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Cubs To Hire Ryan Flaherty As Bench Coach

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The Cubs are expected to name Ryan Flaherty as their bench coach, reports Britt Ghiroli of The Athletic. Until recently, Flaherty had that same job with the Padres.

Flaherty, 37, played in the majors from 2012 to 2019 but then quickly transitioned into coaching. The Padres hired him as a quality control coach prior to the 2020 season and he subsequently became bench coach and offensive coordinator going into 2023.

He is clearly a respected voice around the league, as he has received plenty of attention around the league despite only finishing his playing career a few years ago. The Mets wanted to interview him for their bench coach gig prior to 2022 but the Friars denied that request. With manager Bob Melvin departing the Padres for the Giants this offseason, Flaherty was considered a candidate for the bench boss in San Diego but that job ultimately went to Mike Shildt. Per Dennis Lin of The Athletic, Flaherty had one year left on his contract but was given permission to interview with other teams after the Shildt hiring.

It seems that Flaherty has decided to make a change after four years in San Diego. He will now jump to the Cubs, who have shaken up their staff by hiring Craig Counsell to replace David Ross as manager. Counsell will have Flaherty as his top lieutenant while the Padres will now have to make yet another hire, finding Shildt a replacement for the bench coach role.

Reds, Cubs Have Discussed Shane Bieber With Guardians

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Former American League Cy Young winner Shane Bieber is a year from reaching the open market, and the Guardians have discussed potential trade scenarios involving the 28-year-old righty with the Cubs and Reds, Jon Morosi of MLB.com reports. Other clubs have surely reached out on Bieber’s potential availability as well, and Morosi notes that the Cubs have also inquired on Rays ace Tyler Glasnow, who’s widely known to be available. Cincinnati was also linked to Glasnow just yesterday.

Bieber’s 2023 season was arguably his worst since his 2018 rookie season, though that’s a testament to his overall track record more than an indictment on his ’23 output. Forearm and elbow troubles limited him to 128 innings this past season, but he pitched to a solid 3.80 ERA when healthy enough to take the mound and averaged better than six frames per start.

That said, it’s worth highlighting that Bieber’s status as a former Cy Young winner probably gives him more name recognition and name value among fans than actual trade value among MLB front offices. Solid as his ’23 results were when he was on the active roster, his performance carried plenty of red flags. Bieber’s fastball velocity has steadily declined since that 2020 Cy Young win, and last year’s average of 91.6 mph was nearly three miles slower than during his 2020 peak. Bieber fanned a ridiculous 41.1% of opponents during the pandemic shortened season, but that mark dropped to 33.1% the following year, 25% in 2022 and a below-average 20.1% in 2023.

Bieber’s walk and ground-ball rates remain strong, but neither is quite elite. After posting ridiculous swinging-strike and opponents’ chase rates of 17.1% and 37% in 2020, he checked in below the league average in both last year: 10.5% and 30.6%, respectively. Bieber has never held top-of-the-scale rankings in terms of hard contact allowed, but he’s previously missed so many bats that yielding hard contact at average-ish rates didn’t matter. That’s no longer the case, given the lack of punchouts, and last year saw Bieber post career-worst marks in average exit velocity (91.6 mph) and hard-hit rate (47.2%). Those marks are as rough as they sound; Bieber ranked in the second percentile of MLB pitchers in average exit velocity and the third percentile in hard-hit rate.

Be that as it may, Bieber’s broader track record surely buys him some faith from other clubs, and it’s of course eminently possible that some of those red flags are attributable to health troubles that are now hopefully behind him. It’s a deep free-agent class for pitching, but not every club is going to fill its needs via the open market. Bieber still holds clear trade value, even if teams likely all agree that the 2020 version of the one-time ace probably isn’t going to resurface.

For both the Reds and the Cubs, there’s good sense in pursuing Bieber. Cincinnati boasts an exciting crop of young position players and several talented but yet-unproven rotation candidates. Bieber would give them a veteran anchor to pair with the likes of Hunter Greene, Andrew Abbott, Nick Lodolo, Graham Ashcraft and Brandon Williamson. Elsewhere in the NL Central, the Cubs have an established top three in the rotation (Justin Steele, Kyle Hendricks, Jameson Taillon) but less certainty beyond that veteran trio, with Hayden Wesneski, Javier Assad and Jordan Wicks among their still-emerging options.

Adding a steady veteran like Bieber to stabilize things surely holds appeal for either club as they set their sights on a weak NL Central. The Reds, in particular, should have no problem absorbing Bieber’s final year of club control; whereas the Cubs already have more than $178MM in projected payroll, Cincinnati’s 2024 outlay is scarcely more than $50MM right now. Greene and backup catcher Luke Maile are the only guaranteed contracts on the books, and their arbitration class is quite small.

From a bigger-picture standpoint, a trade of Bieber — or at least the discussion of one — should come as no surprise for fans who’ve followed how Cleveland has operated over the years. The Guardians churn out high-end starting pitching arguably better than any club in baseball but never let their top arms reach free agency. Part of the process that has helped Cleveland find continued success despite perennially bottom-of-the-barrel payrolls has been selling high on established starters in exchange for controllable young talent. The team’s unrivaled success in pitching development, paired with those regular influxes of young talent, have kept them competitive in a light AL Central division.

For example, none of Corey Kluber, Carlos Carrasco, Trevor Bauer or Mike Clevinger reached the open market in a Cleveland uniform. Kluber was flipped to the Rangers in a deal netting current closer Emmanuel Clase. Carrasco went to the Mets alongside Francisco Lindor in return for Andres Gimenez and Amed Rosario. Bauer brought Franmil Reyes and a Yasiel Puig rental to Cleveland. Clevinger netted several players, headlined by Josh Naylor, pitching prospect Joey Cantillo, infielder Gabriel Arias and righty Cal Quantrill — who was recently traded himself (to the Rockies) on the heels of a down season.

Despite all the star-caliber pitchers who break out in Cleveland, the Guardians have never held onto one long enough to make a qualifying offer and collect a compensatory draft pick. Bieber would be a QO candidate next winter if he stays put, but his age, track record and reasonable $12.2MM projected arbitration salary (per MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz) should be enough to yield greater value than a potential comp pick in what would be the 2025 MLB draft.

Even as they’ve traded away so many arms, the Guardians haven’t ever felt compelled to backfill the rotation via free agency. The last time they signed a free-agent starter to a big league deal was nearly a decade ago when taking a $4MM flier on then bounceback candidate Gavin Floyd. The last multi-year deal they gave to a free-agent starting pitcher was nearly two decades ago: Paul Byrd.

The 2024 season has a good chance to represent a continuation of those trends. Even if Bieber is traded, Cleveland already graduated three top prospects — Tanner Bibee, Logan Allen and Gavin Williams — who all hit the ground running as rookies. Triston McKenzie dealt with an ominous elbow injury but finished the season healthy. If he can avoid further issues, he’s shown the ability to be an upper-echelon starter himself (191 innings, 2.96 ERA, 25.6% strikeout rate, 5.9% walk rate in 2022). In-house names like Cantillo, Xzavion Curry and Hunter Gaddis could all vie for the fifth spot in the rotation, and it’s eminently possible that a Bieber trade (or another offseason swap) could net Cleveland a potential rotation candidate to join that group.

Dodgers, Cubs, Angels Among Clubs Interested In Robert Stephenson

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Free agent right-hander Robert Stephenson is proving to be quite popular this offseason, reports Jon Morosi of MLB.com. He is drawing interest from the Dodgers, Cubs and Angels, but other unnamed clubs as well.

Stephenson, 31 in February, was one of the lesser known names on MLBTR’s list of the Top 50 Free Agents published earlier this month, where Stephenson was pegged for a four-year, $36MM deal. The righty had struggled with injuries and underperformance at various times in his career but had a well-timed breakout just before he hit the open market.

He was traded from the Pirates to the Rays in early June and then started throwing a cutter instead of a slider, with phenomenal results. He went on to make 42 appearances after heading to Tampa, posting an earned run average of just 2.35 in 38 1/3 innings. He struck out an incredible 42.9% of batters faced while walking just 5.7%. Among pitchers with at least 30 innings pitched in that time, that strikeout rate was fourth in the majors, trailing only Félix Bautista, Aroldis Chapman and Pete Fairbanks. Stephenson had a lower walk rate than all three of those guys, making his 37.1% K-BB% ratio tops in the majors in that time frame.

That’s a fairly small sample of work, but Stephenson once had a strong prospect pedigree. He was a first-round pick of the Reds back in 2011 and was on Baseball America’s top 100 list in four straight years from 2013 to 2016, getting as high as #19 in 2014. He reached the majors as a starter and posted fairly lackluster results, with an ERA of 5.47 at the end of 2018, having thrown 133 1/3 major league innings in that time.

A move to the bullpen seemed to help, as he made 57 appearances in 2019 with an ERA of 3.76. But in 2020, he missed roughly a month due to a mid-back strain and allowed 11 earned runs in the 10 innings he was able to pitch in the shortened season. He was traded to the Rockies prior to 2021 and managed to get back on track, despite making Coors Field his home, posting a 3.13 ERA in 49 appearances that year. But 2022 saw him struggle with a 6.04 ERA in 45 appearances for the Rockies before getting claimed off waivers by the Pirates in August.

The most recent season got off to a slow start, as he had some right arm discomfort in the spring and started the season on the injured list. He eventually made 18 appearances for the Pirates this year but showed some rust, walking 13.1% of opponents and allowing 5.14 earned runs per nine. But as mentioned, a midseason trade to the Rays preceded a tremendous step forward.

Now Stephenson seems positioned to cash in. Though his big breakout was just a few months of work, he was one of the best relievers in the league for that time. It didn’t come completely out of nowhere, as he had once been a highly-touted youngster and had a couple of seasons of decent relief work recently. Teams have made huge gambles on relievers based on small samples before, with Drew Pomeranz getting four years and $34MM, Robert Suarez five years and $46MM, while Rafael Montero got three years and $34.5MM. All three of those guys had fairly limited or inconsistent track records but some flashy underlying numbers that the signing club was betting on.

It would take a change in strategy for the Cubs to be seriously in on Stephenson. Since Jed Hoyer was promoted to president of baseball operations, they have stuck to one-year deals for relievers, signing guys like Mychal Givens, Michael Fulmer, David Robertson, Andrew Chafin, Brad Boxberger, Chris Martin, Ryan Tepera and others with mixed results. None of those guys got more than $5MM and getting Stephenson will surely take more than that on an annual basis and for multiple years. But the Cubs have been rebuilding for much of that time and may be willing to push a little farther after just missing the playoffs in 2023. The club’s relievers had a collective ERA of 3.85 in 2013, which placed them 13th in the league.

The Dodgers’ bullpen had a 3.42 ERA in 2023, which was third-best in the league, and most of their key relievers are still under club control for 2024. Adding another high-octane arm there would seemingly be more of a luxury buy than a necessity, especially when they have needs in the rotation and could potentially give a massive contract to Shohei Ohtani. But per Roster Resource, they are roughly $80MM below the competitive balance tax and well below previous franchise highs, so maybe they have enough powder dry to address everything on their to-do list and go after Stephenson.

The Angels have often struggled to put together a decent bullpen and that was again the case in 2023, with a collective ERA of 4.88 that was better than just five clubs. They tried to spend some money to address that issue a few years ago by signing Raisel Iglesias to a four-year deal but he was flipped to Atlanta after just a year and a half. The club has been struggling to get above .500 in recent years but has no plans of rebuilding this winter, even if Ohtani winds up going elsewhere.

Cubs To Sign Edwin Escobar

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The Cubs have agreed to a contract with left-hander Edwin Escobar, according to reporter Luis Enrique Morales (X link). The details of the deal are not currently known, though Escobar has updated his personal Instagram page to reflect his new team.

Escobar, 32 in April, was a consensus top-100 prospect prior to the 2014 season. After making his professional debut in the Rangers organization, Escobar spent several years with the Giants before being swapped to the Red Sox in the deal that sent Jake Peavy to San Francisco at the 2014 trade deadline. Escobar made his MLB debut with Boston later that year, allowing one run on one hit and a hit batter while striking out two and walking none. After spending the 2015 season in the minors, Escobar resurfaced with the Diamondbacks in 2016 and struggled badly with a 7.23 ERA and 5.93 FIP in 23 2/3 innings of work.

While Escobar was claimed off waivers by Cleveland early in the 2016-17 offseason, he was released later that same offseason to pursue opportunities overseas. Since then, Escobar has spent seven seasons in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball, pitching for the Yokohama Bay Stars and Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters. In that time, he’s logged 395 appearances overseas with a 3.17 ERA and a 23.3% strikeout rate in 392 1/3 innings of work. Since the start of the 2019 season, he’s been even more impressive with a 2.71 ERA and a 24% strikeout rate.

Now, Escobar is set to return to stateside ball for the first time since the 2016 season. He’ll do so with a Cubs team that’s in clear need of bullpen upgrades; Chicago’s relief corps was middle-of-the-pack last season in terms of ERA (3.85), FIP (4.05), and fWAR (4.4) while posting the league’s second-highest walk rate (11%).

Adbert Alzolay performed respectably as the Cubs’ closer. It’s certainly feasible that right-handers Mark Leiter Jr. and Julian Merryweather will be able to contribute once again in 2024, but the club’s bullpen has little certainty beyond those provisional top three arms, particularly if Javier Assad’s services are required in the starting rotation). Escobar also provides the club with some needed left-handed depth, after Brandon Hughes was non-tendered last week.

MLBTR Poll: Should The Cubs Trade Christopher Morel?

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On the heels of a 83-79 season that saw the Cubs finish just outside of the NL playoff picture, president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer and his front office appear poised to be aggressive this offseason in their pursuit of returning the club to the postseason for the first time in a 162-game campaign since 2018. Chicago already shocked the baseball world this offseason by hiring Craig Counsell to manage the club on a record-setting contract and has been connected to high-profile free agents such as NPB arms Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Shota Imanaga, and Yuki Matsui as well as center fielder Cody Bellinger and first baseman Rhys Hoskins, to say nothing of two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani.

In addition to the rumors swirling around the Cubs and many of the league’s top free agents, the Cubs have been connected to many of the league’s top trade candidates including Padres outfielder Juan Soto, Mets first baseman Pete Alonso, and even Brewers right-hander Corbin Burnes. At the center of many of those hypothetical trade discussions has been young slugger Christopher Morel, whose name has appeared in early offseason trade rumors so frequently that MLBTR’s Anthony Franco ranked him #22 in his list of the Top 25 Offseason Trade Candidates.

Morel made his MLB debut back in May of 2022, just before his 23rd birthday. The youngster initially broke onto the club’s roster due to an injury to Jason Heyward, which provided Morel with the opportunity to get semi-regular reps in center field with the big league club despite having never played above the Double-A level to that point. Morel made the most of his opportunity, sticking on the club’s roster throughout the rest of the 2022 season and slashing .235/.308/.433 (108 wRC+) in 113 games while splitting time between center field, second base, third base, and shortstop.

That above-average offensive production and impressive versatility in Morel’s rookie season gave him the look of a potential big league regular, though there were certainly flaws in his profile. Morel was a well below average defender in center and seemed to be a fringy defender at both third base and shortstop as well, despite a solid showing at second base. On top of the defensive question marks, it was fair to wonder if Morel’s above-average slash line was carried by a hot first half; the youngster slashed just .194/269/.376 in 184 trips to the plate during the second half in 2022. Between that late-season slump and his 32.2% strikeout rate, which was sixth-highest in the majors among players with at least 400 plate appearances that year, it was fair to wonder if Morel’s production would be sustainable entering his sophomore season.

The questions about Morel’s glove were only exacerbated by the signing of Dansby Swanson, who slotted in at shortstop and kicked Nico Hoerner over to second base in doing so. With Hoerner now an obvious everyday solution at second base, Morel entered the 2023 season without a clear role on the big league club and started the season at Triple-A. He tore the cover off the ball with a comical .330/.425/.730 slash line in 29 games with the club’s Iowa affiliate before the Cubs had seen enough to bring him up to the big leagues. Though he logged occasional time at all three outfield spots, second base, third base, and shortstop, Morel spent much of the season as Chicago’s primary DH.

Morel took to his new role quite well, slashing .247/.313/.508 (119 wRC+) with 26 home runs across just 429 trips to the plate. Only Aaron Judge, J.D. Martinez, Yordan Alvarez, and Nolan Gorman hit more home runs in under 500 trips to the plate this year. What’s more, Morel’s .260 ISO ranked sixteenth among players with at least 400 big league plate appearances in 2023, ranking just behind Jorge Soler and just ahead of Ronald Acuna Jr. Though Morel’s strikeout rate of 31% is still high enough to raise plenty of eyebrows, the youngster managed to establish himself as a quality big-league power bat as the Cubs’ regular DH.

As previously mentioned, Morel has found himself at the center of trade rumors this offseason with the Cubs potentially in line to be aggressive this winter. Reports have suggested Morel as a potential piece of the return for both Soto and Alonso should the Cubs look to deal for either player, though other reports have indicated the Cubs might be hesitant to include Morel in a deal for a rental piece.

The decision on whether or not to shop Morel this offseason is an interesting one for the Cubs. The youngster is not yet eligible for arbitration and figures to remain under team control for five more seasons before being first eligible for free agency after the 2028 season. His power-oriented bat could prove crucial for the Cubs in 2024, particularly after the 2023 team landed middle-of-the-pack in terms of both ISO and home runs this past season, and it’s always possible that a player as young as Morel manages to find another gear and break out. That sort of upside could make it hard for the Cubs to part with Morel, especially given the amount of team control he has remaining.

That being said, with Nico Hoerner locked in at second base for the next three seasons while Ian Happ and Seiya Suzuki are set to patrol the outfield corners for that same term, Morel seems unlikely to find a long-term position in Chicago— at least, unless he takes to a new position this winter. What’s more, Morel’s propensity for striking out combined with just average walk rates for his career give him an uncertain floor as a player; if his power production dips, it’s possible the Cubs could be looking at a roughly league average offensive contributor taking up their DH slot on most days. That risk could make it sensible for Chicago to attempt to sell high on Morel this offseason.

What do MLBTR readers think about Chicago’s dilemma? Should the Cubs look to move Morel now, given his value may never be higher? Or should they hold onto him in hopes of a breakout that could make him an impact player in spite of his limited defensive value? Have your say in the poll below:

(poll link for app users)

Cubs Promote Jared Banner To Assistant GM

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The Cubs have promoted vice president of player development Jared Banner to assistant general manager, reports Jeff Passan of ESPN (X link). Chicago lost one of their previous AGMs, Craig Breslow, when he was hired as chief baseball officer of the Red Sox a month ago.

Banner had been in charge of the farm system for the past two seasons. He has spent three years in the Chicago front office altogether. The Amherst graduate previously worked with the Red Sox and Mets. The Cubs have a strong farm system headlined by young center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong and recent first-round draftees Cade Horton and Matt Shaw. Baseball America ranked Chicago’s minor league pipeline sixth in MLB in August.

The promotion pushes Banner alongside Ehsan Bokhari as assistant GMs in the Wrigley Field offices. President of baseball operations Jed Hoyer is the lead decision-maker, while GM Carter Hawkins is in his third offseason as Hoyer’s top lieutenant.

Willie Hernandez Passes Away

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Three-time All-Star and 1984 World Series champion Willie Hernandez has passed away at the age of 69 after a yearslong battle with a heart condition, per a report from La Primera Hora — a newspaper in Hernandez’s native Puerto Rico. The former American League MVP and Cy Young winner (both in a standout ’84 campaign) had been dealing with heart troubles for around 15 years, his wife tells La Primera Hora. Hernandez himself told Matt Schoh of the Detroit News back in 2019, after throwing out the first pitch during the Tigers’ season opener, that he nearly died in 2007 while having a pacemaker installed in his heart.

Hernandez is one of just 10 pitchers to ever capture both a Cy Young Award and an MVP in the same season — and one of just three relievers to accomplish that feat (joining Hall of Famers Rollie Fingers and Dennis Eckersley). The lefty’s 1984 campaign was indeed sensational; Hernandez led the Majors in both appearances (80) and games finished (68) while piling up a hefty 140 1/3 innings of relief. He saved 32 games that season and pitched to a pristine 1.92 ERA. He’d go on to add another 9 1/3 innings of 1.93 ERA ball in the postseason, including a pair of saves during a World Series that the Tigers won over the Padres.

That ’84 season kicked off a run of three consecutive All-Star appearances for Hernandez and was just one of many brilliant seasons over the life of a 13-year big league career. Hernandez made his MLB debut with the Cubs as a 22-year-old back in 1977, pitching to a terrific 3.03 ERA in 110 innings. He’d ultimately spend six-plus season in a Cubs uniform, pitching to a collective 3.81 ERA in that time.

Chicago traded Hernandez to the Phillies in May of 1983, and Hernandez delivered 95 2/3 innings of 3.29 ERA ball for the Phils en route to a World Series appearance. Philadelphia fell short to the Orioles in the ’83 Fall Classic, but that wasn’t due to any fault of Hernandez, who fired four shutout frames with four strikeouts during the series.

The Phillies traded Hernandez to the Tigers the following spring, and he went on to spend six seasons in Detroit, where he worked to a collective 2.98 ERA thanks in large part to his often unhittable screwball. His time with the Tigers included the vast majority of his career highlights: all three All-Star appearances, the Cy Young and MVP nods, and of course, the 1984 World Series championship. Elbow troubles in his age-34 season ultimately put an end to Hernandez’s pitching career.

All in all, Hernandez appeared in 744 Major League games, pitching to a lifetime 3.38 ERA with a 70-63 record, 147 saves and 788 strikeouts in 1044 2/3 innings. His postseason work tacks on another 13 2/3 frames of 1.32 ERA ball and three more saves. We at MLBTR express our condolences to Hernandez’s family, friends, former teammates and fans.

Central Notes: Reds, Cubs, Baez

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The Reds enjoyed a 2023 season in which they exceeded expectations, spending the summer in the mix for a playoff spot despite ultimately falling just short with an 82-80 record. With a bevy of young infielders led by Elly De La Cruz and Matt McLain, the club appears poised to potentially take another step forward in 2023. One key area in need of improvement, however, is the pitching staff: Cincinnati’s team ERA of 4.83 was the sixth-worst figure in the majors, and only the A’s and Rockies saw their rotation post a worse ERA than the Reds’ 5.43 figure. That rotation ERA is made all the more glaring by the fact that Reds starters combined for just 787 innings of work this year, 23rd in the majors.

Of course, that body of work from the rotation ignores the injury woes of promising young arms like Hunter Greene and Nick Lodolo, who could combine with fellow youngsters Andrew Abbott, Brandon Williamson, Graham Ashcraft and Connor Phillips can fill out a rotation that, at least on paper, looks better than this year’s bottom-three production would imply. While it’s certainly feasible that steps forward from young arms and health from Greene and Lodolo could provide Cincinnati with a serviceable rotation in 2024, Charlie Goldsmith of the Cincinnati Enquirer relayed comments from president of baseball operations Nick Krall today that indicate the Reds will look to add to their rotation this winter, taking advantage of an unusually deep free agent class for pitching.

Per Goldsmith, Krall told reporters that the Reds will look to add “some sort of blend of quality and quantity” to their pitching staff this winter, while noting that the club’s young arms can already provide the club with upside. Krall’s comments particularly seemed to indicate that the club is interested in pitchers who can both pitch out of the rotation and the bullpen as needed. That sort of swing arm is certainly in supply this offseason, with former Reds Michael Lorenzen and Alex Wood joined by the likes of Nick Martinez, Seth Lugo, and Jakob Junis among the arms who fit that description. Signing a swing arm could make plenty of sense for a Reds club that has several interesting young arms who figure to get looks in the rotation next year but is nonetheless clearly in need of a veteran presence who can provide reliable innings in the event of injury or under performance from the club’s youngsters.

More from around MLB’s Central divisions…

  • The Cubs’ coaching staff has largely been in flux since the club brought in Craig Counsell to take over for David Ross as manager, but Maddie Lee of the Chicago Sun Times reports that at least two of Ross’s coaches will be retaining their positions under Counsell: hitting coach Dustin Kelly and pitching coach Tommy Hottovy. Kelly is the latest in a long line of Cubs hitting coaches in recent years; he became the eighth person to hold the role over the past twelve seasons upon taking the role for the 2023 campaign. Hottovy, meanwhile, is a much longer-tenured part of the Cubs organization. He first joined the organization back in 2014 before being elevated to the role of pitching coach in 2018. Counsell will be the third manager Hottovy serves under, joining both Ross and Joe Maddon.
  • Tigers shortstop Javier Baez is coming off perhaps the worst season of his career in 2023, having slashed a brutal .222/.267/.325 in 547 trips to the plate this year. That was the second-worst offensive performance from a qualified regular in baseball last year by measure of wRC+; Baez’s 61 figure, which was 39% worse than league average, clocked in just barely ahead of former White Sox shortstop Tim Anderson’s 60 wRC+. Brutal as the 2023 season was for Baez, Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press relays that Baez is planning to spend much of his offseason stateside this winter rather than return to his home in Puerto Rico, as he typically does after the season comes to an end. During his time stateside, Petzold indicates that Baez plans to focus on strengthening his back and core muscles to recapture the athleticism that allowed him to connect for 86 home runs from 2017-2019, the fourth highest figure among qualified shortstops during that time span. If Baez, 31 next month, can successfully combat father time and recapture the power that carried his offensive profile in his youth, that would provide a massive boost to a Tigers team that finished bottom four in the majors with a team-wide wRC+ of just 89 in 2023.

Mets Hire Andy Green In Player Development Role

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The Mets have hired Andy Green for a senior role in their player development department, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post (X links).  Earlier today, Sherman reported that Green had been fired from his previous job as the Cubs’ bench coach, but Sherman corrected himself by saying that Green wasn’t fired, but that he turned down the Cubs’ offer to remain as bench coach or in another job in the organization.

This isn’t the first link between Green and the Mets this winter, as it seems likely that the groundwork for this hiring was laid when Green interviewed for New York’s managerial opening a few weeks ago.  Though the Mets opted to hire Carlos Mendoza as their new skipper, obviously the club liked Green enough to still want him within the organization.  With Craig Counsell unexpectedly supplanting David Ross as Chicago’s new manager, Green might have decided it was also time for a change, as Green’s stint as bench coach coincided with Ross’ four-year tenure as the Wrigleyville manager.

Green is no stranger to the Big Apple, as his last three seasons as a player were spent in the Mets organization, including his last four MLB big games in 2009.  Upon retirement, he became a manager in the Diamondbacks’ farm system and then Arizona’s third base coach for the 2015 season.  Green was then hired to be the Padres’ manager, compiling a 274-366 record from 2016-19 while initially overseeing a rebuilding San Diego club.

It remains to be seen if this player development job could lead to a new career path for the 46-year-old Green, or if he’ll eventually look to return to an on-field role.  Green’s managerial aspirations obviously haven’t left him, given his interviews with both the Mets and the Guardians within the last two months.

Cubs Part Ways With Bench Coach Andy Green

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Cubs bench coach Andy Green won’t be back with the team in 2024, as Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports that Green was “dismissed.”  It isn’t known exactly when Green was let go, yet Chicago has already started looking for a replacement, as USA Today’s Bob Nightengale (via X) reports that Marlins first base coach Jon Jay received an interview but won’t be hired.

The somewhat under-the-radar nature of Green’s firing is a little surprising, though in the bigger picture, a change of bench coach commonly coincides with the hiring of a new manager.  With Craig Counsell now running the Cubs’ dugout, it makes sense that he would get some say in picking and choosing his staff — particularly at bench coach since the role usually serves as the manager’s top lieutenant.  For instance, Green was one of David Ross’ first hires when Ross became the Cubs’ manager during the 2019-20 offseason.

Beyond his four years of experience as Chicago’s bench coach, Green is best known for his four-year stint as the Padres’ manager from 2016-19.  San Diego didn’t have any winning seasons during Green’s tenure, though the Padres were rebuilding during the first few of those years before expectations were raised after the Manny Machado signing.  The lack of success with the Friars didn’t entirely dim Green’s prospects as a skipper, since he interviewed with both the Mets and Guardians just this winter about managerial vacancies.

The 38-year-old Jay only just retired in April 2022, hanging up his cleats after 12 MLB seasons (which included a stop with the Cubs in 2017).  It didn’t take long for Jay to jump back into the game, however, as Jay was named Miami’s first base coach shortly after ex-teammate Skip Schumaker become the Marlins’ manager last year.  Jay has been cited as a potential future managerial candidate himself, as he fits the trend of clubs looking to hire younger managers more recently removed from their playing careers.

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