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Dusty Baker

Quick Hits: Astros, Baker, Bochy, Phils, Herrera, Ventura, Hudson

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The Astros, suddenly in need of a new manager after the suspension and firing of A.J. Hinch on Monday, “plan to open an outside search to find his replacement,” Bob Nightengale of USA Today writes. Nightengale names longtime manager Dusty Baker as someone with interest in the job, but it’s unclear whether the team will want to talk to him about the position. Although fellow veteran skipper Bruce Bochy has been mentioned in speculation, it appears he’s serious about taking time away from the game in the wake of his long run with the Giants. Bochy told Nightengale he’s hitting the “pause button.”

  • The Phillies designated center fielder Odubel Herrera for assignment Tuesday, which could pave the way for his release. However, the likelihood is that Herrera will still be a member of the organization when spring training rolls around, according to Matt Breen of the Philadelphia Inquirer. It’s unlikely anyone will take Herrera in a trade, the Phils don’t seem keen on releasing him and eating the $19.5MM left on his contract, and it’s improbable he’d reject an outright assignment and leave that money on the table. So, while Herrera’s no longer on the Phillies’ 40-man roster, it doesn’t appear his time with the organization is up just yet.
  • Former major league third baseman and ex-White Sox manager Robin Ventura has resurfaced at Oklahoma State as a student assistant, per Kendall Rogers of D1baseball.com. The Cowboys’ staff now boasts him and fellow former big leaguer Matt Holliday, whose brother, Josh Holliday, manages the team. The 52-year-old Ventura hasn’t coached in the majors since the White Sox let him go after the 2016 season. Ventura’s name came up when the Mets were seeking a manager in 2017, but he reportedly didn’t have interest in the position.
  • In more ex-MLBer/college baseball news, longtime right-hander Tim Hudson is joining Auburn as a pitching/volunteer assistant coach, Teddy Cahill of Baseball America reports. Prior to enjoying an excellent MLB career, Hudson starred at Auburn. In Hudson’s return to his old stomping grounds, Cahill notes that the 44-year-old will work with potential first-round righty Tanner Burns – who has drawn comparisons to Hudson.

Poll: The Phillies’ Managerial Finalists

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The Phillies’ managerial search appears to be down to three candidates, who combine for 53 years of experience at running a Major League team.  Gabe Kapler was a first-time manager who took an analytics-heavy approach to his role as the Phils’ skipper, though after two disappointing years, Kapler was fired to make way for a more seasoned hand in the dugout.  This isn’t to say that Dusty Baker, Joe Girardi, or Buck Showalter aren’t open to modern ideas, yet it’s clear that the Phillies are looking for, in the words of the Philadelphia Inquirer’s Matt Breen, a mix of “analytics and tradition.”

While it could be argued how “new school” or “old school” the three candidates are, one thing is for certain — Baker, Girardi, and Showalter all have outstanding track records.

Baker: 1863-1636 record over 22 seasons managing the Giants (1993-2002), Cubs (2003-06), Reds (2008-13), and Nationals (2016-17); 14 winning seasons; eight postseason appearances, seven division titles, one league pennant

Girardi: 988-794 record over 11 seasons managing the Marlins (2006) and Yankees (2008-17); 10 winning seasons; six postseason appearances, three division titles, one World Series championship

Showalter: 1551-1517 record over 20 seasons managing the Yankees (1992-95), Diamondbacks (1998-2000), Rangers (2003-06), Orioles (2010-18); 10 winning seasons; five postseason appearances, two division titles

Between managing contenders, also-rans, rebuilding teams, and (in Girardi’s case) World Series champions, the three skippers have basically seen it all in their careers, which should help in dealing with a Phillies team that has a lot of talent, but was also hamstrung by injuries and a lack of production in some key areas over the last two seasons.

As much as the Phillies were expected to contend this year, they haven’t yet gotten into that tier of the sport’s top teams — which is nothing unusual for Baker and Showalter, who have each molded losing teams into playoff contenders on multiple occasions.  Girardi didn’t exactly have the same rebuilding experience when he took over the consistently-winning Yankees following Joe Torre’s departure, though he withstood a decade in the Bronx pressure cooker, and kept the Yankees above .500 from 2013-16 during what counts, by New York’s standards, as a rebuilding period (only one postseason appearance in those four years).

If you ran the Phillies, which of these three managers would you hire to get your team over the top?  (Poll link for app users.)

Phillies Managerial Search Reportedly In Final Stages

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After conducting interviews with Joe Girardi, Buck Showalter, and Dusty Baker last week, Phillies leadership is expected to welcome all three men back for follow-up interviews in the coming days, according to Matt Breen of the Philadelphia Inquirer (link). Breen characterizes the hiring process as being in the “final stages”, with no other candidates slated to interview for the club’s open manager job.

GM Matt Klentak and assistant GM Ned Rice are leading the search, though actively involved owner John Middleton and team prez Andy MacPhail are expected to have a “say” in the final decision. Breen points to next Thursday as a potential window for the team to announce its final decision, as that day will mark the first pause in the World Series schedule of play.

Yesterday, news came that Girardi had stepped down as Team USA’s manager, presumably to focus on the numerous MLB hiring processes in which he is currently involved. Philadelphia is looking for an experienced successor to Gabe Kapler, who was dismissed after two years at the helm on the heels of a disappointing 2019 campaign that left them in fourth place in the NL East.

Phillies To Interview Buck Showalter, Joe Girardi, Dusty Baker

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Oct. 14: Showalter and Girardi are set to interview with the Phillies today, Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadelphia reports. Baker’s interview will take place later this week.

Oct. 13: With the Phillies beginning the interview process for their next manager, the team is set to interview Dusty Baker for the vacant position later this week, per Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune. Baker is currently serving as a special adviser to the Giants, who have granted Philadelphia permission to meet with Baker.

If the Phillies are seeking a manager with big-league experience, Baker surely fits the bill. At age 70, he comes with plenty of history to his name, having managed for 22 years and compiling a 1863-1636 overall record. If the Phillies were frustrated with Kapler’s approach to the game, Baker essentially represents his exact opposite.

He fits the trend of the names that have surfaced in the Phillies’ search for Kapler’s replacement. Between Buck Showalter, Joe Girardi, and now Baker, there’s a distinct pattern of traits that the organization seems to prioritize; namely, someone who can bridge the gap between “analytics and tradition.” That’s a reversal of the prevailing trend in Major League Baseball towards young, cheap, and inexperienced managers. And for a Phillies team that finds itself firmly in win-now mode, the list of candidates sends a clear message that owner John Middleton believes a seasoned managerial veteran can help his club secure a World Series win in the very near future.

For Baker, his Phillies interview will mark his first connection to an MLB managing job since the Nationals fired him after the 2017 season.

He’s previously managed the Giants, Cubs, Reds, and Nationals, winning an NL pennant in San Francisco, where he was thrice named Manager of the Year. He’s guided his teams to the postseason nine times throughout his career. The one thing missing from his timeless managerial career: a World Series title. With that in mind, there’s no doubt that Baker and the Phillies will be united in that goal.

Even so, it’s fair to question just how much interest Baker himself has in returning to an MLB dugout. He’s spent the last two seasons working as a special adviser in the Giants front office, and doesn’t seem to particularly miss the stress of handling a club’s day-to-day operations. And after more than 40 years spent as a player and manager, it would certainly be understandable if Baker was content to stay out of the business for good.

Manager Notes: Baker, Mattingly, Showalter

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In a lengthy interview with Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, Dusty Baker lends some of his thoughts on managing, the state of the game, labor relations, racism and a number of other topics. Some of the highlights are his explanation as to what he meant by “Dusty don’t like walks”, his thoughts on the racist Trea Turner tweets, and most notably, and his relative disinterest in returning to a management position at any point down the line. Baker feels as though the fans and Chicago ownership turned on him at the end of his tenure there, and he also felt as though he couldn’t make the fans in Cincinnati happy, claiming that even when he won, his “mode of thinking” was criticized. The interview lends some great insight into Baker’s career and his personality.

A pair of other management-related notes…

  • In a scathing critique of his players, manager Don Mattingly called the Marlins’ latest loss “unacceptable” while accusing his team of “playing scared.” Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald has the full details on Mattingly’s outburst, which seems extreme on the surface but is understandable considering the sloppy play of his players during last night’s 8-2 loss to the Nationals. Spencer lists Jarlin Garcia’s errant pickoff throw, Magneuris Sierra’s lazy chase-down of a Bryce Harper single that he allowed to become a double, and a pathetic offensive showing against Max Scherzer. “You just can’t play like that here. When you’re playing non-aggressive and always being on your heels, it’s just not a way to play. And it’s one of the things we won’t keep watching.”
  • While the GM-manager tandem of Dan Duquette and Buck Showalter has been a reasonably successful staple of the Orioles franchise for a number of years, Jon Heyman of Fancred Sports believes it unlikely that ownership will keep both for the 2019 season. Heyman further speculates that Duquette is the likelier of the two to stick around beyond this year, citing the sheer number of dollars Duquette saved the club with this season’s deadline trades (and the fifteen players acquired). That means Heyman sees the end of the Buck Showalter era as a likelihood this coming winter.

Giants Hire Dusty Baker As Special Advisor

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The Giants are expected to bring back former manager Dusty Baker as a special advisor to CEO Larry Baer, per Bob Nightengale of USA Today. Baker will report to executive vice president Brian Sabean in his new role, which the Giants are likely to announce Monday.

The 68-year-old Baker will return to work in his home state of California, where he played with the Dodgers, Giants and Athletics from 1976-86. He has since enjoyed an accomplished career as a manager, and a large portion of his success as a skipper came during his San Francisco tenure.

Baker was atop the Giants’ dugout from 1993-2002, a decadelong span in which the Barry Bonds-led club went 840-715 during the regular season, posted six plus-.500 campaigns and made three trips to the playoffs (Bonds is also a special advisor to Baer nowadays). During Baker’s last season at the helm, the Giants took home the National League pennant before falling to the Angels in a seven-game World Series.

Shortly after the Giants came up short in the Fall Classic, Baker departed to manage the Cubs, with whom he served from 2003-06 (including for the infamous Steve Bartman incident against the Marlins during the ’03 NLCS). He then went on to hold the same position with the Reds (2008-13) and Nationals (2016-17).

While a championship has eluded Baker during his 22-year career as a manager, which is potentially over, his teams have combined for an impressive 1,863-1,363 regular-season record and nine playoff berths. Only 13 other managers are ahead of Baker on the all-time wins list, and 12 are enshrined in the Baseball Hall of Fame.

NL East Notes: Braves, Baker, Asdrubal, Marlins

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Major League Baseball is expected to render a decision on its investigation into the Braves’ front office practices soon after the World Series concludes, FanRag Sports’ Jon Heyman reports.  “Just about every member” of the team’s baseball ops department has been interviewed by the league, including vice chairman John Schuerholz and president of baseball operations John Hart, the latter of whom has been interviewed on multiple occasions.  Owing to the uncertainty about Hart’s own future with the team, Heyman reports that Hart and the club have yet to begin interviewing candidates to replace John Coppolella as the new general manager.  Names such as Ben Cherington, Dan Jennings and Doug Harris have been linked to the Braves job, though it isn’t clear if any would still be candidates should Hart no longer continue with the organization.

Here’s more from around the NL East…

  • The way the Nationals went about not re-hiring Dusty Baker as manager is viewed by some around the team as a “train wreck,” FanRag Sports’ Jon Heyman reports in an in-depth look at the Nats’ decision.  Heyman dispels several rumors about why Baker was fired, as it simply seemed that it came down to the Nats again failing to advance past the first round of the playoffs.  GM Mike Rizzo “fought for” Baker to be given a new contract, according to one source, though Rizzo lost influence on managerial decisions due to his failed hire of Matt Williams.  Nationals players are “generally upset” both that Baker isn’t returning, and also at the controversy that continues to surround the team’s managerial decisions.
  • Asdrubal Cabrera wants to return to the Mets and is hopeful that the team exercises its $8.5MM club option on his services for next season, Kristie Ackert of the New York Daily News reports.  Though recent reports indicate that the Mets are likely to pick up Cabrera’s option, there hasn’t been any official word on between the team and Cabrera’s representatives, though the Mets said they would be back in touch after team meetings concluded.  Notably, agent Scott Pucino said his client has “accepted playing third base,” which is key to Cabrera’s future given that he was initially displeased over being moved off shortstop to accommodate top prospect Amed Rosario.  Cabrera would provide New York with depth at both second and third base as the team figures out its uncertain infield mix.
  • Jeff Conine won’t be returning to the Marlins front office, according to Clark Spencer and Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald.  A longtime fixture as both a player and special assistant in Miami, Conine and fellow assistants Andre Dawson, Jack McKeon, and Tony Perez were all fired by the team’s new ownership group but then, somewhat confusingly, were all approached by Derek Jeter about new roles with the club.  Conine said he turned down a position that offered half of his old $100K salary and less responsibility than his old job.  It isn’t clear if Conine will continue in his other role calling Marlins games for Fox Sports Florida, as he described that as a “totally separate deal” than his job with the organization.

Latest on the Nationals’ Managerial Search

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The Nationals announced on Friday that they will not bring back Dusty Baker as manager for the 2018 season, despite praise from his players and rumblings that the two sides had been discussing a reunion in recent days. In fact, the club intends to replace the entire coaching staff. The decision comes in the wake of yet another tough NLDS loss for a club that fought injuries to many key players in order to grab the NL’s second-best regular season record.

A few other clubs began their managerial search well before the Nationals, and at least one option (Ron Gardenhire, now with the Tigers) is off the table. The Red Sox appear to be nearing the end of their search as well. Another factor that could limit the club’s options is the organization’s pattern with the lengths of their managerial contracts. In the past decade, the Nationals have never been willing to guarantee a manager more than two years at a time, a factor that could be a deal breaker to certain candidates also in the mix for jobs with other clubs.

On Saturday, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe reported on Twitter that the Nationals have requested permission from the Astros to interview Astros bench coach. Some reports from Boston media outlets say that Cora is already tabbed to manage the Red Sox in 2018, and that the club is simply waiting until after the ALCS to announce the news. A source close to Evan Drellich of NBC Boston even told him, “Not a doubt it is [Cora].” But the invitation to interview with the Nationals could certainly throw a wrench into this rumor.

The 42 year-old Cora played mostly in the middle infield throughout his 14-year major league career, including a 2011 stint with the Nationals in his final year before retirement. Many have spoken highly of Cora’s presence in the clubhouse during that time, which would prove valuable on a Washington team with a lot of young talent on the roster.

 

NL Notes: Baker, Kelley, Lynn, Bell

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The Nationals sparked some backlash today with the surprising decision not to retain manager Dusty Baker. Bob Nightengale of USA Today was particularly incensed, slamming the organization not only for the substance of the move, but also for leaving Baker dangling in the wind for the past week-and-a-half. Baker tells Nightengale that he’s “surprised and disappointed” after leading the team to two-straight NL East titles but also failing to advance past the NLDS. It’s worth keeping some perspective here: after all, Baker is a highly-compensated professional and this is a results-oriented business. But the move does seem somewhat confusing from the outside and certainly fits the ever-growing record of questionable interactions between ownership and managers in D.C. Thomas Boswell of the Washington Post also examined the risk the club is taking with the switch.

More from the National League:

  • Nationals reliever Shawn Kelley has received a stem-cell injection in his troublesome right elbow, Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post tweets. The hope is that the treatment, combined with a full offseason of rest, will allow Kelley to return at full health next year. He is not expected to require any surgery at this time. Kelley, who is slated to earn another $5.5MM in the final season of his contract, somehow allowed a dozen home runs in just 26 innings in 2017 while also maintaining a 13.5% swinging-strike rate. Given his history of quality relief work, perhaps there’s still hope that he can contribute once again in 2018.
  • Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch tackled a host of interesting Cardinals questions in his latest chat, some highlights of which are available here. Of particular note, he says it’s no secret that righty Lance Lynn is going to seek a big contract — something on the order of Jordan Zimmermann’s $110MM guarantee — in free agency. While St. Louis has interest in retaining Lynn, there doesn’t seem to be much chance of it entering that stratosphere to do so. (Whether any other teams will do so seems questionable, too.)
  • Meanwhile, the Cardinals have lost bench coach David Bell to the Giants, where he’ll serve as the VP of player development. That could kick off some other changes for these two organizations, both of which are looking to bounce back from postseason misses in 2017 (and a much more serious collapse in the case of San Francisco). Bell had worked in the St. Louis dugout since 2014. The twelve-year MLB veteran spent time with both organizations during his playing career.

Dusty Baker Will Not Return As Nationals’ Manager In 2018

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12:05pm: General manager Mike Rizzo tells reporters that the decision had nothing to do with contractual negotiations (Twitter links via Jorge Castillo of the Washington Post). In fact, there were never any actual negotiations, and no contract was offered to Baker. “Winning a lot of regular season games and winning divisions is not enough,” said Rizzo.

11:11am: The Nationals announced on Friday that Dusty Baker will not return as the team’s manager for the 2018 season. Baker’s contract only ran through the 2017 season, but the two sides had reportedly been discussing the possibility of a reunion prior to today’s announcement. The Nats offered the following statement in their release:

Dusty Baker | Dennis Wierzbicki-USA TODAY Sports

“The Lerner family, on behalf of the entire organization, would like to thank Baker for his two years in the dugout. He led the team to the first back-to-back division titles in our history and represented our club with class on and off the field. We wish him the best going forward.

The contracts for the Major League coaching staff have also expired. The Nationals’ search for a new manager will begin immediately, and we will work with that person to build his coaching staff.”

Baker, 68, won 95 games in his debut season with the Nationals last year and followed that up with a 97-win campaign in 2017 despite myriad injuries to key players (e.g. Adam Eaton, Trea Turner, Bryce Harper) and an early-season bullpen mess. Rumblings about his lack of a contract for the 2018 season began to surface this summer, but the general consensus while the Nationals were winning during the regular season was that the two sides would eventually work out an agreement to extend their relationship.

That calculus may have changed with yet another Division Series exit for the Nationals, who despite winning the division four times in the past six years, have never advanced to the National League Championship Series. Baker’s Nats fought the Cubs tooth and nail, hanging on until the final out of what proved to be a 9-8 loss in Game 5. Certainly, it’s easy to second-guess any number of managerial decisions with the benefit of hindsight following a postseason exit, though the placement of Jayson Werth in the second spot of the batting order over NL MVP candidate Anthony Rendon (who hit sixth) was panned throughout the Division Series. The communication mishap surrounding Stephen Strasburg’s Game 4 start also appeared to reflect poorly.

That said, it’s difficult to place the blame for another early exit on Baker’s shoulders — particularly after a 97-win season. Baker’s players often voiced admiration and praise as his contract situation lingered in an unresolved state, but the Nats will now be looking for their fourth permanent manager since the 2011 season. Since the franchise moved from Montreal to Washington, D.C. in 2005, the Nationals have had six permanent managers (plus interim skipper John McLaren) in 13 years. No manager has lasted more than three seasons at the team’s helm.

For Baker, the lack of a contract extension is undoubtedly disheartening. He’s voiced on multiple occasions in recent months that he still has a desire to manage and will depart a team that remains stacked with talent and looks very much like a the NL East favorite once again in 2018. There are, of course, other managerial vacancies which Baker can pursue should he choose. While the Tigers formally named Ron Gardenhire their new manager on Friday, the Mets, Phillies and Red Sox are all still without skippers for the 2018 season.

All of those teams are quite a ways into their managerial searches, though, with the Red Sox reported to be particularly close to the end. Baker could also take a year off and once again pursue managerial opportunities that arise following the 2018 campaign, though it’d hardly be a surprise to see his name connected to any of those searches.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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