Giants To Name Alonzo Powell Hitting Coach
The Giants are set to hire Astr0s assistant hitting coach Alonzo Powell as their new hitting coach, reports Evan Drellich of CSN New England (via Twitter). Powell will step into the role that was vacated amid last week’s shuffle of the coaching staff in San Francisco. He’ll take over for Hensley Meulens, who shifted to the team’s bench coach role. Longtime bench coach Ron Wotus was moved to the role of third base coach.
Powell will join the Giants organization after helping guide the Astros offense that was far and away the most potent in Major League Baseball. Houston led all of baseball with 896 runs scored, was tied for an MLB-best .282 batting average, and also paced the Majors with a .346 on-base percentage and a .478 slugging percentage. Their 238 home runs trailed only the Yankees for the MLB lead.
The 52-year-old Powell has been Houston’s assistant hitting coach since the 2015 season and previously held that same role with the Padres from 2012-15. He served as the Mariners’ hitting coach on an interim basis for part of the 2010 season as well and has been coaching and managing at the minor league level dating back to 2002.
The job with the Giants will serve as a homecoming for Powell — a San Francisco native whose professional playing career began in the Giants organization back in 1983. He reached the Majors in both the 1987 and 1991 seasons, but Powell’s greatest success as a player came in 1992-97, when he starred for the Chunichi Dragons of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball. In parts of seven NPB seasons, Powell raked at a .313/.371/.510 clip.
East Notes: Girardi, Nats, Yanks, Red Sox
The latest from the majors’ East divisions:
- The Nationals ended their managerial search Sunday when they agreed to hire Cubs bench coach Dave Martinez. While former Yankees skipper Joe Girardi did not interview for the job before it went to Martinez, the Nationals “at least made a cursory inquiry about” him, Barry Svrluga of the Washington Post tweets.
- Martinez received a three-year contract, which demonstrates that Nationals ownership has learned a lesson, Eddie Matz of ESPN.com opines. Between taking over the franchise in 2006 and hiring Martinez, the Lerner family hadn’t given any of Davey Johnson, Matt Williams or Dusty Baker a contract longer than two years. Bud Black backed out of a deal to become the Nationals’ manager in 2015 thanks to their unwillingness to hand him a three-year deal, but the team avoided a repeat this time by committing to the respected Martinez.
- Yankees third base coach Joe Espada interviewed for the same position with the Red Sox and the bench coach job with the Astros, according to George A. King III of the New York Post. King first reported the interviews Saturday, but it was unclear then which roles Espada discussed with those teams. Espada’s contract with the Yankees is set to expire Tuesday.
- The fact that next year’s free agent class is far more star-studded than this winter’s will complicate the Red Sox‘s offseason plans, Chad Jennings of the Boston Herald writes. With the likes of Bryce Harper, Clayton Kershaw, Manny Machado and Josh Donaldson among those who could reach the market in a year, the Red Sox and other teams will have to weigh whether to spend significant money on anyone in the coming months. Although, there are still plenty of impending free agents and trade candidates who could pique Boston’s interest, notes Jennings, who runs down a variety of potential targets for the club.
World Series Notes: Morton, Morrow, Gurriel
It was only a few years ago that Astros right-hander Charlie Morton was a ground ball specialist in Pittsburgh, benefitting largely from an increase in shifts that was revolutionary at the time. Fast-forward to the present, and Morton is suddenly one of the hardest-throwing starters in the American League and mixes in his hammer curve to rack up the K’s. Travis Sawchik of Fangraphs leads us through the fascinating process in which Morton used PITCHf/x data to better understand his actual performance, figure out what he’s in control of, and use it to improve his results. After picking up close to 3MPH on his average fastball, Morton learned to trust his mechanics and began to throw his four-seamer up in the zone more often. Sawchik uses a great combination of quotes and charts to tell the story of how Morton managed a breakout age 33 season and was trusted with the ball in Game 4 of the World Series tonight. We highly recommend giving the piece a thorough read.
A few other items from the 2017 World Series…
- Anthony Slater of The Athletic (subscription required and recommended) tells the story of Brandon Morrow, a reliever-turned-starter-turned-reliever-again from Rohnert Park, California. The fifth-overall pick in the 2006 draft was the second player in his draft class to debut in the majors (after 2016 ALCS MVP Andrew Miller), but seemed to be a relative letdown compared to some of the superstars drafted around him. His career nearly came to an end due to surgeries, but the Dodgers took a chance on him last offseason, signing him to a minor-league contract that included a spring training invite. 45 stellar regular-season appearances later, Morrow had earned a spot at the back of the Dodgers’ bullpen, thanks in part to a career-high 97.8 average fastball velocity that propelled him to a 10.31 K/9 mark and a 1.55 FIP. The 33-year-old will reach free agency after the World Series is over, and should be in line for a respectable payday.
- Dylan Hernandez of the LA Times adds his own perspective to the Yuli Gurriel incident in which the Astros first baseman used a racial slur in reference to Darvish in Game 3. Interestingly, Hernandez (who was born to a Japanese mother) seems to suggest that perhaps the incident shouldn’t be viewed through an American lens, through which it potentially carries more weight than it would in Latin culture due to the events in US history over the past century. This doesn’t make it okay, Hernandez makes sure to mention, and the majority of people will agree that Gurriel’s behavior was offensive and insensitive. Hopefully the Cuban infielder has learned from the experience and will not repeat this mistake in the future.
- Mike Oz of Yahoo Sports got a chance to speak with 7-year-old Hailey Dawson, the girl with a 3-D printed hand who threw out the first pitch in Game 4. While many readers may already know her story, the conversation between Dawson and Oz is well worth a read; the quotes and Oz’s descriptions really capture the emotion and excitement of a little girl who just two months ago got her prosthetic hand and dreams of throwing out a first pitch in all 30 ballparks.
Coaching Notes: Pads, Yanks, Astros, BoSox, Bucs, Mets
The Padres are set to name Skip Schumaker their first base coach, Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune was among those to report (Twitter link). Schumaker, who had been the Padres’ assistant to baseball operations and player development, will take over for the reassigned Johnny Washington. As part of his new role, Schumaker will also be in charge of the team’s baserunning and work with its outfielders, AJ Cassavell of MLB.com tweets. Schumaker garnered plenty of firsthand experience on the bases and in the field as a utilityman with three major league teams from 2005-15.
- The manager-less Yankees sent an email to the majors’ other 29 teams Friday granting them permission to contact any of their coaches who served under Joe Girardi, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports (Twitter link). So far, third base coach Joe Espada has interviewed with the Astros and Red Sox for openings on their staffs, per George A. King III of the New York Post (on Twitter). While King didn’t specify which position(s) Espada spoke those clubs about, the scribe reported earlier this week that he’s a candidate to be the next bench coach for either team.
- There was speculation that Pirates third base coach Joey Cora would join younger brother Alex Cora’s staff with the Red Sox, but that won’t be the case, according to Jon Heyman of FanRag (Twitter link). Joey Cora will return to Pittsburgh for a second season in 2018.
- Former major league hurler Jason Bere could interview to become the Mets’ pitching coach, Paul Hoynes of cleveland.com writes. Bere spent the previous 12 years in the Indians organization, including the past three as the team’s bullpen coach, giving him familiarity with ex-Tribe pitching coach and newly minted Mets manager Mickey Callaway. Cleveland and Bere parted ways earlier this week after it didn’t consider promoting him to Callaway’s vacated role. Bere and the Mets have been in contact since then, Hoynes relays.
Yuli Gurriel To Serve Five-Game Suspension In 2018
3:19pm: Gurriel will not appeal the suspension, the MLBPA announced (Twitter link).
3:06pm: Manfred has confirmed Nightengale’s report, announcing that Gurriel will be suspended without pay for the Astros’ first five games next year. The commissioner told McCullough and other reporters that suspending Gurriel for any of the World Series would have been “unfair” to the rest of the Astros’ players (Twitter link). The Astros will donate Gurriel’s forfeited salary to charity, and he’ll undergo offseason sensitivity training, J.P. Hoornstra of the Southern California News Group tweets. “Based on my conversation (with Gurriel) he understood both the language and the gesture were offensive,” Manfred said.
2:52pm: The league will not suspend Gurriel for any of the World Series, according to Bob Nightengale of USA Today. Instead, Gurriel will serve a five-game ban in 2018. The MLBPA “fought hard” on Gurriel’s behalf, Nightengale adds (on Twitter).
8:27am: Thanks in part to first baseman Yuli Gurriel, the Astros earned a 5-3 victory over the Dodgers on Friday to take a 2-1 lead in the World Series. Gurriel racked up two hits, including a solo home run off Dodgers right-hander Yu Darvish, in one of the most important wins in Astros history, but his racist gesture aimed at Darvish has overshadowed his performance.
Shortly after the game ended, Tyler Kepner of the New York Times reported on Twitter that Major League Baseball will interview Gurriel on Saturday about the gesture, which the 33-year-old made in the Astros’ dugout after his second-inning homer (video via Deadspin). Kepner added that the league will consider disciplining Gurriel.
Gurriel did express remorse after the game, telling David Waldstein of the New York Times and other reporters, “I want to apologize to [Darvish] and tell him I did not mean to offend him.”
Darvish, meanwhile, took Gurriel’s actions in stride, saying: “He made a mistake. He’ll learn from it. We’re all human beings” (Twitter links via Andy McCullough of the Los Angeles Times). He then issued a more extensive statement on Twitter.
“What he had done today isn’t right,” Darvish tweeted. “But I believe we should put our effort into learning rather than to accuse him. If we can take something from this, that is a giant step for mankind.”
While Darvish has handled the situation as gracefully as possible, commissioner Rob Manfred might not be as forgiving toward Gurriel. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports and Jon Heyman of FanRag argue that Manfred should hand Gurriel a one-game suspension, but ESPN’s Buster Olney notes that he likely wouldn’t have to sit out at all during the World Series because of the appeals process (Twitter link). That would take the teeth out of a potential ban, then, though it still wouldn’t be surprising to see Manfred issue one. After all, the league gave two-game suspensions during the regular season to both Blue Jays center fielder Kevin Pillar and Athletics outfielder Matt Joyce for using anti-gay slurs. The stakes are obviously much higher for the Astros now than they were for either the Jays or A’s then, which sets up Manfred to make one of the most difficult decisions of his two-plus-year tenure atop MLB, Rosenthal observes.
Regardless of Gurriel’s status, the Astros will attempt to move one win closer to a title on Saturday.
Quick Hits: Marlins, Nationals, Astros, Roberts/Hinch
Dan Greenlee will assume a role as Director of Player Personnel for the Marlins, Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports on Twitter. R.J. Anderson of CBS Sports points out that Greenlee is the second executive Derek Jeter has hired away from the Yankees in the past week; Gary Denbo was recently hired as the Vice President of Player Development and Scouting, and is widely credited with helping to turn around the Yankees’ farm system. Anderson also notes that Greenlee is an interesting baseball exec, having a background in law and journalism, and previously worked as a merger analyst for a media organization.
A few more notes from around Major League Baseball on the night of Game 3…
- The Nationals are likely to exceed the luxury tax threshold once again, says Jorge Castillo of the Washington Post. Between guaranteed salaries to ten players, arbitration projections, Matt Wieters‘ player option and at least $500K owed to Adam Lind in the form of a buyout on his mutual option, Washington’s guaranteed payroll for 2018 will already top $168MM. That in and of itself doesn’t seem too scary, considering the luxury tax threshold sits at $197MM for the upcoming season. But unfortunately for the Nationals, it isn’t quite that simple. The competitive balance tax takes into account the average annual value of player contracts, and the Nats have worked a lot of deferred money into deals in recent years. According to Cot’s, their payroll is around $193MM for luxury tax purposes. The Nationals, who will be expected to pursue another NL East pennant, will almost certainly spend more than $4MM in free agency.
- Jerry Crasnick of ESPN details the connection between Hurricane Harvey and the city’s passion for Astros baseball in 2017 in a very well-written editorial. The destruction Harvey left in its wake has had a direct correlation with the city’s inhabitants showing increased Houston pride. Indeed, residents have worn #HoustonStrong shirts to games and showed up to support their baseball team in droves. Crasnick details the efforts that the Astros organization made during the storm to give back to the city, including opening kitchens at Minute Maid Park and reaching out to little league teams whose equipment was destroyed by Harvey. The fans are paying the Astros back with incredible support during the postseason.
- Dodgers manager Dave Roberts and Astros skipper A.J. Hinch are focused on trying to lead their respective teams to a World Series title. But as Kyle Glaser of Baseball America points out, this isn’t the first time these two men have been on opposing teams. The rivalry between these two skippers goes all the way back to their college days in the PAC-10. Hinch caught a no-hitter against Roberts and the Bruins on May 8th, 1994. However, Roberts managed to steal a base off Hinch at his first opportunity in the majors, during an August 24th, 1999 game between the Indians and the Athletics. Roberts jokingly considers the World Series a “rubber match” between the two.
Coaching Notes: Bosio, Honeycutt, Espada, Padres
The latest on some coaching vacancies (or potential vacancies) around baseball…
- The Tigers are “close” to hiring Chris Bosio as their next pitching coach, Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times tweets. The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal previously reported that Bosio was Detroit’s top choice for the job. Bosio worked as the Cubs’ pitching coach for the previous six seasons before being fired after Chicago’s elimination in the NLCS.
- It isn’t yet certain if longtime Dodgers pitching coach Rick Honeycutt will remain in his current job in 2018, Bill Shaikin of the L.A. Times reports. Honeycutt’s two-year contract is up after the World Series and, at the time of the contract’s signing, it was believed that Honeycutt would into a front office job at deal’s end. GM Farhan Zaidi, however, said that “If there’s mutual interest in him continuing in this role, I wouldn’t rule it out,” noting that “We just want to leverage his expertise and experience however we can, with whatever [job] makes the most sense.” Both Zaidi and Honeycutt said that no decisions would be made until after the season is over, with Honeycutt adding “I’m enjoying it as much this year as I ever have. I still enjoy what I do.”
- Yankees third base coach Joe Espada could be a candidate to be the next bench coach for either the Astros or Red Sox, George A. King III of the New York Post writes. Espada has worked in his current role for three seasons, and has previously worked as a Yankees scout, a manager in the Puerto Rican Winter League and as a minor league coach in the Marlins organization. Espada has also been mentioned as a potential contender for the Yankees’ managerial vacancy.
- The Padres will move first base coach Johnny Washington to the assistant hitting coach role and outfield coach Jon Matthews has been reassigned to a new role, Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune reports (Twitter links). 2017 was Washington’s only season as a first base coach; he spent the rest of his nine-year coaching career as a hitting coach at various levels of the Dodgers’ and Padres’ farm systems. Lin notes that the Padres will fill their first base coaching vacancy from within the organization.
World Series Notes: Data, Granderson, Hill, Turner, Hinch, Roberts
The 2017 World Series pits two of Major League Baseball’s top-regarded analytics departments against one another, writes Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register. Plunkett speaks with Dodgers CEO Stan Kasten about the decision to hire president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman and the importance that decision played in catching his team up to speed in an increasingly data-driven baseball environment. Dodgers reliever Brandon Morrow, in the midst of a breakout season, chats with Plunkett about the Dodgers’ presentation of data and how it’s helped to turn his career around. “The way that they take those numbers and present them simply is a big deal – because a lot of those numbers can be overwhelming and confusing, to be honest,” says Morrow. Plunkett also speaks with lefty Tony Watson and Astros outfielder Cameron Maybin about the data presentation of both clubs and the way in which it differed from their previous teams.
A few notes on the teams’ respective rosters…
- The Dodgers informed Curtis Granderson last night that he would not be a part of the World Series roster, tweets Plunkett. Manager Dave Roberts said that Granderson was “obviously disappointed but still supportive” as the team geared up for Game 1 of the series. Joel Sherman of the New York Post writes that despite his struggles with the Dodgers — Granderson posted a .654 OPS in the regular season following his trade from the Mets and was just 1-for-15 in the playoffs — the 37-year-old veteran hopes to play in 2018. “Mentally and physically, I feel as if I want to,” Granderson tells Sherman. He acknowledged, though, that it’ll depend on whether clubs throughout the league feel he still has enough to offer at the plate. Granderson posted an above-average OBP (.334) and showed well-above-average pop (.481 slugging, .252 ISO) with the Mets before the trade.
- Rich Hill turned in 135 2/3 innings of 3.32 ERA ball with 11.0 K/9 against 3.3 BB/9 with the Dodgers during the regular season, but the remarkable 37-year-old late bloomer told reporters today that L.A.’s World Series opponents made a serious push to sign him last winter. J.P. Hoornstra of the Southern California News Group tweets that Hill said today that he “went pretty far” into negotiations with the Astros last winter before ultimately agreeing to his three-year, $48MM contract to return to Los Angeles.
- Mets general manager Sandy Alderson recently commented on non-tendering Justin Turner back in 2013, writes Newsday’s Marc Carig. Turner recently told the media that he declined to attend workouts with Mets strength and conditioning coach (then consultant) Mike Barwis about a week before being non-tendered. (Turner had already lined up hitting lessons with Southern California-based Doug Latta, Carig notes.) Alderson denied that there was any correlation between Turner declining to work with Barwis and the decision to non-tender him. “Justin simply didn’t have a position with us . . . simple as that,” Alderson said to Carig — a reference to the presence of David Wright at third base and Daniel Murphy at second base at the time. The Mets, of course, were hardly the only team to let Turner slip through their fingers. The Reds drafted Turner and traded him to the Orioles as part of the deal to acquire catcher Ramon Hernandez. Baltimore waived him 14 months later. Even the Dodgers, Carig notes, didn’t guarantee Turner a 40-man spot, instead signing him to a minor league contract.
- Bob Nightengale of USA Today and Jake Kaplan of the Houston Chronicle both penned columns on the close friendship between Dodgers manager Dave Roberts and Astros manager A.J. Hinch. The two were both played college ball in California but only crossed paths once in the Majors, Kaplan notes, before they began working together in the Padres’ front office. (Roberts stole a base against Hinch, though Hinch takes plenty of credit for a Roberts strikeout that game.) As Nightengale points out, it was current Dodgers vice president Josh Byrnes who planted the seeds of Hinch’s managerial career. Byrnes, the D-backs’ GM in 2009, made a then-eye-opening decision to name Hinch a 34-year-old manager. After both Byrnes and Hinch were dismissed by D-backs ownership, Byrnes became the Padres’ general manager and brought Hinch to the front office in San Diego, where he began his friendship with Roberts. As Nightengale details, it was also Byrnes who recommended Hinch for the Astros’ managerial vacancy. “I admired Josh for being bold and making him his manager,” Astros GM Jeff Luhnow tells Nightengale. “He was just ahead of his time. The industry wasn’t ready for it.”
Poll: Who Will Win The World Series?
The 2017 season will culminate in an epic World Series, matching the Dodgers against the Astros. It is the first time since 1970 that the Fall Classic has featured two teams that each won 100 games or more games — L.A. will have homefield advantage, as the Dodgers’ 104-58 record topped the Astros’ 101-61 mark.
After winning the NL West title and falling short in each of the last four postseasons, the Dodgers finally broke through this year to capture their first National League pennant since 1988. The club overcame scores of injuries (38 DL stints, the most of any team in baseball) to achieve their success, though obviously having the game’s largest payroll goes a long way in securing roster depth. Beyond the expected contributions from established stars like Clayton Kershaw, Kenley Jansen, and Justin Turner, the Dodgers were also buoyed by Corey Seager‘s excellent sophomore year, rookie Cody Bellinger‘s 39 homers, Yasiel Puig‘s bounce-back year, and utilityman Chris Taylor‘s emergence as an everyday threat. If this wasn’t enough, the Dodgers added Yu Darvish at the trade deadline to enhance an already-outstanding rotation.
This is the Dodgers’ 19th World Series appearance, tied with the Cardinals for the third-most in history. By contrast, this is only the Astros’ second trip to the Fall Classic, though they now have the unique distinction of being the only franchise to represent both the American League and National League in the World Series.
This pennant represents the culmination of the Astros’ scorched-earth rebuild under GM Jeff Luhnow. Due to a complete focus on building up the farm system, the Astros went only 162-324 from 2011-13, a brutal stretch of play that saw fan interest in Houston almost evaporate and Luhnow’s methods questioned by many around the game. As with last year’s champion Cubs, however, a long rebuild resulted in an enviable core of young talent. George Springer, Carlos Correa, Dallas Keuchel, Lance McCullers, Alex Bregman and AL MVP favorite Jose Altuve are all homegrown Astros, and the team further supplemented that core with under-the-radar trade pickups (i.e. Marwin Gonzalez, Chris Devenski) and bigger-ticket acquisitions (Yuli Gurriel, Brian McCann, Josh Reddick, Carlos Beltran). The final piece of the puzzle was trading for Justin Verlander at almost literally the last second prior to the August 31st waiver deadline, and Verlander has been nothing short of spectacular since coming to Houston.
With two days to go before Keuchel vs. Kershaw at Dodger Stadium in Game One, we post the question…what is your prediction for the 2017 Series? (link to poll for MLBTR mobile app users)
Who Will Win The World Series?
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Dodgers in six games 32% (6,716)
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Astros in six games 25% (5,127)
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Astros in seven games 17% (3,537)
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Dodgers in five games 12% (2,537)
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Dodgers in seven games 7% (1,496)
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Astros in five games 3% (698)
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Dodgers in four games 2% (371)
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Astros in four games 1% (192)
Total votes: 20,674
Red Sox Hire Alex Cora As Manager
The Red Sox announced on Sunday that they have hired Astros bench coach Alex Cora as their next manager. Boston gave Cora a three-year contract with a club option for 2021. The team will hold a press conference to introduce Cora after the World Series between the Astros and the Dodgers concludes.
It’s no surprise that the Red Sox chose the 42-year-old Cora, who quickly emerged as the favorite to take over for previous skipper John Farrell after his firing on Oct. 11. Newly named Tigers manager Ron Gardenhire and Detroit predecessor Brad Ausmus also drew consideration for the job.
Unlike Gardenhire and Ausmus, Cora doesn’t bring any major league managerial experience to the table, and this will go down as his only year on A.J. Hinch’s coaching staff in Houston. Nevertheless, it seemed inevitable he’d get an opportunity somewhere this offseason. The Tigers showed interest in Cora before going with Gardenhire, while the Phillies, Mets and Nationals also eyed him for their openings.
From a talent standpoint, Cora will enter an enviable situation in Boston, which won its second straight AL East title in 2017 before falling to Cora’s Astros in a four-game American League Division Series. The Red Sox’s array of quality players, not to mention their big-spending ways, should help Cora’s cause, though he’ll also enter a pressure-packed position that comes with high expectations from fans and media alike. Farrell can attest to that, given that he wasn’t particularly popular during his five-year Boston tenure despite being in the dugout for three seasons of at least 93 wins – all of which included division championships – and a World Series title in 2013.
Cora is the first managerial hire in Boston for Red Sox president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski, who inherited Farrell when he took over the franchise’s front office in 2015. In the Puerto Rican-born Cora, Dombrowski will get a bilingual manager who’s known to value analytics. Cora’s also already familiar with the Boston organization, having been an infielder with the Red Sox from 2005-08 during a major league playing career that lasted from 1998-2011.
Jon Heyman of FanRag first reported that Boston offered the job to Cora. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reported the length of Cora’s contract. Ian Browne of MLB.com reported that the Red Sox could announce the hiring Sunday. Pete Abraham of the Boston Globe reported that the Sox would indeed hire Cora. Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.