Tigers Announce Coaching Staff Changes
The Tigers announced their re-shaped 2020 coaching staff under returning manager Ron Gardenhire. It’ll feature Lloyd McClendon as bench coach, with the former skipper taking over for Steve Liddle.
Liddle, who’s the only member of the ’19 staff to depart, is retiring, as Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press reported. Fortunately, there was a well-experienced replacement on hand in the form of McClendon, who had functioned as the hitting coach.
Also moving into a new role is Joe Vavra, who’ll step in to coach the bats. He’s also exceedingly experienced in his new role, having occupied the same spot for a lengthy stretch alongside Gardenhire with the Twins. Otherwise, Ramon Santiago and Dave Clark will flip-flop base coaching duties, with the former going to third and the latter moving over to first.
With that business taken care of, the Tigers do have one coaching opening to account for. Vavra had worked as quality control coach and it appears the team will seek someone to take on the same job title.
AL Notes: Carrasco, Thornton, Castro, Trumbo
Carlos Carrasco’s health situation was one of MLB’s most-followed off-field storylines in 2019. Stunningly diagnosed with leukemia this summer, Carrasco made a heartwarming return to the mound September 1 in Tampa Bay and has made ten appearances out of Cleveland’s bullpen since. The 32 year-old father of five verbalized the ups-and-downs of the past five months in an emotional piece for the Players’ Tribune, emphasizing the importance of leaning on his wife Karelis, other family, and friends- inside and outside baseball- for support along the way. Encouragingly, the well-respected Carrasco says he’s “back to feeling 100%” and no doubt figures to be a foundational piece for both the Indians and the Cleveland community at large in the future. The moving and courageous piece, in which Carrasco discusses the gutwrenching decision he and Karelis confronted of whether to tell their children of his diagnosis, is worth a full read.
- Turning to strictly on-field matters across the American League, it seems Trent Thornton has pitched his way into the Blue Jays’ rotation plans for 2020, writes Kaitlyn McGrath of the Athletic. The rookie overcame a dreadful start to his MLB career to log a team-high 154.1 innings, working to a 4.84 ERA with pedestrian strikeout (22%) and walk (9%) rates. As McGrath notes, Thornton’s changeup has given him problems in the past and developing consistency with the offering will be among his offseason priorities. Thornton’s profile doesn’t scream future ace, but his durability and high-spin fastball and curveball make him a logical fit for a Toronto rotation that is lacking in certainty and rich in opportunity.
- Another rookie who could be positioned for playing time on a rebuilding team is Tigers infielder Willi Castro. A September call-up, Castro hasn’t gotten off to an especially rousing start to his MLB career. He has, though, impressed manager Ron Gardenhire, who tells Chris McCosky of the Detroit News Castro will have a chance to compete for the Tigers’ shortstop job in spring training. The 22 year-old, whom Detroit acquired from Cleveland in 2018 for Leonys Martín, ranks as Detroit’s #11 prospect, per Baseball America. He hit a solid .301/.366/.467 this season in his first extended action in Triple-A.
- On the opposite side of the service time spectrum is Orioles DH Mark Trumbo, who discussed the forthcoming end of his three-year contract with Baltimore Baseball’s Rich Dubroff. The 33 year-old tells Dubroff he’ll take some time off at the end of the season and gauge how his body feels before determining if he wishes to come back in 2020. So continues a pattern of noncommital responses on his future from Trumbo, who has been hampered by right knee problems for the last year-plus. That injury history means Trumbo will probably have to settle for a minor-league contract with a spring training invite if he does decide to give playing another go.
AL Notes: Tigers, Paxton, Cease, Orioles
Although Tigers manager Ron Gardenhire has indicated his desire to return to the club next season, the fate of his coaching staff may yet be up in the air, according to Evan Woodbery of MLive Media Group. With the season coming to a close, general manager Al Avila and company are apparently still faced with decisions regarding the status of the team’s staff, with announcements to come at season’s end. As The Athletic’s Cody Stavenhagen speculates, that certainly makes it seem like changes are coming, though of course any relevant announcements will have to wait. Gardenhire previously expressed his hope that his staff would remain intact for 2020, the final year of his contract. That group includes familiar faces like Rick Anderson and Steve Liddle, as well as Lloyd McClendon and Ramon Santiago. However, after such a dreadful year in all facets of the game, the front office will certainly look critically at the coaching.
From elsewhere around the American League…
- Yankees fans shook their heads in disbelief as starter James Paxton left yesterday’s game after just one inning. However, it seems that the team managed to avoid yet another significant injury; Paxton underwent an MRI this morning that revealed nothing but nerve irritation, per Bryan Hoch of MLB.com. His removal from the game was merely a precaution and is not expected to affect his availability in the approaching ALDS. The club has faced questions all year about postseason pitching, and an injury to Paxton—the team’s most reliable starter in the second half—would have sent the New York faithful spiraling.
- White Sox pitcher Dylan Cease has been diagnosed with a Grade 1 hamstring strain, according to James Fegan of The Athletic. He was scratched from his schedule start on Thursday, and of course won’t pitch again this season. While the two-to-four week timeline that comes with the injury is of little significance at this time of year, it’s nonetheless good to hear that the promising rookie will be at full health before too long. He’s had some growing pains as a rookie but has shown some encouraging signs, striking out 81 batters in his first 73 innings as a big-leaguer. With 141 1/3 innings between several levels, he’s also amassed his biggest workload as a pro.
- It’s no secret that Orioles pitching has come up short this year, but first-year pitching coach Doug Brocail expected some struggles when he took the job last winter. As he and a new front office regime attempt to build a pitching staff from the ground-up, Brocail offers some insight into the state of the organization in an interview with Dan Connolly of The Athletic (subscription required). There’s a long way to go for the team, but Brocail is seeing marginal improvements with rookie general manager Mike Elias trying to play catch-up after inheriting last year’s MLB-worst roster. With the emergence of John Means and the continued growth of the organization’s analytics department, there are some positive takeaways from his first year on the Baltimore staff.
Central Notes: White Sox, McCann, Yelich, Wong, Candelario
White Sox catcher James McCann could represent an integral part of his team’s jump to contention, which might opt for a sort of veteran infusion to supplement a blossoming young core led by Yoan Moncada, Lucas Giolito, Tim Anderson, and Eloy Jimenez. As The Athletic’s James Fegan writes, McCann sees himself as one of the first veterans to steer the young club towards that next step. He compares his team to recent versions of the Indians and Royals, who rode young cores to World Series berths from 2014-2016 as McCann watched from Detroit. He’s enjoyed his best offensive season, riding a strong first half to an All-Star selection, though he prides himself in his game-calling and management of a pitching staff. His collaboration with breakout star Lucas Giolito, along with a strong showing at the plate, has earned him a spot in the Sox clubhouse for 2020 and beyond.
- Brewers megastar Christian Yelich, who suffered a fractured kneecap after fouling a ball off his right knee, is showing signs of progress more than a week after the injury. Per Adam McCalvy of MLB.com, Yelich could be walking with crutches in about a week, with the possibility of running as early as the end of October. That’s not to say that he’ll be ready in time for a potential playoff return, however. While that doesn’t make the absence of the Brewers’ franchise player any more bearable, it’s encouraging that he’s making progress in his recovery.
- The Cardinals are going to exercise caution with injured second baseman Kolten Wong, who tweaked his hamstring on Thursday while running. An MRI on Friday revealed that he didn’t suffer anything worse that a mild-to-moderate hamstring strain, per Anne Rogers of MLB.com. That’s encouraging, especially after a situation last year in which Wong may have made the same injury worse by continuing to run despite the strain. For fear of aggravating the injury, he won’t be able to play until he demonstrates that he can swing and field without complication, though Wong, who’s been one of the stars of the second half for the Cards, says he is feeling better so far.
- Tigers third baseman Jeimer Candelario may be playing himself out of the Tigers’ future plans, writes Chris McCosky of The Detroit News. Thought to be the third baseman of the future when he was acquired from Chicago in 2017, Candelario has taken steps backward this season, with his wRC+ plummeting to just 67. The organization hasn’t completely given up hope yet, though the 25-year-old is running out of chances to rediscover his swing if he’s to stay on a Major League roster as a corner infielder. He hopes that playing winter ball after the season—something he wasn’t able to do last year because of a wrist injury—will help him get on the right track.
Three Needs: Detroit Tigers
We’re bringing back our “Three Needs” series, in which we take a look at the chief issues to be addressed for clubs that have fallen out of contention. We started with the Mariners and will now turn to a Tigers club that is finishing out a brutal season …
1. Work The Wire Aggressively
We’re focused here on reasonably attainable goals in a given offseason, not just identifying the very worst parts of a bad roster. And truth be told, it’s a bit of a fool’s errand to look too closely at specific areas of need. The reality of the situation in Detroit is that the organization is about as devoid of present MLB talent as any in recent memory. When a team is this bad, it’s not hard to identify areas to get better. Rather than focusing primarily on filling gaps, the approach this winter should be to accumulate as much talent as possible.
With the worst record in baseball, the Tigers not only have the first pick in next year’s draft (and in the upcoming Rule 5 draft), but top waiver priority from now until thirty days have elapsed in the 2020 campaign. That represents the first bite at the apple on any player who’s sent onto the wire. It’s a nifty benefit — if you’re willing and able to do the 40-man roster maneuvering needed to make it work.
Any front office must take care to protect their own prospects and manage the 40-man. The Tigers are no different. But a willingness to be aggressive with marginal veterans can help create additional openings. Having already sunken this far, the club can’t worry too much about holding open roster spots for lower-ceiling talent.
While GM Al Avila certainly has placed some claims since taking the helm — including a few quite recently — he’s nowhere near as apt to utilize that mechanism as, say, Giants president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi. There are conceivable benefits to avoiding too much churn, particularly during the season. But working the waiver wire — both by claiming and in some cases attempting to outright previously claimed players — offers an intriguing path to securing the rights to interesting players and obtaining a first-hand look.
2. Don’t Shy Away From Trading Matthew Boyd
Hanging onto Matthew Boyd at the trade deadline may or may not have been wise. It’s impossible to pass judgment from the outside without knowing what was actually available in trade talks. Though it stinks for the Detroit organization that the 28-year-old has gone on to post a suboptimal second half, that doesn’t mean we should re-litigate the trade deadline call without further information.
So, what now? It’s easy to presume that the Tigers have no choice but to hang onto Boyd and hope he shows better in the first half of 2019, creating a new deadline opportunity. And that may be the likeliest outcome. But the possibility of a deal shouldn’t be foreclosed in advance.
It’s true, Boyd did take a step back over his past dozen starts. But he didn’t collapse. He has still averaged better than eleven strikeouts per nine in that span. While the walks and homers are up significantly, his physical skills don’t appear to have eroded. There’s no reason to believe he’s hurt. Most of the same things that made him so suddenly interesting remain in place, such as a 14.0% swinging-strike rate, 3.56 SIERA, and three years of affordable arbitration control.
When contenders scan the free agent market for options, they’re not going to see that kind of upside — at least, for anything less than a whopping financial investment. Boyd won’t require that kind of commitment. The Detroit club shouldn’t settle for just anything, but ought to be shopping a talented pitcher who is rather unlikely to be in his prime and in a Tigers uniform when the team is next competitive.
3. Consider A Multi-Year Free Agent Signing
Wait, what?! Yeah, I’m advocating for selling off the team’s best remaining MLB asset and generally abandoning any thought of near-term contention. But that doesn’t mean the Tigers should be in pure tank mode. The point is that they ought to be looking for ways to maximize opportunities to add value to the organization. And that can include adding MLB players.
The Tigers are three winters removed from a multi-year free-agent signing. You have to go way back to that 2015-16 offseason to find any big spending. There’s good reason for that, to be sure. But there are also reasons to consider the potential upside in exploring larger deals again.
No, I’m not saying the Tigers should be signing the next Justin Upton or Jordan Zimmermann deal. But continuing to ink one-year, fill-in veterans makes for limited upside. After committing $15.5MM, the club wasn’t able to cash in any of its most recent one-year signings (Tyson Ross, Jordy Mercer, Matt Moore, Josh Harrison) because all of these veterans ended up being hurt. And I need not remind Tigers fans of the disappointing outcomes of the rental sales of J.D. Martinez and Nicholas Castellanos.
The Tigers’ payroll obligations are falling off a cliff, with nothing committed from this point forward aside from the sunk costs of Zimmermann and Miguel Cabrera (along with one more payout to Prince Fielder). With many organizations showing a reduced willingness to give the extra year, there could be some opportunity to draw interesting free agents to Detroit. That could open the door to a class of players the Tigers wouldn’t otherwise have access to while also increasing the potential return that could be realized in a trade if things go well. Plus, spreading the risk of injuries over multiple seasons isn’t without its merit. With free payroll to work with, the Tigers should have greater risk appetite and at least pursue some bold strategies.
Tigers Claim Marcos Diplan
The Tigers announced Monday that they’ve claimed right-hander Marcos Diplan off waivers from the Twins. In order to make room on the 40-man roster, Detroit placed left-handed reliever Daniel Stumpf on the 60-day injured list due to a left elbow strain.
Minnesota picked up Diplan in a minor July swap with the Brewers, sending cash to Milwaukee after Diplan had been designated for assignment. The 22-year-old righty never pitched in a big league game with the Twins before being designated for assignment himself this past weekend when Minnesota added hard-throwing prospect Jorge Alcala to its MLB roster.
Diplan, in fact, has never pitched at the big league level or even progressed beyond Double-A. He appeared in 38 games between the Double-A affiliates for the Twins and Brewers, totaling 68 2/3 innings of 4.85 ERA ball with 9.6 K/9 against 5.8 BB/9. Diplan was ranked among the Brewers’ 10 to 20 best prospects back in 2017 but has seen his stock dip in recent seasons. As Fangraphs’ Eric Longenhagen wrote back in ’17, he has an above-average fastball that runs up to 95 mph and a pair of inconsistent but at-times above-average secondary pitches in his changeup and slider.
Control has clearly been an ongoing issue for Diplan, who has averaged nearly five walks per nine innings pitched in his professional career. He has a minor league option remaining beyond the current season, however, and given the total lack of certainty in the Detroit bullpen, there’ll be ample opportunities for him in 2020 if he sticks on the 40-man roster over the course of the offseason.
Tigers Notes: E-Jax, Reyes, Norris, Castro, Minor League Staff
Edwin Jackson‘s on-field performance in his second stint with the Tigers hasn’t given fans much to cheer about — 8.58 ERA in 35 2/3 innings — but catcher Grayson Greiner called Jackson’s experience “invaluable,” when talking with MLB.com’s Jason Beck about the veteran right-hander’s role as a mentor. And while one would expect teammates to voice support for Jackson, Beck adds that a member of the opposing dugout also heaped praise onto Jackson. Orioles skipper Brandon Hyde called Jackson “one of my top five teammates I’ve ever been around” — a reference to the pair’s days together with the Cubs. “He’s a total pro and a class act, and there’s a reason why he’s been around so long and people want to have him around and always give him an opportunity, because he’s such a great guy,” said Hyde.
Whether that makes Jackson worthy of a roster spot on a rebuilding team when his struggles on the mound have been so pronounced is another debate — one the Tigers will surely have internally this winter. Beck notes that Detroit could have interest in re-signing Jackson to a minor league contract. Doing so would at least bring him to Spring Training with the team’s young players and could give them a veteran to bridge the gap to promising pitching prospects like Casey Mize, Matt Manning, Tarik Skubal and others — if he makes the roster.
More out of the Motor City…
- Positive strides made by the trio of Victor Reyes, Daniel Norris and Harold Castro late in the 2019 season have most likely solidified their place on the 2020 roster, Chris McCosky of the Detroit News writes. Reyes, 25 next month, looked wholly overwhelmed as a Rule 5 pick in 2018, but he’s delivered a .299/.333/.415 slash line with a pair of homers, 14 doubles, three triples and six steals in 237 plate appearances since being recalled in 2019 — all while playing above-average defense in center. The Tigers began limiting Norris to three-inning outings last month, and he’s responded with a 3.86 ERA and a 21-to-7 K/BB ratio in 21 innings of work. He’s still been far too homer-prone in that time, but it’s an encouraging step forward for the former top prospect, who’ll likely command only a modest raise on this year’s $1.2MM salary in arbitration this winter. As for Castro, the 25-year-old has hit at a .305/.320/.399 clip in 333 plate appearances, although his paltry 2.7 percent walk rate and a .383 average on balls in play call into question the sustainability of that production.
- Lynn Henning of the Detroit News reports that the Tigers have fired six minor league coaches, including Double-A hitting coach Brian Harper and minor league field coordinator Bill Dancy. The Tigers are still deciding the fate of Triple-A manager Doug Mientkiewicz, who is currently under contract through the 2020 season. Double-A skipper Mike Rabelo could be a potential replacement option for Mientkiewicz if Detroit opts not to bring him back, Henning adds.
AL Notes: Miggy, Ortiz Shooting, M’s Record
The Tigers pulled out an 8-4 victory today over the equally troubled Orioles, but the win didn’t come without a fair share of bummer news. Baseball legend Miguel Cabrera was lifted for a pinch hitter in the seventh inning, and the club announced after the game that the former Triple Crown winner is dealing with right knee soreness; as veteran reporter Chris McCosky of the Detroit News was quick to note, Cabrera has been dealing with chronic pain in that knee all season (link).
Across 1200 plate appearances since the beginning of the 2017 season, Cabrera owns a .273/.347/.405 batting line; his wRC+ of an even 100 indicates that he has been the perfect exemplar of a league-average hitter over that time frame. Of course, it is without the slightest bit of schadenfreude that one would point out how far those marks have fallen since Cabrera’s heyday. Miggy garnered MVP votes in every season ranging from 2003-2016; in that same span, he made ten All-Star games, won two MVP awards, and took home seven Silver Slugger trophies. Jason Beck of MLB.com indicates that Cabrera is considered “day-to-day” for the time being (link).
More notes from around the American League…
- Bob Hohler of The Boston Globe had the privilege of interfacing this week with retired Red Sox slugger David Ortiz, who made his first public comments to an English-language publication since being shot in a near-fatal June 9 incident in the Dominican Republic. “People need to understand, this isn’t a movie where you get shot in the street and you’re back two minutes later,’’ Ortiz said in the wide-ranging piece, which covers the events of that fateful night and his ensuing recovery process. “I got shot and almost died. I only have one life to live. I can’t just go to the pharmacy and buy another one.’’ As Hohler’s piece goes on to delineate, justice has still been hard to come by for the future Hall of Famer, as detectives in the DR are still yet to pinpoint a motive behind the attack that seems coherent to Ortiz; the former Boston great has since hired former Boston police commissioner Ed Davis to investigate the case.
- The Mariners have set something of an ignoble record in 2019, as Cut4’s Jake Mintz & Jordan Shusterman point out that Seattle has given playing time to an all-time-high 67 players this season (link). While many around baseball are giving attention to the litany of home run records being broken this year, manager Scott Servais and GM Jerry Dipoto have arguably accomplished a much more impressive feat in managing such a revolving door of a clubhouse.
Ron Gardenhire Discusses Future With Tigers
On Saturday, Chris McCosky of The Detroit News published an interesting story regarding the ongoing contract situation of Tigers manager Ron Gardenhire. As McCosky points out, both Tigers owner Christopher Illitch and GM Al Avila have been complimentary of Gardenhire’s influence on Detroit’s young roster, and the veteran manager has himself indicated that he expects to return in 2020 to execute the third and final season of his current managerial contract. There may be one thing standing in the way of that goal: the status of Gardenhire’s staff.
When he joined the Tigers before the 2018 season, Gardenhire brought with him a number of familiar faces from his time managing the Twins: pitching coach Rick Anderson, bench coach Steve Liddle, and quality control coach Joe Vavra all worked with Gardenhire in Minnesota. The rest of the Tigers’ staff—a group that includes Lloyd McClendon and Ramon Santiago, among others—has evidently earned Gardenhire’s trust and respect, and he may now look at those coaches as an invaluable part of his working process.
If the 61-year-old will indeed continue to shepherd the Tigers toward eventual contention, it seems like the retention of his current staff is something of a non-starter. “I want to talk about my coaches more than anything else. I defend those guys no matter what happens here,” Gardenhire told McCosky. “That would be hard for me to take–if anything happens to my coaches. Those are the conversations we’re going to have.”
For the time being, the possibility of an extension beyond 2020 seems to be the last thing on Gardenhire’s mind. That conversation will happen in due time, assuming there is mutual interest. Avila inked a “multi-year” contract extension earlier this season, which will keep him in Detroit for an as-yet-unreported length of time.
“It’s always up to the boss and Al has said I want you back; I don’t have to worry about that,” Gardenhire said Saturday. “Now we’ll have to have a conversation on the rest of it. Not about an extension; I don’t (care) about that. That’s to be determined.”
For his managerial career, Gardenhire holds an 1175-1240 record, including playoff berths in six of the thirteen years he spent in Minnesota. Since joining the Tigers, though, it’s been a different story: in nearly two full seasons in Detroit, Gardy’s teams have managed just a .347 winning percentage as the club has jettisoned productive veterans like Mike Fiers and Nicholas Castellanos from the active roster in pursuit of a prospect-oriented setup.
Central Notes: Twins, Reds, Senzel, Tigers
Before hiring Rocco Baldelli as the 31st manager in franchise history (just the fourth in the last 33 years), the Twins had him vetted by a pair of professional contemporaries currently serving Minnesota’s baseball ops department as special assistants: LaTroy Hawkins and Torii Hunter, per The Athletic’s Andy McCullough. Not long after Baldelli’s hire, he faced a similar grilling from another pair of special assistants: Justin Morneau and Michael Cuddyer. The quartet of Twins’ legends do more than serve as protective older brother types for Senior Baseball Officer Derek Falvey and GM Thad Levine – they’re active in a variety of capacities, from analytics, to hiring, to hands-on engagement with players at all levels of the Minnesota system. Levine said this of their veteran cabinet, “We haven’t acquired a single player at the major-league level without asking them to do makeup work on them.” Subscribers to The Athletic should read this piece in full for a fascinating peak into the machinations of the Twins organization. While you do that, we’ll see what else is happening in the Midwest…
- The Reds don’t expect Nick Senzel’s torn labrum to affect his defensive placement moving forward, per MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon. Said Manager David Bell, “He’s so young that hopefully his shoulder — he gets through this and that won’t be a factor at all on what position he plays. I’m expecting a full recovery.” The organization was impressed with how quickly Senzel made camp in center, enough to let his future defensive home remain a dependent variable. Without a clear-cut alternative in center, however, Senzel’s likely to stay put in the near-term. There’s questions in the infield, too, where a handful of options speckle the 2020 landscape, though none of Freddy Galvis, Jose Peraza, Josh VanMeter, or Derek Dietrich have a firm hold on starter’s minutes.
- Tigers President and CEO Christopher Ilitch spoke with reporters yesterday about the direction of the franchise, per Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press. Generally speaking, Ilitch didn’t provide any groundbreaking news. He appeared content with the speed of Detroit’s rebuild while focusing on continued progress as the organization’s only present mandate. Of course, he couldn’t say much to praise the Tigers’ current performance level without seeming disingenuous, and there would be little point in publicly denigrating a team that could well be on its way to a second top overall pick in three years. The primary takeaway seems to be an overall lack of urgency at the big league level – good news for prospect truthers, frustrating for those with hopes of seeing a competitive on-field product at Comerica Park in 2020. It seems there will be at least one more season of slow-and-steady as they continue to flesh out an increasingly well-regarded farm system.