Ray Fosse Passes Away
Longtime Athletics broadcaster and former All-Star catcher Ray Fosse passed away today at age 74, as announced by his wife Carol. Fosse stepped away from the broadcasting booth back in August in order to deal with cancer, as Fosse revealed that he had been fighting with the disease for the last 16 years.
The official statement from the Athletics…
“The Oakland A’s are heartbroken to learn of the passing of Ray Fosse. Few people epitomize what it means to be an Athletic more than Ray. He was the type of franchise icon who always made sure every player, coach, colleague, and fan knew that they were part of the Oakland A’s family. We send our deepest condolences to Carol, Nikki and Lindsey, his family and friends during this difficult time. We’ll miss you, Ray.”
A veteran of 12 MLB seasons from 1967-79, Fosse played for four different teams during his career, but is best known for his eight seasons with the Indians and three years with the A’s. Fosse was a two-time Gold Glove winner and two-time All-Star during his time in Cleveland, with that first ASG appearance resulting in an infamous collision at the plate with Pete Rose on the final play of the 1970 Midsummer Classic. The apocryphal version of the incident is that the collision allegedly ruined Fosse’s career, and though he did suffer lingering shoulder problems for years after the fact, Fosse did go on to play eight more seasons in the bigs.
Fosse’s three seasons in Oakland included World Series victories in both 1973 and 1974, and it led to a long post-retirement association with the A’s after his retirement. Fosse called A’s games on TV and radio from 1986 until this past summer, becoming the voice of Athletics baseball for an entire generation of Bay Area fans.
Many social media tributes have already poured in from friends, fans, players, and colleagues paying homage to Fosse’s legacy in the sport, and to his personal friendships with so many in the game. We at MLB Trade Rumors pass on our condolences to Fosse’s family and loved ones.
AL Notes: Mariners, Blue Jays, Hernandez, Indians
The offseason has already begun for 13 American League teams, with plenty of speculation about what some contenders and would-be contenders might have planned for winter moves. The latest buzz from the AL…
- The Mariners seemed poised for their most aggressive offseason in years, and The Athletic’s Corey Brock and MLBTR’s own Steve Adams took a look at the potential shape of Seattle’s next additions. The proposal is a major signing (i.e. Marcus Semien) and then a few other prominent but somewhat lower-level free agents (such as Anthony DeSclafani, Jonathan Villar, Alex Wood), augmented with some trades to help bench depth and left-handed bullpen depth. It remains to be seen whether or not the M’s will target any of these specific players, yet an offseason like this would certainly make Seattle a better team in 2022, and still leave payroll room for any other upgrades at the trade deadline.
- Semien’s future was also one of several Blue Jays-related topics covered by The Toronto Star’s Gregor Chisholm in his latest reader mailbag, with Chisholm opining that both Semien and Robbie Ray will be playing elsewhere in 2022. Should Semien leave, the Jays could address the hole at second base simply by moving their third base candidates (Cavan Biggio and Santiago Espinal) over to the keystone, and then acquiring a new third baseman. In response to another question, Chisholm believes the Jays will probably hold off on extension talks with Teoscar Hernandez simply because the team is prioritizing more near-term moves, like adding more salary this winter and exploring a long-term deal with Jose Berrios. Hernandez is still controlled through the 2023 season, and the Blue Jays could be content to just go year-to-year with Hernandez since outfield replacements are comparatively easy to find, even if few hitters at any position have equaled Hernandez’s production over the last two-plus seasons.
- Speaking of finding outfielders, the Indians have long been looking for some stability on the grass, and the Tribe seemed to solidify at least one position when they acquired Myles Straw from the Astros at the trade deadline. That leaves the corner outfield spots still to be addressed, and “since the summer months, the front office has fixated on consolidating its prospect capital in an attempt to land an established outfielder in a trade,” The Athletic’s Zack Meisel writes. Cleveland would likely prefer to work out that trade sooner rather than later, as November 19 is the deadline for teams to set their 40-man rosters in advance of the Rule 5 Draft, and the Tribe have a surplus of players who might require 40-man placement. Whether or not an early trade can be found, however, isn’t clear, as Meisel notes that some around baseball feel teams will generally hold back on any major moves until there is more clarity about the next collective bargaining agreement.
Blue Jays Tried To Acquire Jose Ramirez, Robbie Grossman At Deadline
In an article about the Blue Jays’ upcoming offseason, Shi Davidi of Sportsnet says that the club tried to acquire Cleveland infielder Jose Ramirez and Detroit outfielder Robbie Grossman at the trade deadline.
This comment came within the context of a discussion he had with general manager Ross Atkins about the lack of diversity in the Blue Jays’ lineup this season. Atkins stated that the righty-heavy lineup was better when left-handed hitters Cavan Biggio and Corey Dickerson were present. “It’s not just that they’re left-handed, but how we are attacked and potentially the pitchers that are used is different,” Atkins said. “Secondarily, we feel it’s important to have balance and not just the same type of hitters up and down your lineup. So some players that are more batting average driven and some players that are more on-base driven with plate discipline. Having both is exceptionally powerful.”
In the end, the Blue Jays only added pitching at the deadline, with Jose Berrios being the headline move. In the season’s final months, the club finished strong and ended up 91-71, just one game away behind the eventual Wild Card participants, the Red Sox and Yankees.
Ramirez and Grossman are both excellent hitters, making it hardly surprising that Toronto, or any club, would be interested in their services. Both certainly would have helped with the righty-heavy situation, as they are both switch hitters. Grossman is usually better as a righty but still above-average from the left side. For his career, his slash line as a righty is .273/.367/.409, wRC+ of 116, whereas the lefty line is .241/.346/.378, wRC+ of 102. This year, his production as a lefty was slightly better, coming in at 105 in terms of wRC+. But his production as a righty was significantly better, coming in at 135 by the same measure. Ramirez, however, is equally excellent from both sides. His career line as a righty is .292/.351/.500 for a wRC+ of 125. As a lefty in his career, he’s hit .272/.356/.502 for a wRC+ of 127. This year, his wRC+ was 139 as a lefty and 135 as a righty.
It is perhaps worth nothing that both players are still controlled by their respective clubs, making it possible that whatever trade scenarios were discussed could be revisited in the offseason, especially considering that the Jays are losing the aforementioned Dickerson to free agency, weakening their already-thin pool of lefty bats. Grossman and the Tigers agreed to a two-year deal before this season, leaving one year remaining at a salary of $5MM. The Tigers have been rebuilding in recent years, making it somewhat logical that they would consider parting with a veteran player who is approaching free agency. But on the other hand, after an awful showing in April, they went 69-66 over the season’s final months and could be looking to add rather than subtract this offseason. And the Jays aren’t especially desperate for outfield help, given they have George Springer, Teoscar Hernandez, Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and Randal Grichuk on hand.
Ramirez, for his part, is controlled through for two more seasons via a pair of club options as part of the extension he signed prior to the 2017 season. The $11MM and $13MM salaries for 2022 and 2023 are both absolute bargains for a player of his caliber, meaning they’re guaranteed to be picked up. However, that also means it will be difficult to pry him loose from Cleveland, even if it’s unclear how aggressive the team plans to be this winter. They finished the season with a lackluster 80-82 record, meaning there could be an argument for selling. But on the other hand, they suffered a large number of injuries to key players, especially in their rotation, and could expect better results in 2022. According to Cot’s Baseball Contracts, they also had an opening day payroll of under $50MM this season, lower than it’s been in a decade, meaning there shouldn’t be too much desire to strip it down even further. As much as he would slot nicely into a Toronto lineup that has Cavan Biggio and Santiago Espinal as its best third base options, it should take a tremendous trade package to make it happen.
The Blue Jays, for their part, should be able to take on some salary. When asked if the payroll could increase from this year’s $140MM range, Atkins tells Davidi, “That is our desire and that is our understanding.” That wouldn’t be unprecedented for the Toronto club, as their budget was over $160MM in both 2017 and 2018, before dipping as their recent rebuild picked up steam. Now that they’ve returned to contention over the past two seasons, it stands to reason that they would return to that level, if not surpass it. They only have about $65MM committed to next year, according to Jason Martinez of Roster Resource, though that’s before accounting for arbitration raises for players like Berrios, Hernández and Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
Atkins tells Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet that the Jays are looking to add to the infield and rotation, which makes sense given they are losing Robbie Ray and Marcus Semien to free agency in a few weeks. As to whether they have the cash to pull it off, Atkins told Davidi that the Jays could give out a “very significant deal with a lot of term to it, maybe more than one,” but also tried to tamp down expectations by saying that teams “need to have that five- and six-year understanding for what that means for the team and the organization.”
Indians Part Ways With Hitting Coach Ty Van Burkleo
The Indians are parting ways with hitting coach Ty Van Burkleo, reports Zack Meisel of the Athletic (Twitter link). Meisel notes he’d been the longest-tenured active hitting coach in MLB. Assistant hitting coaches Victor Rodriguez and Justin Toole are expected to remain on staff, Meisel adds, but the club will pursue a new hitting coach from outside the organization.
The 57-year-old Van Burkleo appeared in the majors from 1993-94. Since retiring as a player, he’d worked in a series of coaching and player development roles, including stints as a hitting coach with the A’s and Astros and a season as the Mariners’ bench coach. Van Burkleo joined Cleveland entering the 2013 campaign, Terry Francona’s first year as Indians manager.
Francona has missed the end of each of the past two seasons because of health issues. He’s expected to return to the dugout in 2022, although he’ll do so without Van Burkleo alongside him for the first time in his Cleveland tenure. Francona and company have had plenty of success in recent years, including a 2016 American League pennant that saw Cleveland come within a game of their first World Series title since 1948.
The Indians had a disappointing 2021 campaign, though, tailing off after a solid start to the year. Cleveland had a below-average offensive unit, slashing just .238/.304/.408 (excluding pitchers). That mark ranked 22nd out of the league’s 30 clubs by measure of wRC+. Of course, some struggles at the plate were to be expected for a team that saw the departures of Francisco Lindor and Carlos Santana last offseason.
Indians Release Brady Aiken
Left-hander Brady Aiken was among a set of minor leaguers released by the Indians, the team announced. Aiken hasn’t played in two years, as he announced after the 2019 season that he was stepping away from baseball for an indeterminate period of time.
Cleveland selected Aiken 17th overall in 2015, a year after the Astros took the southpaw with the 2014 draft’s first overall pick. In the wake of the Houston pick, however, the Astros had some last-minute concerns about Aiken’s left UCL and wanted to renegotiate a lower bonus, and the two sides didn’t reach agreement on a deal. Aiken indeed ended up undergoing Tommy John surgery, though that didn’t stop the Tribe from still taking Aiken in the first round in 2015.
Over part of three pro seasons, Aiken has a 5.18 ERA over 179 innings, reaching as high as the Indians’ A-ball affiliate in Lake County. Just about all of that experience took place in 2016-17, as after Aiken didn’t pitch in 2018, he returned to toss only two-thirds of an inning over two appearances for Lake County, walking six of his nine total batters faced.
Aiken just turned 25 in August, but given the circumstances, it is reasonable to speculate that his baseball career could be over. If so, Aiken would join Steve Chilcott (1965) and Brien Taylor (1991) as the only first overall picks to retire without ever playing in a Major League game.
Indians Activate Shane Bieber From Injured List
Sept. 24: Bieber has been reinstated from the 60-day injured list, the Indians announced Friday. Righty Nick Sandlin is being transferred from the 10-day IL to the 60-day IL to create a 40-man roster spot. Cleveland also reinstated Amed Rosario from the bereavement list and optioned infielder Ernie Clement and lefty Francisco Perez to Triple-A Columbus.
Sept. 22: Shane Bieber will return to the Indians to start Friday night’s game against the White Sox, interim manager DeMarlo Hale told reporters (including Mandy Bell of MLB.com). It’ll be his first appearance since June 13. He’s on the 60-day injured list, so a corresponding 40-man move will need to be made, although that can be accomplished by simply transferring Wilson Ramos from the 10-day IL to the 60-day IL in the wake of his season-ending knee injury.
The 26-year-old Bieber was placed on the 10-day injured list back on June 14 due to a right shoulder subscapularis muscle strain. The reigning American League Cy Young winner hadn’t been quite as dominant as he was during 2020’s 60-game sprint, but he’d still impressed with 90 2/3 frames of 3.28 ERA ball prior to landing on the injured list. Bieber’s 33.9 percent strikeout rate, while still among the best in the league, was down from last year’s remarkable 41.1 percent showing. His 8.6 percent walk rate marked a slight increase over last year’s 7.1 percent clip.
Bieber’s injury was a major factor in Cleveland’s downfall in the American League Central standings this season, although had he been the lone member of the rotation to fall to an injury, perhaps the club could’ve withstood the loss. Instead, he was joined by both Aaron Civale and Zach Plesac for lengthy stays on the injured list, forcing the Indians to lean heavily on a group of rookie starters who spent much of the season looking overmatched.
At this point, any postseason hopes for Cleveland have been dashed, but there’s still some value in getting Bieber a few innings to close out the year on a high note. Pitching in a game setting without experiencing any lingering or recurring symptoms will allow both Bieber and the team to head into the offseason with greater confidence that the right-hander’s injury won’t carry over into the 2022 season. As a first-time arbitration-eligible player, Bieber surely appreciates the opportunity to pick up a few more innings to help offset the missed time.
Looking to 2022, Bieber will return to front a rotation that again looks to be stocked with quality young arms. The aforementioned Civale gives the club a strong No. 2 option behind Bieber, and while young Triston McKenzie was clobbered for seven runs in his most recent appearance, he’s shown some extended flashes of brilliance this year and looks well on his way to settling into the rotation as well. Plesac’s 2020 numbers look increasingly like an outlier, but even if that’s the case, he presents a solid fourth option. Cal Quantrill, meanwhile, has a 3.05 ERA (albeit with a 4.18 FIP) in 115 innings out of the rotation. Right-hander Eli Morgan hasn’t fared particularly well in his debut campaign but does have sound numbers in Triple-A. He’ll be a fine depth option moving forward, and the Indians have also at least gotten some big league exposure for depth options like Sam Hentges, J.C. Mejia and Logan Allen this year as well.
Indians Select Anthony Gose
The Indians are selecting the contract of outfielder-turned-pitcher Anthony Gose, as first reported by Indians Prospective (on Twitter). The left-hander will be appearing in the Majors for the first time since 2016 — and for the first time ever as a pitcher.
Gose, now 31 years old, was a two-way star in high school and a second-round draft choice by the Phillies back in 2008. He focused solely on developing as an outfielder, and by the 2011-12 offseason, Gose ranked as a consensus top 100 prospect in all of baseball. He played the 2011 season as a 20-year-old in Double-A (about four years younger than the league-average age) and slashed .253/.349/.415 with 16 home runs, 20 doubles, seven triples and 70 stolen bases — the second 70-steal season of his young professional career.
In 2010, the Phillies traded Gose to the Astros alongside J.A. Happ and Jonathan Villar in the trade that brought Roy Oswalt to Philadelphia. Houston immediately flipped Gose to the Blue Jays for corner-infield prospect Brett Wallace, who’d been a first-round pick in 2008 and was a highly regarded prospect himself at the time.
Gose made his big league debut with the Jays as a 21-year-old in 2012 but never really found his footing in Toronto. He spent three seasons as an oft-optioned member of the Jays’ outfield but managed just a .234/.301/.332 output in that time. The Blue Jays and Tigers swapped Gose for second baseman Devon Travis in the 2014-15 offseason, and Gose only found marginally more success in Detroit. He batted .254/.321/.367 in his first season as a Tiger but played just 30 games in his second season (2016).
Those struggles at the plate carried over into Triple-A, and beginning in 2017, the Tigers gave Gose the opportunity to work off the mound all the way down in Class-A Advanced. The transition wasn’t particularly smooth, as one might expect. Gose appeared in 11 games, allowing nine runs in 10 2/3 innings. He fanned 14 of the 45 hitters he faced (31.1 percent), but the Tigers removed him from their 40-man roster and he opted for free agency at season’s end.
Gose signed a minor league pact with the Rangers in the 2017-18 offseason and was selected by the Astros in the Rule 5 Draft just days later. He didn’t make it out of Spring Training with the ‘Stros before being returned to the Rangers. Gose made it to Double-A as a pitcher in the Rangers’ system and clearly intrigued the Indians’ baseball ops department enough to sign him as a minor league free agent the following offseason.
Gose has hung on with Cleveland ever since, but he hasn’t gotten a call to the big leagues until today. The lefty pitched for Team USA in the Olympics earlier this summer, and he’s had a generally solid season on the mound. Walks have been an issue since he made the move to the mound, and that’s true to an extent this season as well. Gose has worked to a 3.55 ERA with a hefty 34 percent strikeout rate but a bloated 19.4 percent walk rate.
However, most of those command issues came early in the season. Since returning from the Olympic team, Gose has yielded just one run in 14 frames. He’s walked six of the 52 batters he’s faced in that time (11.5 percent) and fanned a whopping 22 of them (42.3 percent). Given that recent run of dominance, it’s hardly a surprise that Cleveland is both rewarding Gose’s tenacity and also taking the opportunity to get a late look at him in the big leagues.
While Gose has appeared in parts of five big league seasons in the past, he has yet to even amass three years of Major League service time. As such, Cleveland would be able to control him all the way through the 2025 season — if he is indeed able to stick as a pitcher. Gose, by all accounts, has built his heater up to sit in the upper-90s and at times reach triple digits. Opponents are hitting just .172/.333/.328 against him so far in 2021 — including a .086/.192/.154 batting line since he returned from the Olympics.
It’s a frankly remarkable journey for Gose, who has been with four organizations in five years since attempting to reinvent himself as a pitcher. He’s pitched for clubs in the Puerto Rican Winter League and Dominican Winter League along the way after restarting his career as a 26-year-old in Class-A Advanced. He’ll now reap the benefits of that half-decade odyssey as he returns to the Major Leagues for what, in many ways, will be a second big league debut.
Indians Notes: Francona, Jones, Bieber
Indians manager Terry Francona stepped away from the team in July to undergo a hip replacement and left foot surgery, and president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti updated reporters (including MLB.com’s Mandy Bell) on the skipper’s progress today. Francona has now undergone both procedures, and is recovering in Cleveland with plans for him to soon return to his home in Arizona for further convalescence. Most importantly, Francona is “recovering well,” according to Antonetti, and “his mindset is in a much better place than he was a couple of months ago.”
While Francona’s health remains the priority, Antonetti also said that the manager has already begun making some plans for the 2022 team. There wasn’t any question that Francona would be welcomed back for his 10th season in Cleveland’s dugout if he was able, and the prospects of that return are looking a bit brighter now that Francona’s procedures have taken place. “We continue to plan looking at ’22 with Tito as our manager. If at some point that changes, we’re going to have to reconsider and relook at things at that point. But we have no reason to think that will be the case,” Antonetti said.
More from the soon-to-be Guardians….
- Antonetti also provided reporters (including The Athletic’s Zack Meisel) with updates on some injured Cleveland players, including the news that top prospect Nolan Jones will probably undergo ankle surgery. Jones was placed on the minor league injured list at the start of September with a high ankle sprain, and this procedure will help Jones be be fully healthy for the start of Spring Training. Jones has played the entire season at Triple-A Columbus, hitting .238/.356/.431 with 13 home runs over 407 plate appearances. Jones is ranked among the top 100 prospects in the sport by both MLB.com (69th) and Baseball America (75th).
- Shane Bieber‘s second rehab start is scheduled for tomorrow, when the reigning AL Cy Young Award winner is expected to throw 55-60 pitches or four innings of work for the Columbus affiliate. Bieber has been out of action for more than two months due to a shoulder strain, though he tentatively appears to be on pace to get back to the Indians roster before the season is over.
Indians Outright Ryan Lavarnway
Sept. 17: Lavarnway cleared waivers and was assigned outright to Triple-A Columbus, per the transactions log at MiLB.com.
Sept. 14: The Indians have designated catcher Ryan Lavarnway for assignment and reinstated fellow backstop Roberto Perez from the injured list, per a club announcement. They’ve also added righty J.C. Mejia as their 29th man for today’s doubleheader against the Twins.
The veteran Lavarnway, 34, appeared in nine games with Cleveland and went 7-for-28 with a pair of walks in 30 plate appearances. Once a fairly well-regarded prospect in the Red Sox system, Lavarnway has settled in as the consummate journeyman backup catcher. He’s spent time in the Majors in 10 of the past 11 seasons — 2016 being the exception — but has never topped 46 games or 167 plate appearances. In 486 trips to the plate at the MLB level, Lavarnway has batted .217/.272/.345.
The Indians were Lavarnway’s eight Major League team and his seventh in the past seven years. He’s had a strong season with Cleveland’s top minor league affiliate in Columbus, batting .278/.339/.583 in 166 plate appearances. He’s a career .272/.362/.438 hitter in parts of 10 Triple-A seasons. Lavarnway will now either be placed on outright waivers or release waivers.
Latest Rumors On Mets’ Front Office
The Mets again find themselves in the midst of an effort to reshape their front office, less than a year after already making sweeping changes under new owner Steve Cohen. Team president Sandy Alderson temporarily assumed oversight of baseball operations last week as the team put acting GM Zack Scott on administrative leave following a DWI arrest, but there’s little expectation Alderson will return to the top of the baseball ops hierarchy on a full-time basis.
MLB Network’s Jon Heyman tweets today that Alderson signed a two-year deal to help Cohen’s ownership transition and front office changes, but he had no desire to return to a full-time baseball operations role. The team’s plan for the 2022 season is to have Alderson return to a broader-reaching team president role without directly running the baseball operations department. A new hire will need to be made, as has already been widely suggested in the wake of Scott’s DWI charge.
Cohen’s Mets were connected to numerous high-profile candidates last year in looking to fill their baseball operations void after parting ways with Brodie Van Wagenen, but several either declined to interview or were denied permission to do so. Teams generally only permit their executives to interview with other clubs if the position is a promotion over their current post. It’s probably not a coincidence that the Rays not only extended general manager Erik Neander but promoted him to president of baseball operations just yesterday; Neander was known to be of interest to the Mets last year.
There’s been quite a bit of recent speculation on Theo Epstein as a candidate. The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale and the New York Post’s Joel Sherman all wrote on the topic within the same 24-hour period. Of course, as Rosenthal pointed out, it was Epstein who originally hired both Scott and Jared Porter — the former Mets GM who was fired a month into his tenure last offseason following revelations of past harassment of a reporter. Both joined the Red Sox under Epstein’s watch, and Epstein brought Porter to Chicago not long after being named Cubs president of baseball operations.
The optics of that aren’t necessarily damning, but a cleaner break from that tree might also be welcome. Furthermore, SNY’s Andy Martino wrote this week that nearly everyone he’s spoken to has strongly downplayed the Epstein rumors. All three Epstein columns also mention the possibility that he’d look to secure a minority stake with any team he joins, and Martino suggests the same: that Epstein is seeking a partial ownership opportunity.
Looking around the league, there aren’t many high-profile executives who’d seem like candidates to depart their current post and take on the spotlight of the Mets’ presidency. Twins GM Thad Levine and Indians GM Mike Chernoff both declined the opportunity to interview last offseason. A’s GM David Forst was reported to be of interest to the Mets (and the Angels), but there’s no indication he ever actually interviewed (or even spoke with) either club.
Heyman somewhat speculatively suggests two other executives whose names have been or could be of interest to the Mets: Dodgers senior vice president of baseball operations Josh Byrnes and Rangers president of baseball operations Jon Daniels. Martino, in similar fashion, listed off three more high-profile execs who’d be making lateral moves and require ownership permission to even interview: Cleveland’s Chris Antonetti, Minnesota’s Derek Falvey and Oakland’s Billy Beane.
Byrnes would make a fairly logical candidate for the Mets to pursue. He’s a high-ranking member of a large-payroll, consistently successful organization, but the Mets’ top baseball ops job would still represent a promotion for him. He’s also served as general manager of both the Padres and the Diamondbacks in the past, so he’s no stranger to running a baseball operations outfit himself. Somewhat coincidentally, Byrnes was the other finalist for the Mets’ GM post back in 2010 when the team ultimately hired Alderson to take over baseball operations.
As for Daniels, he would be making a lateral move, from one president of baseball ops role to another. However, the Rangers also just recently hired Chris Young as their new general manager, and that could be viewed as a means of grooming an eventual heir-apparent for Daniels, who was extended on a contract of still-unreported length back in 2018. Daniels — a Queens native, for what it’s worth — has been running the Rangers’ baseball operations department since being appointed general manager at just 28 years of age in the 2005-06 offseason.
Daniels’ situation bears some similarity to that of Brewers president of baseball operations David Stearns, whose name was recently raised in connection with the Mets by ESPN’s Buster Olney. However, there are also some key differences. As is the case with the Rangers, the Brewers just named a new general manager, Matt Arnold, to serve under Stearns (who is, like Daniels, a New York native). The key difference is that Arnold was promoted to GM from within at a time when the Mets were known to be looking to hire a GM; Young was hired by the Rangers from outside the organization. (Although he also interviewed for the Mets’ job last offseason before joining the Rangers.)
Stearns is also newer to the Brewers’ top job than Daniels is to his own post. His contract extension and promotion are both more recent as well. There’s little reason to think Brewers owner Mark Attanasio would be open to allowing Stearns to depart when he’s still under contract another year and when the Brewers have emerged as one of the best teams in all of baseball. The Brewers denied him permission to interview last offseason, Martino notes.
Suffice it to say, speculation already abounds with regard to the Mets’ front office, and that’s before the team has even truly begun its search for a new baseball operations leader in earnest. These names and a dozen or more others will likely be tied to the Mets in the weeks and months to come, before a hire is ultimately made.