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Mets, Pirates “Recently Reopened Starling Marte Trade Talks”

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The Mets and Pirates have reengaged about the possibility of a Starling Marte trade, per sources for Robert Murray (via Twitter).

It’s an interesting time for the Mets to launch into trade discussions. They’d certainly love for something with a positive tilt to share the spotlight with Carlos Beltran’s recent dismissal. Of course, to view a discussion about Marte as reactionary from the Mets perspective presumes a number of things, including that the Mets were the ones to engage the Pirates. What we know for sure, the Mets would like to add an impact centerfielder, and the Pirates have one they are willing to trade – all of which has been true for the majority of the winter. 

With most impact pieces off the board by now, Marte’s name has been curiously absent from the rumor mill of late, especially given the lack of league-wide depth in center. The Diamondbacks have previously been linked to Marte, as have the Cubs, though the latter remain on ice for the time being.

On the Pirates’ side, things have been pretty quiet thus far under Ben Cherington, who no doubt is taking some time to acclimate himself to the depth of the organization. That said, moving the 31-year-old Marte would be a natural place to start moving pieces around given his talent, contract, and age. 

Insofar as talent is concerned, Marte has posted back-to-back 3+ fWAR seasons and owns a career batting line of .287/.341/.452. He put up a 119 wRC+ in 2019, and for the traditionalists in the crowd, he also posted his second 20-20 season (23 HR, 25 SB). 

Defensively, he may have slipped a tick, but Statcast still has him near the middle of the pack with 2 Outs Above Average. His reaction time isn’t great, but he runs good routes and still tracks enough to remain viable in center. Fangraphs’ defensive metrics, however, were less kind (-9 DRS, -7.6 UZR). He’s due just $11.5MM this year with an exceptionally reasonable $12.5MM team option for 2021, so even a team like the Cubs ought to be able to work him into the payroll should they desire. There is the potential for slippage as he approaches his age-31 season, but again, at those contract rates, the risk is negligible. The only real holdup in trade discussions should be the Pirates asking price.

The Mets might seem like a peculiar fit. They already have a pseudo-centerfielder in Brandon Nimmo who handles the position adequately but without particular aplomb (which some might say describes Marte). And they have a fair amount of outfield depth, with Michael Conforto, Jeff McNeil and J.D. Davis all capable of playing in the grass, though only Conforto is a natural outfielder. At the same time, they have their defensive option for center in Jake Marisnick, so a Marte addition would give whoever ends up managing the Mets a fair amount of options with which to mix-and-match based on handedness or situation. 

Blue Jays To Name Shane Farrell Amateur Scouting Director

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The Toronto Blue Jays are getting set to name Shane Farrell as their new amateur scouting director, per sources for Robert Murray (via Twitter), previously of The Athletic. Farrell has been the west coast crosschecker for the Chicago Cubs.

Chicago and Toronto both are undergoing behind the scenes makeovers this offseason, to varying degrees. Toronto is in need of new blood due to the departure of Ben Cherington to Pittsburgh. Chicago, meanwhile, has remade parts of their scouting and development departments, ostensibly driven by the stagnation of the team’s development pipeline.

Farrell’s departure from Chicago isn’t all that shocking after interviewing for and missing out on a VP of Scouting role that went to Dan Kantrovitz, a former assistant GM with the A’s. The Cubs also lost national crosschecker Sam Hughes to the Yankees this offseason, per The Athletic’s Sahadev Sharma.

Farrell, of course, is the son of the well-known former Red Sox and Blue Jays manager John Farrell, currently a scout for the Reds. The Cubs still have one Farrell connection, as Shane’s brother Jeremy is an assistant director of baseball development with the organization, while the third Farrell brother, Luke Farrell, is a former Cubs farmhand, who made 9 quality appearances for the Rangers in 2019.

For the Blue Jays, Shane Farrell joins a crew with heavy connections to his father’s time in Cleveland, though don’t be fooled into thinking this is a nepotism hire. Farrell has a strong reputation of his own accord and has been seen as a “fast-riser” among those in the industry, per Sharma.

MLBTR Poll: Starling Marte’s Future

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The Mets are showing interest in acquiring Starling Marte, per MLB Network’s Jon Heyman. Marte, who owns a career slash line of .287/.341/.452 across 8 seasons, is currently under contract with the Pirates for $11.5MM in 2020 with an exceedingly affordable club option for $12.5MM in 2021.

New Pirates GM Ben Cherington has barely had time to take his coat off, but given the executive’s stated preference to steer an organization through a ground-up rebuilding effort, resolving the future of his 31-year-old face of the franchise is likely high up on Cherington’s to-do list. That said, Marte’s contract, position, and production puts him among the Pirates’ most valuable trade chips. Therefore, Cherington is unlikely to execute a trade without a full organizational plan in place. The Pirates may prefer to tab a field manager before moving any of their key player. On the other hand, Cherington was said to have free rein when it comes to roster construction.

In theory, it makes sense to move Marte now while two years of team control remain (though the Pirates are particularly and understandably sensitive to the plight of their fanbase, who has seen more than their share of homegrown superstars leave town over the years). Still, the hiring of Cherington may point toward another Pittsburgh teardown, and a Marte trade is probably Cherington’s best, first opportunity to put his stamp on the organization. Cherington could aim to restock the farm with a handpicked package of prospects deemed as good fits for his development program.

If indeed Cherington does make Marte available, the Mets are an obvious fit. Given the dearth of centerfield options on the free agent market, it would be unsurprising for the Cubs, Reds, Padres, Diamondbacks, Phillies or Rangers to check on the price of a Marte acquisition as well. The potential demand bodes well for the Pirates, who are unlikely to emerge as contenders before Marte’s contract runs out. The NL Central may not have a consensus favorite at the moment, but the Reds continue to push for contention, and the Cardinals, Brewers, and Cubs are also good best to land on the competitive end of the talent spectrum.

Nearly 62 percent of MLBTR readers recently suggested the Pirates would be better off trading 2019 breakout star Josh Bell, and given Bell’s youth relative to Marte, let’s assume most of you feel the same about him. If nothing else, we can probably agree that the Pirates should at least explore trading Marte. So where should Cherington look to procure the best package of prospects? This, of course, takes into consideration the urgency of the acquiring team as well as the value of their farm systems – as well as, potentially, the likelihood of consummating a deal. Understanding that I’ve certainly left a prime contender or two off this list, in your estimation, who should Cherington call first? We know the Mets are interested, but is there a better fit beyond New York?

To get yourself in a Pittsburgh state of mind before casting your vote, check out the Pirates’ Offseason Outlook from MLBTR’s Steve Adams.

(Poll link for app users)

 

Pirates Name Ben Cherington General Manager

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Nov. 18: The Pirates have formally announced the hiring of Cherington as general manager.

“This is an important step forward for our organization,” owner Bob Nutting said in a press release. “Ben has an incredible track record of success having been a part of three World Championship teams in Boston, one as General Manager, and setting the table for a fourth. His passion and ability to identify, infuse and develop talent at every level, including at the Major League level, is exactly what we need to be successful in Pittsburgh.”

Nov. 15: Former Red Sox general manager and current Blue Jays senior vice president of baseball operations Ben Cherington has accepted an offer to become the next GM of the Pirates, Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports (via Twitter). Mackey reported last night that Cherington had been offered the position but had yet to accept or reach an agreement. Once officially announced as the replacement for the recently fired Neal Huntington, Cherington will quickly turn his attention to finding a replacement for manager Clint Hurdle, who was also fired following the 2019 season.

Ben Cherington | Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports

It’s been more than four years since Cherington resigned as general manager in Boston. Cherington was under contract for at least one more season when the Red Sox brought Dave Dombrowski aboard as the new president of baseball operations, and although he was offered the opportunity to retain his GM role, he instead opted to leave the organization. A year later he signed on with the Blue Jays to work in the role he held until accepting this new challenge.

Cherington is best remembered for serving as the key architect of the Red Sox’ 2013 World Series-winning roster. That season was preceded by whirlwind of free-agent additionsS that nearly all panned out; in the 2012-13 offseason, Boston signed Shane Victorino, Mike Napoli, Stephen Drew, Koji Uehara, Jonny Gomes, David Ross and Ryan Dempster. That flurry of moves was made possible when Cherington put together one of the most memorable blockbusters in recent history, trading Carl Crawford, Adrian Gonzalez, Josh Beckett and Nick Punto to the Dodgers in perhaps the most prolific salary dump of all time. In making that swap, Cherington freed up a stunning $258MM of long-term payroll commitments (none of which had been issued during his time as GM).

Of course, one can’t discuss Cherington’s run in Boston without acknowledging the ill-fated moves that ultimately led the organization to bring in Dombrowski and install him at a higher rank. The Red Sox have only recently been liberated from the last vestiges of the five-year, $95MM Pablo Sandoval contract and the four-year, $88MM commitment to Hanley Ramirez that were issued in the 2014-15 offseason. Rick Porcello won a Cy Young Award in the middle of the first year of the four-year, $82.5MM extension he signed under Cherington’s watch (which didn’t take effect until the season after Cherington left the team), but in the three subsequent years he worked to a collective 4.79 ERA in 569 innings.

Suffice it to say, as is the case for any GM/president of baseball operations whose ownership provides him substantial resources, Cherington’s track record in terms of free-agent pickups and pricey contract extensions is rather hit or miss.

Where Cherington arguably excelled most, however, was in cultivating an enviable stockpile of prospect depth that helped fuel Boston’s eventual 2018 World Series title. Rafael Devers, Andrew Benintendi and Eduardo Rodriguez were acquired during Cherington’s time as GM, as were then-prospects Yoan Moncada and Michael Kopech, who headlined the return sent to the White Sox in the Chris Sale trade. Several key graduations to the Majors and trades by the Dombrowski regime have thinned out the Red Sox’ minor league depth, but Boston was considered to have an elite farm system at the time of Cherington’s departure.

More recently, with the Jays, Cherington has worked with a particular focus on the club’s player development efforts. And while a farm system is always a product of a group effort, it’s nonetheless notable that the Jays have churned out notable prospects like Bo Bichette, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Cavan Biggio and Danny Jansen while continuing to cultivate an increasingly impressive amount of depth. That may have been one of the most appealing aspects of Cherington’s track record to the Pirates, who currently possess what is considered at best a middle-of-the road farm system (No. 15 at MLB.com and No. 20 at Baseball America).

Continued success in that area will be crucial to Cherington’s success or failure in Pittsburgh, as he’ll have only a fraction of the player personnel budget to which he was accustomed during his time as GM in Boston. The Pirates are perennially among the league’s lowest-spending clubs under owner Bob Nutting, meaning Cherington will need a deep reserve of cost-controlled talent from which to draw as he navigates the financial obstacles that accompany any low-payroll GM’s job.

The biggest offseason questions on Cherington’s roster, once the field staff is set, will be how to proceed with center fielder Starling Marte and right-hander Chris Archer. Both are controlled for another two seasons, and Archer is coming off perhaps the worst season of his career. Marte figures to be an in-demand trade asset given his consistent production and the dearth of quality center-field options on the free-agent market, while Archer could yet have considerable trade value given his raw stuff, affordable contract and a similar lack of high-end pitching targets on the trade market. Determining the right time to pull the trigger on that type of deal will become the norm for Cherington in the years to come, barring an unexpected hike in payroll from ownership.

Latest On Pirates’ Managerial Search, Front Office

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The acquisition of a new club manager promises to be the first order of business on the schedule of new Pirates GM Ben Cherington, but it appears as if the Pittsburgh exec may be given a bit of a running start from an HR perspective. Cherington is apparently happy with the work done by Pittsburgh staffers in search of a manager to this point and may simply re-interview several of the club’s existing candidates, according to a tweet from Jon Heyman of MLB Network (link).

The Pirates reportedly interviewed Twins bench coach Derek Shelton, Cardinals first base coach Stubby Clapp, Dodgers first base coach George Lombard, Athletics bench coach Ryan Christenson, and Rays bench coach Matt Quatraro for the job earlier in the offseason before their search was “paused” with the ouster of former GM Neal Huntington. Interestingly, Heyman also indicated that Pirates bench coach Jeff Banister, former Pirates third base coach Joey Cora, and Athletics quality control coach Mark Kotsay also interviewed with the club this offseason. Cora’s name is a new entry into public knowledge of the proceedings; Bannister and Kotsay were know to be under some consideration, but it wasn’t clear whether they had interviewed.

Besides being a former player and the older brother to Red Sox manager Alex Cora, the 54-year-old Cora carries previous experience as the manager of Pittsburgh’s Double-A affiliate in 2016. He has served as the club’s major league third base coach and infield coach since being hired in advance of the 2017 season. Bannister would also represent something of a familiar face to Pittsburgh fans, as the former Rangers manager has recently served the club in both bench coach and special advisor capacities.

If familiarity is key to Cherington’s hiring process, however, it may appear that Kotsay and Shelton would have something of an advantage. Kotsay spent time as a player with the Red Sox when Cherington was a Boston exec from 2008 to 2009, while Shelton was a coach with Toronto in 2017 while Cherington was a Jays VP. Further helping matters for Kotsay and Shelton may be Heyman’s indication that both were among those to interview “very well” for Pittsburgh’s managerial opening earlier this offseason (link).

Regardless of which direction the club goes with regard to their managerial search, it appears that Cherington will be doing so without the aid of Kyle Stark, who was relieved of his post as assistant GM today. The club’s announcement of Stark’s exit continues a general house cleaning that has followed a rather bizarre 69-93 campaign in the Steel City. Stark, who had served as the club’s assistant GM since 2007, will join Huntington, former team president Frank Coonelly, and former manager Clint Hurdle as a recent departee of the Pittsburgh organization.

Report: Ben Cherington Front-Runner To Become Pirates’ GM

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Blue Jays vice president of baseball operations Ben Cherington has established himself as the favorite in the Pirates’ search for a general manager, Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports. Multiple sources have informed Mackey that the Pirates have offered the position to Cherington and are waiting to hear if he’ll accept the job. Whether Cherington or someone else gets the role, expectations are Pittsburgh will “announce a move of some sort on Monday,” Mackey writes.

Cherington is one of four known candidates for the post, joining Pirates assistant GM Kevan Graves, Astros AGM of player development Pete Putila and Brewers AGM Matt Arnold. Graves has been the Pirates’ interim GM since they fired Neal Huntington last month, but even if they don’t promote him, he’s likely to stay in the organization, Mackey suggests.

Should Pittsburgh tab Cherington as its GM, it’ll be getting someone with experience in that capacity. The 45-year-old is best known for his hit-and-miss tenure as Boston’s GM. Cherington succeeded Theo Epstein after the 2011 season and stayed on until his firing in August 2015. The Red Sox did win a World Series in that span (in 2013), but they stumbled to sub-.500 records in each of the other three seasons. As MLBTR’s Mark Polishuk previously noted, big-money Cherington signings such as Pablo Sandoval and Hanley Ramirez were black marks on his time with the Red Sox, though cornerstones Mookie Betts, Andrew Benintendi, Rafael Devers and Eduardo Rodriguez did develop when he was running the show.

While Cherington had a large payroll at his disposal with the Red Sox, that won’t be the case if he joins the Pirates. Pittsburgh’s perennially a low-budget club, one that opened 2019 with a payroll below $75MM. The lack of financial flexibility helped doom Huntington, whose days with the Pirates ended after four straight non-playoff seasons. With that in mind, the Pirates’ next GM is definitely in for a challenge, though that may make the job more appealing to Cherington. He has reportedly bowed out of previous GM searches because of an interest in rebuilding an organization from the ground up.

Latest On Pirates’ Front Office Hiring Search

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While the rest of the sport has turned much of its attention to roster decisions and other offseason business, the Pirates are still working to nail down their baseball operations leadership. It seems the process of replacing dismissed GM Neal Huntington is now reaching a culmination.

That said, there is a new name in play that hadn’t previously been known to be under consideration. Astros assistant general manager of player development Pete Putila has been involved in the search, per MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand (via Twitter). Previously considered by the Giants in their GM search, Putila currently stands as one of the top lieutenants of Houston GM Jeff Luhnow.

Whether Putila is a strong candidate to take the top ops job isn’t known. It’d certainly be a big step up for an executive that had only recently ascended to an AGM title. It is at least theoretically possible he could be considered for a GM title if the Pittsburgh organization ends up hiring a top-level decisionmaker who functions as a president of baseball ops or chief baseball officer.

Most observers appear to see this as a two-horse race. Former Red Sox GM and current Blue Jays exec Ben Cherington is believed to be holding his second-round sit-down today, per Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (Twitter link). And it appears Brewers AGM Matt Arnold will do the same tomorrow; Robert Murray had tweeted that Arnold would get another interview.

But that’s hardly certain. Internal candidate Kevan Graves, who is currently serving as interim GM, joins Putila as additional possibilities. Graves was believed to be preparing for his own second interview at some point this week, Rob Biertempfel of The Athletic tweeted yesterday. Graves also joined Putila as a candidate for the Giants job that ultimately went to Scott Harris.

Whoever takes the helm will need to get right to work. The Bucs have loads of needs and some very big questions to answer. In particular, the organization will have to gauge trade interest in star center fielder Starling Marte, who figures to be in quite some demand and could be cashed in as part of a retooling effort.

GM/Coaching Notes: Pirates, Cubs, Mets, Tigers, ChiSox

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Blue Jays vice president of baseball operations Ben Cherington and Brewers assistant general manager Matt Arnold will get second interviews this week for the Pirates’ GM vacancy, per Jon Heyman of MLB Network and reporter Robert Murray. Cherington and Arnold are reportedly two of three finalists to take over in Pittsburgh. Pirates assistant GM Kevan Graves seems to be competing with them, as Rob Biertempfel of The Athletic tweets that he also appears likely to receive another interview. Meanwhile, even though the Pirates technically don’t have a GM right now, they’re also carrying on their search for a manager. Twins bench coach Derek Shelton has been particularly impressive to the club thus far, Heyman relays.

More staff news from around baseball…

  • Cubs first base coach Will Venable has been popular in managerial searches in recent weeks. The Cubs discussed their job with Venable prior to their David Ross hiring, and he also sat down with the Giants in regards to their position before they selected Gabe Kapler. Now that Venable’s not going to land a managerial job this offseason (unless Pittsburgh pursues him), the former major league outfielder will stay where he is. He’ll be one of the Cubs’ base coaches in 2020, Bruce Levine of 670 The Score tweets. The Cubs have at least one opening for those positions, as third base coach Brian Butterfield left to take the same role with the Angels.
  • The Mets are closing in on a deal to retain hitting coach Chili Davis, Jon Heyman of MLB Network tweets.  The former big league slugger is fresh off his first year with the Mets, whose offense made strides on his watch. Davis helped the club to the majors’ 13th-most runs and its seventh-highest wRC+ (104).
  • The Tigers have hired Josh Paul as their quality control coach, the team announced. Paul served as the the Angels’ bench coach over the previous three years, but the Halos fired him after this season. The 44-year-old Paul was previously a major league catcher and then a well-regarded assistant in the Yankees organization.
  • Nationals assistant hitting coach Joe Dillon is a legitimate candidate to become the Phillies’ hitting coach, Heyman suggests. Dillon has been working under Nats hitting coach Kevin Long, who’s a favorite of new Phillies manager Joe Girardi, as Heyman points out. Long was the Yankees’ hitting coach for part of Girardi’s tenure as their manager. Dillon, meanwhile, is an ex-major league infielder/outfielder who has two years’ experience as a coach at the game’s highest level.
  • Scott Coolbaugh is the White Sox’s new assistant hitting coach, the club announced. Coolbaugh was the Orioles’ hitting coach from 2015-18 and the Dodgers’ Triple-A hitting coach this season. He’ll team with White Sox new HC Frank Menechino in his new role.

Pirates’ GM Search Reportedly Down To Three Finalists

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Since the exit of longtime GM Neal Huntington on Oct 28, the Pirates have been connected to a number of respected front office figures in their search for a new head of baseball operations. Two names, Blue Jays VP of baseball operations/former Red Sox general manager Ben Cherington and Brewers assistant GM Matt Arnold, have been identified as two of three finalists for the position in a report from Joel Sherman of the New York Post (link).

Pirates assistant GM and current acting general manager Kevan Graves was named as a candidate in a separate report from Thursday, but it is unclear if he represents the third finalist, as Sherman only names Cherington and Arnold in his report. Blue Jays senior VP of player personnel Tony LaCava and former Red Sox and Orioles GM Dan Duquette have previously been mentioned as potential hires, but it appears that Pittsburgh has begun to narrow its scope.

Arnold had been reported as a speculative fit, but this is the first time he has been definitively placed in the running. A former director of player personnel with the Rays, Arnold has been working alongside Brewers GM David Stearns in his current role since October of 2015. Both he, 40, and Cherington, 45, would represent relatively youthful-yet-experienced additions to the Pittsburgh front office, in keeping with industry-wide trends.

As noted in our Offseason Outlook piece on Pittsburgh’s club, one of these finalists will face a challenging winter when they ultimately assume control of operations. After a 69-93 season that saw the club wrought with internal tension, it remains to be seen if the new Pirates exec will opt toward a full-scale rebuild via trades involving players like Starling Marte and Chris Archer, or if a more moderate re-tooling will be attempted in search of a postseason return.

Pirates Considering Ben Cherington As Baseball Operations Head

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Blue Jays VP of baseball operations and former Red Sox general manager Ben Cherington is a candidate to be the Pirates’ next head of baseball operations, The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reports (Twitter link).  Cherington has worked for Toronto for the last three-plus seasons, after taking a little over a year away from baseball after being fired by the Sox in August 2015.

Cherington joins Pirates assistant GM and current acting general manager Kevan Graves as the only known candidates to take over the Pittsburgh front office.  Other notable names have already been mentioned as potential candidates, including another name from the Jays in senior VP of player personnel Tony LaCava, and another former Red Sox GM (and Orioles GM) in Dan Duquette.  Interviews with potential candidates were expected to begin this week, though there isn’t yet any indication that Cherington has officially sat down with Pirates top brass.

The Pirates cleaned house after 69-93 season that was disastrous on and off the field, as the club parted ways with manager Clint Hurdle, team president Frank Coonelly, and GM Neal Huntington, though all in somewhat staggered fashion over the course of a month.  Travis Williams has already stepped in as the new team president, though the managerial search that was already weeks old was put on pause while Huntington’s replacement was found.

After Theo Epstein departed the Red Sox following the 2011, Cherington (following 13 years in various role in Boston’s front office) took over as general manager.  His tenure with the club saw the Sox finish in last place in the AL East in 2012, 2014, and 2015, yet win the World Series in 2013, giving him one of the most unusual resumes of any top executive in recent memory.  While several mid-tier acquisitions were key to the 2013 championship, Cherington was hampered by bigger-ticket signings that didn’t pan out, most notably Hanley Ramirez and Pablo Sandoval.  Cherington was credited, however, with the development of such young starts as Mookie Betts, Andrew Benintendi, Rafael Devers, and Eduardo Rodriguez, all of whom were either drafted or largely developed during Cherington’s time as general manager.

Multiple teams have had interest in hiring Cherington for GM openings in recent years, though he declined interviews last year, with Rosenthal reporting at the time that Cherington was mostly interested in a situation that would allow him to completely rebuild a team.  The Pirates could represent such a situation, as while the team has talent on hand, an argument could be made that a revamp could be necessary before the Bucs are able to again be truly competitive in the tough NL Central.

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