Let’s round up the latest managerial and coaching news from around the majors…
- The Mets’ previously reported managerial interview with their quality control coach, Luis Rojas, has taken place, Tim Healey of Newsday tweets. They’ve now discussed (or will discuss) the position with at least six candidates, with Rojas, Mike Bell, Carlos Beltran, Joe Girardi, Eduardo Perez and Derek Shelton comprising the group of known possibilities. Meanwhile, although longtime manager Buck Showalter has expressed interest in the role, his chances have “stalled,” Mike Puma of the New York Post reports. The Mets have some concerns about the way Showalter interacted with front offices during his previous runs as a manager, according to Puma.
- Add Cubs first base coach Will Venable to the list of managerial possibilities for the Giants, Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area reports. The Giants are interested in Venable, though it’s not clear whether they’ll interview him. A former major league outfielder, the 36-year-old Venable finished his career in 2016 as a member of the Dodgers, whose general manager was Farhan Zaidi. He’s now the president of baseball operations for the Giants.
- The Pirates have reached out to Athletics quality control coach Mark Kotsay to gauge his interest in managing the Bucs, Nubyjas Wilborn of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette relays. The 43-year-old Kotsay was a major league outfielder/first baseman from 1997-2013 who has since worked in coaching and front office roles between San Diego and Oakland. He interviewed for San Francisco’s managerial opening last week.
- The Brewers are parting with first base coach/infield coach Carlos Subero, per Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Subero, the lone member of manager Craig Counsell’s staff who won’t return in 2020, spent four seasons as a major league coach with the Brewers. He previously managed in the minors with the organization.
I’m guessing that showalter doesn’t wanna be the Wilpons puppet like Callaway was I think that showalter is such a better manager then giardi but I guess they know more then me so we’ll see
Showalter is going to do what he wants to do all the time. I’d be surprised in this day and age if he finds a front office willing to hire that. At the end of the day it’s going to be his team with his calls in the dugout.
And yet questions remain as to how well he can work with upper management.
Showalter knows more than the front-office suits who want to make gametime decisions these days. There’s absolutely no reason why he shouldn’t be able to do that.
If the Mets come away from this off-season with anybody other than Showalter, they blew it big-time. Probably because they cheaped out again.
And just to hammer home the point some more, who do you want making in-game decisions?
Buck Showalter, who has been making in-game decisions for the last 30-ish years? Or Brodie Van Wagenenenenen, who, at this time last year was negotiating player contracts?
Yeah that’s all good til Buck pitches Ubaldo Jimenez in the playoffs over the best closer in the game. Buck wears down on you as a fan with his headstrong approach. There’s one thing to be the final decision maker and there’s another thing to be the only guy in the room with an opinion. Maybe the Mets could use a dose of that with their basically rookie GM. But I don’t anticipate anyone wanting to deal with him in 2019. And certainly not a guy like BVW, who ultimately is making this hire.
Eh, it’s a strategic decision, even if it’s a BAD strategic decision. He was saving the closer for a lead that obviously never came. In an alternate universe, he uses Britton, they take the lead and the pen blows the game, and he gets killed for going to Britton too fast.
In the Mets bullpen, everybody is LongBaldo Jimenez and nobody is Zack Britton, so it’s all good.
I have to disagree with that completely on Britton. No one ever doubts you for going to Britton when the game is tied. He was the last trusted reliever in the bullpen to begin with. Buck had pitched 5 relievers before him. Absolutely no way to get crap for deciding to pitch the most dominant reliever in the sport with the game on the line.
Hey. Brody’s persona is tarnished. Don’t you think that he knows anything about being a GM? Correct he doesn’t.
Call me a traditionalist, but 36 is too young to be a major league manager.
Lmao
Tell that to Billy Heywood!!
Why? That’s stupid. Younger people are certainly capable and many times are better at a job than older people who have been doing it longer.
Rocco Baldelli is 37 and he did a fine job this year in Minnesota
32, 26, 34, 36, 37, 36. Those are the ages of the top 6 in manager wins (all hall of famers) when they got started managing.
So no, I won’t call you a traditionalist.
OK, good point. I’ll admit when I’m wrong.
Snotrocket, that’s one of the most refreshing posts I’ve seen here in a while!!
But how did they do when they were that age?
Don’t worry mister bill. It doesn’t matter just like the Mets. Irrelevant.
At least managers getting a taste to how free agency is the last few seasons. Trying something new? Has it worked…NO
I said it before on a previous thread – mets will hire rojas because he is close with Cano. Take it with a grain of salt as I also called for the cubs to hire Jody Davis and that does not look like its going to happen lol.
If those are indeed the Cubs only candidates the only name that stands out is Girardi. I understand all the hype over the current flavor of the month Espada, But I know zero about him. Never heard of him before . Doesn’t make him a bad choice, just an unfamiliar one to me. The rest can go away IMO.
I’m sure it must have happened, but how often does a mutual option get accepted by both parties? Seems logical that if the player has a good year, he’ll decline, and of course if he has a lousy year, the club will decline. Any notable exceptions that anyone can think of? The only situation I can think of that makes any sense is the player having a decent or good year and just REALLY prefers to stay with his current club.
Interested to see what the crew does. they do have some money coming off the books and i see them spending more on pitching this off season. well lets hope they do.
I preedict the Mets will hire a “diverrrrrsity” candidate
Mets front office is more about control than winning? If the front office wants to manage the team from the dugout then they should head on down there. “Winning” teams don’t always have to get along.
I wonder if my instincts were correct in that the orders to bat Cano 3rd and Diaz ‘must’ close came from upstairs? If so, then Callaway losing his job is a bad deal. They didn’t start winning until Cano was out and Lugo stepped up to finish important games.
Nothing matters with the Mets except being cheap and making the appearance that they really care about winning.
Cano is a fraud. He’s over the hill and the next four years will successively be WORSE each and every season.
He’s a prima Donna and a LAZY player. It’s great for Brody to pretend hiding a true leader to have a pretender hiring a pretender who will enable a cancer to grow.