ausmus was premier defensive catcher, 3 gold gloves, 1x All Star and terrific team leader. Also very open-minded, classy guy.
Though am not interested in Ausmus as Mets manager, am perfectly fine with him as Mets coach.
He also was a world-class rally killer. Consistently a league leader in GIPD.
And how exactly does that relate to his managerial ability?
I agree with you all, but I differ on money. A contract is a contract so unless specified directly, they owe him the salary but can terminate him at any time. He has no appeal process, rights or grievance process. That is where it is different.
Most successful managers were mediocre players. Very rare that a good manager was a good player. It happens once in a while though.
It always amuses me to read commenters who opine on the meaning of clauses in a contract they have not read.
Pretty interesting take on Beltran’s part. He must be pretty confident in his abilities to land the gig he wants when it becomes available. There are only 30 of these jobs in the world, to decline speaking to the one with the games best farm system is head scratching to me.
Perhaps he’s only interested to an extent and either wants to hook on with a team who is in a huge market or a team he played for.
He may have the job he wants at this moment. He lives in NY and is employed by the Yankees. He enjoyed playing for the Yankees and returned to them despite offers from other organizations. If his interest was in either a manager or a front office job, he may simply have decided that he wants to focus on the front office, at least for now.
Mets could surprise everyone and hire David Wright.
infield fly
Probably not the right time for David, and it may never be with the grind of the major league season as manager taking a toll on him physically.
Aka Dark Helmet.
He’d be the first ever manager to land on the IL.
I could definitely see Wright blowing out his rotator cuff signaling for a reliever.
The Royals should interview Beltran; his career began with them and his experience/
temperament could make a good manager for the young nucleus developing.
If Beltran doesn’t want to speak with San Diego, I highly doubt he says yes to Kansas City. The Padres job is essentially turn key, where as the Royals job has some more developing for the next manager to do.
I’d honestly love to see them interview Raul Ibanez for the job.
Mr PED Ibanez?
If the Phillies don’t fire Kapler, there might be a riot in Philly. Listening to Philly TV & radio, they want Kapler fired last week.
Middleton said he decided to listen to the fans and focus on signing Harper instead of Machado. Lets hope he listens to the fans now.
Last year they said that they implemented Kapler’s “style and formula” throughout their system. That was a mistake, putting all of their eggs in one basket. It may be part of the “holdup”
Kapler is a loser. Klentak opts for Arrieta over Morton, Hoskins over Santana, Rodriquez over Franco and on and on. I have been a Philly fan for over 45 years but this is the worst management I have ever seen.
“Kapler is a loser. Klentak opts for Arrieta over Morton, Hoskins over Santana, Rodriquez over Franco and on and on. I have been a Philly fan for over 45 years but this is the worst management I have ever seen.”
I see not signing Morton back after the hamstring tear and signing Arietta as being the only issues here. Franco has had 4 years to prove himself, he’s DONE in Philly. Rodriguez played because that’s the depth they had. Santana wasn’t a fit and a majority of the fanbase HATED him when he was here because of 2 stupid reasons 1. He walked too much 2. He had a low bstting average. Finally this fanbase’s obsession with jettisoning Hoskins after one “subpar” season is beyond ludicrous, ridiculous and some of the DUMBEST stuff I’ve read. Yeah, let’s give up on a kid that has one of the best eyes in the game and is only 26 because he ONLY hit 13% better than the league average at first base.
Morton was nothing but unrealized potential until he got to Houston. Santana was a mistake, no way should he have been on an NL team even if he could still get on base.
I find it interesting that both Alou and Beltran have declined to interview for the Padre’s job and seem happy with their front office jobs. This doesn’t surprise me, not everyone has the desire to be a manager or coach with all the travel necessary for those jobs.
Alou doesn’t want to be on the road. He is happy being in the front office. He works for the padres.
Alou’s made sense on the surface and was predicted by most who knew him. He is very family oriented guy and spends a majority of the year with them in the D.R. He mainly helps with the Padres Dominican affiliate.
Beltran interviewed for the Yankee job already, so him not interviewing with San Diego means that’s not of interest to him.
Both declining the job for different reasons.
I think Showalter or Scioscia get the Padres job.
All the travel? It’s America’s Finest Cit! They don’t want to come here because it’s a train wreck with lame duck GM
I doubt the Mets would go with a neophyte manager again, even one as well-regarded as Beltran. It doesn’t seem like a good fit on either side. Keep in mind that Beltran has personal knowledge and experience with the Mets ownership dysfunction, He also was not happy with their medical staff to the point where he sought a second opinion on his knee, which led to micro-fracture surgery, something the Mets did not want to recommend. Then the Mets tried to delay the surgery, and after learning Beltran had the surgery, leaked information to the press that Beltran had the surgery without their permission. Fortunately Beltran, on Scott Boras’ advice, went forward and didn’t delay. It extended his career. So, yes, there is definitely bad blood here. and a likely trust issue on Beltran’s side. Maybe they’ve patched it up, but seems unlikely. Beltran is well-regarded. If he wants to manage, he’ll get an opportunity elsewhere. If he wants to move more into a front office job, he’s in a very good situation with the Yankees. Beltran rejecting the opportunity to interview for the Padres position may indicate that he’s more interested in a front office gig at this point because the Padres’ situation would be much more appealing.
The Mets job is Joe Girardi’s to lose. They’re already having discussions. He’s the opposite of Callaway. Very experienced. Knows the NY media and market as well as anyone. If he can get past the Mets ownership issues, the job is his to lose.
Only holdup is they won’t want to pay him what he’s asking. Same for Showalter. They’re looking for a Mgr on the cheap like Luis Rojas or mark DeRosa. Hope I’m wrong. Time for Clint Hurdle to come back to NY.
Why is Ausmus getting fire “rather surprising”? He led the Angels to their worst season in 20 years. I’d be surprised if he kept his job, even with the pitching injuries and the Skaggs tragedy.
*fired
Ausmus had a stacked Tiger team in a weak central and his coaching sucked so much that they had to tear it down on his watch.
He will be the next manager of the Padres.
“the hard feelings that exist between HIM and the organization”…. not “he”
Dray, your new helmet just arrived
What is this reference ? I’ve seen it on a few articles
After Kapler gets canned the Mets hiring him would be like when the Jets hired Gase.
I would love it. Can we switch first basemen too?
Gardi to the Mets?
I’m pretty sure you meant Joe Girardi. I’m not sure the former head coach of Hofstra football before the program folded is still alive.
John Gibbons would be a good fit for this particular Mets team. The longer he managed the Blue Jays the better he became. He knows how to handle the horses in the rotation.
showalter or maddon would be good for the Stems.
ABeing from Hazleton I would hope Joe would at least consider the Phillies..be close to home and be close with Beanie..you can win with the Phillies..just ask Davie casarella… please come home Joe..Joe.. forget the angels .you won’t win there. Stay on the east.
forget the angels where he stayed 3 decades? really?
I live in the valley .not far from the valley county club.
Please keep the Phillies in mind..I attended your dinner every December was at the pines..please consider the Phillies..
If Preller hires Ausmus he should be immediately terminated. The guy has never won. The Tigers he ran into the ground. Don’t get the fascination with this team. Can you imagine attaching your career to him?
Agree 100%
Isn’t every relationship with the Mets not good?
Though Cigar Guy (Middleton) won’t do this, he should fire McPhail, Klentak and Kapler. That trio has given mediocrity a new low.
Klentak has no clue about how to evaluate starting pitching. What? You give an average pitcher like Hellickson a $17.5 million qualifying offer and you let Charlie Morton walk?
McPhail? He must show up only for the free food in the executive dining room and then go home. Never even see the guy on TV during games.
Kapler? Get me a manager who preaches, “See the ball, hit the ball.”. Bag all this launch angle nonsense replete with astronomical strikeout rates.
To wit, HOF players Aaron, Banks, Mays and Musial all hit a lot of home runs, but in more than 80 combined seasons there was only ONE SEASON when one of them struck out 100 times (Ernie Banks fanned 101 times in his age-38 season).
I don’t know if he wants the job, but I’d be fine with bringing back Chollie. Then gotta hope Klentak (Sorry Phillies fans, he ain’t going anywhere.) can get us two legitimate starting pitchers.
Brad Ausmus, yeah there’s a winner for the Padres, just got fired from the angels because he isnt worth a crap and now the idiots in the padres front office want to interview the loser, unbelievable..last place next year also..Padres on the cheap again
The Padres GM may even be worse than the Phillies GM. Guy has been on the job in SD for, what, five years now? Stiil the same-old-same-old Padres battling for fourth place in the NL West year after year.
Lots of prospects that Padre fans love and the high priced players to go along. They like saying “our farm system is better than yours”
Bingo nice and cheap but experienced for franchise operating without President and bare bones front office. Preller gets to whirl and deal team into oblivion then owner threatens with “heads going to roll”
“hard feelings that exist between he and the organization ”
It’s ‘between him and the organization.’ Between is a preposition, requiring that the personal pronoun that follows must be the objective case (him) rather than nominative case (he).
Any love here for Ozzie G?
No