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Which Current Managers Had The Most Productive Playing Careers?

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For the most part, if you’re a manager in Major League Baseball, it means that you played in the bigs earlier in your life. Out of the game’s current 30 skippers, only seven fell short of the majors. That list consists of the Orioles’ Brandon Hyde, the Angels’ Joe Maddon, the Braves’ Brian Snitker, the Mets’ Luis Rojas, the Cardinals’ Mike Shildt, the Pirates’ Derek Shelton and the Padres’ Jayce Tingler. Of course, no MLB experience as a player doesn’t mean you’ll fail as a manager (just ask the resoundingly successful Maddon). Nevertheless, with baseball shut down and so little going on in the sport, I figured it would be interesting to see which current managers accumulated the most value when they played. Keep in mind that we’re only using one metric (fWAR), which certainly isn’t the end-all, be-all, and this doesn’t take factors such as intangibles and playoff performance into account (some of these guys produced some memorable postseason moments). However, fWAR does give at least a general idea about the kinds of careers these managers had as players (and here’s a fun fact: There’s only one ex-pitcher here). Take a look…

  • Don Mattingly, Marlins (first baseman for the Yankees from 1982-95): 40.7 fWAR in 7,721 plate appearances
  • Dusty Baker, Astros (outfielder for the Braves, Dodgers, Giants and Athletics from 1968-86): 37.9 fWAR in 8,021 plate appearances
  • David Ross, Cubs (catcher for the Cubs, Red Sox, Braves, Dodgers, Reds, Pirates and Padres from 2002-16): 22.4 fWAR in 2,644 plate appearances
  • Bud Black, Rockies (left-hander for the Mariners, Royals, Indians, Blue Jays and Giants from 1981-95): 18.2 fWAR in 2,053 1/3 innings
  • Dave Martinez, Nationals (outfielder for the Cubs, Expos, Rays, White Sox, Giants, Braves, Rangers, Reds and Blue Jays from 1986-2001): 18.1 fWAR in 6,48 plate appearances
  • Craig Counsell, Brewers (infielder for the Rockies, Marlins, Diamondbacks, Brewers and Dodgers from 1995-2011): 17.6 fWAR in 5,484 plate appearances
  • David Bell, Reds (infielder for the Phillies, Cardinals, Mariners, Indians, Giants and Brewers from 1995-2006): 13.5 fWAR in 5,380 plate appearances
  • Dave Roberts, Dodgers (outfielder for the Indians, Dodgers, Red Sox, Padres, Giants from 1999-2008): 10.3 fWAR in 3,092 plate appearances
  • Aaron Boone, Yankees (infielder for the Reds, Yankees, Indians, Marlins, Nationals and Astros from 1997-2009): 10.0 fWAR from 1997-2009
  • Rocco Baldelli, Twins (outfielder for the Rays and Red Sox from 2003-10): 8.0 fWAR in 2,065 plate appearances
  • Joe Girardi, Phillies (catcher for the Yankees, Cubs, Cardinals and Rockies from 1989-2003): 5.6 fWAR in 4,535 plate appearances
  • Gabe Kapler, Giants (outfielder for the Tigers, Rangers, Rockies, Red Sox, Brewers and Rays from 1998-2010): 5.4 fWAR in 3,315 plate appearances
  • Scott Servais, Mariners (catcher for the Astros, Cubs, Giants and Rockies from 1991-2001): 4.9 fWAR in 2,778 plate appearances
  • Ron Roenicke, Red Sox (outfielder for the Dodgers, Phillies, Giants, Padres, Reds and Mariners from 1981-88): 3.6 fWAR in 1,294 plate appearances
  • Mike Matheny, Royals (catcher for the Brewers, Blue Jays, Cardinals and Giants from 1994-2006): 2.8 fWAR in 4,287 plate appearances
  • Bob Melvin, Athletics (catcher for the Tigers, Giants, Orioles, Royals, Red Sox and White Sox from 1985-94): 2.5 fWAR in 2,095 plate appearances
  • Ron Gardenhire, Tigers (shortstop for the Mets from 1981-85): 0.9 fWAR in 777 plate appearances
  • Chris Woodward, Rangers (shortstop for the Blue Jays, Mets, Mariners, Braves and Red Sox from 1999-2011): 0.7 fWAR in 1,986 plate appearances
  • Charlie Montoyo, Blue Jays (second baseman for the Expos in 1993): 0.0 fWAR in five plate appearances
  • Rick Renteria, White Sox (infielder for the Pirates, Mariners and Marlins from 1986-94): minus-0.2 fWAR in 456 plate appearances
  • Torey Lovullo, Diamondbacks (second baseman for the Tigers, Yankees, Angels, Mariners, Athletic, Indians and Phillies from 1988-99): minus-0.5 fWAR in 837 plate appearances
  • Terry Francona, Indians (first baseman/outfielder for the Expos, Cubs, Reds, Indians and Brewers from 1981-90): minus-1.7 fWAR in 1,826 plate appearances
  • Kevin Cash, Rays (catcher for the Rays, Blue Jays, Red Sox, Yankees and Astros from 2002-10): minus-2.4 fWAR in 714 plate appearances

AL West Notes: Calhoun, Rangers, Athletics, Astros

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Rangers outfielder Willie Calhoun suffered a horrible injury – a fractured jaw – when he took a 95 mph pitch to the face in early March. Fortunately, though, Calhoun’s doing well in his recovery. Calhoun told MLB Network Radio (via Brice Paterik of the Dallas Morning News} that he’s “back up to 100 percent.” He’s in line to play a key role for the Rangers this year after turning in a productive 2019 campaign, and could be a breakout candidate, but it took some time for the light bulb to go on for the former high-end prospect. The 25-year-old Calhoun believes he owes some of his recent success to Rangers general manager Jon Daniels. “JD really flat out just told me the stuff I needed to work on and he was saying at the time I don’t think I was doing as well offensively,” Calhoun said. “He said ’if you’re going to be an offense only guy you’ve got to put up offense only numbers, like J.D. Martinez type numbers.” Calhoun got into better shape after that talk with Daniels, and the results have been encouraging since then. Check out Paterik’s piece for more quotes from Calhoun.

  • Former Athletics minor leaguer Miguel Marte has passed away of COVID-19 at the age of 30, per Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. Marte, a catcher/first baseman from the Dominican Republic, played in the A’s system from 2008-12. He left behind a wife and two children. If you’re interested in helping them, a GoFundMe page has been set up.
  • The Astros have also lost somebody to the coronavirus. Bill Gladstone, who owned Single-A affiliate the Tri-City ValleyCats passed away of the illness Thursday, according to Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle. “Bill was a class act with a great passion for the game,” the Astros said in a statement. “Our entire Astros family sends our heartfelt condolences to his son, Doug, his daughter, Susan and to the entire Gladstone family.”
  • As a result of the pandemic, roughly half of the Rangers’ full-time employees in baseball and business operations will face a reduction in pay after May 15, Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News tweets. Those cuts in salary could range from 10 to 20 percent, and there’s no indication as to how long they’ll last, but the Rangers aren’t planning to lay off any of those employees at this point.

10 MLB Teams Whose Business Initiatives Face Coronavirus Hurdles

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Like most every person or business, all thirty MLB teams face tough questions during the time of COVID-19. Some are relatively similar for all ballclubs, but there are obviously quite a few unique issues — some more pressing than others.

Dealing with the implications of this pandemic is probably toughest for organizations that are in the midst of executing or planning major business initiatives. We’ll run down some of those here.

Angels: The team has been cooking up potentially massive plans to develop the area around Angel Stadium. Fortunately, nothing is really in process at the moment, but it stands to reason that the project could end up being reduced in scope and/or delayed.

Athletics: Oof. The A’s have done a ton of work to put a highly ambitious stadium plan in motion. Massive uncertainty of this type can’t help. It isn’t clear just yet how the effort will be impacted, but it seems reasonable to believe the organization is pondering some tough decisions.

Braves: Luckily for the Atlanta-area organization, the team’s new park and most of the surrounding development is already fully operational. But with the added earning capacity from retail operations in a ballpark village comes greater exposure to turmoil.

Cubs: Like the Braves, the Cubs have already done most of the work at and around their park, but were counting on big revenue to pay back what’s owed (and then some). Plus, the Cubbies have a new TV network to bring up to speed.

Diamondbacks: Vegas?! Vancouver?! Probably not, but the Snakes do want to find a new home somewhere in Arizona. That effort is sure to be dented. Plus, the team’s recent initiative to host non-baseball events at Chase Field will now go on hiatus.

Marlins: The new ownership group has had some good vibes going and hoped to convert some of the positivity into a healthy new TV deal. That critical negotiation will now take place in a brutal economic environment.

Mets: So … this is probably not an optimal moment to be selling your sports franchise. The Wilpon family is pressing ahead with an effort to strike a new deal after their prior one broke down (at the worst possible time).

Orioles: That bitter television rights fee dispute that just won’t stop … it’s not going to be easier to find a resolution with less cash coming through the door. It was already setting up to be a rough stretch for the Baltimore org, with past TV money due to the Nationals and more bills to come, even while going through brutally lean years on the playing field.

Rangers: The new park is now built. While taxpayers footed much of the bill, the club still has to pay back a $600MM loan. Suffice to say the Rangers (and municipal authorities) anticipated game day revenues of more than $0 in year one when they planned out the loan repayment method.

Rays: The club’s preferred Ybor City option flamed out and it is currently engaged in a somewhat confusing effort to split time between the Tampa Bay area and Montreal. Existing hurdles to that arrangement seem only to be taller in the age of the coronavirus.

Others: We may be missing some, but it seems most other organizations are engaged more in usual-course sorts of business initiatives rather than franchise-altering efforts. For instance, the Nats have an interest in that TV deal as well. The Red Sox have been working to redevelop areas around Fenway Park. The Blue Jays are dabbling in future plans. And the Dodgers have a new TV rights deal, though that came to fruition after the pandemic hit and may not be impacted any more than any other existing carriage arrangements.

Losing Thor

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We were all dealing with much more significant problems when the shocking news came down: Noah Syndergaard, the Mets’ high-octane hurler, was headed in for Tommy John surgery. That would’ve hit like a ton of bricks — just two days before Opening Day — had it not been for the fact that the season was already on pause.

The replacement of Thor’s ulnar collateral ligament will hopefully save his career. But it’ll wipe out his age-27 season, severely denting the hopes of the Mets in 2020 (should the campaign get underway). The hope had been that Syndergaard would trend back towards his immense ceiling, giving the team the game’s best 1-2 punch alongside uber-ace Jacob deGrom.

But that’s really only part of the picture for the Mets — the toughest, but also the simplest part. The club has no choice but to soldier on and trust in the arms it has compiled. There’s no changing course in late March. But what of the longer view?

The Mets will certainly tender Syndergaard a contract for 2021, his final season of arbitration eligibility, unless there’s a serious red flag in his rehab efforts. That’ll cost $9.7MM, a match for his 2020 salary. Even if the Mets only get something like half of a season from Syndergaard, he’s almost certainly worth that kind of risk. And the team would be buying the right to make him a qualifying offer — and, if he declines it, to accrue draft compensation — at season’s end.

But wait … we’re basically now contemplating Syndergaard as something of a ten million dollar roll of the dice on upside. It typically takes about 14 months for a starter to get back to full competitive action after undergoing the surgery, which would put him on track to resume action in June of 2021. And Syndergaard will have as much personal incentive to take full care in getting back to the hill as he will to perform well when he does, as he’ll be preparing for free agency. When GM Brodie Van Wagenen plotted his recent moves, including bidding adieu to Zack Wheeler, the idea was to have a full 2021 season of Syndergaard and deGrom. Instead, it’ll be deGrom, a hopeful mid-season return of Thor, and … let’s see what else …

The notion of an in-house Wheeler replacement, in the form of Marcus Stroman, made some amount of sense in the context of the 2020 campaign. But Stroman is now headed for his own trip on the open market, likely after turning down a qualifying offer. There’s no indication that the sides have gained traction in extension talks (if they’ve seriously engaged in them at all). Recent signees Rick Porcello and Michael Wacha are only playing on one-year deals, so they’ll also be free agents.

Adding Stroman cost the Mets a near-majors prospect in Anthony Kay and a potential fast riser in Simeon Woods Richardson. The club had already moved another immediate-term rotation candidate in Justin Dunn, who went to Seattle in the Edwin Diaz–Robinson Cano deal.

[MLBTR on YouTube: Mets’ Disastrous Trade For Diaz & Cano] 

Those moves have left the upper reaches of the Mets farm relatively barren of well-regarded rotation talent. David Peterson, Thomas Szapucki, Franklyn Kilome, and Kevin Smith are among the best arms in the system who could be part of the 2021 rotation picture. But they’ll all lost major developmental opportunities due to the coronavirus. There are a few other somewhat more advanced hurlers, as we discussed in evaluating the team’s rotation depth this spring, but the general talent level is rated at a step below the names just listed. It’s awfully tough to presume that the Mets will feel comfortable leaning on this group.

The biggest wild card may be Steven Matz, whose ups and downs are well-documented. He has been healthy enough to make thirty starts in each of the past two seasons, carrying a sturdy 4.09 ERA across that span, but fielding-independent pitching measures aren’t nearly as bullish on Matz as they once were. In 2019, he generated a 4.60 FIP, 4.33 xFIP, and 4.47 SIERA — all checking in north of his 4.21 ERA.

If something goes wrong with Matz, the Mets could be looking at opening the 2021 season with four new rotation pieces alongside deGrom. Even with the prospect of a heroic return of Thor buoying the team mid-campaign, that’s a tough picture for an organization that has enjoyed so much excellence from its staff. On the plus side, there will be a lot of money available to work with … depending upon how you look at things.

The Mets were set to enter the 2020 season with just under $175MM of payroll; they’re committed for about $100MM less for 2021. That’s good! But it doesn’t include arbitration spending. With Syndergaard, Matz, Michael Conforto, Edwin Diaz, Brandon Nimmo, Seth Lugo, Amed Rosario, J.D. Davis, and others, this could be a $40-45MM arbitration class. That would move the total payroll into the $120MM range.

Either way, there should in theory be some funds to work with, though it’s anyone’s guess what’ll be happening with the team’s uncertain ownership situation and how that will weigh on the situation. Thing is, the Mets will also have quite a few holes to fill. Adding as many as four reliable starters just isn’t easy to do on the cheap. The Mets also figure to have openings at catcher, in center field, and in a bullpen that will lose Dellin Betances, Justin Wilson, and Brad Brach.

This is a tough spot for the Mets. In a normal season, they’d probably adjust their mid-season trade stance to being more willing to sell. If the campaign isn’t developing quite as hoped, there’d be an opportunity to cash in Stroman and perhaps others to help prepare for 2021. But we have no idea whether that’ll really be possible in a highly unusual 2020 season format (the details of which remain completely unknown at this point). And it’d hurt to take a seller stance after building up to contend.

The Mets were dealt a tough hand here; the loss of Syndergaard really stings even beyond 2020. Suppose he had pitched well in 2020 but the team went south in other areas; he’d have been a prime mid-season or offseason trade chip. Or what if things do indeed turn out well for the club even absent Thor? A contending Mets team may end up being forced to mine the farm system to bring in an impact arm, whether in mid-2020 or the ensuing offseason or both. Planning for the 2021 season and beyond will now be quite a bit more complicated, because it’ll be quite difficult to know what the club will get out of Syndergaard. And the possibility of an extension with Syndergaard — while perhaps remote to begin with — now seems quite difficult even to imagine.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Replacing DJ LeMahieu

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A little over a year ago, there were plenty of Yankees fans clamoring for the team to make a huge splash in free agency and sign infielder Manny Machado. The Yankees did give it some consideration, but they ended up taking themselves out of the Machado sweepstakes in January 2019 when they made a far less splashy acquisition with the signing of fellow infielder DJ LeMahieu to a two-year, $24MM guarantee. A bit over a month later, Machado landed with the Padres on a franchise-record pact worth $300MM over 10 years.

If you were to bet on one of those players turning in an MVP-contending campaign last season, it would have been Machado, owner of the vastly superior track record. Shockingly, though, LeMahieu wound up far outdoing Machado. While dividing time among first, second and third for the AL East-winning Yankees, the ex-Cub and Rockie LeMahieu managed a career-high 5.4 fWAR and slashed .327/.375/.518 with 26 home runs (he had never toaled more than 15 in a previous season) across 655 plate appearances. The performance earned LeMahieu a fourth-place finish in AL MVP voting, trailing Mike Trout, Alex Bregman and Marcus Semien. Not bad for someone whom the Yankees could have only expected to be a complementary player when they added him.

Now, unfortunately for New York, it’s uncertain whether the soon-to-be free agent LeMahieu will ever don its uniform again. Even if the coronavirus pandemic doesn’t prevent a season from happening in 2020, LeMahieu could exit via the open market thereafter. As of late February, there hadn’t been momentum toward an extension.

If LeMahieu, slated to be the Yankees’ top second baseman in 2020, does leave as a free agent, how might they react? There are always other free agents, but the rest of the upcoming class at the keystone looks decidedly less promising. Players like Kolten Wong, Jonathan Villar, Cesar Hernandez, Jonathan Schoop and Jurickson Profar are among the best of the bunch, but there aren’t any stars in the group (granted, LeMahieu wasn’t a star before he put on the pinstripes).

Another option for the Yankees could be to move Gleyber Torres back to second base and focus on the top of the shortstop market, which looks a lot more promising. The highly accomplished trio of Semien, old pal Didi Gregorius and Andrelton Simmons are in line to lead the way. Perhaps a better idea would be to try to swing a trade for one of the premier shortstops in the game – the Indians’ Francisco Lindor and the Rockies’ Trevor Story could be available as players heading into their last seasons of control in 2021. The trade market for second basemen doesn’t look as if it will be nearly as enticing, but maybe the Royals will finally relent and show some willingness to move Whit Merrifield.

In the event a LeMahieu re-signing or a major middle infield acquisition doesn’t come together before 2021, would there be any immediate in-house replacements on hand? It’s hard to find an heir apparent worth getting excited about. The Yankees don’t have any prospects who are going to be ready right away. Higher up, the 25-year-old Tyler Wade could open 2020 on the Yankees’ bench, and maybe he’ll do enough to work his way into starting consideration for the ensuing season. To this point, though, he has done little to inspire. Wade offered mediocre offense at the Triple-A level during the past two years and has batted an unsightly .197/.268/.298 with three homers in 241 plate appearances as a Yankee. Fellow 40-man option Thairo Estrada doesn’t look like anything close to a surefire future regular, either.

All said, the Yankees’ middle infield situation could be a compelling one to watch when next offseason rolls around. You would think the Yankees will do all they can to re-up the soon-to-be 32-year-old LeMahieu, but until an extension comes together, there will be plenty of speculation about how they’ll handle second and short in 2021.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Ryan Borucki Making Progress In Recovery From Elbow Injury

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Blue Jays southpaw Ryan Borucki is throwing off of a mound without issue, Blue Jays pitching coach Pete Walker tells Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca (via Twitter). Walker says he expects Borucki to “be right in the mix” on the MLB staff if and when the 2020 campaign gets underway.

Any time you see a pitcher shut down with elbow tightness, it’s hard not to fear the worst. But indications of late have been that Borucki was feeling better and improving. Now it seems clear he’s ramping back towards full speed.

There’s certainly no reason to rush the process for the southpaw, who celebrated his 26th birthday at the end of March. With no reason to anticipate a near-term resumption of Spring Training — let alone the launch of the regular season — there’s ample time to build up slowly.

That only makes the news of this progress more encouraging, as it seems he’s allowing his body to dictate the pace. Walker says that Borucki’s left arm “feels great.” A little added rest may confer long-term benefits for the the former 15th-round draft pick, who only made six starts at all levels in 2019 owing to bone spurs in his pitching elbow.

The Jays are no doubt anxious to see a fully healthy Borucki back on the hill. He showed quite well in his first MLB action, throwing 97 2/3 innings of 3.87 ERA ball in 2018. While the Toronto organization added a bunch of new arms to its rotation mix, there’s little question that some need and opportunity will arise at some point, and Borucki figures to be among the top candidates to step in when the time comes.

Emmanuel Clase Receives PED Suspension

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Indians reliever Emmanuel Clase has received an 80-game suspension, per a league announcement. He tested positive for banned PED boldenone.

Clase, acquired in the trade that sent Corey Kluber to the Rangers, had been rehabbing a teres major strain this spring. Precisely when the positive test was recorded isn’t known, though it certainly may have taken place prior to the shutdown of play. Clase would have had an opportunity to appeal the suspension before it was announced.

The Indians were disappointed to see Clase go down in camp. But it seemed he’d have a chance to accomplish much of his rehab work while the season was on pause. That’ll still be the case, but he’ll now be sidelined regardless when the 2020 campaign gets underway. The suspension will begin once the season gets underway, even if Clase is still rehabbing.

It obviously hasn’t been the smoothest start to Clase’s tenure with the Cleveland organization. The club pinned big hopes to the 22-year-old hurler, who was the chief asset brought back in a deal for one of the team’s best-known players.

Clase wasn’t a widely known player entering the 2019 season. But he zipped up the Texas farm system ladder and opened eyes with his MLB debut at just 21 years of age. Featuring a triple-digit heater, Clase turned in a 2.31 ERA with 8.1 K/9, 2.3 BB/9, and a hefty 60.6% groundball rate over 23 1/3 innings.

There is quite a silver lining here for the Indians — and a big dent to Clase’s long-term earnings outlook. He had only accrued 59 days of service in 2019 and will not be able to add enough days in 2020 to reach a full season of MLB service (172 days). Though he could ultimately qualify for arbitration in 2023 as a Super Two player, his anticipated free agent clock will end up moving back a year.

MLB, Umpires Reach Agreement On Pay Structure For Shortened Season

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Major League Baseball and the Major League Umpires Association have reached an agreement on umpire salaries for the 2020 season, ESPN’s Jesse Rogers reports (via Twitter). The league had reportedly been seeking a pay cut for umpires and was pushing for an agreement to be in place this weekend. Absent an agreement, the umpires would not have been paid until play resumed.

USA Today’s Bob Nightengale tweets that the umpires will see their pay reduced by “about” 30 percent. The umpires union had made an initial offer of a 20 percent reduction, per Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. Rosenthal reported yesterday that the league’s proposal to the umpires included a 35 percent pay reduction (including retroactive prorating of salary that was already paid out prior to the Covid-19 pandemic shutdown) as well as reduced per diems and postseason bonuses. That arrangement didn’t sit well with the umpires union.

Negotiations with the umpires were just one of the countless issues that need to be sorted as the owners, commissioner Rob Manfred and the players association work toward staging a truncated 2020 season that is unlike any we’ve seen in the past (or will see again). Decision-makers are still discussing several scenarios for a return to play and a second training camp. Among the many potential ideas being kicked around are a radical realignment scheme, intrasquad training games at each team’s home park and a potential three-state training setup between Arizona, Texas and Florida. Nothing has been agreed upon or set in place yet, but optimism that a 2020 season will be able to take place has been mounting over the past couple of weeks.

No Contract Talks Between Nationals, Dave Martinez

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Nats skipper Dave Martinez spoke with reporters on a conference call this morning and, when asked whether there have been any talks regarding his contract status, replied with a simple, “Nothing” (Twitter link via Todd Dybas of NBC Sports Washington). The 2020 season is the final guaranteed year on Martinez’s contract, although the Nats do hold a club option on the 2021 season.

It’s not surprising to hear that there have been no talks during the pandemic shutdown, but it’s a bit curious that the two sides hadn’t spoken about a new deal earlier in the spring. The 55-year-old Martinez, after all, was at the helm for one of the most remarkable turnarounds any team has made in recent memory. In the absence of an extension, the Nats could’ve perhaps picked up Martinez’s 2021 option in advance; such measures are fairly common throughout the league (particularly for winning managers) in order to spare managers the dreaded “lame duck” status and the frequent questions and speculation that accompany such contractual uncertainty.

Then again, the Nationals aren’t anything close to a typical organization with regard to how they handle their managers. Martinez, for instance, became the sixth man to manage a Nationals game in an eight-year span (2011-18) when he was hired and took the field for the first time. No Nationals manager has ever lasted more than three seasons on the job, and in addition to generally having a short leash with managers, the Nats have a reputation for not compensating their skippers as well as other clubs throughout the league. (Recall that the team wanted to hire Bud Black to manage in the 2015-16 offseason but made him only a one-year, $1.6MM offer despite a nine-year run as a well-regarded manager in San Diego.)

If anyone were to buck those trends, it’s easy to imagine Martinez being the man to do so. His Nats famously surged back from a 19-31 start to the 2019 season to capture the franchise’s first World Series win and finished above .500 the season prior as well. Logically speaking, one would expect Martinez to stick around for at least the 2021 season, but the Nats’ track record in this arena illustrates that they’re difficult to predict. As the Washington Post’s Barry Svrluga highlighted in early March, general manager Mike Rizzo is in a similar spot (minus the club option), but ownership has seemingly yet to make any sort of final decision on its organization’s leaders.

Manny Ramirez Pursuing Taiwan Comeback

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May 1: Ramirez’s agent, Hector Zepeda Jr., tells Rob Bradford of WEEI.com that since Ramirez made his interest in a comeback known, he’s already heard from one CPBL team. That club expressed interest but indicated that a signing wasn’t likely until midseason.

April 29: Longtime MLB star Manny Ramirez is well past his prime, but he may yet have another act. He tells Mark Buckton of the Taiwan Times that he’s hoping to appear again in the Chinese Professional Baseball League.

“My goal for 2020, is to find a roster spot in the CPBL,” Ramirez says. “I have been itching to get back in the batter’s box and be able to compete again.”

The CPBL is, of course, the only place in the world to catch a ballgame at the moment. Ramirez, who turns 48 at the end of May, previously starred briefly in Taiwan’s five-team league back in 2013.

The idea this time around, per Ramirez, is to function “as a player-coach.” That’s the same angle he took when he appeared at Triple-A with the Cubs in 2014. Ramirez also pursued an opportunity in Japan in 2017, but nothing came of it.

Why Taiwan? Ramirez says he has also considered the indie ball circuit — which isn’t active right now and may not be in 2020 — but prefers to cross the Pacific. “I have had a few offers for teams in the Atlantic League, but am more in favor of experiencing Taiwan and their delicious food,” he explains.

Ramirez produced and occasionally puzzled over 19 memorable MLB seasons, the last of which was a very brief 2011 showing. He launched 555 total long balls and compiled a ridiculous lifetime .312/.411/.585 batting line, making him one of the greatest hitters in the history of the game — albeit one who tarnished his career with multiple PED violations.

You’ll want to check out the interview for more on what Ramirez has been up to of late. The ever-interesting and exceptionally talented slugger speaks of helping quietly in the community and focusing on his family and Christian faith.

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