Red Sox Rumors

Red Sox Promote Eddie Romero To AGM, Won’t Hire General Manager

By Jeff Todd | October 25, 2016 at 12:13pm CDT

The Red Sox have announced that Eddie Romero has been promoted to the position of senior vice president and assistant general manager, as Brian MacPherson of the Providence Journal was among those to report (Twitter links).

Boston will not hire a single general manager to work under president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski, at least at this time, the club also added. Instead, Romero and fellow AGM Brian O’Halloran will combine to take the top two roles beneath Dombrowski in the organization’s baseball ops hierarchy.

Romero had run the team’s international amateur scouting department since 2012 and has been with the organization since 2006. Evan Drellich, then with MassLive.com, spoke with Romero a few years back about his experiences mining the Latin American market for young talent. Romero has overseen many notable international acquisitions, including top prospect Yoan Moncada.

The move comes in the wake of several significant front office moves out of Boston. One candidate for an AGM post, Amiel Sawdaye, chose instead yesterday to follow former Sox GM Mike Hazen to the Diamondbacks. Several other notable organizational figures — including, most recently, mental skills coach Bob Tewksbury — are also leaving, as Alex Speier of the Boston Globe documents.

Red Sox May Not Hire New General Manager

By Jeff Todd | October 24, 2016 at 7:52pm CDT

The Red Sox may not necessarily hire a new general manager to replace outgoing GM Mike Hazen, according to a report from Pete Abraham of the Boston Globe. President of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski declined to say whether he was still interested in assigning the GM title, explaining that he is “still working on some final decisions.”

It’s obviously not alarming to think that the Sox might operate without a GM. After all, Dombrowski has been the everyday face of the club’s baseball operations department since his hiring as president of baseball operations in August of 2015. Then-GM Ben Cherington departed rather than serving under a new executive with final baseball authority, and though Hazen took his title, he never held the same level of authority.

More than anything, perhaps, the news is a reminder that teams’ executive titles are in a state of flux around the game, with similar-sounding positions meaning different things from one place to the next. Indeed, some have even concocted whole new terms, such as “chief baseball officer.”

But that’s not to say that the apparent shift in plans is without importance. Previous indications were that Boston was looking inside its own organization for a new lieutenant to Dombrowski. Now, Abraham suggests, the team may spread the responsibilities around among multiple executives.

That may well suggest that Red Sox VP of amateur and international scouting Amiel Sawdaye — who had been seen as a candidate for a promotion — will be heading to Arizona to join Hazen. Indeed, Abraham calls that a “strong possibility.” The Twins have also said to be in the mix to add Sawdaye in some capacity, though their front office buildout is on hold while top executive hiree Derek Falvey completes his duties with the Indians.

Red Sox, D-backs, Twins In Mix For Amiel Sawdaye

By Connor Byrne | October 23, 2016 at 4:40pm CDT

Red Sox vice president of international and amateur scouting Amiel Sawdaye is weighing whether to accept Boston’s general manager job or take the Diamondbacks’ assistant GM position, Peter Gammons reports (Twitter link). It’s also possible Sawdaye could join the Twins’ front office, a source told Gammons.

The Red Sox have been looking for a GM since Mike Hazen departed last week to lead the Diamondbacks’ baseball department. Boston’s president of baseball operations, Dave Dombrowski, revealed Monday that he wants to replace Hazen from within, and based on Gammons’ report, it seems Sawdaye is his top choice. In the event Sawdaye follows Hazen to Arizona or heads to Minnesota, Red Sox assistant GM Brian O’Halloran, senior vice president of player personnel Allard Baird, pro scouting director Gus Quattlebaum or VP of international scouting Eddie Romero could end up as Hazen’s successor if the team makes an internal hire. Senior VP of baseball operations Frank Wren has more experience as a GM than any of Dombrowski’s underlings, but he’s content in his current role.

It’s unclear which title Sawdaye would have with the Twins, who named Indians assistant GM Derek Falvey their executive vice president and chief baseball officer earlier this month. When the Twins hired Falvey, who will officially take over after the World Series, a report indicated he would be able to name a GM. Given that the Twins are in contention for Sawdaye, it’s reasonable to suggest he could become Falvey’s second-in-command.

Quick Hits: Francona, Maddon, BoSox, A’s, Tigers

By Connor Byrne | October 23, 2016 at 3:25pm CDT

The decision the Red Sox made in 2003 to hire Terry Francona over Joe Maddon as their manager has worked out for all parties, writes Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald. The Red Sox won two World Series and 574 regular-season games under Francona from 2004-11, while Maddon ended up with the Rays a couple years later and established himself as one of baseball’s top managers. Now, after several seasons of squaring off as AL East rivals, Francona (Indians) and Maddon (Cubs) will meet in this year’s World Series. On losing out to Francona for the Boston job, Maddon told Silverman, “I thought Tito was more prepared for that moment than I was at that time and I’ll stand by that. I got the right job at the right time with Tampa Bay. Tito was the right guy back then. But the experience for me was fantastic moving forward.” Theo Epstein, the executive who picked Francona in Boston, also hired Maddon in Chicago. Epstein explained his call to pass on Maddon 13 years ago, telling Silverman, “In the end, we loved him but we thought taking over a veteran team in a big market, there would have been some risk involved because he’s so unique. I think it worked out best for both sides. He could go to Tampa, which was really like a petri dish at that time, he could try things out, grow into it with young players and obviously blossom.”

Heyman’s Latest: Schwarber, Dodgers, Tigers, Red Sox

By Connor Byrne | October 23, 2016 at 8:38am CDT

There’s a “very real” possibility slugger Kyle Schwarber will be able to contribute for the World Series-bound Cubs in their matchup with the Indians, reports FanRag’s Jon Heyman. Schwarber has been out since early April after tearing the ACL and LCL in his left knee, but, as the Cubs were in the midst of defeating the Dodgers to clinch their first pennant since 1945, the 23-year-old returned to action Saturday in the Arizona Fall League. Schwarber accrued four plate appearances and said afterward that “it was overall a really great day for me” (via Jack Thompson of the Chicago Tribune). If Schwarber does return for the World Series, the player whom Cubs baseball president of baseball operations Theo Epstein deems a “special talent” could factor in as a DH and pinch-hitter.

Cafardo’s Latest: Hart, Melancon, Hill, DiSarcina

By Mark Polishuk | October 22, 2016 at 3:17pm CDT

In his latest notes column for the Boston Globe, Nick Cafardo looks at the remarkable list of front office talent incubated by John Hart during his stint as the Indians’ general manager from 1989-2001. Such names as Chris Antonetti, Mark Shapiro, Neal Huntington, Ben Cherington, Paul DePodesta, Josh Byrnes and Dan O’Dowd worked together in the Cleveland front office and went on to run their own front offices as general managers, baseball operations heads and/or club presidents. Of course, those executives all developed their own notable staffers, to the point that Hart’s front office tree extends to virtually every team in the sport. Here’s some more from Cafardo’s column…

Mark Melancon will draw a lot of interest in free agency this winter, both as a closer and potentially, Cafardo opines, as an Andrew Miller-style hybrid reliever. Melancon could be willing to accept such a role if he still gets paid like a top-flight closer, and Cafardo thinks firemen could eventually surpass closers as the highest-paid members of a bullpen. “Don’t kid yourself, one reason Miller accepts his role is because he earns closer money,” Cafardo writes.
“The Nationals are expected to go hard” for Melancon, Cafardo reports, which isn’t a surprise given how well he pitched for Washington after he was acquired at the trade deadline.
Major League sources often cite a three-year/$45MM contract for Rich Hill in free agency this winter, and Hill could even get more the better he pitches during the Dodgers’ postseason run. Last month, MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes outlined five reasons why he is predicting Hill to receive at least $45MM, despite Hill’s age and injury history.
Angels first base coach Gary DiSarcina could be a candidate for two jobs with other clubs, based on his past experience working in the Red Sox front office and managing their A-ball and Triple-A affiliates. Cafardo suggests that Mike Hazen (the former Red Sox GM and newly-hired Diamondbacks GM) could consider DiSarcina as the new D’Backs manager. Boston bench coach Torey Lovullo has been rumored to be a top contender for the Arizona job, so if he indeed leaves, Cafardo wonders if DiSarcina could return to Fenway for a job on John Farrell’s staff.

AL East Notes: Grilli, Dickey, Ortiz, Rickard, Davis

By Jeff Todd | October 21, 2016 at 9:24pm CDT

The Blue Jays are expected to pick up the team’s $3MM option over righty Jason Grilli, Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca notes in his breakdown of the team’s upcoming offseason plans. That’s hardly a surprise now, though it probably is one if you backtrack all the way to May 31, when he came to Toronto via trade. As MLBTR’s Steve Adams explained at the time, it was possible to see the potential for a rebound from the veteran, with the Jays only accepting a minimal amount of salary obligations. The 39-year-old ultimately delivered just what Toronto hoped for, contributing 42 innings of 3.64 ERA pitching with 12.4 K/9 against 4.1 BB/9. He’ll enter the 2017 as a key set-up option for the Jays, with his affordable option locking up one bullpen spot at a reasonable price.

Here’s more from the AL East:

Several notable Blue Jays players may well end up heading to other organizations, of course. As Davidi writes, it appears rather likely that veteran knuckler R.A. Dickey will be among them. Dickey did not commit to continuing his playing career, but says he’ll listen to any opportunities as they arise this winter after taking some time away from the game. He spoke fondly of his four seasons in Toronto, over which he turned in 824 1/3 solid innings but was never quite as dominant as hoped when the club parted with significant talent (including then-prospect Noah Syndergaard) to acquire him after three outstanding years with the Mets.
David Ortiz’s unbelievable final season with the Red Sox may have been more remarkable than most of us truly realized as it unfolded. As WEEI.com’s Rob Bradford writes, the aging slugger was fighting through lower-leg and foot issues that were far more serious than was known publicly. Widespread problems meant that Ortiz “was essentially playing on stumps,” in the words of coordinator of sports medicine services Dan Dyrek — the man who helped him hang on as long as he did. Boston fans, in particular, will want to read the entirety of this piece, in which Dyrek breaks down the immense challenges faced by Ortiz and the team’s medical staff dating back for several seasons.
Orioles outfielder Joey Rickard never returned to action after tearing a thumb ligament on July 20, but the hope is he won’t need surgery to address the issue, Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com reports. More importantly, highly paid slugger Chris Davis is set for doctors to check out his hand after dealing with discomfort throughout the year. Though Davis battled through the injury all year, he didn’t quite perform as hoped, and the team wants to double check that some kind of offseason procedure isn’t necessary.

Borderline Club Options On Starting Pitchers

By Steve Adams | October 21, 2016 at 11:37am CDT

By now, everyone who follows free agency in baseball should be keenly aware that the offseason market for free-agent starting pitching is arguably the worst in history. This winter’s top names will include a 36-year-old that was pitching in independent ball last season (Rich Hill), a former Rookie of the Year that was moved last winter in what amounted to a salary dump (Jeremy Hellickson) and a 30-year-old that opened the season in a long-relief role before a stunning transformation following a trade to the Pirates (Ivan Nova). That’s a far cry from the 2015-16 offseason, when David Price, Zack Greinke, Johnny Cueto, Jordan Zimmermann, Jeff Samardzija and Mike Leake each reeled in contracts of at least five years in length and at least $80MM in total value.

The paucity of not only top-tier starting pitchers but simply reliable arms that can be plugged into the middle or back of a rotation on this year’s open market has an impact not only on teams looking for starting pitching, but teams with decisions to make regarding club options on starters that, frankly, didn’t do a lot to justify the salaries that are included in those options in 2016.

The Rangers, for instance, hold an $11MM option with a $1MM buyout over left-hander Derek Holland. For a pitcher whose ERA has come in just shy of 5.00 over the past two seasons and has averaged just 68 innings per year dating back to 2014, an $11MM salary seems steep, to say the least. Holland, as Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News points out in examining his option case, has had two shoulder injuries and a major knee injury in the past three years and has scarcely been able to take the mound at all. The Derek Holland that pitched 213 innings with a 3.42 ERA for the 2013 Rangers probably feels like a distant memory for Rangers fans.

However, it’s also worth considering that even a bounceback candidate like Doug Fister received a one-year, $7MM deal last winter, while Mike Pelfrey pulled in two years and $16MM coming off a dreadful three-year run with the Twins. The Rangers owe Holland $1MM one way or the other, by virtue of the buyout on his option, so they effectively have to determine whether he’s worth investing an additional $10MM. Given the dearth of quality options this offseason, it’s not unthinkable that even rebound candidates will command numbers not that far off from that level. Edinson Volquez and Andrew Cashner, for instance, will probably both receive fairly notable contracts despite coming off of poor seasons. And while each has a better recent track record of health, neither delivered demonstrably better bottom-line results than Holland (who is also three years younger than Volquez). The Royals are effectively deciding that Volquez isn’t worth offering another $7MM by reportedly planning to buy out his $10MM mutual option for $3MM, but that certainly doesn’t mean that he won’t find a taker at or above that $7MM rate on an open market that is devoid of talented arms. In fact, I’d wager that he will top that $7MM mark and come out ahead of the $10MM he’d have earned via that mutual option.

The same logic can be applied to the options held by the Cardinals over Jaime Garcia ($12MM with a $500K buyout) and Clay Buchholz with the Red Sox ($13.5MM with a $500K buyout). An $11.5MM net investment in Garcia, who logged a 4.67 ERA in 171 2/3 innings this year and has his own history of durability issues, might seem steep to some, but a 30-year-old left-hander with a decent track record that finished the year healthy would probably command a multi-year deal in the upcoming market. If anything, his agents may be hoping that the Cardinals elect to decline the option option, but the context of the free-agent market suggests that there’s some value in that one-year commitment, even if the team explores the option of trading him after exercising the option.

Buchholz’s option may look even more daunting, as investing $13MM more into a pitcher that lost his rotation spot and finished the year with a 4.78 ERA and lackluster peripherals absolutely feels like an overpay. But Buchholz pitched more effectively in 28 2/3 innings after returning to the rotation in September, and he’s only a season removed from a 3.26 ERA that came with outstanding peripherals. While he’s been one of the more mercurial arms in the league over the past half-decade, the type of upside he brings on a one-year commitment is greater than that of most other options on the free-agent market. As is the case with Garcia, a multi-year pact could be attainable if he were to reach the open market (remember, again, that Pelfrey found two years last winter coming off not just a poor season but a poor three years and has never matched the success of Buchholz’s best years).

None of the three players in question here enjoyed a particularly good season, but each at least finished the year healthy enough to take the ball and has enjoyed quality results in the past. Even if their current teams feel that there’s no fit on the 2017 roster for a pitcher with these levels of question marks, it still makes sense to exercise the options and explore the trade market. Even if the Rangers, for instance, include $4MM to trade Holland elsewhere in exchange for a minor leaguer or two, they’re effectively purchasing those prospects for $3MM. It’s far from a lock that these options will be exercised, of course, and it’s worth also mentioning the likes of Gio Gonzalez and Jason Hammel, who seem like easier calls but wilted in the final month of the season in this discussion as well. From where I stand, so long as a pitcher finished the season in a reasonable state of health, committing to a one-year deal at a not-backbreaking rate given the market alternatives and the number of rival clubs that figure to be on the hunt for rotation help is the right call.

AL East Notes: Bautista, Encarnacion, Travis, Price, Red Sox Catchers

By Jeff Todd | October 19, 2016 at 8:39am CDT

Let’s take a look at a few recent notes out of the AL East:

Blue Jays outfielder Jose Bautista still seems likely to depart in free agency, Jon Heyman of Fan Rag writes. While Toronto figures to have some level of interest, it probably won’t outbid the market for a player who has been the organization’s biggest star. While it’s never worth putting too much stock in postseason results, it may not help that he has just four hits and six walks in his 35 plate appearances in this year’s playoff action — though Bautista did enjoy a productive stretch to end the regular season.
Fellow star Blue Jays slugger Edwin Enarnacion still seems most likely to head to the Red Sox this winter, Heyman suggests. While Boston has given some signals that it may not go big for a free agent bat, the team does appear to represent a good fit for a player who raked for most of the year. Other potential landing spots, per Heyman, include the Yankees and Rangers. For what it’s worth, Encarnacion’s overall postseason results have been quite good: he’s slashing .323/.400/.645 with three home runs and four walks against just three strikeouts.
Devon Travis wasn’t able to carry on for the Blue Jays in the ALCS and won’t play again in 2016 due to a knee injury. He has continued to put up good numbers when healthy, but a variety of ailments have clouded his long-term outlook. Heyman does say that Toronto expects him to be ready for a full spring next year, but notes “there’s concern about his ability to stay healthy” within the organization.
Evan Drellich of the Boston Herald examines the case of Red Sox lefty David Price, who never quite seemed to gain his footing in Boston and has continued to come up short in the postseason. Unlike Dodgers’ ace Clayton Kershaw, who has excelled this year after several notable disappointments in the playoffs, Price is still awaiting his time for redemption. Two general managers who employed Price in the past — Andrew Friedman and Alex Anthopoulos — discussed his situation, both suggesting that he has the competitive fire and track record to suggest he’s still a good bet to perform when the stakes are highest.
While the Red Sox have several options behind the plate in 2017, Brian MacPherson of the Providence Journal questions whether the overall quality is sufficient. Sandy Leon’s hard-to-fathom breakout stalled late in the year, Christian Vazquez never found his groove at the plate, Blake Swihart was moved to the outfield at Triple-A before a season-ending ankle injury, and veteran Ryan Hanigan posted an injury-plagued, anemic offensive season. All said, adding depth wouldn’t make much sense, and it’s not clear that there’ll be an opportunity to find a top-quality backstop this winter. That could leave Boston with some tough questions — beginning with a call on Hanigan’s $3.75MM option (which comes with a $800K buyout). As MacPherson notes, too, both Leon and Vasquez lack remaining options. While Swihart does have one more option year remaining, his most recent usage suggests that the organization isn’t bullish on his ability to stick behind the dish.

Frank Wren Unlikely To Be Named Red Sox GM

By Steve Adams | October 18, 2016 at 6:33pm CDT

While former Braves/Orioles general manager Frank Wren, currently the Red Sox’ senior vice president of baseball operations, had previously been tabbed as a leading candidate for the GM vacancy in Boston, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports that Wren is now “unlikely” to become the team’s next general manager (Twitter link). Wren, as WEEI’s Rob Bradford recently pointed out, resides in Atlanta and wasn’t a guarantee to accept a greater role with the Sox even if the team wanted to promote him. Per Rosenthal, Wren is happy with his current position within Boston’s front office. The Sox, of course, are in the market for a new GM after Mike Hazen was hired as the new GM of the Diamondbacks.

President of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said yesterday that the ideal scenario for the Sox would be to fill the GM void internally. That leaves a fair number of options, but MLB Network’s Peter Gammons reported earlier today (via Twitter) that the question among GM circles is whether Red Sox vice president of amateur/international scouting Amiel Sawdaye would take the “diminished” GM role in Boston. Certainly, even though Sawdaye would be second in command as opposed to the top decision-maker, it would seem logical that Sawdaye would welcome the promotion. And indeed, the Boston Herald’s Evan Drellich tweets that the likely removal of Wren’s name from the running now places Sawdaye in the spotlight.

Also of note with regard to the Boston front office is Gammons’ report that analytics director Tom Tippett has left the team. Drellich reports that Tippett, who spent the 2008-13 seasons as the team’s director of information services before rising to the role of senior baseball analyst, was offered the opportunity to return but elected to pursue other avenues. Tippett told the Herald’s Michael Silverman that he could end up working for another club or within baseball in another capacity, adding: “…but I’m also interested in other spots and opportunities outside the sports world.” Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe tweets that Dombrowski said Tippett’s role will be filled, though he declined to specify if it’d be an external or internal hire and added that the position’s title is to be determined.

Those interested in the inner-workings of the Red Sox’ front office under current and prior leadership groups will want to check out Drellich’s above-linked column, as he quotes Tippett in discussing the leadership styles and strengths of Dombrowski as well as former Boston GMs Ben Cherington and Theo Epstein. Notably, Drellich reads between the lines a bit and wonders how heavily Tippett was leaned upon by Dombrowski, as Tippett said back in August when speaking at a seminar entitled Sabermetrics, Scouting and the Science of Baseball that Dombrowki has a “smaller inner circle that he works with when he’s making decisions” than either Epstein or Cherington did.

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