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2021 Managerial Search Tracker

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Three teams are currently on the hunt for new managers, and this post will keep track of the many names reported and rumored to be part of these searches.  The latest…

Red Sox

Interviewed

  • Mike Bell: Twins bench coach
  • Don Kelly: Pirates bench coach
  • Carlos Mendoza: Yankees bench coach
  • James Rowson: Marlins bench coach
  • Skip Schumaker: Padres associate manager
  • Luis Urueta: Diamondbacks bench coach
  • Will Venable: Cubs third base coach

Reportedly Under Consideration

  • Alex Cora: former Red Sox manager (currently suspended until conclusion of the World Series)
  • George Lombard: Dodgers first base coach

*****

Tigers

Interviewed

  • Dave Clark: Tigers first base coach
  • Sal Fasano: Braves catching instructor
  • Pedro Grifol: Royals bench coach
  • A.J. Hinch: former Diamondbacks/Astros manager
  • Don Kelly: Pirates bench coach
  • Mark Kotsay: Athletics quality control coach
  • George Lombard: Dodgers first base coach
  • Lloyd McClendon: current Tigers interim manager, former Pirates/Mariners manager
  • Carlos Mendoza: Yankees bench coach
  • Phil Nevin: Yankees third base coach
  • Marcus Thames: Yankees hitting coach
  • Will Venable: Cubs third base coach

Reportedly Under Consideration

  • Alex Cora: former Red Sox manager (currently suspended until conclusion of the World Series)
  • Fredi Gonzalez: Orioles bench coach, former Braves/Marlins manager
  • Mike Redmond: Rockies bench coach
  • Vance Wilson: Royals third base coach

*****

White Sox

Hired

  • Tony La Russa: Hall-of-Famer, former Cardinals/Athletics/White Sox manager

Reportedly Drew Consideration

  • A.J. Hinch: former Astros/Diamondbacks manager (currently suspended until conclusion of the World Series)

Red Sox, Tigers Interview Carlos Mendoza For Managerial Vacancies

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Yankees bench coach Carlos Mendoza has emerged as a candidate for two different managerial openings, George A. King III of the New York Post reports.  Both the Red Sox and Tigers have spoken with the 40-year-old Mendoza, who just completed his third season on New York’s big league coaching staff.

Mendoza is a long-time member of the Yankees’ organization, dating back to his time as a minor league player in the team’s farm system from 2006-09.  That 2009 season saw Mendoza transition into a number of different coaching and managerial roles, including stints as manager of the Yankees’ rookie league team and their A-ball affiliate in Charleston.  Mendoza was named to the Major League coaching staff as a quality control coach and infield instructor prior to the 2018 season, and was then promoted to bench coach last offseason.

As King notes, there is some speculation that Alex Cora and A.J. Hinch could be unofficial favorites to respectively manage the Red Sox and Tigers, though the clubs are prohibited from interviewing either manager until their one-year suspensions (for their roles in the Astros’ sign-stealing scandal) are over.  Both Cora and Hinch are under suspension until the conclusion of the World Series.

In the interim, both Boston and Detroit have been linked to several other candidates, whether out of due diligence or perhaps as a sign that Cora and Hinch aren’t necessarily the top choices.  Mendoza joins Cubs third base coach Will Venable and Pirates bench coach Don Kelly as the only candidates known to have interviewed with both the Tigers and Red Sox.

Brett Phillips, The Rays’ Thrice-Traded Hero

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Despite the new August 31 date and all the uncertainty about how player movement would be impacted by the circumstances of the pandemic-shortened season, the lead-up to the 2020 trade deadline went more or less the same as deadlines past.  Some big names switched uniforms, non-contenders looked to dump salary and add prospects, and just about as always, one unheralded trade ended up paying big dividends in October.

On August 27, the Rays made a move to shore up their bench depth by acquiring Brett Phillips from the Royals in exchange for infield prospect Lucius Fox.  It was one of several seemingly minor swaps Tampa Bay made prior to the August 31 deadline, and while the Rays were already coasting towards a postseason spot by that point, the argument could have been made that a bigger move was necessary to boost their chances at a championship.

Little did we know, the Phillips trade was that move.  Phillips’ ninth-inning RBI single last night started a wild, game-deciding sequence and an 8-7 comeback victory for Tampa in Game 4 of the World Series.  After entering the game as a pinch-runner in the previous inning, Phillips’ first plate appearance since October 7 resulted in his entry into instant legend status in Rays history.

Not bad for a player who was primarily seen as a defensive and pinch-running specialist at the time of his acquisition.  In fact, it’s not bad for a 26-year-old player playing for his fourth different organization, which is perhaps why Phillips was such an unlikely candidate to deliver the Rays’ biggest hit.

Originally a sixth-round pick for the Astros in the 2012 draft, Phillips began to turn heads after a very impressive 2014 season at the A-ball and high-A levels.  He continued to produce into 2015, and while this breakout might have made him into a building block for the rebuilding Astros if it had happened a bit earlier in Phillips’ career, by 2015 the Astros were looking to win.  As such, Houston made a major trade deadline swap with the Brewers that sent Phillips, Josh Hader, Domingo Santana, and Adrian Houser to Milwaukee in exchange for Carlos Gomez, Mike Fiers, and $287,500 in international bonus pool money.

The Astros went on to reach the postseason that year, falling to the Royals in the ALDS, yet the aftershocks of this trade continue to reverberate around baseball.  Gomez ended up being something of a disappointment for Houston that year, though Fiers went on to become a solid member of the Astros’ rotation through their 2017 World Series-winning season and then…well, you know the rest.  On Milwaukee’s end of the deal, Hader developed into one of the game’s best relief aces, Hauser has emerged as an intriguing starter, and Santana delivered some solid production over 351 games for the Brew Crew before he was traded to the Mariners in the 2018-19 offseason.

The one weak link of the Brewers’ trade return, however, was Phillips.  There was no doubt that Phillips had MLB-caliber speed and glovework, except after a promising .799 OPS over 98 plate appearances in 2017, he struggled badly the next season and found himself on the move again.

This time, Phillips was headed to Kansas City (along with right-hander Jorge Lopez) in another deadline deal, as Milwaukee picked up Mike Moustakas for the pennant race.  The Moose was a key part of a Brewers team that came within a game of the 2018 NL pennant, and the Brew Crew reached the playoffs again in 2019 thanks in large part to Moustakas’ All-Star season.  For Phillips, he found himself on another rebuilding team with another opportunity at a fresh start, yet he again couldn’t capitalize — Phillips hit .178/.256/.308 over 236 PA spanning three seasons with the Royals.

As a player who relied on doubles and triples rather than homers, Phillips wasn’t quite a “three true outcomes” player in the minors, though he used a keen batting eye to counter-act his strikeouts and generate a career .274/.362/.478 slash line over 3174 PA.  The problem is, Major League pitchers have feasted on those holes in Phillips’ swing, as he has struck out 133 times in his 383 plate appearances at the big league level.

Phillips’ trade history is indicative of his declining prospect stock, as he went from a headline piece of a blockbuster deal to last August’s swap that didn’t generate many headlines.  Not many headlines, that is, until last night.  While Phillips’ first two trades carried so much import for other teams and players involved, it wasn’t until his third time changing uniforms that Phillips himself now stands as the most important part of a trade.  Phillips is still only 26, and given the Rays’ penchant for finding hidden gems, perhaps last night’s heroics will only raise the curtain on a big second act of Phillips’ Major League career.

MLBTR Poll: Will The National League Have The DH In 2021?

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For the first time since 1972, both the American League and National League played a season under a uniform set of rules.  The institution of the universal designated hitter was one of several concessions made to the unusual circumstances of the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, as with pitchers already facing a heightened injury risk from a lack of normal preseason preparation time, the decision was made to spare the pitchers the extra stress of hitting.  Both the league and the players’ union agreed that the DH would become a full-time feature of National League baseball for the first time ever.

What was the reaction?  Well, it probably depended on how you felt about the DH in the first place.  It didn’t quite stand out as much as other oddities of 2020 baseball (i.e. the automatic runner on second base in extra innings, or seven-inning games in doubleheaders) since the DH has been part of the game for almost 50 years, yet some fans of National League teams surely felt unusual watching games played in their favorite team’s ballpark without a pitcher coming to the plate.  If you’re a fan of the Dodgers, Braves, or Padres, you probably learned to love the DH — having an extra lineup spot to house a big bat was a key reason why these three playoff-bound clubs scored the most runs of any team in baseball.

DH-free baseball has long been on the decline at many levels of the game, and the thought was that the universal designated hitter would eventually become part of Major League Baseball.  With the current collective bargaining agreement expiring after the 2021 season, it has long been assumed that the universal DH would be one of the many issues to be debated between the owners and players.  The 2020 implementation was considered to be a first step in that direction, and since the experiment seemed to work well, could the league and the MLBPA simply skip ahead and make the designated hitter permanent in National League baseball?

It won’t be quite so easy, of course.  Commissioner Rob Manfred recently said that all rule changes applied only to the 2020 season, so any further changes like a universal DH would have to be settled after another round of negotiation between the league and the players.  With the CBA talks looming and the contentious tone of the negotiations prior to the start of the shortened season still lingering, there may be no such thing as an “easy” decision between MLB and the MLBPA these days.  It is quite likely that the league will try to gain some concessions from the union in exchange for the universal DH, and given how loathe the players have been to concede any ground to the owners, it may be difficult to find common ground on one relatively small issue without opening the larger can of worms that is the myriad of questions facing the sport in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Manfred’s statement about the DH and likelihood of a 2021 rules reset could also be a way of addressing the concerns of National League general managers.  As the Padres’ A.J. Preller recently noted in regards to his team’s club option with Mitch Moreland, the Padres are a little unsure about how to proceed with deciding on Moreland or other roster matters until they know whether or not the designated hitter slot will be available.  If the rules will revert to their pre-2020 state, Manfred was essentially telling Preller and company to prepare as if there won’t be a DH….until, maybe, there is?

As we get closer to Opening Day 2021, MLB will have a better idea of how (or if) the next season will proceed, whether that manifests in another shortened season, fans in the stands, or many other factors related to the state of the pandemic.  It could be that the 2020 rules are re-implemented around, say, early March if it becomes apparent that a normal 162-game schedule isn’t feasible.

But, many player agents and MLBPA members are undoubtedly aware that the lack of a DH spot will mean fewer roster opportunities for players this offseason.  Players like Moreland could have their options declined, defensively-challenged veterans will be less in demand, and even some of the bigger-name designated hitters will again see their markets limited to the American League.  Like MLBTR’s Steve Adams observed in regards to Nelson Cruz, the slugger’s desire for a two-year contract would be much easier to find if all 30 teams were candidates (at least on paper) to sign Cruz this winter.

With all these factors in mind, do you think the league and the players will work out a deal for a universal DH in 2021, or will the National League get at least one more years of pitchers at the plate? (link to poll for Trade Rumors mobile app users)

Latest On Orioles, Mike Elias

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10:43PM: A league spokesperson released a statement to media (including Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com) in regards to the Daily News story, saying “Major League Baseball is completely comfortable with the Orioles’ coaching designations for the 2020 season, which are not only consistent with the terms of the pension plan but were approved in advance by MLB and shared prior to the start of the season with representatives from the Major League Baseball Players Association.  The suggestion that there is an ongoing investigation that could result in discipline is simply false.”

9:32PM: The MLB Players Association is currently investigating a complaint involving Orioles general manager and executive vice-president Mike Elias and pitching director Chris Holt, Bill Madden of the New York Daily News reports.  The matter has to do with Holt’s inclusion on a list of Orioles coaches who qualify for the pension plan between the union and the league.

Teams are permitted to place four coaches per year on the pension plan, “which includes lucrative medical benefits and life insurance,” as well as a players’ licensing check worth somewhere between $40K-$60K.  Madden says only full-time, uniformed coaches are eligible for inclusion, however, and Holt didn’t meet this criteria as the team’s pitching director.

Holt spent much of the 2020 season working at the Orioles’ alternate training site, as Nathan Ruiz of the Baltimore Sun notes that the COVID-19 pandemic scuttled the team’s original plan for Holt’s role — a normal season would have seen Holt work throughout the organization with both big league and minor league pitchers.  The other three Baltimore coaches listed (third base coach Jose Flores, hitting coach Don Long, and field coordinator/catching instructor Tim Cossins) spent the season working with the Major League team.

Elias is involved in the matter since, as the Orioles’ GM, he was responsible for naming the four coaches to the pension plan.  The MLBPA’s pension committee is reviewing the complaint, and it is yet unclear what type of punishment could be levied.  At worst, Elias could face a charge of pension fraud, a lawyer with experience of the MLBPA pension plan tells Madden, if it is ruled that Elias included Holt on the four-coach list despite knowing Holt wasn’t eligible.

Holt and Elias previously worked together in the Astros organization when Elias was Houston’s assistant GM, and Holt was one of Elias’ earliest hires after becoming Baltimore’s general manager following the 2018 season.  Holt worked as the Orioles’ minor league pitching coordinator in 2019 before being promoted to his current role, and there has been speculation that Holt could become the team’s pitching coach for 2021.

Athletics Part Ways With Third Base Coach Al Pedrique

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The A’s won’t be bringing third base coach Al Pedrique back for the 2021 season, The Athletic’s Alex Coffey reports (Twitter link).  This is expected to be the only change made to the Oakland coaching staff, according to Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle.

Pedrique has been a coach with the Athletics for the last three seasons, working as a first base coach in 2018-19 before shifting across the diamond to the third base box in 2020.  Pedrique might be best known for his 83-game stint as the Diamondbacks’ interim manager in 2004, though the 60-year-old has over 25 years of coaching and managing experience at the minor league and Major League levels, as well as a special assistant job in the Astros’ front office from 2005-07.  Before being hired in Oakland, Pedrique previous worked as a big league coach with Arizona in 2004 (as a third base coach) and with Houston from 2009-11 (third base coach and bench coach).

According to Pedrique via Coffey, the Athletics would “like to give someone else within the organization a chance” in a coaching role.  Slusser thinks Mark Kotsay, currently the quality control coach, could be a candidate for the third base coach job, though she also suggests the A’s could go outside the organization for a familiar face.  Chip Hale, who previously worked four years on Oakland’s coaching staff, recently became available after being let go from his third base coaching job with the Nationals earlier this month.

Quick Hits: LeMahieu, Angels, Dombrowski, Pino, Crawford

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Don’t count on a reunion between DJ LeMahieu and the Rockies.  Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post recently contacted “those close to LeMahieu” to gauge the chances of the free agent returning to his former team, and “was told that while [LeMahieu is] keeping his options open, he doesn’t see the Rockies as a good fit for him.”  LeMahieu spent seven seasons with the Rox from 2012-18, a stretch that saw him make three All-Star appearances, win two Gold Gloves, and capture the 2016 NL batting title.

After leaving Coors Field to sign with the Yankees in the 2018-19 offseason, however, LeMahieu hit another level, posting MVP-type numbers over his two seasons in the Bronx.  It’s certainly possible that LeMahieu simply remains in New York, though several teams are bound to inquire about his services — that is to say, teams with more available payroll and perhaps closer to immediate contention than the Rockies.

As we await tomorrow’s Game 3 of the World Series, some more from around the baseball world…

  • Multiple reports linked Dave Dombrowski was a favorite to take over the Angels’ front office, though after almost a month, there hasn’t been much new information on that front.  In fact, in an appearance on Jon Heyman’s Big Time Baseball podcast (audio link), USA Today’s Bob Nightengale believes Dombrowski will “absolutely not” end up in Anaheim.  Both Heyman and Nightengale think Dombrowski might remain in Nashville, where he is part of a group vying to bring an expansion team to the Music City, with Nightengale opining that the Phillies could also potentially be a fit for Dombrowski as a win-now team.  As for the Angels’ job, Nightengale thinks their search is “wide open“at this point.  Earlier reports have suggested that the Angels are just beginning their search, and Nightengale thinks a new front office boss might not be in place until close to Thanksgiving.
  • 16-year-old Cuban outfielder Luis Pino worked out for scouts this week in the Dominican Republic, and ESPN.com’s Enrique Rojas (Spanish language link) reports that the Athletics and Rays are the favorites to land Pino when the international signing window opens on January 15.  The Giants, Cubs, White Sox, Red Sox and Padres have also shown interest in Pino, who seems likely to command a bonus of $1MM or more.
  • Longtime Giants shortstop Brandon Crawford enjoyed one of his best seasons in 2020, rebounding from a down year both offensively and defensively in 2019.  As NBC Sports Bay Area’s Alex Pavlovic notes, Crawford’s return to form solidified the Giants’ shortstop situation, and the team can now be more confident that Crawford can still be a productive player as he heads into his age-34 campaign.  2021 will also be the final year of Crawford’s contract with San Francisco, however, and the Giants have a star shortstop prospect in Marco Luciano coming down the pipeline.  Luciano could potentially be ready for a regular role by 2022, so it remains to be seen if Crawford will only be a bridge to Luciano or if the veteran could potentially still land another deal to stay in the orange and black.

NL Central Notes: Betts, Brewers, Venable, Tigers, Pirates

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Could Mookie Betts have blossomed to stardom in a Brewers uniform?  It could have been a reality if former Milwaukee GM Doug Melvin had had his way, as he tried to acquire Betts from the Red Sox in 2013 in exchange for closer Francisco Rodriguez, according to MLB.com’s Adam Berry and Adam McCalvy.  As a fifth-round pick for Boston in the 2011 draft, “Mookie sort of went under the radar if you went by the so-called MLB Pipeline or whatever.  I don’t think at the time he was in their top 10-15 prospects,” Melvin said.  Both the Brewers’ analytics and scouting departments agreed on Betts’ potential, however, so the pitch was made to then-Red Sox general manager Ben Cherington, who wisely declined the offer.

Betts was already in the midst of a big season at the A-ball levels in 2013, and Cherington recalls that by season’s end, Betts’ “name was the first one” mentioned by other clubs in trade negotiations.  “Doug Melvin was the first to ask, so I always give Doug credit.  He was the first one to ask for him,” Cherington said.

While Milwaukee fans take a moment to sigh ruefully, let’s look at some other items from around the NL Central…

  • Cubs third base coach Will Venable spoke with the Tigers about their managerial vacancy, NBC Sports Chicago’s Gordon Wittenmyer reports.  Venable was first cited as a potential candidate for the Tigers job back in September, and Venable has also recently interviewed with the Red Sox about their managerial job.  Beyond the Red Sox and Tigers, “other clubs also have sought the Cubs’ permission to talk with Venable about other, non-managerial openings in their organizations,” Wittenmyer writes.  A veteran of nine MLB seasons, Venable has spent the last three years in Wrigleyville as a special assistant to Theo Epstein, as well as a first base and third base coach.  This is the second straight winter that Venable has been a popular candidate, as the Cubs considered him for their own manager’s job last offseason, and the Astros and Giants also interviewed him for their managerial openings.
  • The Pirates have 19 players eligible for arbitration this offseason, the most of any team in baseball.  At least some of those names won’t be back in Pittsburgh in 2021, as The Athletic’s Rob Biertempfel thinks as many as six players could be non-tendered and several others are trade candidates.  Interestingly, Biertempfel cites Trevor Williams as a potential non-tender, on the heels of a season that saw Williams get off to a good start but then struggle to finish with a 6.18 ERA over 55 1/3 innings, with a league-high 15 homers allowed.  Williams received some trade interest from at least one team (the Blue Jays) back in August, so it’s possible Toronto or another club could have some talks with the Pirates before the non-tender deadline.  Williams had a pair of solid seasons in 2017-18 and is entering his age-29 season with two years of team control remaining.  MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projects Williams to earn between $3.2MM and $4.6MM through the arbitration process this winter.

Angels Have Early Interest In Didi Gregorius

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The Angels have done some “advance work” on shortstop Didi Gregorius, George A. King III of the New York Post writes.  Gregorius won’t officially hit free agency until five days after the completion of the World Series, of course, but it’s safe to assume the Halos and every other team in baseball are already preparing offseason shopping lists.

In the Angels’ case, shortstop will be a clear need since Andrelton Simmons is also headed for free agency.  While Simmons suffered through an injury-shortened season, Gregorius played in all 60 of the Phillies’ games and hit .284/.339/.488 with 10 home runs over 237 plate appearances.  It was a nice bounce-back season for Gregorius, who missed over two months of the 2019 campaign while recovering from Tommy John surgery.

The left-handed hitting Gregorius would add some balance to a predominantly right-handed Angels lineup, and represents a hitting upgrade over Simmons, though not a big upgrade.  Since the start of the 2017 season, Gregorius has hit .270/.318/.477 with 78 homers over 1720 PA to Simmons’ 32 home runs and .281/.329/.401 slash line over 1798 PA.  On the flip side, Los Angeles would making a trade-off on defense — while Gregorius has wielded a generally solid glove over his career, he obviously isn’t in the league of Simmons, who is one of the more celebrated defensive shortstops of all time.

Despite his down year in 2019, Gregorius was still offered multi-year contracts last winter before opting to sign a one-year, $14MM deal with Philadelphia.  He should be in line for a multi-year deal this offseason, albeit with the uncertainty of the sport’s tighter financial picture hanging over the free market.  Gregorius’ free agent stock could also be impacted by qualifying offer compensation, should the Phillies choose to issue him a QO and if Gregorius turned down the one-year, $18.9MM offer.

The Angels would certainly find Gregorius more attractive if they didn’t have to give up a draft pick to sign him, though Gregorius isn’t the only shortstop available.  Marcus Semien is also a free agent, and some intriguing options (Francisco Lindor, anyone?) exist on the trade market.  Plus, Los Angeles could opt to just use David Fletcher at shortstop and instead turn its attention to second base additions.

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