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Bruce Bochy Not Planning To Pursue Managerial Opportunities At This Time

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The 2019 season marked the end of a legendary managerial run with the Giants for Bruce Bochy, but the future Hall of Famer has publicly voiced an interest in continuing his managerial career in the future. FOX 26’s Mark Berman reported just yesterday that Bochy was of interest to Astros owner Jim Crane as he seeks a new skipper following A.J. Hinch’s firing, but Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic tweets that Bochy does not plan to pursue any managerial openings at this time.

At the time he indicated a desire to continue his managerial career, the 64-year-old Bochy termed the 2020 season as something of a “sabbatical” for him as he “hit the pause button.”  But while a return in 2021 or beyond is seemingly plausible, it doesn’t appear as though Houston’s reported interest in him is reciprocated at this time.

The Astros have already interviewed Buck Showalter and are set to meet with John Gibbons, too, as they look for a new dugout leader. At this juncture of the offseason, interviewing coaches with other clubs could be more difficult than it would’ve been earlier in the winter when teams had yet to set their staffs and had more time to find suitable replacements for departing coaches. That said, Rosenthal tweets that the Cubs would be willing to let third base coach Will Venable interview for the Astros’ vacancy. Venable, like Bochy, was on Berman’s reported list of potential targets for the Houston organization.

Astros, George Springer Avoid Arbitration

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The Astros and center fielder George Springer have agreed to terms on a one-year contract worth $21MM, Mark Feinsand of MLB.com reports. The Excel Sports client had filed for a $22.5MM salary against the Astros’ offer of $17.5MM (as shown in MLBTR’s 2020 Arbitration Tracker), so his deal will check in north of the $20MM midpoint between those two figures.

These days, it’s atypical to see a team and a player settle on a one-year arrangement after figures have been exchanged. Most clubs prefer the so-called “file and trial” approach — essentially halting negotiations on anything other than a multi-year deal once figures have been swapped. That near-universal adoption of that line of thinking has led to an increase in the number of arbitration hearings in recent years, but it seems the organization was willing to discuss one-year parameters with one of its best players.

Of course, this week’s events with the Astros factor into the storyline here. Owner Jim Crane fired president of baseball operations Jeff Luhnow after commissioner Rob Manfred revealed the results of an investigation into the Astros’ sign-stealing scandal, and the club is currently operating without a president of baseball operations or general manager. Crane himself even said that he’ll personally be overseeing baseball operations for the time being, so it seems the willingness to compromise in this instance stemmed directly from ownership.

Springer, 30, will head into his final season of club control after posting a .292/.383/.581 slash with a career-high 39 home runs in 2019. Barring an extension, he’ll enter free agency next winter having recently turned 31 and figures to be ranked among the market’s best available free agents.

With Springer’s case now settled, Aledmys Diaz is the Astros’ only unresolved player. He filed for a $2.6MM salary against the team’s $2MM submission.

Astros Interviewed Buck Showalter

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The Astros have moved quickly to line up discussions with candidates to take the club’s open managerial position. Veteran skipper Buck Showalter had a sit-down yesterday, per Ken Rosenthal and Britt Ghiroli of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Owner Jim Crane certainly isn’t taking his time with the process of replacing A.J. Hinch, who was fired just three days ago. Of course, Crane also had the advantage of knowing his own thinking. He was presumably able to prepare for the situation that broke publicly when commissioner Rob Manfred issued Hinch a one-year suspension, with a firing announcement coming close behind.

The Astros are slated to meet with John Gibbons today, putting those two squarely on the list of top candidates for the open position. Internal option Joe Espada is perhaps the primary alternative candidate known to this point, though a few others have been tied to the position as well.

Showalter, 63, sat out the 2019 season after wrapping up a nine-year stint with the Orioles. He has spent two decades at the helm of one team or another, with prior time coming at the helm of the Rangers, Diamondbacks, and Yankees. Showalter’s charges have won 1,551 and lost 1,517 games under his command. He has been named the American League Manager of the Year on three occasions — with remarkable timing (1994, 2004, 2014).

Do you have a favorite? Participate in MLBTR’s poll on the topic.

MLBTR Poll: Pick The Astros’ Next Manager

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Dropping A.J. Hinch wasn’t just a momentous occasion for the Astros. It also created an entirely unexpected opportunity for some as-yet-unknown skipper-to-be. The keys to an extremely talented Houston roster are lying on the dugout bench, waiting to be claimed.

Astros owner Jim Crane will be looking for a steady manager who can both guide the players and put a trustworthy face on the organization as it navigates choppy waters. It’s a tough and somewhat unusual gig, at least at the outset, but you can bet there’ll be no shortage of interest.

We’ve already seen an initial slate of candidates. It’s about what you’d expect.

The ’Stros will consider current bench coach Joe Espada along with former big leaguers Raul Ibanez and Will Venable. Espada is familiar and already under contract. But his presence in 2018 may cause some problems. While we don’t have any indication what (if any) role he played in the team’s sign-stealing efforts at that time, it’d certainly raise some questions and would not really represent the clean slate that Crane purports to seek. It’s not yet clear whether the latter two names will really be available at all: the former has spurned interest from other clubs previously while the latter is slated to play a significant role on the Cubs’ staff.

Most of the attention is sure to focus on the other possibilities. It makes sense, at first glance, for the Astros to bring in a highly experienced skipper. No surprise, then, to see Dusty Baker, Buck Showalter, and Bruce Bochy listed as possibilities. It isn’t really evident whether Bochy would have interest in jumping back in the saddle; he has indicated he would prefer at least a one-year respite after wrapping up his tenure with the Giants. But Baker and Showalter would no doubt love a shot at driving the Astros bus. Jeff Banister is also said to be of interest to the Houston organization. He has much less experience at the helm than the other three former managers but did spend a few years with the cross-state, division-rival Rangers.

We’re just at the outset of the search, though it’s expected to move quickly. From the names we’ve seen named already, who do you think the Astros ought to hire? (Poll link for app users; response order randomized.)

Astros To Interview John Gibbons

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The Astros have lined up their first reported interview as they search for a new manager. They’ll meet with veteran skipper John Gibbons on Thursday, according to Mark Berman of Fox 26.

The Texas-raised Gibbons is one of many experienced possibilities to reportedly land on the Astros’ radar early in their quest to replace A.J. Hinch. Gibbons has nearly 1,600 games on his resume, all of which have come with the Blue Jays. The 57-year-old had two separate stints as Toronto’s manager (one from 2004-08, the next from 2013-18), combining for 11 years, a 793-789 regular-season record and a pair of playoff berths. The Blue Jays advanced to the ALCS in each of those two seasons.

After the Blue Jays parted with him, Gibbons spent last season out of coaching. Gibbons made it known back in the fall that he was hoping to get back into managing, but he didn’t receive any reported interviews before now.

Latest On Astros’ Managerial Opening

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After firing suspended manager A.J. Hinch on Monday, the Astros suddenly find themselves in the unenviable position of trying to find a new skipper just weeks before the start of spring training. But there’s no shortage of candidates to replace Hinch, according to Mark Berman of Fox 26.

The Astros have an in-house option in bench coach Joe Espada, but they otherwise appear to be looking outside the organization. Veteran managers Dusty Baker, Buck Showalter, Bruce Bochy and Jeff Banister are on the team’s list of candidates. So are Raul Ibanez and Will Venable, who – like Espada – carry no managerial experience at the MLB level.

Baker, Showalter and Bochy are three of the most accomplished managers of the past couple decades. It’s already known Baker, who last managed in 2017, has interest in the position. Baker and Showalter were serious contenders for the Phillies’ managerial job before they hired Joe Girardi in the fall. Bochy, meanwhile, doesn’t seem likely to take the helm in Houston or anywhere else this year. The soon-to-be 65-year-old told Bob Nightengale of USA Today that he’s hitting “pause” after managing in every season from 1995-2019.

Banister, 56, has prior managerial experience in Texas. He led the Rangers for four years, but they parted with him after the 2018 campaign, and he spent last season in Pittsburgh’s front office. Ibanez has been working in the Dodgers’ front office – a role he seems content to keep. As of October, Ibanez wasn’t interested in interviewing for managerial posts, but perhaps the Astros will be able to change his mind. Venable, the Cubs’ third base coach, did meet with Chicago as well as the Giants regarding their managerial openings before those teams went in other directions earlier this offseason.

Along with trying to find a new manager, the Astros and owner Jim Crane will have to land a GM to succeed the ousted Jeff Luhnow. They hope to reel in Hinch’s successor by Feb. 1, per Berman, and Brian McTaggart of MLB.com writes that they’re likely to fill that position before tabbing Luhnow’s replacement.

Yordan Alvarez Changes Representation

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Astros designated hitter/outfielder Yordan Alvarez has changed agencies and is now a client of MVP Sports Group, Tim Brown of Yahoo Sports tweets.

Alvarez just debuted last season, which went down as an AL Rookie of the Year-winning campaign, so he’s not eligible to reach arbitration or free agency in the near future. As such, Houston – which, thanks to its sign-stealing scandal from 2017, has far bigger fish to fry at the moment – doesn’t have to worry about losing Alvarez any time soon. However, barring an extension, Alvarez figures to consider making a case for rich arbitration paydays over the next couple years.

Although his career’s only 87 games old, Alvarez already looks like one of the premier hitters in baseball. The 22-year-old stepped to the plate 369 times in 2019 and batted a video game-like .313/.412/.655 with 27 home runs. Among those who amassed at least 350 PA, just one hitter – the venerable Mike Trout – outdid Alvarez’s 178 wRC+.

Alvarez’s change in representation will be reflected in MLBTR’s Agency Database, which contains agent info on thousands of Major League and Minor League players. If you see any errors or omissions within, please let us know: mlbtrdatabase@gmail.com.

Astros Rumors: Baker, Bochy

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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.”

News & Notes On Astros Punishment

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If you missed it yesterday, the Astros sign-stealing scandal reached a breaking point. The organization was fined $5MM and lost its top two draft choices in each of the next two drafts. The club canned GM Jeff Luhnow and skipper A.J. Hinch after each received one-year league suspensions. Individual players were not punished. Former bench coach and current Red Sox manager Alex Cora awaits his fate.

We ran some polls on the punishment. You can add your opinion there. But don’t expect to hear from other organizations at this time. We also covered an apparent leaguewide gag order on the controversy that emerged last night through a curious club announcement from the Dodgers.

Let’s run through some other notes and reactions …

  • Baseball America’s J.J. Cooper explains how the draft situation will be resolved. Rather than simply striking the Astros’ picks from existence, and reducing the overall spending pool by a significant figure, MLB will bump every other team up a peg in the slotting system. That’ll result in only a relatively meager reduction in the total draft spending outlay that incoming professionals can receive. Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com looks at the lost prospect value for the Astros. It’s reasonably significant, though it’s important to highlight the fact that the Houston club was already locked into a low choice for the coming season and seems highly likely (barring a change in organizational direction) to select down the line again in 2021. While there’s no questioning the impact to the overall slate of talent that the team will be able to pull from these two drafts, it’s not likely that the ’Stros will end up missing out on down-the-line superstars.
  • There’s still a lack of clarity regarding the near-term leadership of the Houston baseball ops department and dugout. In the front office, Crane says he’ll run things for the time being (via MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand; Twitter links). He also noted that he still employs someone who was brought in previously for GM interviews by other organizations — clearly, a reference to assistant GM Pete Putila. It stands to reason that Putila will be leaned upon heavily in the near-term, though the long-term plan remains to be seen. Feinsand further tweets that bench coach Joe Espada is “expected” to take over for Hinch. It’s fair to wonder whether these approaches are really set in stone. Crane said he was looking for a blank slate and said the team’s internal assessments were still ongoing. Perhaps there’s a path for Putila and/or Espada to take on expanded roles, but that’ll surely depend in no small part upon whether either ends up being implicated in whole or part in the scandal. And Crane will need to consider whether an immediate outside hire or two would be wise — a tough move at this late juncture of the offseason.
  • ESPN.com’s Jeff Passan examines the (still muted) reaction from around the game. It seems that other teams aren’t overly impressed by the seriousness of the sanctions, which were announced by Manfred in a conference call in which he also made clear that there was to be no public whining. But anonymous complaints are perhaps only beginning. Passan reports that those in other organizations feel the Astros — and Crane in particular — were able to orchestrate things to perfection. As we noted yesterday in our above-linked poll, Manfred cabined responsibility to the Astros’ baseball operations while specifically absolving Crane (and the team’s business side as well). And Crane got to put on a public show of shock and contrition, filling the airwaves with his emotional response and the drama of a live, public firing announcement.
  • That report mirrors the earlier trickles of reactions that we have seen. An unnamed top executive that spoke with ESPN.com’s T.J. Quinn (Twitter link) explained why even the seemingly harsh sanctions weren’t really adequate. The impact on game and season/postseason outcomes is impossible to isolate but unquestionably significant. Quite a few opposing players surely missed out on earning opportunities, whether through missing postseason proceeds, dents to their statistical track record, and/or lost MLB opportunities. The same is true of rival organizations, though it seems in at least some cases they may also have misused technology — albeit not, so far as has been alleged, in anything like the manner the Astros did. None of that can be unwound, but it’s important perspective.
  • Additional top baseball decisionmakers spoke to that same point with Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (subscription link). The damage is widespread. So is the blame, Rosenthal opines. While we’ll all have our preferred villains and heroes in the scandal, perhaps none but a few brave whistleblowers deserve anything approaching plaudits. If Luhnow’s punishment reflected the culture he created within the Houston organization, as much as anything, then perhaps Manfred carries an analogous responsibility for the sport’s overall spiral in this arena. Rosenthal says “this is Manfred’s sport,” hinting at a lack of foresight in rolling out replay streams and facilitating the rise of a generation of “general managers emboldened by analytics, all trying to outsmart one another.”

MLBTR Poll: The Astros Scandal

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It’s a rather ugly day for baseball, even if we saw it coming. The Astros’ video-aided sign-stealing effort had already been laid bare by video evidence. But all the underlying facts weren’t known. And it was far from clear how commissioner Rob Manfred would handle the punishment.

As it turns out, the Houston organization was hit with a $5MM fine (the maximum permissible) and the loss of four top draft choices. General manager Jeff Luhnow and manager A.J. Hinch were each suspended for a year. The team subsequently fired both men. Then-bench coach and current Red Sox manager Alex Cora also seems likely to be punished, though his precise comeuppance has yet to be determined pending an investigation into the Boston organization.

For full details on the team punishments, click here. In brief: Manfred found that a 2017 scheme to convey signs to batters in real-time “was, with the exception of Cora, player-driven and player-executed.” An ensuing effort “to decode signs using the center field camera was originated and executed by lower-level baseball operations employees working in conjunction with Astros players and Cora.” Punishing players was deemed “impractical given the large number of players involved, and the fact that many of those players now play for other Clubs.” That wasn’t the only reasoning, though. More relevant, Manfred said, was the fact that GMs and managers are made “responsible for ensuring that the players both understand the rules and adhere to them.”

So, our first poll question: was the assessment of a fine and taking of four top draft choices an appropriate punishment for the organization? Some around the game weren’t satisfied, but how do you see it? (Poll link for app users; response order randomized.)

While he declined to pursue players — beyond the factors he noted, there’d have been major labor-relations implications and complications under the CBA — Manfred did still find that individual punishment was warranted for those in a position of added responsibility. Specifically, Luhnow and Hinch received personal punishment. (Cora, an active participant, presumably will as well.) Manfred did not find any reason to discipline or chastise Crane personally. To the contrary, he specifically cleared the owner of culpability. Evidently, the oversight responsibility concepts that undergirded the punishment of Hinch and (especially) Luhnow did not extend past the baseball operations department.

Whether there was any coordination or exchange of information between the league and the Astros regarding the firing of those two leaders is not known. But the team’s subsequent action certainly added quite some heft to the total blow that landed.  For full details on the firings, click here.

Luhnow disclaimed any knowledge of the schemes, though the report indicates he likely had some level of awareness of the team’s 2018 efforts. His statement cited the report’s reference to lower-level employee and player responsibility, though he also acknowledged and accepted his own failure of oversight. Luhnow was punished because he “failed to take any adequate steps to ensure that his Club was in compliance with the rules.” Manfred also blasted the culture that Luhnow created in the baseball operations department, a characterization that Crane disputed.

Ultimately, Luhnow was suspended for one year and dismissed from his position. Fair? (Poll link for app users; response order randomized.)

As for Hinch, the circumstances were somewhat different. He was unquestionably aware that the sign-stealing efforts were ongoing and acknowledged as much in his statement. While he is said to have disagreed and at times even attempted to interfere with the stratagem, Hinch obviously did not utilize his authority or avail himself of the available means of halting the effort. In his statement after today’s outcome, he apologized for that failure.

Like the GM, Hinch received a one-year ban and ended up canned. Was this a just outcome? (Poll link for app users; response order randomized.)

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