Managerial Notes: Ausmus, Mets, Baker, Cubs
A few managerial notes from around the majors:
- Brad Ausmus is on the Mets’ radar as they search for a successor to Terry Collins, reports Jon Heyman of FanRag, who adds that the two sides have had one conversation to date. Ausmus managed the Tigers to a 314-332 record over the past four seasons, including a major league-worst 64-98 mark this year, and one playoff appearance (in 2014). With the Tigers in the beginning of a full rebuild, they decided before the season ended that they wouldn’t re-sign the 48-year-old Ausmus.
- Dusty Baker is without a contract past this season, but the Nationals are “almost certain” to bring him back in 2018, Tyler Kepner of the New York Times writes. Baker is at the helm of a team whose NLDS matchup with the Cubs is knotted at one, but it doesn’t appear that the Nationals’ playoff performance will determine his fate. The Nats have been resoundingly successful during Baker’s two regular seasons at the helm, having gone 192-132 with a pair of division titles, though a World Series championship has eluded both them and Baker during their respective existences. Baker has managed four teams to a combined 1,863 wins, good for 14th all-time, but his lone trip to the Fall Classic (with the Giants in 2002) ended in defeat. Winning a title in Washington would earn Baker a place in Cooperstown, Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo suggested to Kepner. “I think it’s probably as big for him as for anybody in the organization,” Rizzo said. “It’s important for him; he’s done everything but win a world championship as a manager. It’s a big goal for him. I think he’s a Hall of Fame manager, regardless, and that cements it if he wins a championship.”
- Nobody in need of a manager has contacted the Cubs about bench coach Dave Martinez, according to Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times. Cubs manager Joe Maddon finds the lack of interest in his longtime right-hand man confusing, saying: ‘‘He’s been around a lot of winning teams here. I see all the names [of rumored candidates], and there’s a lot of good names. But I’m telling you, to not include his name with these people just baffles me.” While the 53-year-old Martinez told Wittenmyer he’s “ready” to take the reins somewhere, he may go without an interview for the second straight year. Martinez was a popular candidate before last offseason, Wittenmyer notes, as he interviewed for five openings in recent years.
Checking In On Last Winter’s Biggest Signings
The MLB playoffs are underway, which means we’re only a few weeks from seeing a slew of high-profile players hit the open market in search of big-money contracts. Of the players who reached free agency last winter, 12 signed deals of at least three years in length and worth upward of $10MM per annum. While it’s obviously too soon to fully evaluate those pacts, several don’t look all that great through one year. Those who struggled in 2017 could certainly justify the contracts in future seasons, but it’s not exactly encouraging if a player falls well short of expectations at the very beginning of his deal. As you’ll see below, a few of last year’s biggest signings did just that in 2017…
Yoenis Cespedes, LF, Mets – four years, $110MM: Aside from Jacob deGrom, injuries didn’t spare any Mets star in 2017, Cespedes included. For the second straight season, lower body issues sidelined Cespedes for a significant chunk of games. The 31-year-old appeared just 81 times for the disappointing Mets this season, but the good news is that he didn’t drop off much from 2016 when he took the field. With a .292/.352/.540 line, 17 home runs and a .247 ISO in 321 plate appearances, Cespedes provided the type of offensive production the Mets signed up for – on a rate basis, anyway.
Aroldis Chapman, RP, Yankees – five years, $86MM: A few weeks after winning a championship with the Cubs, Chapman returned to the Yankees on the richest deal ever given to a reliever. While the 29-year-old left-hander continues to throw incredibly hard, his first season as the highest-paid reliever of all-time has been rocky on occasion. Chapman went through a slump in August and lost his job as the Yankees’ closer, but he regained form when the calendar turned to September and returned to the ninth inning early in the month. Dating back to Sept. 1, Chapman has gone 13 straight appearances without allowing a run, including a pair of outings in the playoffs. He concluded the regular season with more-than-respectable run prevention and strikeout/walk numbers across 50 1/3 innings (3.22 ER, 12.34 K/9, 3.58 BB/9), but his production in each category was still among the worst of his career. Chapman also notched a personal-low swinging-strike rate of 13.5 percent (down from 18.6 percent in 2016).
Dexter Fowler, CF, Cardinals – five years, $82.5MM: Also a member of last year’s title-winning Cubs, Fowler bolted Chicago for archrival St. Louis’ massive offer. The switch-hitting 31-year-old opened his Cardinals tenure with another quality offensive season (.264/.363/.488 with 18 homers and a career-high .224 ISO in 491 PAs), but he wasn’t able to maintain the widely publicized gains he made as a defender in 2016. Despite only playing in 118 games, Fowler ranked second last among outfielders in Defensive Runs Saved (minus-18) and sixth from the bottom in Ultimate Zone Rating (minus-5.9).
Kenley Jansen, RP, Dodgers – five years, $80MM: Finally, a player who has been virtually flawless in Year 1 of his new contract. The Dodgers undoubtedly feel fortunate right now that Jansen spurned other teams’ advances and chose to stay in LA last winter, given that he turned in an otherworldly regular season and could be integral to a World Series run in the coming weeks. Over 68 1/3 innings during the season, the cutter-throwing Jansen placed first among qualified relievers in ERA (1.32) and fWAR (3.5). And with 14.36 K/9 against .92 BB/9, he finished second in both strikeout and walk percentage. The 30-year-old Jansen has continued his excellence in the Dodgers’ first two playoff games, both wins over the Diamondbacks, adding 2 2/3 scoreless frames.
Ian Desmond, OF/1B, Rockies – five years, $70MM: Considering the Rockies gave Desmond big money to play first base, a position he had never lined up at prior to this season, the union between the two looked odd from the start. Ultimately, most of Desmond’s action in 2017 came in the outfield, but his year was utterly disastrous regardless of position. It began inauspiciously when he suffered a fractured left hand during spring training in mid-March and never really got off the ground thereafter. Desmond, 32, battled other injuries and ended up taking just 373 trips to the plate. All told, he hit a subpar .274/.326/.375 with a career-worst ISO (.100). Along the way, he saw his groundball percentage skyrocket to 62.7 percent (up from the low-50s in prior seasons) and his batted-ball authority trend in a disturbing direction. Among 301 hitters who amassed at least 250 at-bats this year, Desmond ranked 290th in expected weighted on-base average (.256, per Statcast – via Baseball Savant).
Edwin Encarnacion, DH/1B, Indians – three years, $65MM: Even though Encarnacion was one of the game’s preeminent sluggers from 2012-16 with the Blue Jays, his market didn’t develop the way many expected it to last offseason. Finally, after going nearly two months without a deal, he stunningly signed with a Cleveland franchise that doesn’t have a big-spending reputation. The Indians were able to use their windfall from last year’s run to the World Series to justify an Encarnacion signing from a financial standpoint, though, and he continued to thrive offensively in his first regular season with the Tribe. The 34-year-old batted .258/.377/.504 with 38 HRs in 669 PAs, sitting out only five games for a club that tallied an AL-best 102 wins. Encarnacion will miss some time after suffering a sprained ankle during Game 2 of the Indians’ ALDS series against the Yankees, but he seems likely to play again this postseason. Cleveland has a 2-0 stranglehold over New York and looks like a sure bet to advance to the next round, which means we probably haven’t seen the last of Encarnacion in 2017.
Justin Turner, 3B, Dodgers – four years, $64MM: Between Jansen and Turner, no team did better on big-money deals last winter than the Dodgers. Despite playing in 21 fewer games than he appeared in last season (130 to 151), Turner registered 5.5 fWAR for the second straight year. His performance during the regular season was worth upward of $44MM, according to FanGraphs, which suggests that Turner is already close to living up to the value of his contract. The once-anonymous Turner batted .322/.415/.530 with 21 long balls in 543 PAs, and he managed to record more unintentional walks (59) than strikeouts (56). The 32-year-old’s brilliance has extended into the Dodgers-Diamondbacks series, too, as he’s 4 of 8 with a homer and five runs batted in thus far.
Mark Melancon, RP, Giants – four years, $62MM: 2017 was a nightmarish season for both the Giants and Melancon, whom they signed to help repair a bullpen that melted down too often last year and helped earn them an early playoff exit. The season for the Giants and Melancon began ominously, however, as he blew a save and picked up a loss on Opening Day against the D-backs. The Giants went on to win a paltry 63 of their next 161 games, meaning the playoffs were never on the table for the longtime contenders, and Melancon didn’t help matters. While Melancon put up normal strikeout/walk numbers (8.7 K/9 against 1.8 BB/9) and a 52.7 percent grounder rate, the former Pirates and Nationals closer blew five of 16 save chances and pitched to a 4.50 ERA (up from a combined 2.39 from 2012-16). Further, after racking up at least 71 innings in each of the previous four seasons, injuries limited him to 30 frames in his first year in San Francisco. Melancon underwent right forearm surgery last month, capping off a season to forget.
Josh Reddick, OF, Astros – four years, $52MM: Reddick endured a terrible late-season stretch as a Dodger in 2016 after they acquired him in a deadline trade with the Athletics, but that didn’t stop the Astros from handing him a sizable contract over the winter. The gamble has paid off so far for Houston, which saw Reddick serve as one of the top complementary pieces in a loaded offense during the regular season. The lefty-swinging 30-year-old batted a career-best .314/.363/.484 line in 540 PAs and was worth 3.5 fWAR, his highest figure since 2012. FanGraphs valued his contributions during the 162-game campaign at nearly $28MM.
Rich Hill, SP, Dodgers – three years, $48MM: Unlike this year’s market, one which could feature Jake Arrieta, Yu Darvish, Shohei Otani and Masahiro Tanaka, free agency wasn’t rife with appealing starting pitchers last winter. As such, the only starter on this dozen-player list is Hill, whose re-signing was yet another shrewd offseason move by the Dodgers. The 37-year-old Hill’s not exactly a workhorse, but he did manage his highest innings total since 2007 – 135 2/3 – during the regular season, and the left-handed journeyman continued to perform like a front-line starter. Hill ranked seventh in the majors in K/9 (11.01) and 20th in ERA (3.32).
Mark Trumbo, DH/OF, Orioles – three years, $37MM: The market wasn’t all that kind to defensively limited mashers a year ago, so Trumbo was among those who went without a contract for a while (until January, to be exact) before inking a deal that fell short of projections. Now, given that the 2017 version of Trumbo looked nothing like the AL-high 47-HR man they saw the year prior, the Orioles would probably like to undo their decision to bring him back. Trumbo, 31, didn’t even hit half as many long balls this season (23), and his ISO dropped from .277 to .163. Unsurprisingly, then, the overall production (.234/.289/.337 in 603 PAs) left a lot to be desired. Going by fWAR (minus-1.2), Trumbo was the second-least valuable position player in baseball this year.
Kendrys Morales, DH, Blue Jays – three years, $33MM: This looks like another regrettable signing, one the Jays made only a few days into free agency last offseason. Although the switch-hitting Morales chipped in 28 homers in 608 PAs, those didn’t provide enough of a lift to an underwhelming .250/.308/.445 line. On the bright side, Morales likely deserved better – his .358 xwOBA easily outpaced his actual wOBA (.320). However, that’s probably not of much comfort to Toronto right now.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
MLBTR Originals
Recapping MLBTR’s original content from the past week:
- Before the playoffs began, I polled readers on who would win the National League, the American League and the World Series. The plurality of voters expect the Indians to topple the Dodgers in the Fall Classic. Both teams are on the right track so far, as they each lead their respective division series 2-0.
- Sticking with the postseason theme, Jason Martinez, Steve Adams and Jeff Todd detailed how all 10 playoff teams constructed their rosters. Along with the aforementioned Dodgers and Indians, check out entries on the Astros, Nationals, Red Sox, Cubs, Diamondbacks, Yankees, Rockies and Twins.
- The Twins overcame a less-than-stellar rotation to earn a playoff trip, but their return to the postseason only lasted one game. With Minnesota’s season in the rearview, Kyle Downing asked readers which path the team will take over the winter to bolster its starting pitching. The plurality of voters expect the Twins’ biggest improvements in that area to come from within.
- Kyle also wrote a piece focusing on Tigers third baseman/outfielder Nicholas Castellanos as a potential offseason trade candidate. Although the Tigers are in the very early stages of a rebuild, the plurality of voters believe Castellanos will stick with the club at least into next offseason.
Quick Hits: Phils, Tigers, Judge, Rockies, D-backs
Rockies bench coach Mike Redmond is drawing interest from two manager-needy teams, the Phillies and Tigers, Jon Heyman of FanRag reports. Redmond isn’t far removed from managing the Marlins, who went 155-207 on his watch from 2013-15. The former big league catcher played with the Marlins from 1998-2004, giving him familiarity with Tigers general manager Al Avila. The executive was in Miami’s front office for a portion of Redmond’s tenure as a player there.
More from around baseball:
- With the Indians and Yankees facing off in the American League Division Series, Anthony Castrovince of MLB.com flashes back five years to a decision that has impacted both franchises. The Indians signed former Yankees outfielder Nick Swisher to a four-year, $56MM deal in December 2012, a move that didn’t pan out for Cleveland but did help lead to the Aaron Judge era in the Bronx. By letting Swisher walk in free agency, the Yankees earned a compensatory draft pick in 2013, the 32nd selection, with which they chose Judge. Unsurprisingly, Cleveland passed on Judge at No. 5 in the first round (the Indians grabbed a different now-Yankees outfielder in Clint Frazier, whom the Tribe traded in a 2016 deal for reliever Andrew Miller), though one member of the club’s scouting department was particularly enamored of the hulking slugger. “One of our scouts liked him over [No. 1 overall pick Mark] Appel, which is crazy to think about,” Indians president Chris Antonetti told Castrovince. “It’s not necessarily how we had him on our board, but one of our scouts felt strongly about it. There were some questions about his size, but he also did a lot of things really well, and he was renowned for having a great makeup.”
- There haven’t been any contract discussions between the Rockies and outfielder Carlos Gonzalez since spring training, according to Mark Kiszla of the Denver Post. The Rockies offered CarGo an extension back then, but he turned it down and proceeded to endure the worst season of his career. The 31-year-old impending free agent batted an uncharacteristically poor .262/.339/.423 in 534 plate appearances, but he did fare much better after the All-Star break (.314/.390/.531 in 207 PAs).
- The Diamondbacks won 93 games during the regular season and broke a five-year playoff drought, leading Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic to highlight some of the good work done by their past decision-makers. While first-year GM Mike Hazen is responsible for the J.D. Martinez, Ketel Marte, Daniel Descalso, Jeff Mathis, Taijuan Walker and Fernando Rodney acquisitions, among others, predecessors Josh Byrnes, Jerry Dipoto, Kevin Towers and Dave Stewart each have a hand in the current on-field product in Arizona – something Hazen realizes. “There are contributions all over the place,” he told Piecoro. “They should be proud of that, I think. We all know in the game things happen. Changes get made. For whatever reason, they get made. But it still doesn’t change the fact that there was good done, too.”
5 Key Stories: 9/30/17 – 10/6/17
A recap of the top stories featured at MLBTR over the past week:
Chaos in Atlanta: A bombshell dropped Monday in Atlanta with the resignations of general manager John Coppolella, who stepped down after two years on the job, and special assistant Gordon Blakely. Coppolella and Blakeley were forced out amid an investigation from Major League Baseball into their international and domestic practices. The league’s investigation into Coppolella’s alleged violations on the international market is ongoing, and it could negate the Braves’ 2016 signing of high-end prospect Kevin Maitan. The 17-year-old Maitan will become a free agent again if MLB voids his contract with Atlanta, which inked the infielder to a $4.25MM bonus two summers ago. While they await word on Maitan’s future, the Braves are on the lookout for a new GM. President of baseball operations John Hart is filling that role for now.
Changes coming to Mets’ dugout: No one predicted Coppolella’s demise, but there was little doubt Terry Collins would be out as the NL East rival Mets’ manager after the season. The 68-year-old Collins ultimately stepped down on his own, shifting to the team’s front office after seven seasons as its skipper. The Collins-led Mets went 551-583 with two playoff berths, one of which ended with a five-game World Series loss to the Royals in 2015. Longtime pitching coach Dan Warthen is out, too, though he could join Collins in taking another job in the organization.
Security for other managers: Collins’ career as a manager is likely over, but former colleagues Brian Snitker (Braves) and Jeff Banister (Rangers) will continue in their current positions for at least a bit longer. The Braves’ front office is in flux, as mentioned, but there’s stability in the dugout with Snitker, who will be back next season after they exercised his 2018 option. Banister was already under contract for next year, but he’ll avoid lame-duck status – the Rangers picked up his 2019 option on Wednesday. Meanwhile, on the heels of a Cinderella season, the Twins are working to re-up Paul Molitor.
Derek Jeter in charge in Miami: Jeter and businessman Bruce Sherman agreed to purchase the Marlins for $1.2 billion in mid-August. Nearly two months later, they officially took the keys from the team’s previous owner, the beleaguered Jeffrey Loria. In the introductory press conference Jeter and Sherman held Tuesday, the former Yankees shortstop and future Hall of Famer acknowledged a need “to rebuild the organization,” adding that some “unpopular decisions” could be in the offing.
Rangers finally release Prince Fielder: The former first baseman announced in August 2016 that he wouldn’t play again on account of neck issues, but he didn’t officially retire because doing so would have cost him the remainder of his contract. As a result, the Rangers kept Fielder on their 40-man roster until Wednesday, when they released the 33-year-old after negotiating a deal with the insurer paying part of his salary. Fielder is owed $24MM per annum through 2020 on the nine-year, $214MM contract he signed with the Tigers in 2012.
Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Cards, Marlins, Jays, Mariners, Pirates, ChiSox
This week in baseball blogs…
- Redbird Daily regards Marlins outfielder Christian Yelich as a potential trade target for the Cardinals.
- BP Toronto doesn’t think extending Josh Donaldson would be as costly for the Blue Jays as some believe.
- Hardball via Hardcore shares an offseason plan for the Mariners.
- Pirates Breakdown asks if the Pirates can mimic the Twins’ turnaround.
- Rotisserie Duck highlights all 30 teams’ WAR leaders.
- Pop Culture Abstract checks in on where the Cardinals’ value came from this year.
- The Loop Sports is bullish on White Sox prospect Luis Robert.
- Jays From the Couch wants Toronto to trade for Marlins second baseman Dee Gordon.
- Call To The Pen names candidates for the Phillies’ last rotation spot.
- A’s Farm previews the Athletics’ Arizona Fall League squad.
- MetsMind explains how the club can improve its woeful defense next season.
- Clubhouse Corner looks at six storylines from the Yankees’ season.
- The Point of Pittsburgh reviews key checkpoints of the Pirates’ season.
- Jays Journal makes some early free agent predictions for Toronto.
- DiNardo’s Dugout (podcast) hands out National League awards and discusses the playoffs.
- Mets Daddy writes about the team’s unfortunate history since its most recent World Series title 31 years ago.
- Camden Depot analyzes Wade Miley‘s 2017 struggles.
- The Runner Sports (links: 1, 2) offers Astros and Yankees playoff previews.
- Pinstriped Prospects interviews young Yankees outfielder Jeff Hendrix.
Submissions: ZachBBWI @gmail.com.
Cafardo’s Latest: J.D., Red Sox, Mariners, Stanton, Cubs, Braves
It “would appear” the Red Sox will be involved in the chase for Diamondbacks outfielder J.D. Martinez if he hits free agency in the offseason, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe writes. As Cafardo points out, there’s a connection between Red Sox president Dave Dombrowski and Martinez, whom the former plucked off the scrapheap when he was Detroit’s general manager in 2014. Now one of the premier hitters in the game, Martinez would provide some much-needed punch to a Red Sox club that’s lacking in the power department, though it’s unclear where he’d play in Boston. On paper, the Red Sox look set in the outfield for the next few years with Mookie Betts, Andrew Benintendi and Jackie Bradley Jr. in the fold.
More rumblings from Cafardo:
- Indians first baseman/designated hitter Carlos Santana is another free agent-to-be who’s likely to land on the Red Sox‘s radar, per Cafardo, who also names the Mariners as a probable suitor. Considering their positions, the switch-hitting Santana would seem to be a more natural fit than Martinez for Boston, which has gotten subpar production at first from impending free agent Mitch Moreland this year. Meanwhile, Mariners first basemen ranked last in the majors in fWAR (minus-0.7) during the regular season. Their top option, Yonder Alonso, could depart in free agency, which may lead to a Santana pursuit.
- The Cubs could be a team to watch if the Marlins shop right fielder Giancarlo Stanton in the offseason, Cafardo suggests. It’s unclear whether the Cubs would have interest in the potential NL MVP, who’s due $295MM through 2028 (if he doesn’t opt out of his contract after 2020), but they have plenty of players the Marlins “would love” to acquire, notes Cafardo.
- Royals GM Dayton Moore will only head to Atlanta if the Braves give him complete control, according to Cafardo. That jibes with a previous report from USA Today’s Bob Nightengale and suggests that president John Hart would have to exit for a Moore-Braves union to come to fruition. Hart isn’t planning on leaving, however, Cafardo reports. Two members of the Nationals’ front office – assistant GM Doug Harris and the previously reported Dan Jennings – as well as ex-Red Sox GM Ben Cherington (now in Toronto) are on Hart’s radar as he seeks a replacement for John Coppolella, Cafardo relays.
- Yomiuri Giants right-hander Miles Mikolas is eyeing a return to the majors, and if he does opt out of his contract in Japan, it appears he’ll draw plenty of big league interest. Fourteen major league teams scouted Mikolas’ most recent starts, and there’s a belief among some that he could be a capable mid-rotation starter if he comes back, according to Cafardo. Mikolas, 29, logged 37 appearances (10 starts) with the Padres and Rangers from 2012-14 and recorded a 5.32 ERA, 6.1 K/9 and 3.4 BB/9. He has been stellar with Yomiuri since 2015, though, with a 2.18 ERA, 8.0 K/9 and 1.5 BB/9 across 62 starts.
- The Tigers decided before the season ended to part with manager Brad Ausmus, but he told Cafardo that he wouldn’t have returned “even if they had offered me a three-year deal.” Ausmus didn’t believe he was the right match for a Detroit team in the initial stages of a rebuild. On potentially managing someplace else, he said, “I’d have to study the situation and see if it was the right fit for me.”
NL Notes: Cubs, Cards, Fowler, Braves, Marlins
The reigning World Series champion Cubs stumbled through the early months of the season, which led president Theo Epstein to inform teams in early July that he’d consider selling impending free agents such as Jake Arrieta and Wade Davis, Patrick Mooney of NBC Sports Chicago reports. The Cubs were at their lowest point of the season on July 9, when they dropped to 43-45 with a 14-3 loss to the Pirates in the last game before the All-Star break. Regarding his thought process at the time, Epstein told Mooney: “Not blowing it up. But when you’re five-and-a-half out, if you have a bad road trip and a bad homestand and then you’re 10-and-a-half out, absolutely, we would have sold.” Instead, Epstein swung a blockbuster trade with the White Sox for left-hander Jose Quintana on July 13, the final day of the break. The Cubs proceeded to go 49-25 in the second half of the season to finish 92-70 and run away with the National League Central.
More from the NL:
- The Cardinals may deal from their surplus of outfielders this offseason, but the highest-paid member of the bunch, Dexter Fowler, seems unlikely to go anywhere. When the Cardinals signed Fowler to a five-year, $82.5MM contract last winter, they included a no-trade clause in the deal. Now, Fowler tells Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that he and his family love their new city. He also enjoys being part of the Cardinals organization. “I see myself being here for a long time. It’s what I signed up for,” the center fielder said. “That’s what my contract says. I’m looking to build a legacy with my teammates.” Fowler had a terrific offensive season to kick off his Redbirds tenure, hitting .264/.363/.488 with 18 home runs in 491 plate appearances, but injuries limited him to 118 games and advanced metrics indicate he had a rough time in the field (minus-18 Defensive Runs Saved, minus-5.9 Ultimate Zone Rating).
- The hammer dropped Monday on Braves general manager John Coppolella and special assistant Gordon Blakely, both of whom resigned over alleged rule violations. Their departures might not be the end, either, as David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution tweets that it wouldn’t be a surprise to see more members of the Braves’ scouting department forced to resign.
- Given that he’s close with Gary Denbo, Blakeley would have been a possibility to join the Marlins’ front office, but that’s now in question after Monday’s events, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald writes. Denbo is currently with the Yankees, but the expectation is that he’ll join friend and new owner Derek Jeter in the Marlins’ decision-making hierarchy, Jackson notes. Meanwhile, there’s a sense that the Marlins will retain manager Don Mattingly and president of baseball operations Michael Hill, per Joe Frisaro of MLB.com. Hill isn’t a lock to remain in the same role, suggests Frisaro, who adds that third base coach Fredi Gonzalez could depart. The Tigers have asked to speak with Gonzalez about becoming their next manager, according to Frisaro.
MLB Investigating Braves’ Kevin Maitan Signing
9:31pm: Coppolella and the Braves allegedly agreed to a deal this summer with 14-year-old Haitian Dominican shortstop prospect Robert Puason, according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. As Rosenthal points out, Puason isn’t eligible to sign until he’s 16, so the Braves are in violation if they did indeed reach an agreement with him. But the league is also investigating other teams for agreeing to sign underage prospects, per Rosenthal. One international scouting director informed him that up to 15 clubs have reached deals with players who, like Puason, aren’t allowed to sign until 2019. Keith Law of ESPN adds (on Twitter) that there are some prospects who can’t sign until 2020 but already have verbal agreements with teams. The current international setup has led to frustration from baseball officials, meaning there will be another attempt to institute a worldwide draft after the collective bargaining agreement expires in 2021, Rosenthal writes.
As for Maitan, Rosenthal relays that MLB hasn’t found any improprieties in his signing to this point, though that could change.
6:19pm: As part of its investigation into ousted Braves general manager John Coppolella’s alleged violations of its international rules, Major League Baseball is looking into the team’s 2016 signing of prospect Kevin Maitan, Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports reports in a must-read piece. In what would be a stunning development, MLB could declare the 17-year-old Maitan a free agent if it finds improprieties in the signing, according to Passan.
The Coppolella-led Braves inked the Venezuelan-born Maitan to a $4.25MM bonus at the outset of last year’s international free agent period. Maitan was the top free agent in the 2016 class and drew comparisons to Braves legend Chipper Jones, Miguel Cabrera and Miguel Sano at the time of his signing. In the months before Maitan joined the Braves, he lived in a two-bedroom apartment in Florida for “a significant amount of time” with another teenage prospect who also signed with the team, Passan details. It’s unclear, though, whether the Braves funded the prospects’ stay in the U.S., Passan adds.
In 2017, his first season in the Atlanta organization, the switch-hitting Maitan played shortstop at the rookie level and slashed .241/.290/.340 with two home runs in 176 plate appearances. MLB.com ranks him as the No. 5 prospect in the Braves’ deep farm system and the 38th-best youngster in the game. Eric Longenhagen of FanGraphs (No. 67) and Baseball America (No. 71) also regard Maitan as a top 75 prospect.
Coppollela may have skirted regulations when signing Maitan, but it seems he also disregarded MLB’s rules domestically. In August 2016, for instance, Coppolella allegedly contacted the representative for an impending free agent wanting to discuss the player well before the market opened in November, which would have violated tampering rules, per Passan. Additionally, Passan explains that Coppolella is alleged to have offered 2017 second-round pick Drew Waters a car in order to get him to sign a below-slot deal. The Braves signed the 18-year-old outfielder to a $1.5MM bonus that came in under the $1.675MM slot value of Waters’ pick, No. 41 overall, but his agent, Keith Grunewald, told sources Passan spoke with that Coppolella’s car offer was only made as a joke. Coppolella met with MLB officials in New York last week to discuss the accusations against him, Passan relays.
While it appears MLB could seriously punish the Braves for their actions under Coppollela, his career in the game may be over. Coppolella’s methods in Atlanta did not win him many fans among either his peers around the league or fellow members of the Braves’ front office, Passan writes. One high-ranking Braves official revealed to Passan that things became toxic with Coppolella around, saying last week that “this place is totally [expletive] up. I just hope when it blows up, it doesn’t take all of us down.”
Latest On John Coppolella, Braves
7:22pm: Associates of Moore believe he’s likely to leave the Royals for the Braves, Bob Nightengale of USA Today tweets.
5:42pm: Braves president of baseball operations John Hart spoke to David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and other reporters Monday about general manager John Coppolella’s resignation, which was a forced exit, O’Brien writes.
Hart expressed deep disappointment in Coppolella, confirming he committed “an MLB rules violation that has to do with the international marketplace.” Hart also revealed that the league “dug up a number of things that were quite serious, as far as the MLB ruless” in its investigation, one that went back roughly two years, O’Brien tweets. Coppolella’s international violations were merely “the tip of the iceberg,” a source told Jerry Crasnick of ESPN (Twitter link).
As the Braves move forward, Hart will assume their GM role on a temporary basis, but a couple of potential full-time successors to Coppollela have already emerged in the rumor mill. One possibility is Royals GM Dayton Moore, who started his career in Atlanta in 1994 before eventually heading to Kansas City in 2006. Moore still “has a soft spot” for the Braves, Crasnick notes (Twitter links). Crasnick also points out that with the Royals perhaps entering a rebuild and having an up-and-coming GM prospect in J.J. Picollo, now may be the time for them and Moore to part ways.
Should the Braves strike out on a potential Moore pursuit, they might turn to Dan Jennings, who “could be a top candidate,” according to O’Brien (on Twitter). Jennings is a special assistant to Nationals GM Mike Rizzo, but he’s better known for his time with the Marlins. The 57-year-old worked as Miami’s GM from 2013-15, and he even served as its interim manager for 124 games in his final season with the club. Jennings ceded the GM position when he shifted to the dugout, an experiment that yielded a 55-69 record and led to his firing after in October 2015.
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