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Free Agent Notes: Breslow, Park, D’Backs, Freese, Utley, Hill, Astros, Marlins

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Former Red Sox southpaw Craig Breslow is planning to ask prospective future employers for a chance to start, WEEI.com’s Rob Bradford reports. The 35-year-old had functioned exclusively as a reliever in his ten-year MLB career until late last season. In two September starts for Boston, Breslow allowed just two earned runs in a combined 9 1/3 innings of work. Breslow ended the season with a 4.15 ERA over 65 total innings, with 6.4 K/9 against 3.2 BB/9. It’s not implausible to imagine that a club might give the veteran a chance to work as a starter in the spring, perhaps expecting that he could become a swingman option, though securing a rotation job will certainly be a tall order. In Breslow’s favor, he’s posted very minimal platoon splits over his career, allowing a .240/.308/.378 career batting line to lefties and a .238/.326/.376 slash to opposing right-handers.

Here are some more free agent notes from the ongoing GM Meetings:

  • At least two other teams bid north of $11MM in the posting of Korean first baseman Byung-ho Park, writes Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. Park, who saw his negotiation rights go to the Twins for $12.85MM, drew praise from a pair of clubs that pursued him when asked by Rosenthal, because his batted-ball exit velocity rivaled that of the top Major Leaguers. However, some clubs are concerned with his long swing and penchant for strikeouts. (While not strictly a free agent, Park was available to all clubs during the offseason period, so he is a part of MLBTR’s top fifty free agent list.)
  • The Diamondbacks are looking to add two starters this winter, per Rosenthal. The club prefers not to commit more than $15MM to $18MM annually on a free agent addition, which obviously might not be enough to land one of the four best arms available. But that is probably sufficient to make Arizona competitive on any other starters, depending on what length of the commit the team can offer. And the D’Backs also seem prepared to explore the trade market for arms, with Rosenthal noting that other teams have keen interest in Arizona’s surplus of controllable outfilders.
  • Rosenthal added a few other notes of interest on several pending free agents, in both the above-linked piece and his notes column from this morning. The Angels have interest in re-signing David Freese at a lower annual rate than that of the $15.8MM qualifying offer they declined to make, writes Rosenthal. Likewise, the Dodgers are considering bringing back Chase Utley to provide a southpaw-swinging option at second and third base, per Rosenthal, after previously declining his option.
  • Lefty Rich Hill is in surprisingly high demand and looks to be in line for a Major League deal this winter, says Rosenthal. He has apparently provided a model that the aforementioned Breslow hopes to follow in his own free agency, as Bradford writes.
  • Astros GM Jeff Luhnow declined to rule out the possibility that his club could pursue a top-end free agent arm, as Rosenthal further reports. “I think so,” Luhnow said when asked whether that was plausible. “It would have to be the right type of deal for us, but yeah, we’re not ruling anything out at this point.” As of right now, Houston is not pursuing free agent infielder/outfielder Ben Zobrist, Evan Drellich of The Houston Chronicle writes. (That crosses at least one team off of a lengthy list.)
  • The Marlins have at least some degree of interest in free agent starters Scott Kazmir, Colby Lewis, and Tim Lincecum, according to Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. All three enter the winter in rather different situations and carrying quite different market expectations, of course, but Miami seems to be taking a flexible approach to building out its rotation.

NL East Notes: Minor, Braves, Ozuna, Mets, Speier

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The Braves are now uncertain whether or not they’ll tender lefty Mike Minor a contract, David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. Signs had pointed to the team offering arbitration, with Minor likely to earn at or near the $5.6MM level that he set by winning his arbitration case with the team last year. But the 27-year-old has reportedly suffered a setback in his efforts to return from labrum surgery, and has yet to make it back onto a mound. “We think it could happen prior to the tender date,” said GM John Coppolella. “We want to see something, whether it’s off the mound or … we need to see something. We can’t just blindly tender him a contract and put the team at risk. Because every single dollar counts for us.”

  • The Braves suddenly find themselves with a surplus of outfielders after largely committing to shifting Hector Olivera to left field, as MLB.com’s Mark Bowman writes. If Atlanta finds it hard to shed any of the salary owed to Nick Swisher or Michael Bourn, says Bowman, the team may look closer at a trade of Cameron Maybin. But the club’s top executives continue to say they don’t feel pressure to trade Maybin, even after the Olivera move, as O’Brien tweets.
  • The Marlins are indeed interested in trading outfielder Marcell Ozuna, but not at anything less than his market value, MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro reports. Of course, as Frisaro notes, the team may find it necessary to trade him if it hopes to accomplish its apparent  goal of adding a quality, controllable pitcher.
  • Mets assistant GM John Ricco says that the club is receiving strong interest in its pitching, as Mike Puma of the New York Post reports on Twitter. That’s not surprising, given the depth and quality of arms present in the organization.
  • Ricco also said that the Mets could look to add an offensive player that is capable of filling in around the diamond, rather than seeking a regular at one spot, Puma tweets. Naturally, that statement calls to mind the possibility of signing Ben Zobrist, but there are other players — including, arguably, Daniel Murphy — who could function in a similar capacity.
  • It may be time for Mets third baseman David Wright to begin a transition across the diamond, Mark Simon of ESPNNewYork.com writes. The veteran and team leader made a thrilling comeback from serious back issues, but showed real difficulty throwing the ball across the diamond, and Rubin argues that now is the time to begin spelling him at the hot corner and working him in at first base.
  • The Nationals are set to add Chris Speier to their coaching staff, either as the third base or bench coach, according to a tweet from MLB.com’s Bill Ladson. The 19-year MLB veteran served as the bench coach under new Nats skipper Dusty Baker when he was with the Reds. Speier has continued on with Cincinnati as a special assistant to GM Walt Jocketty since Baker departed.

Latest On Byung-ho Park

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8:52am: Yahoo’s Jeff Passan tweets that the White Sox aren’t the winner, either. That leaves the Brewers and Twins in addition to the Cubs and Reds, though the latter duo doesn’t have much of a spot for Park to play (unless Cincinnati feels he can handle left field). Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN reported last week that the Twins have scouted Park quite a bit, though the Brewers seem to be a better fit from a roster standpoint, in my eyes.

8:37am: Heyman also eliminates the Rockies and the Phillies from the mix (via Twitter). That leaves the Brewers, Reds, Cubs, White Sox and Twins as the remaining options. As I noted before, the presence of Joey Votto in Cincinnati and Anthony Rizzo on the Cubs’ roster makes that pair of NL teams seem like long shots, to say the least. The White Sox and Twins each have long-term first base options in Jose Abreu and Joe Mauer, though Park could certainly split time at first and DH with either player.

8:22am: The Astros didn’t submit the winning bid for Park, either, tweets Jon Heyman of CBS Sports.

NOV. 9, 7:29am: We’re down to seven possibilities on the mystery team for Park, as ESPN’s Buster Olney (Twitter link) and the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review’s Rob Biertempfel (Twitter link) report that the Pirates have not won the bidding.

There have been reports eliminating all but seven teams from the Park bidding, leaving the Phillies, Brewers, Reds, Cubs, White Sox, Twins and Astros as possibilities. And while the Reds and Cubs are technically possibilities, it’d be surprising to see either NL club post the winning bid on a first baseman, given the stars that each has entrenched at that position. The Rockies haven’t been completely ruled out, though the report below seems to indicate they’re more of a long shot than anything else at this point.

Alan Nero, Park’s agent at Octagon, tells Travis Sawchik of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review that even he does not yet know which club won the bidding, adding that both league offices were closed over the weekend (Twitter link).

NOV. 8, 9:51pm: The winning bid wasn’t posted by the Royals or Braves, Yahoo Sports’ Jeff Passan reports (Twitter links).  “It’s safe to assume” the Rays didn’t have the winning bid either, the Tampa Bay Times’ Marc Topkin tweets.

9:10pm: The Athletics and Marlins also didn’t have the top bid, Heyman tweets.

7:24pm: The Mariners and Diamondbacks didn’t place bids on Park, as per tweets from CBS Sports’ Jon Heyman and Zach Buchanan of AZCentral.com.  Also, the Giants can be eliminated from contention, according to Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle.  The Rockies might also be out, as MLB.com’s Thomas Harding doesn’t “think anything is happening there.”

2:39pm: Italian artist Michelangelo is famously misquoted as saying that he sculpted the historic David statue by chipping away the parts that did not look like David.  Perhaps that is how we will whittle down the field of suitors for first baseman Byung-Ho Park until we unravel the mystery team that submitted the winning bid to negotiate with the Korean star.  Failing that, we might just have to wait until Monday, when the announcement is formally made.

On Friday, Korea’s Nexen Heroes accepted a $12.85MM bid on the rights to negotiate a big league contract with Park.  As of today, we still don’t know which MLB club won the posting process, but one team out there now has a thirty day window with which to hammer out a deal with one of the winter’s most intriguing and mysterious free agents.

The Blue Jays are not the winning team, according to Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com (on Twitter), and the winning bid was not submitted by the Mets, Yankees, Dodgers, or Angels, either (link),  The Cardinals, who are looking at various first base options, tendered an unsuccessful bid for the 29-year-old, according to Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.  James Wagner of the Washington Post (on Twitter) heard that the Nats did not have interest.  Late last week, the Indians, Tigers, Rangers, Orioles, Padres, and Red Sox were also crossed off the list by various reporters.

If Park and his new club do not reach agreement on a contract, Nexen will lose out on the posting fee and the winning team will have to move on to a Plan B at first base.  The reported $12.85MM fell shy of the $25MM+ posting amount commanded by lefty Hyun-Jin Ryu, but it easily tops what the Pirates paid Nexen last year (~$5MM) for the rights to reach a deal with infielder Jung-Ho Kang. After the team-to-team transfer was arrived at, Kang and the Bucs agreed to a four-year, $11MM guarantee.

In the recently-released list of MLBTR’s top fifty free agents, Tim Dierkes predicted that Park would command a $10MM posting fee and a five-year, $40MM contract from the winning team. The first part of that was close, but it remains to be seen how negotiations will proceed.

NL East Notes: Baker, Nats, Marlins, Gordon

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The Nationals reportedly agreed to hire Bud Black as their manager before going with Dusty Baker, but GM Mike Rizzo has a slightly different version of events.  “We definitely had financial parameters discussed with (both), at the same time,” Rizzo said at a press conference, according to The Associated Press.

“We felt that was the best track to go by,” Rizzo said, “because sometimes the negotiating process also tells you a lot about the people that you’re negotiating with. As we discussed baseball in the interview process, and parameters in the financial process, we came to the conclusion that Dusty Baker was the perfect guy for us.”

Here’s more from the NL East..

  • The Marlins will explore making an extension offer to second baseman Dee Gordon, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald writes.  For his part, Gordon says that he would be receptive to such an offer.  The NL batting and stolen base champ is under team control for a few more years and will not be eligible to hit the open market until after the 2019 season.   Recently, team president David Samson remarked that the organization has “three of the top ten players in baseball” — referring to Giancarlo Stanton, Jose Fernandez, and Gordon.
  • The Marlins are less optimistic about signing shortstop Adeiny Hechavarria, however. Miami is under the impression that the 26-year-old (27 in April) will seek a deal in the neighborhood of Elvis Andrus’ eight-year, $120MM pact. Hechavarria, under team control through 2018, slashed a career-best .281/.315/.374 in 2015.  Of course, he is valued more for his glove, which resulted in a stellar 17.7 UZR/150 this past season.
  • Catcher Jeff Mathis remains a possibility to return to the Marlins because of his defense and the way he handles the pitching staff, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald writes.  Mathis, 33 in March, slashed just .161/.214/.290 in 103 plate appearances last season.  For his career, he owns a slash line of .194/.254/.306 over the course of eleven big league campaigns.  While he won’t be winning any battling titles soon, Mathis is valued for plenty of other things outside of his bat.

Jarred Cosart Switches To Boras Corporation

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Marlins pitcher Jarred Cosart has changed agents and is now represented by the Boras Corporation, ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick tweets. The 25-year-old Cosart is not yet eligible for arbitration this winter, but he has just over two years of service time and could be eligible next offseason if he spends most of 2016 in the Majors.

In 2015, Cosart split his time between Miami and the minors. In the big leagues, he pitched 69 2/3 innings, working mostly as a starter, and posted a 4.52 ERA, 6.1 K/9 and 4.3 BB/9. Along the way, he also missed a chunk of the season due to vertigo. He’s already been involved in two significant trades in his young career, heading from Philadelphia to Houston in the Hunter Pence deal in 2011 and then to Miami as the key piece the Marlins received when they traded Colin Moran and Jake Marisnick.

Cosart’s agency change is now included in the MLBTR Agency Database, which lists over 2,000 players. If you notice any significant omissions or inaccuracies, please contact us at mlbtrdatabase@gmail.com.

NL East Notes: Toscano, Granderson, Molina, Alvarez, Marlins, Klentak

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Braves outfielder Dian Toscano has finally been cleared to join the organization, David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports on Twitter. The Cuban had yet to receive full clearance from the government since signing last winter. (It’s never been entirely clear what the reason was for the hold-up.) Atlanta committed $6MM to Toscano over four years in hopes that he could develop into a reserve/platoon-type outfielder. He might see some winter ball action as he looks to get up to speed, O’Brien notes.

Here’s more from the NL East:

  • Mets outfielder Curtis Granderson required surgery on his left thumb for a torn ligament, as Rubin reports. That may come as a surprise to those who watched Granderson perform well in the NLCS and World Series. He reportedly suffered the injury during the third game of the championship round. The 34-year-old had a highly productive all-around season, serving as a somewhat underappreciated element in the team’s successful campaign.
  • In less promising Mets injury news, right-handed pitching prospect Marcos Molina underwent Tommy John surgery after the season, Matt Eddy of Baseball America reports on Twitter. Both Baseball America and MLB.com rate Molina the club’s sixth-best overall prospect at present, though he’ll obviously have some work to do to regain his standing now that he’ll miss all of 2016.
  • Marlins righty Henderson Alvarez is expected to begin a throwing program on the first of December, Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports reports on Twitter. If he can maintain the timeline that the organization has charted, Alvarez could return to action within the first month of the season, according to Passan.  Alvarez had shoulder surgery this summer and is projected by MLBTR to earn $4MM in his second-to-last season of arbitration eligibility.
  • As they wait to see how Alvarez progresses, the Marlins will work to increase the organization’s financial flexibility, MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro reports. On the revenue side, Miami is hoping to find a corporate sponsor to put its name on the side of Marlins Park and also to get a new TV deal in place.
  • The Marlins acknowledge that they haven’t done the best job of putting their payroll to use in building around their young core in recent years, as Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald writes. Pitching is the major need, according to president David Samson, who says he feels the organization has “three of the top ten players in baseball” — referring to Giancarlo Stanton, Jose Fernandez, and Dee Gordon. Per Jackson, Miami would go up to $15MM a year on the right starting pitcher, though the team is more likely to spend in the $12MM to $15MM range. (He calls Yovani Gallardo an “interesting option in the high end of that range.”) Of course, trades are also possible, and Marcell Ozuna appears to represent a big chip with the organization seemingly unconvinced that he’s a piece worth keeping. Miami is chasing two pitchers, says Jackson, one of whom could come from a deal involving Ozuna.
  • New Phillies GM Matt Klentak said that he’s getting acclimated with the organization’s still-new information system, “PHIL,” as Matt Breen of the Philadelphia Inquirer writes. That system is a key part of the club’s efforts to advance its modern analytical capabilities. “Basically it’s a place to house all of our information and synthesize it and try to manage it and pool it and bring all together,” Klentak said. “That’s what PHIL will provide. I’m new to it. I was not involved in the design of it, but I’m getting more and more familiar with it. We’re making some tweaks to it to make sure it suits what we’re looking to do and what we’re hoping to achieve. It’s close to its official launch.”
  • Klentak is still settling into his new digs, but says he’s gotten a lot done already as he prepares for the upcoming GM Meetings, as MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki reports. Generally, he says, the club will be looking to continue building its talent base over the winter. “We really want to raise the floor and add some depth,” Klentak said. “Kind of at every turn, that’s what we’re going to be focused on. And in the pitching department, I think we really need to work on just — again, I say raise the floor — but kind of establish sort of a firm foundation of pitching. That’s not going to end when we break camp at the end of Spring Training. That’s something we’re going to be committed to for a long time.” He continued to reiterate that he views free agency as a way to “augment or supplement” a contending team more than a means to building a core.
  • Be sure to check out MLBTR’s offseason outlook for the Phils for more on the opportunities and challenges facing Klentak and co. (I’ve also written a Braves outlook and am working my way through the rest of the NL East.)

Marlins Notes: Fernandez, Free Agents, Alvarez, Coaches

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While specifics of the deal aren’t known, Marlins president David Samson told reporters today, including Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald (Twitter link), that ace Jose Fernandez rejected a long-term contract offer made by the team. It’s not exactly surprising that Fernandez, a Scott Boras client coming off a season that was shortened by 2014 Tommy John surgery, would be averse to a long-term pact at this time. Boras clients rarely sign pre-arbitration extensions, and Fernandez’s value is down due to his long layoff (although he was utterly dominant when healthy). A right biceps strain also slowed Fernandez late in the season, but he’s still one of the two faces of the Miami franchise, alongside Giancarlo Stanton. An extension for Fernandez, if even possible, would figure to be exceptionally lucrative, though the 23-year-old and his agent may simply prefer to wait until he’s pitched a full season post-Tommy John before even opening their minds to such a concept.

A few more notes from Samson’s session with the media…

  • The Marlins have a known desire to add starting pitching this winter, but Samson says the team won’t pursue the top tier of available arms, via Jackson’s tweet above. That means that David Price and Zack Greinke are off the table, and I’d imagine that Johnny Cueto and Jordan Zimmermann are similarly too pricey for Miami’s tastes. The Marlins, of course, weren’t expected to pursue free agents of that caliber anyhow, although the Fish did jump into the James Shields derby late last offseason.
  • Right-hander Henderson Alvarez, who missed nearly all of the 2015 season with shoulder injuries that eventually required surgery, won’t be ready for Opening Day, according to Samson (via Jackson). The 25-year-old Alvarez was Miami’s Opening Day starter and has a no-hitter under his belt since coming to Miami by way of a trade with Toronto, but the Marlins aren’t even decided on whether or not they’ll tender him a contract, per Samson. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projected Alvarez to earn $4MM next season, and while that’s not an outrageous number, the team could conceivably cut ties if the belief is that Alvarez’s injuries will keep out for a significant portion of 2016.
  • Via MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro (on Twitter), first base/infield coach Perry Hill will return to the coaching staff for a third straight season. Lenny Harris will return as the assistant hitting coach/third base coach, and Reid Cornelius will reprise his role as bullpen coach. With a new manager entering the picture, the future of the coaching staff can always be a bit uncertain, but it appears that there won’t be sweeping changes under newly minted skipper Don Mattingly. However, Mattingly did indicate at today’s press conference that he believes Dodgers bench coach Tim Wallach will accompany him from L.A. to Miami.
  • Frisaro also tweets that former Major Leaguers Joey Cora and Mark DeRosa interviewed for the Marlins’ managerial vacancy. Both former infielders have been doing broadcasting work recently but were well-liked and well-respected players during their playing careers.

Marlins Announce Don Mattingly As Manager

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The Marlins have formally announced the hiring of Don Mattingly as their new manager. Mattingly will receive a four-year contract, the club announced, although the new skipper said today at his introductory press conference that he hopes to manage in Miami for at least 10 years (via the Miami Herald’s Barry Jackson).

Don Mattingly

Incredibly, the 54-year-old Mattingly becomes the Marlins’ eighth man to manager the Marlins since the 2010 season, although that does count bench coach Brandon Hyde, who managed just one game on on interim basis in 2011. Mattingly will replace GM-turned-skipper Dan Jennings, who bizarrely transitioned from the front office to the dugout in nearly unprecedented fashion earlier this year after Mike Redmond was fired as manager. (Jennings has since been dismissed from the Marlins after initially being asked to return to the front office.) The Marlins will pay Redmond through the 2017 season and only recently had Redmond’s predecessor, Ozzie Guillen, come off the books, as his four-year contract expired upon completion of the 2015 season despite the fact that he was fired three years ago.

Since word of the agreement broke, reports have indicated that Mattingly hopes to bring Dodgers bench coach Tim Wallach and pitching coach Rick Honeycutt with him to Miami. While it’s not clear whether either man will officially make the transition, Mattingly did say today that he thinks Wallach will join him as bench coach with the Marlins (via the Herald’s Clark Spencer, on Twitter).

Mattingly expressed great interest in taking on a different challenge with a smaller-payroll club: that of being forced to develop more talent than with a larger-market team. “That was the single biggest thing I was intrigued with coming to Miami is chance to develop, teach, help mold a young club,” said Mattingly (via Jackson’s piece above). “…This is a place we are going to have to develop through the minor league system, continuing to teach, develop at all time. … Also understanding the challenges of this market. It’s not a New York or L.A. where you can go endless finances. It’s a situation where you have to continue to build.”

The Marlins interviewed a wide variety of candidates, though reports throughout the interview process indicated that owner Jeffrey Loria would consider Mattingly the favorite were he to part ways with the Dodgers. That scenario came to fruition last week, when Mattingly and the Dodgers mutually parted ways. Mattingly is said to feel that the team didn’t want to commit to him for the long haul, though some form of extension was discussed prior to his departure. (Speculatively speaking, it seems plausible that the Dodgers only offered Mattingly a one-year extension of his contract, which would’ve extended it through the 2017 season.)

Though Loria is notoriously fickle with his managers — as evidenced by the fact that seven men have filled that role from 2010-15 — the New York native is said to be a huge fan of Mattingly dating back to Mattingly’s days as a six-time All-Star first baseman with the Yankees. Perhaps, then, that will buy Mattingly more leeway than was afforded to the men he is succeeding in his new role.

In five seasons as manager of the Dodgers, Mattingly posted a 446-363 record, guiding his club to the NL West Division title in each of the final three years of his term. While the team won only one postseason series in four attempts under Mattingly, he recorded a winning record in each of his five seasons and was generally well-regarded by his players. Notably, Mattingly managed in an extremely high-pressure market while juggling a large number of highly paid players on his roster, many of whom had been reduced to part-time roles. Managing the number of egos and dealing with the L.A. media undoubtedly took a toll on Mattingly, and he’s likely to encounter a more low-key environment in Miami.

Molly Knight of Vice Sports first reported the four-year agreement between the two sides.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Quick Hits: Mattingly, Royals, Mets, Murphy, Sveum

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The Marlins have announced a press conference for tomorrow morning in which they’re expected to introduce manager Don Mattingly, reports Joe Frisaro of MLB.com. Mattingly, 54, has agreed to a four-year deal with Miami. The financial terms remain unknown. We profiled the hire more fully last week.

Here’s more from around the league:

  • The Royals and Mets could look different when they meet to open the 2016 season, writes Bob Nightengale of USA Today. Both clubs are expected to lose several key contributors to free agency including Alex Gordon, Ben Zobrist, Johnny Cueto, Greg Holland, Chris Young, Daniel Murphy, and Yoenis Cespedes. Three of those seven players were midseason mercenary acquisitions, but the Royals organization will certainly feel the loss of Gordon if he signs elsewhere. Meanwhile, the Mets are more likely to extend Murphy a qualifying offer after his huge NLCS performance.
  • Much has been written about the Royals offensive approach, but more credit belongs to hitting coach Dale Sveum, writes David Laurila of FanGraphs. Sveum took over the role last May and transformed the team’s offensive profile. As you might expect, he’s a proponent of aggressive hitting with an emphasis on balls in play. When the Cubs fired Sveum in 2013, Royals manager Ned Yost “waited like two minutes” before offering him a job.
  • The Padres have re-signed pitching coach Darren Balsley, reports MLB.com’s Corey Brock. Balsley was originally hired under Bruce Bochy’s regime and has been with the franchise for 13 seasons. He considered following Bud Black to the Nationals, but he opted to remain in San Diego. “There were a lot of opportunities to go elsewhere, but I let it be known to [general manager A.J. Preller] that this is where I wanted to stay,” Balsley told Brock. The longtime Padres coach explained that while he wasn’t born in San Diego, he was raised in the city and grew up rooting for the team. “I can’t personally think of a better job. My alliance is to the team,” said Balsley. New Padres skipper Andy Green met with Balsley over the weekend, and Balsley explained to Brock that the two meshed quickly.

Heyman’s Latest: Davis, Zobrist, Zunino

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Jon Heyman of CBS Sports takes a look at Pete Rose’s chances for reinstatement in his latest Inside Baseball column. The short version: he has no chance. Heyman has a lot to say on the topic, but it all boils down to a conservative mindset among baseball’s decision makers. While Rose, 74, is relatively harmless, the commissioner’s office won’t take the tiny risk associated with reinstatement. Commissioner Rob Manfred granted Rose a hearing in September and is expected to issue a ruling before the end of the year.

Here’s more from the column:

  • Orioles owner Peter Angelos is making a push to re-sign first baseman Chris Davis. The slugger is entering his age 30 season after posting 13 WAR and 126 home runs over the last three seasons. Davis hit .262/.361/.562 last year with 47 home runs. However, he’s sandwiched two superstar campaigns around a replacement level 2014, making him a high risk, high reward target in free agency. Heyman does not expect Davis to sign before talking with other clubs.
  • The Royals are unlikely to re-sign Ben Zobrist. The club acquired him to fill in for the injured Alex Gordon, then used him to replace injured Omar Infante. The club’s former second baseman will be back and presumably healthy next season. Zobrist’s defensive profile at second base also leaves something to be desired.
  • Marlins manager Don Mattingly hopes to bring pitching coach Rick Honeycutt and coach Tim Wallach with him from the Dodgers. However, L.A. hopes to keep both coaches. Honeycutt is a long standing member of the Dodgers’ coaching staff, but Wallach may search for a new job if he’s passed over for the open manager job.
  • Scouts are worried that Mike Zunino may have to overcome a psychological hurdle. He was widely viewed as unready for a promotion to the majors in 2013, and the Mariners have allowed him to scuffle through the last three campaigns. His biggest issue is a 32 percent strikeout rate which has led to a .193/.252/.353 triple-slash.
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