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Luhnow On Mills Firing, Possible Replacements

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Late last night, the Astros fired manager Brad Mills and coaches Bobby Meacham (first base) and Mike Barnett (hitting). This morning, the club announced their replacements, all on an interim basis: manager Tony DeFrancesco, first base coach Dan Radison, and hitting coach Ty Van Burkleo. The "getting to know you" phase shouldn't be difficult for DeFrancesco as seven of the nine players in the Astros' starting linuep today played for him in the minors, tweeted Brian McTaggart of MLB.com. Here's the latest out of Houston:

  • The coaching staff had no sense the firings were immenient, instead thinking changes would be made after the season, according to ESPN's Buster Olney (via Twitter). 
  • General Manager Jeff Luhnow, however, told reporters, including McTaggart, the decision was made a week ago. "Once that decision was made, it made sense to make changes sooner rather than later, not having a lame-duck administration. The mix wasn't working, the chemistry wasn't working."
  • Speculation has already started on Mills' successor. Joe Pettini, Chris Maloney, and Jim Riggleman are viewed as three potential replacements, writes Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com. Pettini was the Cardinals' bench coach before joining Luhnow in Houston in the same capacity. Maloney is the Cardinals' first base coach. Riggleman, previously the manager of the Cubs, Padres, Mariners and Nationals, is managing the Reds' Double-A team.
  • MLB Network's Peter Gammons tweets seven names that should be on any managerial search list: Brad Ausmus, Dave Righetti, Tim Wallach, Davey Martinez, Joey Cora, Joe McEwing, and Gabe Kapler.

Astros Name Tony DeFrancesco As Interim Manager

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The Astros announced that they have appointed Tony DeFrancesco as their interim manager.  The 49-year-old was the skipper for the club's Triple-A affiliate.  

Dan Radison has been brought aboard as the club's interim first base coach while Ty Van Burkleo will serve as interim hitting coach.  At this morning's presser, Astros GM Jeff Luhnow stated that the search for a permanent staff will begin immediately.

The Astros cleaned house late last night, dismissing manager Brad Mills, hitting coach Mike Barnett, and first base coach Bobby Meacham.  In total, the club went 171-274 with Mills at the helm.

Astros Fire Brad Mills

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The Astros have fired manager Brad Mills, the team announced. Hitting coach Mike Barnett and first base coach Bobby Meacham have also been relieved of their duties. The club will announce interim replacements on Sunday.

Mills, 55, was hired by Houston prior to the 2010 season. They finished fourth in the NL Central that season (76-86) but finished with the worst record in baseball last year (56-106) and are on pace to do it again in 2012 (39-82). Mills was hired by owner Drayton McClane and GM Ed Wade, but Jim Crane has since purchased the team and Jeff Luhnow has replaced Wade. Overall, the team went 171-274 under Mills.

The Astros are in the middle of a drastic overhaul and the beginning of the rebuilding period under Luhnow, who will now bring in his own on-field management people. Last month we heard that Mills will likely to be replaced this coming offseason. He was under contract through the end of the season with a club option for next year.

Giants Notes: Pence, Cabrera, Astros

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The Giants are seeking outfield help following Melky Cabrera's 50-game suspension but in the short-term, they'll look to work with what they have in-house.  More on the situation in San Francisco..

  • Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com (via Twitter) notes that the Phillies sent money to the Giants in the Hunter Pence deal.  The Giants still won't have an easy time finding an outfielder, but money shouldn't hinder their pursuit. 
  • As General Manager Brian Sabean insisted yesterday, the Giants' pursuit of Hunter Pence started long before whispers of Cabrera's suspension began circulating, tweets Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle.  Schulman notes that the Giants tried to get Pence last July, when Cabrera was still a member of the Royals.
  • However, the price tag for Pence was different this time around, Schulman tweets.  The Astros were seeking Zack Wheeler plus another prospect for Pence and were seeking the same for Michael Bourn.  The Giants acquired Pence from the Phillies for right fielder Nate Schierholtz, minor league reliever Seth Rosin, and minor league catcher/first baseman Tommy Joseph.

Astros Acquire Comer To Complete Ten-Player Deal

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The Blue Jays have sent right-handed pitching prospect Kevin Comer to the Astros to the complete last month's ten player trade, the team announced. The original deal included Francisco Cordero, Ben Francisco, Brandon Lyon, and J.A. Happ, among others.

Comer, 20, was the 57th overall pick in the 2011 draft. He's pitched to a 3.95 ERA with 6.0 K/9 and 1.9 BB/9 in 43 1/3 innings in the low levels of Toronto's farm system this year. ESPN's Keith Law says (on Twitter) that Comer's fastball velocity has been down into the upper-80s this season. Baseball America ranked him as the 17th best prospect in the Blue Jays' system in their Prospect Handbook before the season.

Quick Hits: Villanueva, Hammel, Cabrera, Hamilton

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Orioles pitcher Jason Hammel is on the mend and set to return next month.  With that in mind, O's General Manager Dan Duquette doesn't seem terribly focused on adding a starting pitcher, tweets Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com.  Here's more from around baseball..

  • Blue Jays right-hander Carlos Villanueva hopes to stay in Toronto, but wants to do so as a starting pitcher, writes Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.  Villanueva avoided arbitration with a $2.2775MM deal this winter but would likely look for a significant pay bump as a starter.
  • This winter's free agent market figured to be light on heavy hitters anyway, but Melky Cabrera's situation means that the Rangers would have an even harder time replacing Josh Hamilton, writes Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com.  One Texas official cautiously predicted that the slugger would re-sign with the team, but we learned last week that Hamilton will wait until the offseason to negotiate.
  • It hasn't been a successful year for the Astros, but things could get worse upon their arrival in the American League West, writes Randy Harvey of the Houston Chronicle.
  • Speaking of the Astros, they released 2008 second-round pick Jay Austin earlier today (hat tip to Jayne Hansen of What The Heck, Bobby).  The 22-year-old outfielder never advanced beyond Advanced-A ball in his time with Houston.
  • Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine is staying upbeat in the face of the latest controversy surrounding him and the club, writes MLB.com's Ian Browne.  Adrian Gonzalez and Dustin Pedroia were reportedly the most vocal in a meeting between the players and principal owners regarding Valentine.

Astros Notes: Luhnow, DeShields Jr., Altuve

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Astros General Manager Jeff Luhnow wrote the club's season ticket holders this afternoon to encourage them to stay on board as they look to build for future seasons.  Houston is dead last in the standings but Luhnow pointed to the club's commitment to building through the draft, international free agents, and the trade market as evidence of better things to come.  More on the Astros..

  • While the Astros weren't expecting to contend this year, new owner Jim Crane told the Associated Press that he wasn't expecting the team to be struggling this much.  "We made a lot of trades and once we made that decision — Jeff started moving some of the talent — we knew we might slide back a little bit, but we didn’t think it would be this bad," Crane said.
  • Prospect Delino DeShields Jr. is on a path to reach the majors in the near future, but Luhnow says that the club isn't yet concerned about what to do with him and All-Star Jose Altuve, writes Brian McTaggart of MLB.com.  "If we get to the point we have two guys up here and they're blocked, or one guy here and one guy [at Triple-A], maybe then you make an adjustment. That's how we're going to approach it," the GM explained.
  • The Astros' rebuilding project is a gift to the rest of the contending teams that are scheduled to face them in the coming weeks, writes Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.  Of the seven teams in the hunt for the Wild Card (including the division-leading Reds), five have games remaining against Houston.

Quick Hits: Astros, Braves, Indians, Choo, Marlins

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The Braves beat the Mets at Citi Field tonight to remain atop the Wild Card chase in the National League.  Atlanta found their way into the playoff chase as expected, but with a different cast of characters than planned.  Here's today's look around the league..

  • The Astros announced that they have named Mike Elias their new amateur scouting director in a press release. Bobby Heck, who filled the same role since October 2007, will not have his contract renewed. Elias worked with Astros GM Jeff Luhnow in the Cardinals' front office.
  • David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution gives Braves GM Frank Wren credit for not only managing to plug the rotation's holes on the cheap, but making it as formidable as it was supposed to be when the season began.  While it's unknown how well free agent pickup Ben Sheets and recent acquisition Paul Maholm will hold up, both have looked strong through seven combined starts.  Regardless, both pitchers will cost the Braves less than $4MM in 2012.
  • Paul Hoynes of The Plain Dealer looks at how the Indians can position themselves to contend in 2013.  Hoynes suggests that the Tribe starts by parting ways with Travis Hafner and Grady Sizemore, who are both eligible for free agency at the end of the year.  Beyond that, he writes that trading Shin-Soo Choo could bring Cleveland some solid pieces in return.  So far, the rightfielder has rebuffed the club's efforts to keep him in the fold beyond next season.
  • Carlos Lee has done exactly what the Marlins hoped he would when they acquired him from the Astros last month, tweetsJuan Rodriguez of the Sun Sentinel.  In 32 games with Miami, Lee has a .291/.382/.355 slash line and an OPS not far off from what he posted in Houston earlier this year.

Mike Axisa contributed to this post.

Outrighted To Triple-A: Brian Bixler

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Today’s outright assignments..

  • Brian Bixler has been outrighted to Triple-A Oklahoma City after clearing waivers, tweets Brian McTaggart of MLB.com.  Bixler, DFA’d by Houston on Thursday, appeared in 36 games this yea and saw time at second, third, shortstop, and both corner outfield positions.  The 29-year-old has a .267/.349/.366 slash line in 229 Triple-A plate appearances.

Blue Jays Claim Juan Abreu

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The Blue Jays claimed right-hander Juan Abreu off of waivers from Houston. The Astros, who announced the deal in a press release, had designated Abreu for assignment on Tuesday.

Abreu appeared in seven games for the Astros last year, but has spent the entire 2012 season at Triple-A Oklahoma City. The 27-year-old has a 7.09 ERA with 10.6 K/9 and 6.7 BB/9 in 45 2/3 innings for the RedHawks this year. He has struck out more than one batter per inning in seven seasons as a professional, but has a high walk rate of 5.6 BB/9.

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