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Mets To Replace Jim Riggleman As Bench Coach

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Mickey Callaway’s firing has drawn most of the headlines out of Queens today, though the Mets will also be making a change at bench coach, as MLB.com’s William Ladson (Twitter link) reports that Jim Riggleman will not return to the club in 2020.

Riggleman was hired as bench coach last winter, making the Mets the latest stop in a 46-year career as a player, coach, and manager all over the baseball world.  Riggleman is best known for his time as a manager, posting a 726-904 record over five stints with the Padres, Cubs, Mariners, Nationals, and Reds, most recently serving as Cincinnati’s interim manager during the 2018 season.  His vast experience in MLB dugouts was seen as a key factor in his hiring with the Mets, who were looking for a veteran voice to assist Callaway, who had just completed his first season as a Major League manager (and indeed, as a manager at any level).

Mets Hire Jim Riggleman As Bench Coach

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The Mets announced that they have hired Jim Riggleman to serve as their next bench coach, with Jon Heyman tweeting the news just before the team did. He’ll be the top member of manager Mickey Callaway’s staff.

In 2018, Callaway’s first at the helm of the dugout, the club utilized Gary DiSarcina as the bench coach. But DiSarcina was reassigned to serve as third base coach, with new GM Brodie Van Wagenen making clear the organization preferred to bring on a new bench coach that had prior experience running games in the National League.

Rigglemen certainly fits the mold of what the Mets said they were seeking. The 66-year-old has served as the manager of five clubs, four of them in the National League. Through 13 total seasons as a big league skipper, including gigs with the Padres, Cubs, Mariners, Nationals, and Reds, Riggleman carries a 726-904 record.

Most recently, Riggleman functioned in an interim capacity with the Reds. He managed the Cincinnati ballclub for most of the 2018 campaign, taking over for Bryan Price after opening the year as their bench coach. Riggleman was considered as a candidate for the full-time position but was bypassed in favor of David Bell.

Quick Hits: Castellanos, Astros, deGrom, Riggleman, Free Agents

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The Astros made an offer to the Tigers for right fielder Nick Castellanos prior to last July’s trade deadline, according to Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press (via Twitter).  Houston was known to be aggressively pursuing a big outfield bat last summer, even to the point of almost completing a trade with the Nationals for Bryce Harper, and also inquiring about Tommy Pham (then with the Cardinals) and White Sox outfielder Avisail Garcia.  Fenech suggests that Castellanos could again be a target for the Astros this offseason, and he explores in a longer piece for the Detroit Free Press that it is becoming increasingly likely that the Tigers will trade Castellanos due to a lack of extension talks between the two sides.

Castellanos would help the Astros as either a corner outfielder or, perhaps more likely, as a DH given Castellanos’ defensive limitations and the fact that incumbent Houston designated hitter Evan Gattis is hitting free agency.  Since Castellanos is only controlled through the 2019 season, he would give the Astros a short-term boost in their quest for another World Series while also not serving as a long-term block to youngsters Tyler White, Kyle Tucker, and J.D. Davis.

More from around baseball…

  • Now that Brodie Van Wagenen has gone from being Jacob deGrom’s agent to his employer as the Mets’ new GM, the transition has been “still a little confusing for me, I guess,” deGrom admitted to MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo.  DeGrom (and Van Wagenen’s other clients at CAA) were kept updated throughout Van Wagenen’s negotiations about joining the Mets just so nobody felt caught off-guard by the former agent’s surprising career change, and deGrom said that “I’ve had conversations with him since [the hiring], and they’ve been good.”  There haven’t yet been any talks about a contract extension between deGrom and the Mets, though most teams usually wait until later in the offseason to discuss in-house contracts.  For his part, deGrom reiterated that he enjoys playing for the Mets and would be open to talking about a long-term deal.  “If that was something that they wanted to do, and me and [my wife] Stacey felt like it was the right move for us, then we’d be willing to definitely explore that,” deGrom said.  The ace right-hander is controlled via arbitration through the 2020 season, and it will be particularly interesting to see how extension talks develop, given deGrom and Van Wagenen’s shared history.
  • In other Mets news, Fancred Sports’ Jon Heyman recently tweeted that Jim Riggleman will interview for the team’s open bench coach position sometime this week.  Riggleman served as the Reds’ interim manager for much of the 2018 season, and he would add over three decades of coaching and managerial experience to Mickey Callaway’s staff.  SNY TV’s Andy Martino offers the alternative suggestion that the Mets should consider former Phillies manager Pete Mackanin as bench coach, arguing that Mackanin is more well-versed in how to apply modern analytics to in-game management.
  • Manny Machado is the third-greatest player to ever hit free agency following his age-27 season or sooner, as calculated by The Athletic’s Cliff Corcoran (subscription required) in a 13-player ranking.  Bryce Harper, interestingly, ranks just 11th on the list.  The players were compiled in regards to what they had achieved before hitting the open market, so it’s worth noting that both Machado and Harper (who are both only 26 years old now) had a bit less seasoning than some of the slightly older names on the list.  Alex Rodriguez and Barry Bonds are the only names ahead of Machado on this list dotted with several all-time greats, though as with any free agent, past performance is no guarantee of future performance.  Case in point, the fourth-best player on Corcoran’s ranking is Jason Heyward, who has been a significant disappointment since signing an eight-year, $184MM deal to join the Cubs.

Mets Rumors: Bullpen, Maldonado, McNeil, Coaching Staff

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There’s been plenty of attention centered on the Mets’ bullpen needs this offseason, and new general manager Brodie Van Wagenen plainly indicated yesterday that his team is in the market for “multiple” bullpen pieces (Twitter link, with video, via MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo). “I can’t imagine we’d be looking to try and do a ’one and done’ situation,” said Van Wagenen. As for the type of reliever he’s looking for, Van Wagenen spoke in general terms — missing bats, controlling the strike zone — but suggested that closing experience might not be a big factor. In fact, it seems there’s no guarantee the Mets even plan to use a set closer in 2019.

“I think a lot of teams are going away from a traditional closer,” said Van Wagenen. “I think we had — in [Robert] Gsellman and [Seth] Lugo last year — a lot was asked of those two guys. They were about as good as they could be. As long as we can control their workload and not put them in situations that are over-taxing, I think both those guys can get outs at the back end of the game — the last three outs in particular. We’ll see whether other guys can be added to that mix.”

Here’s more from Queens…

  • In other Mets news, Van Wagenen says he feels the club is at least “covered” at the catching position, as Tim Healey of Newsday writes. That won’t stop the organization from looking at upgrades. In fact, the Mets have made a strong early push for glove-first backstop Martin Maldonado, according to Mike Puma of the New York Post. It seems he’s the club’s top catching target in free agency, with Wilson Ramos of secondary interest. Meanwhile, pursuit of star Marlins backstop J.T. Realmuto does not sound particularly realistic. The Fish are evidently not enamored of the top New York prospects, so there may not be a deal to be made. (What should Realmuto cost in a trade? Kiley McDaniel of Fangraphs took a worthwhile look at the subject.)
  • Though late-blooming Jeff McNeil’s MLB audition lasted just over two months last season, he looks to have done enough to assure himself a spot in next year’s lineup. Van Wagenen said at this week’s GM Meetings that McNeil is “penciled in” as the team’s everyday second baseman for the 2019 season (Twitter link via Healey). McNeil opened eyes with a .329/.381/.471 slash through 248 plate appearances, and while he only homered three times in 63 games, he also hit 11 doubles and racked up six triples in that time. Most encouraging of all, perhaps, was the infielder’s minuscule 9.7 percent strikeout rate. Even if his .359 average on balls in play regresses, as one would expect, McNeil’s knack for putting the ball in play should help him hit for a quality average and get on base at a solid clip.
  • The Mets have some coaching vacancies to fill, including hitting coach and bench coach. Puma tweets that former D-backs hitting coach Dave Magadan is among the Mets’ candidates to replace Pat Roessler at that position, while Matt Ehalt of the North Jersey Bergen Record tweets that former Cubs/Red Sox hitting coach Chili Davis could also be in the mix. Meanwhile, Jim Riggleman, who recently left the Reds after being passed over for their managerial vacancy, is a candidate to take over as Mickey Callaway’s bench coach, Ehalt adds.

Reds Part Ways With Jim Riggleman

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4:07pm: Pat Kelly, who was Cincinnati’s interim bench coach under Riggleman, is likely to return to the team’s minor league system, a source tells Nightengale. Kelly was the Reds’ Triple-A manager before joining Riggleman’s staff. He was among those who interviewed for the Reds’ managerial opening prior to Bell’s hiring.

2:22pm: The Reds won’t be keeping Jim Riggleman in the organization in 2019, Bobby Nightengale of the Cincinnati Enquirer reports (Twitter link).  The interim manager for much of the 2018 season, Riggleman interviewed for the full-time job before the Reds hired David Bell as their next skipper earlier this week.

Riggleman has spent the last seven years within the Reds organization, managing at the Double-A and Triple-A levels, and then working as a third base coach and bench coach for the Major League team.  He took the managerial reins on April 19 when Bryan Price was fired in the wake of a brutal 3-15 start to the season, and Riggleman did right the ship to some extent, leading Cincinnati to an even 45-45 record over the next 90 games.  As the team faded down the stretch, however, Riggleman was left with a 64-80 record as skipper.  Nonetheless, there still appeared to be a solid chance that Riggleman would lose the interim tag, as his performance reportedly impressed owner Robert Castellini and many in the Reds’ front office.

There was some speculation that Riggleman could remain with the Reds in some capacity, possibly as a minor league manager again or potentially even his old bench coach role (if the team had stayed in-house and hired John Farrell to manage).  Instead, the 65-year-old will now look elsewhere to continue a coaching and managing career that has lasted since 1983.  Riggleman is one of a select group who have managed five different Major League teams, with different stints running the dugouts for the Reds, Nationals, Mariners, Cubs, and Padres.

Reds’ Managerial Search Enters Second Round

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The Reds are well into their search for a new manager, as has long been anticipated. Interim skipper Jim Riggleman took over after Bryan Price was fired and was at the helm for most of the 2018 season, but the club is determined to consider an array of candidates before naming the next full-time dugout leader. As we did last year with other openings of this kind, we’ll use this post to track the early developments in the hiring process in Cincinnati.

Latest Update — Oct. 20

  • Per Fox Sports’ Jon Morosi (Twitter link), Giants VP of Player Development and former MLB third baseman David Bell is the now the favorite to be offered the job.
  • The Reds informed Jim Riggleman today that he will not return as manager, according to William Ladson on Twitter.

Earlier Update — Oct. 17

  • Ausmus and Girardi are also still under consideration, per Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (via Twitter). Both are slated for additional interviews, MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon adds on Twitter. It seems they’ll join Bell to make up a group of three finalists, per Jon Heyman of Fancred (Twitter link).
  • The Reds conducted interviews with the 12 candidates listed below and won’t speak with anyone else, per John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer. ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick tweets that there’s a growing sense that David Bell “has the inside track,” though he notes that Rocco Baldelli’s interview went “extremely well,” too, placing Baldelli “strongly in the mix.”

Click to view full overview of managerial search:

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Managerial Notes: Showalter, Riggleman, Mattingly

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Earlier this afternoon it was reported that the Rangers are considering moving on from skipper Jeff Banister following the season. In the wake of that report, here’s some more chatter regarding managers whose futures have had some uncertainty surrounding them…

  • Fancred’s Jon Heyman reports in this week’s notes column that Orioles manager Buck Showalter is “very likely” to be replaced following this season, though the venerable veteran has yet to be definitively informed one way or another by team decision-makers. The decision on general manager Dan Duquette is more up in the air, per the report, and could yet go either way. Showalter has been managing the O’s since 2010 and guided the team to a 666-677 record that is largely skewed by the unmitigated disaster that has been the 2018 season. He’s among the game’s most respected managers, though there have been reports questioning his job security throughout the season.
  • In light of recent reports that interim Reds manager Jim Riggleman is a favorite of owner Bob Castellini, Heyman adds that Riggleman additionally has numerous fans in the Cincinnati front office. The 65-year-old Riggleman has a decent chance at being tabbed the team’s long-term skipper, though former Red Sox manager John Farrell will be among those considered to step into that role as well. The Reds hired Farrell to work for them in a scouting capacity last offseason.
  • Asked by Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald whether manager Don Mattingly will return for the 2019 season (Twitter link), Marlins CEO Derek Jeter suggested that to be the case, rhetorically replying, “He’s under contract, right?” Mattingly is indeed under contract, but only through the 2019 campaign. Beyond that, it’s not clear whether new Miami ownership has plans to bring in a manager of their own preference — Mattingly was inherited from the previous regime — or whether there’s interest in extending him beyond the ’19 season. Mattingly’s Marlins clubs haven’t had much success, and that’s truer than ever in 2018, though he wasn’t given much to work with heading into the current campaign following last offseason’s organizational tear-down.

Quick Hits: Turner, Kela, Lorenzen, Reds, Vazquez

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Justin Turner and the Dodgers received a scare when the star third baseman was hit on his left hand and wrist area by a pitch in the third inning of today’s 17-4 win over the Cardinals.  Fortunately for all parties, Turner remained in the game until the eighth inning, when he was removed just because the Dodgers had their big lead.  Turner missed the first six weeks of the season after another hit-by-pitch fractured that same wrist during Spring Training, and he told Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register (Twitter links) and other media that today’s ball found the same spot on his body.  “Could have been worse if I wasn’t wearing the pad,” Turner said, referring to the protective gear he has worn since the initial injury.  X-rays were negative on Turner’s hand and wrist, so it looks like another injury has been avoided.  After a bit of a slow start that might well have been caused by his DL stint, Turner has been on fire over the last several weeks and is now hitting .318/.415/.531 over 366 PA on the season.

Some more from around baseball…

  • The Pirates have shut reliever Keone Kela down for the season, as per a statement released to media (including Bill Brink of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette).  Kela, acquired from the Rangers at the July trade deadline, has a 2.93 ERA over 15 1/3 innings for the Bucs but he hasn’t taken the mound since September 3.  He has thrown 52 total innings for Pittsburgh and Texas this season, which GM Neal Huntington cited as the reason for the shutdown.  “This was primarily based on his high leverage workload this year compared to the previous two seasons,” Huntington said in the statement.  The decision was made to give Kela “an optimal amount of rest and recovery to be ready in spring training 2019.“
  • Michael Lorenzen will start the Reds’ game against the Brewers on Tuesday, interim manager Jim Riggleman told Bobby Nightengale of the Cincinnati Enquirer and other media.  Lorenzen has pitched exclusively as a reliever from 2016-18, posting solid numbers as a setup man and multi-inning reliever out of the Reds’ bullpen.  He has often expressed an interest in returning to starting pitching, however, and was stretched out as a starter last Spring Training before some poor numbers and a shoulder injury necessitated a return to the bullpen.  “But we are looking at ’19 and who is going to be our starters,” Riggleman said.  “We have an idea who some of them will be, but we will look at Mike here a little bit.  It’ll be a very small sample, but we’ll get a little feel for it.”
  • In other Reds news, president of baseball operations Dick Williams confirmed to reporters (including John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer) that Riggleman will receive an interview for the full-time managerial position.  Besides that, Williams was short on details about the managerial search, other than to say that no interviews have yet taken place, and the Reds wouldn’t be publicly commenting on which people were or weren’t candidates.  Fay speculates that the team will stick with Riggleman if they want an experienced “traditional pick” of a manager, though it remains to be seen what sort of more outside-the-box names (if any) could be considered.
  • “There could be a big market for” Christian Vazquez should the Red Sox make him available in trade talks, rival executives tell the Boston Globe’s Nick Cafardo.  This scenario would’ve been seemed unthinkable last March, when the Sox signed Vazquez to a three-year, $13.55MM extension that seemingly made him Boston’s long-term answer behind the plate. 2018 has been essentially a lost season for Vazquez, however, as he has hit only .213/.256/.298 over 239 PA and missed just under eight weeks with a fractured pinky finger on his throwing hand.  Offense has never been a big plus for the defensively-stellar Vazquez, though with Sandy Leon and Blake Swihart behind the plate, Cafardo wonders if the Sox could move Vazquez to address other needs.

Managerial/Coaching Notes: Gibbons, Riggleman, Rangers

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Just weeks after Ken Rosenthal wrote that the Blue Jays “seem destined” for a managerial change this offseason, Fancred’s Jon Heyman offers a similar take, reporting that a changing of the guard is a virtual certainty. Per Heyman, it’s “99.9 percent” that the Jays will move on from skipper John Gibbons, who is still signed through the 2019 season. Gibbons tells Heyman the plan is to sit down with the Jays after the season and “see what direction we’re going to go, myself included,” though he’s previously suggested that he may not be the man to oversee a rebuilding effort. Whether the Jays go that route remains to be seen, though Heyman indicates that president Mark Shapiro and GM Ross Atkins are leaning toward a younger manager with an eye toward contending in 2020-21.

More rumors pertaining to the managerial and coaching staffs throughout the league…

  • Jim Riggleman hasn’t spoken to the Reds’ front office yet about shedding the interim label from his job title, John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer recently wrote. Though Cincinnati has performed better under Riggleman than under Bryan Price earlier this season, Riggleman told Fay he still expects to be one of many candidates. “When the change was made, Dick [Williams] was the GM,” said Riggleman.“He basically said we’re going to interview a lot of people and have a long list. … My understanding is that’s what’s going to happen.” Fay notes that Riggleman is a favorite of team owner Bob Castellini, suggesting that if the Reds go with a more “old school” approach in the dugout, Riggleman is the favorite to stay with the Reds on a more permanent basis. The organization has become more analytical under the current front office regime, though, and it’s not clear what style of manager they’d prefer.
  • It’s been an ugly season for the Rangers for the most part, though Drew Davison of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram writes that GM Jon Daniels and his staff are drawing some positives from the manner in which their coaching staff has helped a few younger players move forward. Rougned Odor’s rebound season was one positive highlighted by Daniels, who also listed Jose Leclerc, Isiah Kiner-Falefa, Ronald Guzman and Jurickson Profar as some players who’ve taken positive strides in an otherwise disappointing season. Davison notes that “signs seemingly point to job security for manager Jeff Banister,” who is currently signed only through next year after a 2019 club option was exercised last offseason. It’s not clear whether the Rangers front office has its sights set on a new deal for Banister or whether he could potentially head into next year’s season with the dreaded “lame duck” status.

Heyman’s Latest: Donaldson, Braves, Machado, Wheeler, Harper, Fiers, Riggleman

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If Josh Donaldson is able to return from the DL soon and display some of his usual form, Fancred Sports’ Jon Heyman writes that the Blue Jays might yet be able to trade the third baseman before August ends.  In this scenario, the Indians are “perhaps the most realistic landing spot.”  Jays president Mark Shapiro and GM Ross Atkins have ties to Cleveland and knowledge of the franchise’s prospects, plus the Tribe was trying to make a splash at the deadline by checking in on big names like Manny Machado and Bryce Harper.  Acquiring Donaldson would allow Cleveland to move Jose Ramirez to second, and Jason Kipnis into the outfield to help shore up the Tribe’s outfield depth.  Heyman also lists the Cardinals, Braves, Cubs (if Kris Bryant’s shoulder keeps him on the DL), and Red Sox as potential suitors for Donaldson, though Boston seems like the longest shot of that group.

Here’s more from Heyman, via his weekly notes column…

  • The Braves “check in on just about everyone” in trade talks and were involved in many discussions around the deadline.  While Atlanta swung two deals with the Orioles for Kevin Gausman, Darren O’Day, and Brad Brach, Heyman writes that “the player the Braves really wanted was Manny Machado.”  The Dodgers acquired Machado during the All-Star break, and at that time, the Braves weren’t entirely sure they were contenders, so they didn’t make the blockbuster offer to land the infielder.
  • Heyman also connects the Braves to Zack Wheeler, noting that they and the Brewers looked to have the most interest in the Mets right-hander.  Neither team was close to actually landing Wheeler, however.
  • The Orioles originally hoped to land a trade package for Gausman similar to what the A’s received for Sonny Gray at last year’s trade deadline, though as Heyman puts it, “the reality is that Gray was thriving in Oakland when dealt while Gausman has been perpetually average.”  Baltimore ended up moving Gausman and O’Day to the Braves for four relatively unheralded prospects, though the O’s saved a lot of payroll space and obtained some international bonus pool funds.
  • The Nationals received calls from “about eight teams” about Bryce Harper when rumors arose around the trade deadline that Washington was at least open to considering dealing the star outfielder.  Despite the interest in Harper’s services, it doesn’t seem like talks got very far with any suitor, as the Nats were understandably hesitant about dealing Harper whatsoever.  The Indians were the only team known to have shown interest in Harper.
  • The Athletics added some needed starting pitching by acquiring Mike Fiers from the Tigers this week, though Heyman wonders why the Mariners didn’t block their divisional and wild card rivals by putting a waiver claim on Fiers themselves.  The A’s were already known to have interest in Fiers prior to the trade deadline, and since Seattle was behind Oakland in the standings when Fiers was on waivers, the M’s had first dibs on claiming the right-hander.  Heyman wonders if the Mariners simply weren’t interested in Fiers actually ending up on their roster, if Detroit had let the claim stand in order to get his remaining salary off their payroll.  Of course, an extra arm might look pretty good to the Mariners right about now, given how the team is without a stable fifth starter now that Felix Hernandez is out of the rotation.
  • Reds interim manager Jim Riggleman’s chances of winning the full-time job look to be increasing, as team owner Bob Castellini is reportedly “a big fan” of the veteran skipper.  Cincinnati has posted a 47-50 record since Riggleman took over from Bryan Price, who was fired after the Reds stumbled out of the gate with a 3-15 start to the season.
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