Mariners Claim Gabe Speier From Royals; Outright Casey Sadler, Ryan Borucki
The Mariners announced they have claimed left-hander Gabe Speier off waivers from the Royals. Additionally, they have outrighted lefty Ryan Borucki and right-hander Casey Sadler.
Speier has appeared in each of the last four seasons with the Royals. He hasn’t gotten an extended look over any part of that stretch. This year’s 17 appearances and 19 1/3 innings were career highs, and he’s worked a cumulative 40 innings. Speier has a 3.83 ERA, and his 20.2% strikeout rate and 8.7% walk percentage are right around average.
A former Red Sox draftee, Speier averages around 94 MPH on his sinker but leaned more heavily on his slider. He’s only managed a 6.67 ERA across 112 innings at the Triple-A level, thanks largely to a dismal 14.51 mark over 26 2/3 innings with Omaha this year. Speier was battered for 51 hits and 11 home runs in that stretch, but the M’s will take a shot on a change of scenery. The 27-year-old still has an option year remaining, so the M’s can move him between Seattle and Triple-A Tacoma next year if he holds his spot on the 40-man roster.
Borucki is squeezed off the depth chart in his place. The M’s acquired the southpaw from the Blue Jays this year. The 28-year-old combined for a 5.68 ERA over 25 1/3 innings with the two clubs, only striking out 18.9% of batters faced while struggling to keep the ball in the yard. He was projected for a $1.1MM salary if tendered an arbitration contract, but the M’s evidently determined they weren’t prepared to pay that sum.
Parting with Sadler is a bit more surprising, as the righty was excellent during his last healthy season. He posted a microscopic 0.67 ERA over 40 1/3 innings for the M’s in 2021. He punched out an above-average 25.5% of batters faced and racked up grounders on over three-fifths of batted balls against him. Sadler looked like a high-leverage weapon, but he didn’t pitch in 2022 after undergoing shoulder surgery in Spring Training.
Seattle could’ve retained the 32-year-old by tendering him an arbitration contract, which was projected in the $1.025MM range. They evidently determined not to carry him on the 40-man roster all winter given the injury, and no other club placed a waiver claim despite the chance to retain him at that modest rate.
Both Borucki and Sadler are eligible for minor league free agency, and it’s a virtual lock they’ll each hit the open market in the next few days. Both will serve as experienced depth options for clubs seeking bullpen help, although Sadler may have to demonstrate his health for suitors.
Rangers In Contact With Former Royals GM Dayton Moore
Rangers general manager Chris Young has acknowledged he’s been in contact with former Royals general manager Dayton Moore and “would welcome” the opportunity to work with him, according to Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic adds that industry sources have continued to link Moore with the Rangers. Young pitched for the Royals between 2015-17 and won the World Series while Moore was GM there.
Moore began his front office career as a scout for the Braves, and worked his way up within that organization before the Royals hired him to be their GM in 2006. He held that position until 2021, rebuilding a roster that lost 100 games in his first season and went to the World Series in 2014 and 2015, when they won their second championship. He survived a change of ownership in 2019, and the Royals promoted him to president of baseball operations in earlier this year, but he was fired in September. After a number of years of rebuilding after their championship season, the Royals had looked to have taken a step forward in 2021 winning 74 games, but they fell back again in 2022 and wound up with just 65 wins.
It’s unclear what role the Rangers would have for Moore. Young stated they did not plan to hire a general manager below him, and Grant speculates that a senior advisor position seems most likely. If he does join, Moore would join a Rangers team trying to break out of a lengthy rebuild, having gone 68-94 in 2022 for their sixth-straight losing season.
Zack Greinke Expected To Pitch In 2023, Royals Interested In A Reunion
Former Cy Young award-winner Zack Greinke is expected to pitch in 2023, reports Jon Heyman of the New York Post. Heyman adds that the Royals are interested in a reunion for what would be Greinke’s age-39 season.
Greinke is the active career leader in innings pitched, having logged 3,247 innings over 19 seasons as a big leaguer. He has already put himself squarely within Hall of Fame consideration, having already amassed 223 wins and 2,882 strikeouts. If Greinke does return for a 20th season, he will give himself a chance to become the 20th player to strike out 3,000 batters. The odds of Greinke becoming a member of the 3,000 K club seem slim, however, as he will have to fan 118 batters, whereas he only punched out 73 in a full season of work last year.
Milestones aside, Greinke has proven he can still be an effective starter well into his late-30’s. In 26 starts during 2022, Greinke posted a 3.68 ERA. Though Greinke averages only 89.1 mph on his fastball and is in the second percentile in Whiff%, he issues fewer walks than 93% of all other big league pitchers. Just about all of his metrics indicate that Greinke will have to continue to draw on all the finesse he can muster to get outs. He registers well below league average in terms of average exit velocity and hard hit rate against.
The Royals seem like a perfect fit to accommodate Greinke’s 20th season. Kansas City has plenty of rotation uncertainty and room for him in their rotation. That’s not to say that Greinke’s prospective return to the Royals, albeit sentimental, is purely for nostalgia’s sake. Greinke had Kansas City’s second-best ERA of any regular starter, and was one of two Royals starters with an ERA below 5.00. While the righty may be able to find opportunities with more clear-cut contenders, he prioritized returning to Kansas City as a free agent last offseason. Despite reportedly receiving similar offers from the Twins and Tigers, Grienke inked a $13MM deal with K.C. On the heels of a career-low strikeout rate, he may find a slightly lesser deal in free agency this time around.
White Sox Name Pedro Grifol Manager
TODAY: The White Sox have officially announced Grifol’s hiring.
NOVEMBER 1: The White Sox’ managerial search has reportedly drawn its conclusion, as they’re set to hire a longtime division foe: Royals bench coach Pedro Grifol. A formal announcement is expected later this week. Changes to the coaching staff are also expected on the heels of a disappointing season, though pitching coach Ethan Katz will reportedly remain in his current role.
Grifol, 53 later this month, has been with the Royals organization since 2013 and has served as a quality control coach, catching coach and bench coach along the way. He’s also spent extensive time in the Mariners organization, where he spent three seasons as a minor league manager before being named the club’s coordinator of minor league instructor and, eventually, director of minor league operations.
Prior to his work with the Mariners and Royals organizations, Grifol had a nine-year playing career. Selected by the Twins out of Florida State University in the sixth round of the 1991 draft, Grifol spent five seasons as a catcher in the Twins’ system and another four in the Mets’ system. He reached Triple-A with both clubs but never cracked the Majors before ending his playing career following the 1999 season.
While this will be Grifol’s first managerial gig in the Majors, he’s long been seen as a future manager. He also interviewed with the Marlins this offseason and has previously interviewed with the Tigers in 2020, the Giants in 2019 and the Orioles in 2018. Grifol landed a pair of interviews with San Francisco during that offseason’s search and was reportedly among the finalists before the team ultimately chose Gabe Kapler. Grifol was on the Royals’ coaching staff for the organization’s consecutive World Series appearances in 2014-15 — with the latter season, of course, culminating in a World Series victory.
The Grifol hiring comes on the heels of a two-year stint that saw the White Sox bring Hall of Fame skipper Tony La Russa out of retirement to manager the club. That decision was widely believed to have been made directly by owner Jerry Reinsdorf going over the head of his front office, but the hiring of Grifol this time around likely came more directly from the front office. USA Today’s Bob Nightengale tweets that Grifol impressed all parties with the ChiSox and was viewed by Reinsdorf, executive vice president Kenny Williams and general manager Rick Hahn as the best candidate.
Skeptics of the hiring can perhaps point to the fact that Grifol was twice passed over as a managerial candidate by the Royals themselves, though the first time around it appeared as though Mike Matheny was always the clear heir-apparent to Ned Yost upon the latter’s retirement. This offseason, the Royals perhaps simply wanted a fresh voice from outside the organization after an ownership change in 2019, the dismissal of longtime president of baseball operations Dayton Moore and the aforementioned ousting of Matheny. The two clubs are also simply at different points in their competitive cycles and may thusly prefer different traits from their newly minted skippers.
While the Sox also interviewed Yankees bench coach Carlos Mendoza and Astros bench coach Joe Espada and even sat down with Ozzie Guillen about a second managerial stint on the South Side, Grifol will instead get his long-awaited first opportunity. He’ll step right into a win-now club and, given the inflated stated of the ChiSox’ payroll, likely be tasked with overseeing a similar group and coaxing better results than the team mustered in 2022. That’s not to say there won’t be any changes — longtime first baseman Jose Abreu is likely to sign elsewhere, and the Sox have potential needs at second base and in the outfield — but unlike many new skippers who step onto rebuilding clubs, Grifol should be dealt a better hand in terms of the roster he’ll inherit.
ESPN’s Buster Olney and Marly Rivera first reported that Grifol had been chosen as the White Sox’ new manager (Twitter links). Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic first reported that the Sox are expected to retain Katz but make broader-reaching coaching changes.
Royals Hire Matt Quatraro As Manager
The Royals have settled on their next skipper, announcing Sunday night they’ve tabbed Rays bench coach Matt Quatraro as manager. It’s reportedly a three-year contract that also contains a club option for the 2026 season. This is the first Major League managerial job for Quatraro, who turns 49 years old in November.
A popular managerial candidate in recent years, Quatraro has received interviews with at least six other teams (the Marlins, Mets, A’s, Pirates, Tigers, and Giants) looking for new skippers, and he was reportedly a finalist for at least three of those positions. Quatraro made it to the final stages of the hiring process with the Pirates, Mets, and most recently the Marlins before those teams went in other directions. However, Quatraro will now finally get a chance to run a big league dugout, taking over a Royals team looking to turn the corner after a rebuild.
Kansas City has gone through six straight losing seasons, the last two coming after the front office made some notable (by the Royals’ standards) free agent investments meant to help the club back into contention. After that effort didn’t pan out, longtime president of baseball operations Dayton Moore and manager Mike Matheny were both fired, marking a new era in Royals history. Since new GM J.J. Picollo is also a longtime member of the front office, the Royals aren’t turning the page entirely on their recent history, yet Quatraro brings a new voice to the proceedings.
Quatraro does have a past link to Royals owner John Sherman, who become a minority owner in Cleveland during Quatraro’s four-season tenure (2014-17) as the Indians’ assistant hitting coach. That stint in Cleveland was Quatraro’s only professional experience outside of the Rays organization, beginning when he was an eighth-round pick for Tampa Bay in the 1996 draft. After seven years as a player, Quatraro then moved into the coaching ranks, working throughout the Rays’ farm system as a coach, hitting coordinator, catching instructor, and manager. He has spent the last five seasons on Tampa’s MLB coaching staff, first working as a third base coach before moving into the bench coach role prior to the 2019 season.
The Rays will now need a replacement as Kevin Cash’s top lieutenant, though coaching searches have become a pretty common offseason occurrence in Tampa. Beyond just the normal turnover that often comes to coaching staffs on an annual basis, the Rays frequently lose personnel (whether in the coaching or front office ranks) to other teams looking to replicate Tampa Bay’s formula for winning on a low budget. It remains to be seen whether Quatraro can bring some so-called “Rays magic” to Kansas City, though of course, the Royals have the 2015 World Series title as evidence the organization knows a few things about smaller-market success.
According to several reports, Quatraro was one of seven known candidates involved in the Royals’ search. The club considered three internal candidates (bench coach Pedro Grifol, third base coach Vance Wilson, Triple-A manager Scott Thorman) and four candidates from outside the organization — Quatraro, Dodgers first base coach Clayton McCullough, Red Sox bench coach Will Venable, and Phillies third base coach Dusty Wathan.
With the Royals’ opening now filled, it could increase the chances of Grifol heading elsewhere (perhaps even to his own managerial post since he interviewed with the White Sox). It would stand to reason that Quatraro might want to make some of his own picks for his new coaching staff, and the Royals already have a vacancy at pitching coach after announcing that Cal Eldred wouldn’t be returning in 2023.
Jeff Passan of ESPN first reported the Royals were hiring Quatraro as manager. Anne Rogers of MLB.com was first to report he signed a three-year deal with an additional option season.
Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.
Royals Considering Will Venable For Managerial Job
Red Sox bench coach/outfield instructor Will Venable is one of the candidates to be the Royals’ new manager, according to The New York Post’s Jon Heyman. Venable is a new addition to a field known to include several internal candidates (K.C. bench coach Pedro Grifol, third base coach Vance Wilson and Triple-A manager Scott Thorman) as well as Rays bench coach Matt Quatraro and Dodgers first base coach Clayton McCullough.
It is possible other names are still under consideration, though it does seem like the Royals might be nearing the final stages of their search, as Heyman writes that “Quatraro has been seen as the favorite” and past reports have suggested McCullough as a finalist. Phillies third base coach Dusty Wathan also interviewed with the Royals but is now out of the running after signing a contract extension to remain in Philadelphia.
Venable (who celebrates his 40th birthday today) is known by most fans for his nine-year playing career, which saw him suit up for eight seasons with the Padres and brief stints with the Rangers and Dodgers from 2008-16. Moving almost directly into a new role as a coach, Venable was on the Cubs’ staff from 2018-20 as a first base and third base coach, and then took his current role as Alex Cora’s right-hand man prior to the 2021 season.
With more teams frequently looking to hire younger managers only recently removed from their playing days, Venable has been a popular interview candidate for the last few cycles’ worth of managerial searches. The Athletics, Giants, Astros, and Tigers all spoke with Venable in regards to recent openings in the dugout, and the Red Sox themselves interviewed Venable for the manager’s job before re-hiring Cora, though the Sox were obviously still impressed enough to bring Venable on board as bench coach.
Of the six known candidates in the Royals’ search, none have previously worked as a Major League manager on anything more than a fill-in basis. (For instance, Venable served as Boston’s manager for a few games earlier this season when Cora was sidelined with COVID-19.) Barring any other experienced skippers surfacing in the search, it would appear as though new Kansas City general manager J.J. Picollo is favoring a first-time manager as the replacement for Mike Matheny.
Phillies Agree To Extension With Third Base Coach Dusty Wathan
The Philadelphia Phillies have agreed to a multi-year contract extension with third base coach Dusty Wathan, reports Robert Murray of Fansided.com (via Twitter). Wathan, age 49, has served as Philadelphia’s third base coach since he was named to Gabe Kapler‘s staff in November of 2017.
Wathan is a former professional catcher who played a total of three games for the Royals in his only big league season in 2002. On his way to the Majors, he logged over 3000 minor league at-bats. After retiring as a player in 2007, he began his coaching career in 2008, when he was named manager of the Williamsport Crosscutters, the Phillies’ former Class-A (Short Season) team. Wathan continued on to spend years as the manager of the Clearwater Threshers (Phillies’ Class-A Advanced, the Double-A Reading Fightin’ Phils, and the Triple-A Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs before being promoted to the Phillies’ coaching staff.
Wathan’s extension takes him out of the running for the various current big league managerial openings. NBC Sports Philadelphia reported that Wathan met with the Marlins before they hired Skip Schumaker and interviewed with the Royals as recently as October 20. He had also been a finalist for the Phillies’ job in the 2017-2018 offseason before Philadelphia hired Kapler.
News of Wathan’s extension comes on the eve of Philadelphia’s first World Series appearance since 2009. With an extension that is reportedly for multiple years, it appears that Wathan will remain with the Phillies long beyond the fall classic.
Diamondbacks Claim Tyler Zuber From Royals
The Royals announced that right-hander Tyler Zuber has been claimed off waivers by the Diamondbacks. Zuber has been on the 60-day injured list all season and won’t require a 40-man roster spot for the time being. Additionally, the Royals also announced that right-hander Ryan Weiss has cleared waivers and been outrighted to Triple-A Omaha.
Zuber, 28 in June, missed the entirety of the 2022 due to a shoulder impingement, though he was recently able to resume throwing. He appeared in the majors in 2020 and 2021, though without much success. In 49 1/3 career innings, he has a 5.29 ERA, with a strong 24.8% strikeout rate but a ghastly 16.7% walk rate.
He still has one option year remaining and has yet to reach arbitration eligibility, but the Royals are evidently doing some roster cleanup at the moment. Most teams have roster crunches upcoming since there’s no injured list between the World Series and Spring Training. That means players on the 60-day IL, who don’t count against a club’s 40-man count, will soon be returning to their respective rosters. In anticipation of that, the Royals have cut Zuber, Weiss and Luke Weaver from their roster, with Weaver having been lost to the Mariners on a separate waiver claim.
For the D-Backs, they don’t need a roster spot for Zuber just yet but will soon. They are likely looking past his major league results and focusing on his work in the minors thus far. Last year, Zuber threw 28 2/3 Triple-A innings with a 2.83 ERA while striking out 37.1% of batters faced. The control problems were still there, however, as Zuber walked 13.8% of those who stepped to the plate. If he can hang onto his 40-man roster spot through the winter, he could serve as optionable depth for Arizona in 2023 while they try to iron out that command.
As for Weiss, 26 in December, he’s yet to make his MLB debut. He was drafted by the Diamondbacks and was added to their 40-man roster in November of last year, eventually going to the Royals on a midseason waiver claim. Between the two organizations, he registered a 6.93 ERA over 62 1/3 innings in 2022. This is his first career outright and he doesn’t have the three years of MLB service time or seven years of minor league experience necessary to have the right to reject it. He’ll stick with the Royals as depth but without occupying a 40-man roster spot.
Mariners Claim Luke Weaver, Designate Derek Hill
The Mariners announced that they have claimed right-hander Luke Weaver off waivers from the Royals. Outfielder Derek Hill was designated for assignment in a corresponding move.
Weaver, 29, was a highly-touted prospect as he made his way through the system of the Cardinals, who drafted him in 2014. He showed some potential in his first tastes of the big leagues and eventually became a key piece of the trade that sent Paul Goldschmidt from Arizona to St. Louis. Weaver made 12 good starts in the desert in 2019 but has since been held back by injuries and underperformance.
He was able to make 12 starts in the shortened 2020 season but put up an ERA of 6.58 that year. He was better in 2021 but a shoulder injury limited him to just 13 starts over that full season. This year, the D-Backs tried moving him to the bullpen, which didn’t really work. He registered a 7.71 ERA before getting flipped to the Royals at the deadline. He was slightly better in KC, but still had a 5.59 ERA after the deal.
There wasn’t any public indication the Royals had placed Weaver on waivers, though it appears they had been quietly performing some roster maintenance. Many teams are facing roster crunches soon, as there’s no injured list between the World Series and Spring Training. Since most teams have at least a few players on the 60-day IL, those players will soon have to retake roster spots or else be cut. Weaver is arbitration-eligible and has been projected for a salary of $3MM by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz. Instead, it seems the Royals have cut him loose and will use his roster spot for other players.
For the Mariners, they are evidently more enamored of Weaver than the Royals. It’s not outlandish to think that Weaver could find better results than what he saw in 2022. His .429 batting average on balls in play and 58.6% strand rate are both much worse than league averages. As such, all advanced metrics thought him deserving of much better than his 6.56 combined ERA between the D-Backs and Royals. Weaver’s 3.64 SIERA, 2.69 FIP and 3.82 xFIP all suggest he was better than he might have seemed, though xERA is a bit more skeptical with a 5.45.
In order to take a chance on Weaver, the M’s are risking losing Hill. The 26-year-old was just claimed off waivers from the Tigers in August, having served as a depth piece for both clubs. However, he is now out of options and unable to be easily sent down to the farm going forward. He got into 31 MLB games this year, all with Detroit, and hit .229/.270/.289 for a wRC+ of 60. In 68 minor league games, he slashed .220/.294/.386, 73 wRC+. Despite that tepid offensive output, Hill might find interest from other clubs given his speed and defensive skills. If he clears waivers, he would be eligible to elect free agency based on having spent parts of seven seasons in the minors.
Clayton McCullough Among Finalists For Royals Managerial Post
Dodgers first base coach Clayton McCullough has interviewed for the vacant Royals managerial post, and is considered a finalist for the job, according to Jon Morosi of MLB Network. It’s been previously reported that the Royals have interviewed Phillies third base coach Dusty Wathan and Rays bench coach Matt Quatraro. They’ve also looked in-house as well, interviewing current bench coach Pedro Grifol, third base coach Vance Wilson and Triple-A skipper Scott Thorman. It’s not clear if any of those names are considered finalists.
McCullough was a 22nd round draft pick for Cleveland in 2002, but spent just three seasons as a catcher in the minor leagues before retiring from playing at 25. He quickly moved into coaching, and worked as a manager within the Toronto Blue Jays minor league system between 2007 and 2014. The Dodgers hired him as their minor league field coordinator after his time in Toronto, and he was promoted to first base coach for the major league team in 2021.
It’s not the first time McCullough has been linked to a big league managerial post, as he earned an interview from the Mets for their vacant position in 2021 before they ultimately went with Buck Showalter. The 42-year-old also interviewed for the Giants position prior to the team hiring Gabe Kapler.
While the list of known candidates to interview for the position continues to grow, the fact that the Royals appear to be narrowing it down to finalists does suggest that the process is getting closer to reaching a conclusion. The Royals parted ways with Mike Matheny at the end of the season after a 65-97 record in 2022.