For those inclined to believe that Buck Showalter is the perfect man for the Phillies managerial opening, Dan Connolly of The Athletic has a small dose of historical cool water at the ready. In a piece entitled “Buck Showalter is the perfect fit for the Phillies, but there’s potential for a nightmarish ending“, Connolly paints a fine brushstroke portrait of what life in Philadelphia might be like with the veteran Showalter behind the team’s reins. While there are major pros to a potential Showalter hire in Connolly’s mind (including the skipper’s comfort working with stars and his facility with in-game strategy), the reporter draws an interesting parallel to the power dynamics that were present in Baltimore during Showalter’s time there. When he managed the Orioles, Showalter was known to meet with owner Peter Angelos on a frequent basis, which might have led to a strained–or, at least, compromised–hierarchy with Showalter’s titular boss in Dan Duquette. The Phillies, of course, have an owner in John Middleton who appears to be more actively involved than most, with Connolly going so far as to opine that Middleton is “running [the] show” in Philadelphia. How a Middleton-Showalter pairing might affect the position of Philadelphia GM Matt Klentak is a rumination worthy of a quiet Tuesday morning.
More notes from around the NL on the heels of an 8-1 Nationals victory in Game 3 of the NLCS…
- Speaking of that 8-1 ballgame from Monday evening: Mark Saxon of The Athletic feels like it might have seen outfielder Marcell Ozuna finally write himself out of the Cardinals plans moving forward (link). Saxon zooms in on a third-inning fielding gaffe committed by Ozuna last night that ultimately opened the gates on a four-run Nats frame, with the writer labeling the outfielder as “the fulcrum of another embarrassing night in this series of embarrassments for the Cardinals”. The play in question saw Ozuna in go into a pop-up slide in left field in an attempt to catch a flare off the bat of Anthony Rendon, with the ball ultimately popping out of the outfielder’s glove when his butt hit the ground. Though Saxon cites some Statcast data indicating that the ball should have been caught, manager Mike Schildt struck a supportive tone: “It’s not an easy play any time you have to leave your feet and go a distance and slide,” Shildt said. “It’s a play that he’s clearly capable of making, but it’s not a play you absolutely expect somebody to make.” It may be the result of a Game 3 hangover, but Saxon isn’t similarly convinced–in the writer’s mind, it isn’t likely Ozuna will be back with the Cards in 2020. Saxon cites Ozuna’s fundamental lapses, the club’s $138.7MM commitment to just nine players next season, and the looming presence of outfielder Dylan Carlson as factors in what he expects to be Ozuna’s impending free agent departure.
- “I don’t think it’s particularly controversial that I’d love to have both of them back,” said Brewers decision-maker David Stearns in regard to Yasmani Grandal and Mike Moustakas, in an article from Adam McCalvy of MLB.com (link). Both players are expected to decline their halves of mutual options for 2020, with McCalvy relaying that Moustakas’ agent, Scott Boras, described the latter’s $3 million buyout as a “formality”. There is no quote from Boras provided in the article, but, if true, it would indicate with certainty that the 31-year-old Moustakas is preparing to reenter a free agent market that has been notoriously unkind to him in recent years. Moustakas, who has hit 101 home runs over the last three seasons with a 110 combined wRC+, lingered long in the 2018 soup line before receiving a $6.5MM one-year pact with the Royals; 2019 saw him again settle for a one-year deal amounting to $10MM (after accounting for the “formality” of that buyout). This winter should provide a third attempt at the multi-year apple for Moustakas.
Holy typos in that Ozuna paragraph…
You mean Ozyna?
And nothing about his arm which is clearly still hurt. Ozuna is a prime candidate to stay on free agency until June is he turns down a QO. Injured arm, declining d metrics and low OBP. The talks of collusion will be huge.
Ozuna just seems like a hugely frustrating player. The potential to be incredible paired with the propensity to perpetually underachieve. Wow, a very P-heavy sentence if ever I’ve penned one.
Perfectly put point!
Is there any way that the Cardinals don’t extend the qualifying offer? Instead of being stuck with him for another year, letting him walk away without any compensation at all, is that just asinine?
Play pepper people?
The QO is a win win he takes it ok now he has to preform. He doesn’t and he signs with another team, the cards get a draft pick and we let Carlson have a shot.
Ah yes, NCAA relief pitcher Dylan Carlson is the immediate solution for the Cardinals outfield.
Ha! Good one!!
Buck is probably the best truly available manager out there and IMO, a good man as well. Trader Jack is too old to manage again and LaRussa of course just doesn’t want to.
Would like to see Showalter given one last chance with a decent team before he’s too old.
I’d put Girardi up there too. Hope both find jobs this offseason
Well Buck comes with a lot of complications. His relationship with his front office was virtually non-existent for a good portion of his Baltimore tenure. And while there are few, if any, keener observers of the game his utter lack of adaptation to the modern use of analytics was shocking—and ultimately extremely costly. (See his last two seasons when other teams ran circles around his. It was as if Buck suddenly appeared to be a backwards thinker in the game. Players lost belief in him, though they respected him too much to say so publicly.)) Klentak, a former Orioles hire, is considered relatively progressive, so I’m not sure the fit between the two is a
a convincing one.
I feel sorry for the team that commits multiple years to Ozuna. I really hope the Braves dont bite. Dont let the fluke stolen bases fool you he is going to be a liability in the outfield
I can’t imagine they will. If they want a bumbling outfielder, they just have to re-sign Markakis.
Markakis is like Atlanta’s Brett Gardner.
He’s 2 parts team mascot, 1 part ballplayer.
I wish he was still with the Orioles
Yes , A shame he was ever given up. However, I still understand the logic that was used at the time to not re-sign him.
It’s a shame the Cards can’t let Fowler go as well
I agree, Fowler should be let go. Additionally, he should not be the leadoff hitter, it should be Wong.
How are they going to “let go” of Fowler? He’s got 2/$33M left on his contract for 2020-2021.
If you’ve got a way to “let go” of that, I’d love to know. I’m a Yankee fan. And I promise, this has nothing to do with Stanton. Nothing at all.
The Cards do it the same way that Toronto LET GO of Tulowitzki and Boston LET GO of Hanley Ramirez. It’s called DFA. No team will claim him, he clears waivers, you then LET GO of him, pay him, and tell him, adios. That’s how you LET GO of a player, regardless of their salary.
I think Dexter has a little more value than a straight release though. They could explore a bad contract swap or get a team to pay a piece of his salary if they were willing enough to move him.
if he is willing. that’s the hang up
Wong and Fowler hit better lower in the line up. The new guy with speed, Tommy Edman is the leadoff switch hitter of the future for the Cardinals! He did a fantastic job in that role. Plus when he got on base, it put pressure on the opposing pitcher.
I agree that it would be a good move if it were possible. And let’s have Carpenter go as well. I’ve always been a fan of Carpenter but I think his time has passed. The only way he returns to being productive is if they outlaw the shift. Otherwise, he’ll be a .200 hitter from here on out.
Nobody intelligent cares about batting average.
Thanks Bernie. Nobody cares about batting average? I guess you’re right. That must explain why Bader and Fowler battle it out for that CF spot? People care about batting average when it’s .200. I’m so sick of the OBP b.s. Putting the bat on the ball still matters in this game. You can do so much more damage with a hit than a walk. Does a guy score from 2nd if the batter behind him walks? Can a runner tag from 3rd with less than 2 outs if the batter walks? Does Matt Carpenter do more for his team leading off an inning with a walk if he can’t even steal 2nd? Or does it help the team if he gets a double, triple or HR? Enough of this OBP rules the game crap. It’s slowly killing baseball. There’s no skill in getting HBP either. Between analytics and using 6 pitchers a game, MLB can thank that for lack of attendance and 3.5-4 hour boring games.
nah. it’s people like you that’s killing baseball (don’t think by the bernie dig we don’t know you’re a con).
thanks for showing once again mlb: not racist, but number 1 with racists (which shows why games and ratings are down, turns out cons don’t actually have money to spend. funny how that works out)
Yeah hits dont matter. Alot of runners score from 2nd on walks since obp is all the rage
i’m sick of strike outs
I think Ozuna being gone from the Cardinals has been a forgone conclusion since the season started. I think you’d be hard pressed to find anyone believing otherwise.
Oh, you ought to hear the fans here in St. Louis. I’ve seen Cardinals fans clamoring for five-year deals topping $100 million.
He’s not worth ONE year at $20 million, much less four more.
I’m not touching Ozuna and his .329 OBP with a 40 foot pole
What does Ozuna’s next projected contract look like?
Accepting a QO from the Cardinals if he is smart!
Honestly, he just might. He’s so young still. If he gets the max (does he?) it might be better for him to try again for a career year and go back out after 2020.
At this point, I doubt a “career year” helps him get a big multi-year contract.
He had a “career year” in 2017. That’s why the Cards pulled the trigger to get him. And then he reverted to the norm.
I doubt one big year baits somebody into a huge commitment this time around.
17yrs and 714 million from the SD Padres… only because, well, AJ Preller. 😉
On Buck, from a Phillies fan: no, no, no, no,no, please God, no!
Out of all the rumored names, the only one I like is Girardi. He’s a winner. Buck and Dusty just can’t quite make it over the hump. Hopefully they interview more than those three. And if The Curse of Bryce Harper is a thing, it’s going to be a long 13 years here in Philly.
Joe Girardis a winner? Credit to him for winning a World Series but that came off of a tremendous spending spree and he underachieved nearly every year after.
Those teams from 13-16 were terrible and Joe kept them in the race way longer than they should’ve been, and you saw what he did once he had a rejuvenated team in 17. He’s a great manager and doesn’t get the credit he deserves
Agree big-time on Girardi’s resume. Dude overachieved BIG TIME with some of those Yankee teams. In some ways, I think that hurt us more than it helped, because it encouraged Cash and ownership to keep doubling down rather than taking a year or two off to rebuild, which they FINALLY did, and the results are obvious.
But yeah, hard to blame the manager for winning too many games with what should have been a sub-.500 team a lot of those years.
The big concern with Girardi is that he tends to alienate players. I could definitely picture him and Harper getting into a dugout fistfight.
Agree.
“Ozuna caught the ball, the batter is out.” – NFL referee
Only if he plays for the Patriots.
Packers.
So he made a “football move” in the process?
no. as the announcer says, it was intercepted and dropped. what? no fumble?
As an Orioles fan I loved Buck in the in the dugout but his need to have control over everything hurt the organization. There was a ‘Buck’ group and a ‘Duquette’ group in both the front office and in the minors. At one point Duquette wanted to implement more statistics into the minor leagues and the Buck group which included both players and managers got into a physical fight with the Duquette group. If Buck could just focus on managing not controlling the front office and every aspect of the organization he would be a great hire for any team.
I don’t know if that’d be an issue in Philly though. Klentak isn’t really good at his job, so Buck bypassing him and taking control would probably be a good deal, so long as no one’s throwing punches.
The big question is do the cards QO him and would he accept (doubtful).
They’ll QO him, but he’ll decline. He’s really only got this one opportunity to get a decent long term contract. Long term, in this case, being 3 years.
What kind of 3 year offer would Ozuna really get as a free agent at this point?
How much is someone going to overpay in the hopes that he’ll return to 2017 form after basically tanking for two years in St. Louis and having suspect habits?
If I needed an outfielder, I doubt I’d go over 2/$20M on an offer for the guy. And I’d be trying to convert the second year into a team option, in case he pisses off my entire fanbase in year 1.
I’d say a 3/36 isn’t out of the question. Maybe the third year is incentive laden. He’s still relatively young and could well end up in the AL where he could DH part of the time in a rotation. In this era, 36MM over 3 years is not overly high for a player in their prime years.
The whole Ozuna thing is weird.. people always say Jose Mart is a liability in RF but frankly I can hardly tell the difference between the two. Speaking of difference between the two.. if Mouse cant get a guarantee yr after yr, why would Boras or anyone for that matter give Ozuna a deal any better. I would MUCH rather have Mouse at a more premium position. He is a steal at what he has been making!
Comparing Fowler to J. Martinez defense??? Advantage Martinez. At least he hustles!!!
How about the baserunning mistake he made? That was worse than the fielding play. He has a baseball IQ of 51, with an IQ of 50. Just call him, Van Hagar.
Why did he just stand there? At least attempt to go to 3B to draw a throw. Maybe the pitcher throws the ball away. He literally stood there until Strasburg walked over and tagged him.
Like I said, he’s not smart.
Carlson’s link is off
Ozuna would be wise to take a QO. Not sure I would risk offering it.
st. louis would be wiser not to offer the qo
How do these guys look if the ball is not live next year. Hope the Brewers use their money wisely.
I think the Brewers should be able to resign Moose on a 3/39 at the most and if he thinks he can get more then thank him and let him. 3 years doesn’t worry me cause he can play all over the infield. It does save money cause then Braun/Shaw platoon at first. Which can get Grisham in outfield regularly. Look for Taylor to get the 26 man roster spot this year who will force himself into more playing time. Even by the third year if Erceg steps up and earns the third base job, Braun will be off the books by then and he can take first. So 3/39 might seem like a stretch but in reality it can save them a lot of money too. It can be spent wisely other places too.
I think it makes way more sense to keep Thames and let Shaw go. Of course Shaw SHOULD rebound, but why invest 5ish million in counting on that when you know what Thames will offer?
And I just don’t see Braun playing much, if any 1b going forward. I don’t think he wants to do it, and his physical abilities at this point don’t make him a good fit either imo. Play him in left, with 120 starts or so, and use him as a double switch option to get a) Grisham or Taylor out there, and b) give Braun more “rest” without sacrificing the controversial “games played” stat.
Between Braun and Cain both aging, Grisham shouldn’t have a problem finding consistent playing time
I don’t understand the $3M buyout for Moose. His salary was $7M and with a buyout it would be $10M. But why would the Brewers buyout his 2020 season if he’s worth 3/39? There is an $11M mutual option. Why would you turn down that $11M if you were the Brewers? So that means the player can trigger the “buyout” by going free agent? Is that how it works?
(I honestly don’t understand, so I appreciate it if someone can explain, thanks)
Sounds like Ozuna is headed for the AL as a DH.
The Sox won’t do it because some random top 50 pick is worth more than an OF who could be signed in mid-March for a “You hit .240 prove it” contract (like $6 mil with a vesting option for $20 mil if he bats 650 times which the Sox would let him if he’s hitting) and definitely earn that $6 mil, but whoever they ditch in the OF (Mookie or JD; JBJ better be long gone or I’m going to jail), Ozuna would be a solid replacement.
Seriously, not getting someone needed to save for a top 50 draft pick. Out of those 50, maybe 20 of them make it in a good year, 14 of them are generic 7th inning relievers/2nd or 3rd catchers/4th or 5th OFs, 4 are solid starters if unspectacular (think Lyle Overbay or Brian Roberts), and 2 of them are legitimate studs for many multiple years. Is the small chance to go 2 for 50 worth not signing a valuable proven commodity? What happened to Kimbrel and Keuchel was wrong (granted Keuchel didn’t help himself by asking for $150 mil but still).
the only reason Sho is a favorite for the Philly job is becsuee he, was with Baltimore like the better part of the FO. i think the likelyhood of the union is much less than people think, even if Middleton stays out of the process altogether.
Honestly I think it is because Showalter is the opposite of Kapler being a more strict coach with a feel for the game and experience.
its all just speculation though, and i scarcely believe they simply will get a manager on the opposite end of the spectrum. not only would that make no sense from a FO philosophy perspective, but its a dangerous risk if that’s the only thing the guy’s got going for him. they need the best guy for the job, not the anti-Kapler to appease the few fans that will be pleased just by that.
Ozuna Is the type of employee that my former Sage boss warned me about when I Began my first day as an Assistant Superintendent of schools in charge of personnel. “Be careful who you fire or don’t resign!!!! Because you may get some one worse!” That’s Ozuna. Extremely hot for a week and extremely cold go another week.
The Braves better stay away from Ozuna. Just look at his face and you know he is on PEDs.
It’s funny, the same reasons the Cardinals are likely to let Ozuna walk are almost the same reasons that the Brewers should let Grandal walk. Though Grandal is more consistent offensively (and pretty durable), there were a few game-killing lapses that showed the 2018 NLCS Grandal. A small market team like Milwaukee can’t justify paying a massive salary for someone like that.
Except Grandal is a catcher, and just about everything I’ve read or heard says the Brewer pitchers love him behind the plate.
Nobody is going to say “I need X in left field” because they have way less control over the outcome of a game..its also why guys who can’t catch (or play basically anywhere in the infield) get put out there.
Ozuna has way too many moving parts in his swing to expect consistency. He is great when he’s on, but man, he is so susceptible to getting out of whack.
Who ends up being the Phillies next manager won’t amount to squadoodle unless Klentak gets better players. Cigar Guy still has cheese to spend and he should direct Klentak to spend it on starting pitching.
Our offense is decent enough if, as an organization, we bag all that launch angle and exit velocity nonsense. The bullpen? Really should be just fine if Seranthony, Arano and Morgan come back healthy to set up Neris. Also, I liked what I saw of Ranger Suarez late in the season.
But we can’t start the 2020 season with a starting rotation of Nola and four question marks. Rose colored glasses suggest Arrieta ought to be better with a repaired elbow. Those same glasses were impressed with Eflin’s last half dozen or so starts after he disregarded Chris Young’s mantra of firing high four seamers to induce strikeouts. Summary: Klentak needs to go out and sign or trade for two quality starting pitchers.
Ozuna’s play was a clear error which was scored as a ‘hit’, it’s called politically correct scoring.
Unless it is a team friendly deal, the Cardinals should save their money on Ozuna and actually pay top dollar for Rendon and Derrick Cole!!! How stupid was John Mozeliak to give Matt Carpenter a 2 yr-$36 million deal for a strikeout artist. That’s not good to be know as a strikeout Artist when you are a hitter!! That money could have been better spent on Star Quality Players!!!
who is derrick cole?
I think that the Cardinals need to let Ozuna Walk but only if the secure a BIG bat to replace him ideally take a LONG and HARD look at Rendon for 3rd. But I dont see that happening because Gorman is supposedly not to far out. So maybe a Donaldson for 1 or 2 years. In which case we’d need to trade Carp or whatever we can do. If possible to unload Dexter’s contract too. His season was better than last but his playoffs was brutal. The need players that will bat for average. I am not sure Carlson is ready. But maybe have O’Neill, Bader, Martinez, Carlerson, and Dexter(if you cant unload him). I really like Edmans game so maybe you trade Gorman and others for a LF….
Starting pitching I would strongly explore Cole or Strasburg(I think he has an opt out. Adam Wainwright wont hang it up(I’d be shock!)
why would any team want Carpenter?
let ozuna go and sign puig
Ain’t he a butcher in the field?