MLB Trade Rumors Podcast: Boston Searches for a Boss, Kim Ng and Surgery for Brandon Woodruff
The latest episode of the MLB Trade Rumors Podcast is now live on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts! Make sure you subscribe as well! You can also use the player at this link to listen, if you don’t use Spotify or Apple for podcasts.
This week, host Darragh McDonald is joined by Anthony Franco of MLB Trade Rumors to discuss…
- The Red Sox continue their search for a general manager (1:05)
- Kim Ng and the Marlins part ways (4:10)
- Brandon Woodruff might miss all of 2024 with shoulder injury (9:55)
Plus, we answer your questions, including…
- What is one team you anticipate will aggressively attempt to contend this season but believe should focus on rebuilding, and one club you expect to act passively during the offseason but think should make a more concerted effort to contend? (15:45)
- The Pirates’ competitive window should start to open in 2024 but they badly need to address 1B and SP this winter. I’ve talked myself into Ty France (if Dipoto feels the need to upgrade there) and Patrick Sandoval (if the Angels decide to blow it up) as being great fits. Do you like those options or have any other names that could wind up in Pittsburgh? (20:00)
- To me it seems to be very futile to have great success in the 162 game grind, win your division (by a large margin often) and lose to a lesser team. I get it that baseball is all about who’s hot at the moment but when the best all get upset in the beginning of the playoffs it does give one pause. There surely should be more advantage/reward for regular season achievements. (22:25)
Check out our past episodes!
- The Mets’ Front Office, TJ for Alcantara and the D-Backs Extend Their GM – listen here
- Mariners To Spend? Tigers To Contend? And Managerial Vacancies – listen here
- Free Agent Pitching Dark Horses, Padres To Cut Payroll, and If The Angels Should Rebuild — listen here
Front Office Notes: Marlins, Click, Braves
The Marlins recently parted ways with GM Kim Ng in a somewhat shocking move, considering Miami just made the postseason in a full season for the first time since 2003. Today, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald discusses the concerns Marlins owner Bruce Sherman had regarding the club’s front office. Per Jackson, ownership’s concerns centered around the club’s player development and drafting apparatus, specifically on the position player side of things. Top position player draft picks for the Marlins under Ng like catcher Joe Mack, infielder Kahlil Watson, and infielder Jacob Berry have all struggled to this point in their professional careers, though Watson is no longer part of the organization after being dealt to Cleveland at the trade deadline this year.
Ultimately, those concerns ended up being the trigger for decisions that led to Ng’s departure from the Marlins, including his desire to install a president of baseball operations above her and his move to pick up the team’s half of a mutual option rather than offer her an extension. Per Jackson, Sherman’s goal in hiring a president of baseball operations above Ng was to have someone else lead a restructuring of the amateur scouting and player development departments of the front office in addition to having a hands-on role in those areas. Jackson adds that Miami’s next president of baseball operations will have to fill out senior-level positions in the front office in addition to restructuring the aforementioned areas; along with Ng’s departure as GM, Jackson adds that senior director of international operations Adrian Lorenzo is departing the organization while senior director of player personnel Billy Masse was never replaced after exiting last offseason.
More front office notes from around the game…
- As the Red Sox continue their search for the club’s next head of baseball operations, former Astros GM James Click became the latest high-profile candidate to pull himself from consideration for the position today. Per Alex Speier of The Boston Globe, Click talked to the Red Sox about the opportunity but has declined to pursue the organization’s top job, citing family considerations. In doing so, Click joins a number of other candidates who have to decline the spot at the head of Boston’s baseball operations department including former Rangers president of baseball operations Jon Daniels, former Marlins president Michael Hill, and Diamondbacks GM Mike Hazen. Click currently works in Toronto’s front office as vice president of baseball strategy.
- Per R.J. Anderson of CBS Sports, the Braves have officially promoted Ronit Shah to the role of scouting director. Shah was already running the club’s scouting department in 2023 after previously serving as assistant scouting director under Dana Brown, who departed the organization last offseason to take over as GM of the Astros. Atlanta’s scouting operation has seen great successes in recent years, including last year’s breakout performances by rookies Spencer Strider and Michael Harris II. The pair were drafted in the fourth and third rounds of the 2020 and 2019 drafts, respectively.
Red Sox Notes: Click, Interviews, Ferreira
As the Red Sox continue to search for a new head of baseball operations after firing Chaim Bloom last month, names continue to emerge as potential candidates. One of the names receiving the most attention as things stand is former Astros GM James Click, who won the World Series with the club last year before parting ways with the organization last offseason.
A pursuit of Click is not without its complications, however. MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo, while confirming Boston’s interest in Click for their top job, discusses some of the potential roadblocks that could leave Click’s interest in the role in doubt. Perhaps most notably, Cotillo points out the longtime friendship Click has with Bloom, noting that Bloom is the one who pushed the Rays to hire Click for his first job in a big league front office. While Cotillo makes clear that it seems unlikely Bloom would actively push Click away from interviewing for the position, he does note that the longstanding relationship between the two could give Click unique insight to the potential pitfalls of the position, particularly after Bloom’s sudden exit toward the end of the season.
Beyond Click’s relationship with Bloom, Cotillo notes a number of similarities between the Red Sox and Astros organizational structures that could turn him away from interest in Boston’s top job. After all, Click’s relationship with the Astros deteriorated in part thanks to his relationships with the club’s influential, strong-willed manager in Dusty Baker, and hands-on owner Jim Crane. Meanwhile, Red Sox manager Alex Cora is known to have a voice in Red Sox front office, including playing a role in the hiring process for the club’s next GM, and Cotillo notes that Red Sox ownership has had philosophical disputes with the front office across several regimes over the past decade.
Of course, Click is far from the only known candidate for the position. In terms of other external candidates, reports indicated earlier today that Twins GM Thad Levine, former Pirates GM Neal Huntington, and Cubs assistant GM Craig Breslow have all already interviewed for the role. That being said, the club has also involved internal candidates in their search. Assistant GM Eddie Romero is known to have previously interviewed for the position, with some reporting describing him as the “internal favorite.” According to Alex Speier of the Boston Globe, however, Romero is not the only internal candidate to be interviewed with both assistant GM Mike Groopman and VP of amateur scouting & player development Paul Toboni also having sat down for interviews with the organization. Cotillo adds that Toboni in particular is viewed as a “potential dark horse” in the running for Boston’s top job.
One internal candidate who won’t be interviewing for the position is assistant GM Raquel Ferreira, who declined the opportunity to interview for the position. As relayed by Cotillo, Ferreira cited family reasons in her decision not to interview for the club’s top job, and will remain in her current role in the organization. Ferreira has previously interviewed for top baseball operations jobs in other organizations, and did not close the door on pursuing a top front office job in the future, noting that “things could be different for me a year or two from now.”
Red Sox Interview Three External Candidates In GM Search
The Red Sox’s search for a new general manager to replace Chaim Bloom might be picking up steam. As reports for the Boston Globe, the team has already interviewed at least three high-profile external candidates for the position: Twins GM Thad Levine, Cubs assistant GM Craig Breslow, and former Pirates GM Neal Huntington.
On Monday, Rob Bradford of WEEI reported that Huntington and Levine were under consideration, while Joel Sherman of the New York Post suggested Breslow as another candidate. However, it was unclear if the interest was mutual. Several rumored contenders have already declined to interview with the Red Sox, including former Rangers president of baseball operations Jon Daniels, former Marlins president of baseball operations Michael Hill, Phillies GM Sam Fuld, and Dodgers GM Brandon Gomes. Another rumored candidate, Diamondbacks GM Mike Hazen, shut down any speculation that he would take a job in Boston when he signed a multi-year extension with Arizona.
Levine, Breslow, and Huntington join Red Sox executive VP and assistant general manager Eddie Romero Jr. as candidates known to have interviewed, although Speier suggests that Romero isn’t the only internal candidate to take a meeting about the position. Other rumored internal candidates include Romero’s fellow assistant GMs, Raquel Ferreira and Mike Groopman, along with other VPs in the organization, such as Ben Crockett, Mike Rikard, and Gus Quattlebaum.
Of the four names known to have interviewed, Levine is the only one currently working as a general manager, but even so, he isn’t the top decision-maker in the Twins organization. He works under president of baseball operations Derek Falvey, who, funnily enough, declined an interview with the Red Sox himself (per Chad Jennings of The Athletic). While Levine is surely enjoying his team’s recent success, he might enjoy the chance to be the chief baseball executive for a new organization, especially one that typically runs a much higher payroll than Minnesota. Similarly, Huntington might be tempted by the Red Sox’s budget after so many years with the low-spending Pirates and Guardians. Meanwhile, Breslow and Romero are presumably interested in the chance to run their own front office.
Earlier this month, Red Sox president and CEO Sam Kennedy expressed that he isn’t working under a deadline to hire a new GM. More specifically, he would not commit to having a new executive in place by the annual general managers meetings in early November. He told reporters (including Chris Cotillo of MassLive), “We plan to take our time. We plan to be very deliberate… We’re not going to let any deadline or timeline put constraints on the process.”
In other words, while the Red Sox seem to have accelerated their search in recent days, they could still take a while to name a new GM. If nothing else, they will presumably do their due diligence and consider brand-new candidate Kim Ng before making a decision. The team has not yet expressed interest in the former Marlins GM, but given her success with Miami this season and her apparent desire to run her own front office, she could be a good fit for the role.
Mariners Outright Brian O’Keefe
TODAY: Brian O’Keefe has cleared waivers, the Mariners announced. The 30-year-old backstop has been sent outright to the Triple-A Tacoma Rainiers. While he does not have the necessary service time to reject an outright assignment, O’Keefe will have the chance to elect minor league free agency this offseason.
OCTOBER 13: The Mariners announced that they have designated catcher Brian O’Keefe for assignment. His roster spot will go to right-hander Kaleb Ort, who was previously-reported to have been claimed off waivers from the Red Sox.
O’Keefe, 30, signed a minor league deal with the club in the offseason and was selected to the roster in August when Tom Murphy landed on the injured list with a thumb sprain. He got into just eight games before heading to the paternity list and was optioned to the minors when he returned. In 91 Triple-A games this year, he hit .238/.328/.504, which translated to a wRC+ of 93 in the potent offensive environment of the Pacific Coast League.
The M’s will now put him on waivers in the coming days. He still has options and just a limited amount of service time, which could appeal to any club looking for catching depth. If he were to clear, he wouldn’t have the right to reject an outright assignment right away but would qualify for minor league free agency five days after the World Series.
21 Players Elect Free Agency
With the offseason quickly approaching, a number of players elect minor league free agency on a regular basis. Separate from MLB free agents, who reach free agency five days after the World Series by accumulating six years of service time in the big leagues, eligible minor league players can begin electing free agency as soon as the regular season comes to a close. Each of these players were outrighted off of their organization’s 40-man roster at some point during the season and either have been outrighted previously in their career or have the service time necessary to reach free agency since they were not added back to their former club’s rosters. For these players, reaching free agency is the expected outcome, and there will surely be more in the coming weeks. Here at MLBTR, we’ll provide occasional updates as players continue to elect minor league free agency.
Here is the next batch, courtesy of the transaction tracker at MiLB.com:
Catchers
Infielders
Outfielders
Pitchers
Latest On The Red Sox’s General Manager Search
After firing chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom, the Red Sox have seen their search for their next head of baseball operations face plenty of roadblocks, with Diamondbacks GM Mike Hazen, former Marlins president Michael Hill and former Rangers president of baseball operations Jon Daniels among those to have previously been rumored as a potential candidate who have subsequently declined to interview (or, in the case of Hazen, signed an extension in Arizona).
The Athletic’s Chad Jennings adds another trio of potential candidates for the role who have declined an interview, noting that each of Twins president of baseball operations Derek Falvey, Phillies GM Sam Fuld, and Dodgers GM Brandon Gomes have all declined to interview for the position. Fuld and Gomes had both previously been floated as potential candidates, though this is the first time Falvey’s name has come up regarding Boston’s baseball ops vacancy.
That said, it appears that Boston has a number of other potential candidates available. As previously noted, assistant GM Eddie Romero has interviewed for the role, with Jennings noting him as the favorite among potential internal candidates. Plenty of external candidates appear to be under consideration though, with Jennings noting that former Astros GM James Click remains in the mix after being previously reported as a potential option earlier this month. Meanwhile, WEEI’s Rob Bradford indicates that both former Pirates GM Neal Huntington and current Twins GM Thad Levine about the role, with Jon Heyman of the New York Post adding that Levine is expected to interview for the job. Meanwhile, Joel Sherman of the New York Post puts forth Cubs assistant GM Craig Breslow as a potential option.
The wide array of candidates still on the table speaks to Boston’s willingness to consider a number of potential options for the role. Romero, Levine and Breslow all have not yet controlled the helm of a baseball operations department during their careers, though that’s hardly a surprise after team president Sam Kennedy indicated that previous experience as the head of a baseball operations department was not a necessary quality for the club’s next GM. That hasn’t stopped the club from considering more experienced candidates, of course. Several known candidates remaining have considerable experience at the helm of a baseball operations department. Click led the Astros to ALCS appearances in 2020 and 2021 before winning the World Series in 2023, while Huntington helmed the Pirates from 2007 to 2019. Click is currently a special assistant with the Blue Jays, while Huntington currently works in the Guardians front office.
Another experienced potential candidate, of course, is former Marlins GM Kim Ng, who parted ways with Miami earlier today after leading the Marlins to their first full-season playoff berth since 2003 this season. While Ng has been floated as a potential candidate throughout the process, though Jennings notes that it’s currently unclear if the Red Sox plan to pursue Ng at this point.
Quick Hits: Vogt, Giants, Braves, Phillips, Red Sox
Mariners bullpen and quality control coach Stephen Vogt will interview with the Giants about their managerial vacancy this week, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports. The Giants have thus far interviewed only internal candidates about the manager’s job, yet Vogt isn’t exactly a true outsider, having played with the Giants during the 2019 season. Vogt has plenty of other ties to the Bay Area, as he also played six seasons with the Athletics, and hails from Visalia, California (about a four-hour drive from San Francisco).
Vogt only retired from playing after the 2022 season, and his one season on the Mariners’ staff represents his only coaching experience. That said, Vogt has been regarded as a future manager for years, so it isn’t surprising seeing him immediately pop up as part of a managerial search even though he is relatively lacking in coaching experience. All of the candidates linked to the Giants thus far would also be first-time MLB skippers, so clearly the front office isn’t prioritizing a long resume when considering its next dugout hire.
Over 10 Major League seasons, Vogt appeared in 794 games with six different teams. The big majority (528) of that action came with the A’s, but the Giants rank second on Vogt’s game list with 99 games played. Vogt also briefly played with the Brewers in 2017, so speculatively speaking, it is possible the Brewers might give him some consideration if Craig Counsell doesn’t return as the manager in 2024.
Some more items from around the baseball world…
- Some flame-throwing relief help figures to be a target for the Braves this winter, as Justin Toscano of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution notes that only two bullpens in baseball threw fewer pitches of 96mph or higher than the Braves did in 2023. Joe Jimenez and Pierce Johnson contributed a big chunk of the high-velocity pitches Atlanta did throw, yet both relievers will be free agents. With Jesse Chavez also a free agent and Collin McHugh, Kirby Yates, and Brad Hand all on club or mutual options, “the situation allows the Braves to rebuild their bullpen, if they want,” Toscano writes. Rookie Daysbel Hernandez could be an option on the high-velo front, as Atlanta thought enough of Hernandez’s potential to include him on their ALDS roster even though injury limited the righty to 3 2/3 innings in his first MLB season.
- J.D. Martinez was known to be a Red Sox trade candidate heading into the 2022 deadline, and WEEI.com’s Rob Bradford reports that the Dodgers came “very close” to a deal to land the veteran slugger. However, talks fell through when the Sox asked for Evan Phillips to also be included in the trade package. At the time, Phillips was partway through a breakout 2022 season that saw him post a 1.14 ERA over 63 innings, and he went on to another outstanding year as the Dodgers’ first-choice closer in 2023 (2.05 ERA over 61 1/3 frames, with 24 saves). Since the Dodgers pivoted to adding Joey Gallo at that deadline, it’s easy to wonder if Martinez could’ve or would’ve done more to upgrade the lineup, yet it’s hard to fault the team’s logic in wanting to retain Phillips. As it turned out, L.A. got the best of both worlds in 2023, with Phillips closing games and Martinez delivering a big year at the plate after signing with the Dodgers as a free agent last offseason.
Quick Hits: Red Sox, Giants, Lovullo, Angels
The Red Sox were previously reported to have interest in former Marlins president of baseball operations Michael Hill to head their baseball operations department, but USA Today’s Bob Nightengale relays that Hill has “no interest” in leaving his role as MLB’s senior vice president of on-field operations to return to work in a front office. Hill is the latest potential candidate to decline to interview for the position, joining former Rangers president of baseball operations Jon Daniels and Arizona GM Mike Hazen.
Nightengale adds that while the Red Sox have (as previously reported) interviewed assistant GM Eddie Romero for the position, the favorite to take over for Chaim Bloom as the club’s chief baseball officer could be Phillies GM Sam Fuld. It’s unclear to this point if Fuld has interviewed for the position. He’s under contract with the Phillies through 2025 after signing an extension last winter, meaning the Phillies would have to grant the Red Sox permission to interview Fuld for the role. That being said, it’s somewhat rare for organizations to stand in the way of their personnel interviewing for a potential promotion as this would be for Fuld, who serves as the club’s second-in-command to president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski, who previously helmed the Red Sox from 2015 to 2019.
Other notes from around the league…
- Nightengale adds that the Diamondbacks are expected to offer manager Torey Lovullo a multi-year contract extension this winter. That’s hardly a surprise, seeing as Hazen, who the club recently extended through 2028, previously indicated that the club could look to retain Lovullo beyond the 2024 campaign in the event that Arizona went on to make the postseason. The DBacks, of course, have done far more than that, making it all the way to the NLCS after sweeping the Brewers in the Wild Card series and the Dodgers in the NLDS.
- FanSided’s Robert Murray noted yesterday that Giants bench coach and interim manager Kai Correa has been interviewed for the club’s vacant manager seat. Correa joins third-base coach Mark Hallberg as the only known candidates to interview for the position. Correa, 35, began his coaching career immediately after graduating college in 2010. He spent four seasons with his alma mater, University of Puget Sound, and another four seasons coaching for the University of Northern Colorado. His first professional coaching role came with Cleveland in 2018, for whom he served as an infield coach in the Arizona Complex League. He stayed with the organization in 2019 before joining the Giants ahead of the 2020 season in his current role as bench coach.
- Jon Heyman of the New York Post recently noted that the Angels, who have been reported to have mutual interest with Buck Showalter regarding the club’s managerial vacancy, are seeking a veteran manager for the 2024 campaign. While Showalter certainly fits that description, another candidate Heyman puts forth is Darin Erstad, who played for the Angels in 11 major league seasons and in retirement served as the head coach for University of Nebraska, with whom he spent eight seasons in the role.
Yuki Matsui To Explore Signing With MLB Teams
Star closer Yuki Matsui looks to be interested in a potential move to Major League Baseball, as a Yahoo Japan report (Japanese language link) indicates that Matsui has exercised his international free agent rights, as well as his rights to freely negotiate with other Nippon Professional Baseball clubs.
Matsui doesn’t turn 28 until later this month, but he has already accumulated 10 seasons with the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles. As a result, the left-hander is a full free agent, and can be signed by MLB teams without an additional posting fee to the Eagles. His age and experience also make him exempt from MLB’s international bonus pool structure.
It isn’t necessarily a sure thing that Matsui is headed to North America, as the Eagles are reportedly set to offer him a four-year contract worth $1.6 billion yen (roughly $10.7MM in USD) to remain in the fold. However, Matsui has hired WME’s Bryan Minniti as an agent, which could hint that the southpaw is more interested in seeing what Major League teams have to offer. Minniti has recently moved into the representation arena after a long front office career that included stints as an assistant GM with the Phillies, Diamondbacks, and Nationals.
At least nine Major League clubs have already scouted Matsui, including the Padres, Red Sox, Cubs, and Yankees. It isn’t surprising that there is significant interest in a pitcher who is hitting the market at such a relatively young age, and who has already amassed such an impressive resume in Nippon Professional Baseball and on the international stage. Matsui was a member of Japan’s championship team at the 2023 World Baseball Classic, though he only made one appearance during the tournament, throwing a scoreless inning.
Over 501 career games with the Eagles, Matsui has a 2.40 ERA and 236 saves, and the five-time NPB All-Star is the youngest player in league history to reach the 200-save threshold. He has worked out of the bullpen for almost his entire career, except for his 2014 rookie season and during a brief return to rotation work during the pandemic-affected 2020 NPB season. Matsui’s usage has also been somewhat impacted by the Eagles’ struggles, as the team has mostly posted mostly losing records during the southpaw’s tenure. With a 10.9% walk rate over his career in Japan, control has occasionally been an issue for Matsui, though his 31.85% strikeout rate indicates that his ability to miss bats isn’t in question.
Readers of MLBTR’s NPB Players To Watch feature are quite familiar with Matsui’s name, as Dai Takegami Podziewski had frequently highlighted the closer throughout the 2023 season. Matsui had a dominant 1.57 ERA over 57 1/3 innings for the Eagles this season, and Dai noted that Matsui made the splitter a much heavier part of his pitching arsenal, perhaps as a bit of a showcase for MLB evaluators.
However, Matsui’s small role in the WBC could have been due to reported difficulty he had throwing the WBC ball, which was larger than the standard ball used in NPB play and closer to the type of baseball used in the majors. More broadly, Matsui has a relatively small frame (5’8″ and 167 pounds), so scouts may have concerns over how he might hold up over the long term, even if he has been pretty durable during his time with the Eagles.
This winter’s market for left-handed relievers has some interesting names, headlined by ace closer Josh Hader. Matsui immediately becomes an intriguing new name in this group, as at least a candidate for high-leverage innings if perhaps not strictly a saves specialist.