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NL Notes: Dodgers, Brewers, Cubs, Padres

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It’s “very unlikely” outfielder Alex Verdugo will return for the Dodgers’ National League Division Series matchup, manager Dave Roberts told Ken Gurnick of MLB.com and other reporters Friday (Twitter links). The rookie originally landed on the injured list Aug. 6 with a right oblique strain, but a back injury has slowed him of late. Meantime, southpaw Rich Hill – who’s dealing with a strained left MCL – will undergo an MRI on Monday. It seems iffy at best that Hill will avoid a lengthy absence, as a strained left MCL previously shelved him for the first month of the season. The injury-prone 39-year-old then missed almost two months with a forearm problem. His start Thursday, when he recorded just two outs, was his first since June 19.

Here’s more from the National League…

  • Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel provided a couple injury updates Friday on the Brewers, who are now a game behind the NL’s second wild-card position (Twitter links). Top starter Brandon Woodruff is still on track to return in the next week, but it’s unclear whether he’ll start or relieve. Woodruff will throw a bullpen session Saturday as he continues working back from the oblique strain he suffered July 21. And catcher Manny Pina, out with a concussion since Sept. 5, isn’t recovering as quickly as the team hoped he would, according to manager Craig Counsell. The Brewers have “to stack some good days in a row” for Pina before he’s capable of returning, Counsell said. Milwaukee has been in fine shape behind the plate without Pina, of course, as it boasts one of the game’s elite catchers in Yasmani Grandal.
  • The Cubs promoted executive Jason McLeod to senior vice president of player personnel, which could keep him in their front office for at least a little while longer. But McLeod said this week that his goal is to run a team’s baseball department, per Patrick Mooney and Sahadev Sharma of The Athletic (subscription required). “I do aspire to someday lead an organization,” said McLeod, who has been on GM-needy clubs’ radars in the past. He interviewed for that position with the Giants last year, though they instead went on to hire Farhan Zaidi as their president of baseball operations.
  • Padres rookie Chris Paddack will make at least one more start this season, AJ Cassavell of MLB.com tweets. Shutting Paddack down for the year looked like a possibility after he threw six scoreless innings against the Cubs on Wednesday. The rookie standout, 23, has now racked up 135 2/3 innings this season, easily surpassing the previous professional high of 90 he set in 2018 as a minor leaguer.

Cubs Name Jason McLeod Senior VP of Player Personnel

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The Cubs announced Wednesday that senior vice president of amateur scouting and player development Jason McLeod will change role, transitioning to senior vice president of player personnel.

“Jason has made immense contributions to the organization in his eight years supervising Amateur Scouting and Player Development,” president of baseball operations Theo Epstein said in the press release announcing McLeod’s new position. “He helped build and grow two departments that were crucial in the Cubs’ rebuild, championship and run of sustained success. As his career has evolved, Jason is prepared for new challenges at the Major League level, where his strengths in evaluation, development and culture-building will be quite impactful.”

McLeod, like Epstein and Cubs general manager Jed Hoyer, has roots in the Red Sox organization and has long been seen as a potential future GM himself. He served as Hoyer’s assistant general manager with the Padres in 2010-11 before that duo joined Epstein atop the Cubs’ baseball operations hierarchy. He’s been a fixture in the Cubs’ front office since that time but has been considered for in GM searches around the league, interviewing with both the Twins and the Giants in each club’s most recent front office restructurings.

While McLeod’s focus has been more on the amateur and development side of things with the Cubs, he’ll now take on a greater role in the day-to-day operation of the Major League club and its roster construction, per today’s release.

Farhan Zaidi “Top Choice” To Run Giants’ Baseball Ops

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At the end of a disappointing 2018 campaign, the Giants decided it was time to shake up the leadership of the baseball operations department. President of baseball operations Brian Sabean will work to find replacements for himself and Bobby Evans, who had held the general manager role. It’s the end of a successful era in San Francisco that culminated in three World Series championships in a five-year span. Whoever takes the reins will be put in charge of one of the game’s most venerable, highest-budget franchises, and tasked with implementing the strategic pitch that wins them the job.

Equal parts opportunity and challenge await a new ops boss. Here’s the latest on the search:

Latest Update — Nov. 5

  • There are increasing indications that the Giants would like to hire Dodgers GM Farhan Zaidi. Morosi cites a rival official for the proposition that the San Francisco organization is “prepared to offer a position” to Zaidi, who has worked alongside president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman for the past four seasons. (Twitter link.) An unnamed source tells Joel Sherman of the New York Post (via Twitter) that Zaidi is the “top choice” of the Giants’ brass, with Bloom “seen as a fallback.” At this point, though, it remains unclear whether Zaidi is interested in moving over from the rival Dodgers.

Click to review other candidates and prior updates to the Giants’ front office search:

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The Mets’ GM Search

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Not long after longtime general manager Sandy Alderson stepped down from his post with the Mets earlier this summer, it became clear that the organization would conduct an extensive search to tab a new head of baseball operations. Assistant GM John Ricco and special assistants J.P. Ricciardi and Omar Minaya have been overseeing the team’s baseball operations department on an interim basis, but the Mets are now formally in search of a new department leader.

There have been multiple reports that owner Fred Wilpon is eyeing a more traditional general manager with scouting-based acumen (an “old school” type of executive, to use a broad description), while his son, COO Jeff Wilpon, is more focused on hiring an analytically-inclined executive that more closely aligns with recent industry trends. Per Jon Heyman of Fancred, the Mets are leaving some candidates with the sense that the new hire won’t quite enjoy a full slate of baseball ops power. As he puts it, the impression is that Omar Minaya or one of the other existing assistant GMs could retain control over player development functions. Team sources that spoke with Heyman denied that was the case, however.

As we’ve done with some recent managerial searches, we’ll track the majority of the updates in the Mets’ GM search here as they navigate the early phases of the process.

Latest Update — 10/20

  • Doug Melvin and agent Brodie Van Wagenen are the favorites to land the job, per Mike Puma of the New York Post.
  • Ng and Bloom are still being considered for the position, per Puma.
  • Littlefield, if not already eliminated, is considered a “long shot” at this juncture.
  • Close and former Mets GM Omar Minaya can’t “completely be ruled out” at this time, per Puma and Joel Sherman.

Latest Update — 10/19

  • It seems that agent Casey Close is also still in the mix. Martino tweets that he, Van Wagenen, Bloom, Ng, and Melvin appear to make up the finalists.
  • LaRocque is no longer under consideration, Marc Carig of The Athletic reports (Twitter link).
  • Agent Brodie Van Wagenen is still in the picture after receiving an initial interview, per Carig (via Twitter). (Carig initially tweeted the opposite, but amended his report.)
  • The Mets only consider Littlefield a “fringe” contender to land the position, per Mike Puma of the New York Post.
  • DiComo now tweets that Watson did not receive a call for a second interview and is no longer in the running for the position.

Earlier Updates — 10/19

  • The Mets have interviewed six to eight candidates and will enter the second round of interviews next week, per MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo (Twitter link). Fred Wilpon will join the interview process in place of John Ricco for the second wave of sitdowns. DiComo notes that Littlefield, Bloom, LaRocque, Watson, Melvin and Ng are the six known candidates to date.
  • It’s not fully clear whether all six to eight candidates who’ve interviewed are ticketed for a followup session, though. Andy Martino f SNY.tv writes that the Mets have not yet determined which of the first round interviewees will be spoken with next week. Interestingly, Puma tweets that the Mets plan to make each finalist available to the media after his or her second interview is completed, so it seems as though there’ll be some transparency in the latter stages of the process.

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Front Office/Managerial Notes: Mets, Wright, McLeod, Rangers, International

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There still isn’t much clarity in the Mets’ still-nascent search for new front office leadership. But there are some interesting names being talked about as factoring in still-unknown ways. Joel Sherman of the New York Post recently argued that the club should be willing to spurn convention, even posing the possibility of some agents being considered. Evidently that’s not out of the question, as Andy Martino of SNY.tv hears that the club has at least considered the possibility of hiring from the ranks of prominent player reps. It seems the club is still in the brainstorming phase of the effort. Internal possibilities, however, don’t seem likely, per Martino. Indeed, assistant GM John Ricco said yesterday that he doesn’t consider himself a candidate, as Tim Healey of Newsday tweets.

Here are some more notes on front office and managerial movement from around the game …

  • Even as he prepares to wrap up his playing career with the Mets, David Wright seems to be looking forward to a future in a front office capacity. As Martino reports, Wright has made clear he isn’t interested in working as a member of the field staff or as a TV commentator, but does believe he could “provide value” in an advisory capacity to the New York brass next season. Martino argues that it’s an easy call for the organization to utilize Wright in some manner. It’ll be interesting to see what the future may hold.
  • One potential candidate for front office leadership positions is Cubs exec Jason McLeod. As Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times explores, the availability of some large-market jobs could conceivably pique McLeod’s interest in leaving a place he’s obviously comfortable. In addition to the Mets opening, the Giants are looking for new baseball ops leadership — a situation we touched upon earlier today.
  • Rangers GM Jon Daniels discussed the team’s preliminary preparations to replace just-fired skipper Jeff Banister, as Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports. Though the organization has already compiled a list of names, it hasn’t begun lining up interviews. No doubt that’ll change as the regular season draws to a close. The slate of possibilities will also likely evolve, says Daniels, who added that there’s no specific timeline in mind.
  • The Reds announced a pair of promotions yesterday. Shawn Pender will become VP of player development, while Eric Lee becomes the team’s senior director of player development. Clearly, both will be trusted with bringing along the organization’s young talent. But the intake process is still in line for change as well. The club is seeking an international scouting director in advance of some ramped-up efforts there, with MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon noting that president of baseball operations Dick Williams suggested it’s likely to be an outside hire.
  • In other international scouting news, Kiley McDaniel of Fangraphs has tweeted a few recent moves. Frankie Thon has bounced from the Angels to the Mariners, taking over as international scouting director in Seattle. Likewise, the Mets will lose their international scouting director Chris Becerra, who is expected to take a job with the Red Sox.

Cubs Extend Theo Epstein, Jed Hoyer, Jason McLeod

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FRIDAY: The Cubs have now announced the Hoyer and McLeod contracts, which run through 2021.

“Jed and Jason are simply the best at what they do and have played fundamentally important leadership roles in helping the Cubs build a healthy and thriving organization,” said Epstein. “We feel honored to have the stability and support that we enjoy throughout Baseball Operations and look forward to many years of working together in Chicago.”

WEDNESDAY, 8:13pm: FanRag’s Jon Heyman reports that Epstein’s deal actually guarantees him a bit less than $50MM, but it can exceed the $50MM threshold based on incentives. ESPN Chicago’s Jesse Rogers tweets that both Hoyer’s deal also goes through 2021, and Heyman tweets the same regarding McLeod.

3:12pm: USA Today’s Bob Nightengale tweets that Epstein’s contract is believed to be worth more than $50MM in total, which would make him the highest-paid baseball executive on record. Additionally, Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports reports that both Hoyer and McLeod have received extensions with the Cubs as well (Twitter link).

3:06pm: The Cubs announced this afternoon that president of baseball operations Theo Epstein has signed a five-year contract extension that will run from 2017-21. Epstein had been in the final season of his current contract and was widely expected to receive an extension to keep him in his current position atop Chicago’s baseball operations hierarchy. In the press release announcing the extension, Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts offered the following statement:

Theo Epstein

“In the five years under Theo’s leadership, he has brought in a strong executive team and acquired and developed some of the best players in the game.  Now, the results are on the field.  My family and I have no doubt that we have moved closer to our goal of delivering Cubs fans the World Series Championship they deserve.”

Ricketts also added that the extension “ensures the baseball operations team assembled by Epstein will continue its remarkable tenure of building a consistent championship contender.”

Epstein, 42, has been at his current post with the Cubs since Oct. 2011. While the early stages of his tenure were mired with losing clubs, he, alongside general manager Jed Hoyer, senior vice president of player development Jason McLeod and the rest of the Chicago front office have taken the Cubs from a cellar-dwelling team to a powerhouse that will finish with the best record in baseball this season after finishing with 97 wins a year ago.

The Cubs appear poised not only for success in 2015-16, but for the foreseeable future, as the core of Kris Bryant, Addison Russell, Anthony Rizzo, Willson Contreras, Kyle Schwarber, Javier Baez, Kyle Hendricks and Jon Lester, among others, are all controlled through at least the 2020 campaign. While certainly not all of those players are locks to remain productive — specifically Lester, who will be 36 by the time his current contract expires — the Cubs have the payroll capacity to supplement that enviable core group of players as needed.

While the Epstein/Hoyer/McLeod regime has had the occasional misstep (see: Edwin Jackson and, so far anyway, Jason Heyward), the Epstein-led Cubs have been largely successful in their moves, be they free-agent signings, trades or draft selections. Since Oct. 2011, the Cubs have acquired Hendricks and Christian Villanueva in exchange for half a season of Ryan Dempster; acquired Carl Edwards and Justin Grimm for half a season of Matt Garza; acquired Addison Russell in exchange for a year-and-a-half of Jeff Samardzija and a half season of Jason Hammel (whom they later re-signed with solid results); and, of course, most notoriously, acquired 2015 NL Cy Young winner Jake Arrieta and setup man Pedro Strop in exchange for a half season of Scott Feldman and Steve Clevenger.

The team has also picked up Hector Rondon in the Rule 5 Draft and made a number of savvy free-agent additions including Hammel (twice), Lester, John Lackey, Ben Zobrist, Dexter Fowler (after initially acquiring him for Luis Valbuena and Dan Straily) and David Ross. Beyond that, the Cubs have drafted well, landing Bryant and Schwarber as well as top prospects such as Ian Happ and Albert Almora. Chicago has also been active on the international front, outbidding the competition for Jorge Soler and spending aggressively on prospects such as Eloy Jimenez and Gleyber Torres, the latter of whom was used as the centerpiece of the trade that brought Aroldis Chapman to Chicago this past summer.

McLeod has been an oft-rumored candidate to join another organization in a higher role and was recently one of the prime candidates for the Twins as they search for a new president of baseball operations. And Hoyer, conceivably, could have drawn interest elsewhere for a team willing to bestow the president title upon an experience general manager. While the length of the extensions for Hoyer and McLeod aren’t yet known, the trio of extension ensures that the same brain trust that architected the current Cubs roster will be in place for several years to come.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Latest On Twins’ Front Office Search

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9:34pm: ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick reports (via Twitter) that while Mets assistant GM John Ricco has recently been linked to the Twins’ job, Ricco is no longer in the running at this point. Berardino adds to that report, tweeting that Ricco was never under heavy consideration.

9:28am: The Twins appear to be homing in on a handful of possibilities for their open president of baseball operations position, as Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer-Press reports. Though the team could still conduct interviews with additional executives, it may be that the slate of candidates is already set, he adds on Twitter.

One outside option who has impressed, per Buster Olney of ESPN.com (Twitter link), is Cubs vice president of player development and amateur scouting Jason McLeod. He is “well-regarded” and “well-positioned” in the Twins’ search after impressing in his early interactions with Minnesota’s top brass, according to the report.

McLeod obviously isn’t the only highly-regarded young executive under consideration. Prior reports have suggested that Rays AGM Chaim Bloom, Indians AGM Derek Falvey, and Royals AGM J.J. Picollo are also in the discussion.

Then, there’s sitting Twins interim GM Rob Antony, who rounds out the five names known to be in the hunt. Per Berardino, he’s the only internal candidate who will receive an interview. The club did consider VP of player personnel Mike Radcliff, scouting director Deron Johnson, and special assistant (and former Reds GM) Wayne Krivsky, but elected not to hold meetings with them.

Twins Eyeing Cubs Front Office In Executive Search

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SEPTEMBER 12: The Twins have now requested permission to speak with McLeod, GM Jed Hoyer told reporters including Bob Nightengale of USA Today (Twitter links). Hoyer suggested that it is all but a foregone conclusion that McLeod will eventually depart to take over another baseball ops department, though of course it remains to be seen whether there’ll be a match with Minnesota.

SEPTEMBER 7, 9:50pm: Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times writes that the Twins haven’t approached the Cubs about speaking to either McLeod or Rehman about a front office role. Of course, that doesn’t mean that the Twins don’t have interest in the pair of execs. Thus far, there’s been no indication that the Twins have progressed beyond compiling a list of potential candidates, let alone conducting interviews.

Rehman downplayed the reported interest when speaking to Wittenmyer, calling it “flattering” but stressing that he, like the rest of the Cubs’ front office, is focused on bringing a championship to Chicago.

12:50pm: The Twins are “looking closely” at some members of the Cubs front office as they continue their own executive search, Jon Morosi of MLB Network tweets. Specifically, Minnesota has interest in Jason McLeod and Shiraz Rehman, per the report.

We heard yesterday that Minnesota is considering former Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos for the post of president of baseball operations. [Editor’s Note: Anthopoulos has since said he is not interested in pursuing the position at this time.] The club is set to institute a two-tier arrangement, hiring a PBOp who will in turn hire a GM.

It is not immediately clear how the Cubs’ executives fit into this still-developing picture. Both of these still-youthful executives obviously carry wide industry respect, but neither has yet been tasked with final decisionmaking authority over an operations department.

McLeod, the senior VP of player development and amateur scouting, has previously drawn consideration for GM gigs but has seemingly been committed first to his work in Chicago. “I really want to be here when we win,” he said back in 2014 after declining a chance to interview for the Padres’ GM opening. “Being a GM is something I still really hope to do in the future, but right now I felt this is where I want to be.”

Rehman is an assistant general manager who has long-standing ties to top Cubs executives Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer dating back to their time with the Red Sox. He worked with the Diamondbacks before coming to Chicago. For more about his background in Arizona — under a regime that prioritized statistical analysis — check out this 2009 interview from David Laurila.

It’s worth noting that the expectation is that no Cubs personnel will change organizations while the season is ongoing, per 1500 ESPN’s Darren Wolfson (via Twitter). That wouldn’t appear to remove any of that club’s executives from consideration for this or other openings that may arise, but it could impact the timing somewhat.

Cafardo’s Latest: Hill, Dodgers, Cubs, Twins

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The Dodgers are hoping to sign August acquisition Rich Hill to a multiyear contract before he reaches free agency in the offseason, reports Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe. In his time with the A’s and Dodgers this season, the 36-year-old left-hander has dealt with multiple injuries – including a nagging blister – but he has been stellar when healthy. The journeyman has thrown 12 shutout innings in his two starts with the Dodgers, the latest being a six-frame, one-hit showing Saturday. Overall, Hill owns a sparkling 1.94 ERA to accompany a 10.33 K/9, 3.07 BB/9, 48.8 percent ground-ball rate and 14.9 percent infield fly mark through 88 innings. Despite his age, durability issues and limited track record, Hill’s next deal should easily outdo the one-year, $6MM pact he signed with Oakland as a free agent last offseason.

Here’s more from Cafardo:

  • Cubs players and executives will try to convince catcher David Ross not to retire after the season, Cafardo writes. Ross declared in November that this would likely be his final year, and the respected team leader has since slashed a solid .241/.360/.448 with eight home runs in 182 plate appearances while grading as one of Baseball Prospectus’ top framers and blockers. If Ross doesn’t return as a 40-year-old in 2017, the Cubs have a more-than-capable heir apparent in Willson Contreras. They also owe fellow backstop Miguel Montero $14MM next season, the final year of his contract.
  • The Twins’ search for a general manager could lead them to either Cubs senior vice president of scouting and player development Jason McLeod or former Boston GM Ben Cherington, according to Cafardo. Of course, the club is also looking for a president of baseball operations whose role will include choosing a GM.
  • Free agent outfielder Carl Crawford is likely to give baseball another try next season, a source told Cafardo, who adds that the 35-year-old could focus on his longtime team, the Rays, and his hometown club, the Astros, as potential landing spots. Crawford has been out of the picture since the Dodgers released him in June. Regardless of whether the four-time All-Star plays again, he’ll make $21.8MM next season to conclude the seven-year, $142MM deal he signed with Boston in 2010.

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