Athletics “Closing In” On Mark Kotsay As Manager?
Now that the Mets have hired Buck Showalter, the Athletics are the last team still looking for a new manager, but Oakland’s search may also be nearing an end. According to MLB Network’s Jon Heyman, the team is “closing in on a managerial hire,” and the Athletics’ “focus appears to be on Mark Kotsay” as Bob Melvin’s successor.
Kotsay has been a member of Oakland’s staff for the last six seasons, working as the third base coach in 2021 after previously working as a quality control coach and bench coach. He is one of three internal candidates known to be under consideration for the managerial vacancy, along with hitting coach Darren Bush and bullpen coach Marcus Jensen. From outside the organization, the A’s had interest in Astros bench coach Joe Espada, Rays bench coach Matt Quatraro, and Red Sox bench coach Will Venable (Espada and Quatraro were also finalists for the Mets job).
When Melvin left the A’s to become the Padres’ new manager, speculation immediately arose that Kotsay was a contender and perhaps even a favorite to become the Athletics’ new skipper. Kotsay has previously been a managerial candidate for the Tigers, Giants, Pirates, Red Sox, and Astros over the last two-plus years, and he even received some consideration as the Padres’ interim manager back in 2015, after Bud Black was fired and when Kotsay was working as San Diego’s hitting coach.
Kotsay is probably best remembered by fans for his 17 seasons as a player with seven different teams from 1997-2013, including a stint with the A’s for four of those seasons. While not quite as recently retired as some of the other players-turned-managers hired in recent years, Kotsay is still only 46 years old, and not all that far removed from his playing days. He also brings some front office experience, as Kotsay worked as a special assistant with the Padres in 2014.
If the A’s did indeed hire Kotsay, it would provide some continuity for a roster that might look quite different come Opening Day. The A’s are known to be open to trading several of their top players due to escalating arbitration costs, and while this doesn’t necessarily mean Oakland will embark on a fire sale or even abandon the hope of contending in 2022, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Billy Beane and company swing several deals once the lockout is over. Depending on when exactly the lockout ends, this could lead to something of a frenzied situation in the Athletics’ Spring Training camp, which would only add to the challenge for a first-time skipper. Neither Kotsay or any of the other five known candidates have ever managed at the MLB level.
Latest On Athletics’ Manager Search
TODAY: Espada’s interview has taken place, MLB Network’s Jon Heyman reports (Twitter link).
DECEMBER 6: In addition to the recently-documented Matt Quatraro, The Athletic’s Britt Ghiroli verified five other managerial candidates for the vacant Oakland skipper position. Included in the current group of candidates are a number of names already within the Oakland organization— third base coach Mark Kotsay, bullpen coach Marcus Jensen, and hitting coach Darren Bush. Rounding out the group are Boston bench coach Will Venable and Houston bench coach Joe Espada. Half of the group (Quatraro, Kotsay, and Venable) has already interviewed, with the remaining half expected to interview soon.
After 11 seasons of .528 ball under Bob Melvin, it makes sense for Oakland brass to look to Melvin’s cohorts for a successor. Kotsay is likely the most familiar name among the internal candidates, as he is a 17-year veteran and played for seven different teams during his lengthy career. Dating back to 2014 Kotsay has assumed a number of Major League roles, accumulating the titles of hitting coach, bench coach, quality control coach, and third base coach. Kotsay is light on managerial experience but is no stranger to the managerial rumor mill, being linked to recent searches conducted by Houston, Boston, and Detroit.
A former catcher, Jensen was no stranger to the big leagues either, appearing in 7 Major League seasons for as many teams. Jensen has been in the Oakland organization since 2007, serving as a hitting coach and manager for several of Oakland’s minor league affiliates. He’s served as an A’s coach at the game’s highest level since 2014.
Bush is a baseball veteran as well, though has seen a notable chunk of his playing and coaching days come on the indie ball circuit. Since joining Oakland’s minor league ranks as a coach in 2004, Bush has accrued a good deal of managerial experience at the lower levels. His consistent success as a minor league manager led to a Major League promotion, where Bush has served as a bullpen or hitting coach since 2013.
Like Kotsay, Espada has been a fixture in managerial candidate discussions for years. The Houston coach and former second-rounder has seen his fair share of success over the past four years, recently piquing the interest of the Giants, Rangers, and Cubs.
Venable is a veteran of 9 Major League seasons, including an impressive 20-20 campaign in 2013 for the Padres. Since his retirement, Venable has worked in advisory and coaching positions for the Chicago Cubs. Venable hopped over to the Red Sox organization in 2020 and served as the bench coach for this year’s resurgent Boston club. Like others on this list, Venable has turned heads as a potential manager for years, drawing interviews for recent Houston and San Francisco vacancies.
Matt Quatraro Interviews With Athletics; Interview With Mets Likely To Follow
The A’s have interviewed Rays bench coach Matt Quatraro within the past few days as part of their search for a new manager, reports Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. He becomes the first known candidate to sit down with Oakland brass.
Quatraro, 48, has been regarded as a potential manager of the future for the past few years. Kevin Cash’s top lieutenant over the last three seasons in Tampa Bay, he interviewed with the Pirates and Giants over the 2019-20 offseason and sat down with the Tigers last fall. Quatraro, who played professionally for seven seasons and topped out at Triple-A, has never managed in the majors. He does have nearly two decades of coaching experience in the Rays’ organization (in addition to a 2014 stint as Indians’ assistant hitting coach). That includes four years managing in the low minors in the Tampa Bay system.
Oakland is on the hunt for a new manager after Bob Melvin’s surprising departure to take over the dugout in San Diego. For the first time in more than a decade, the A’s will go into a season without Melvin leading the charge. Former bench coach Ryan Christenson is departing to assume the same role under Melvin with the Padres, removing one potential in-house option from the mix.
The A’s are one of two teams in search of a new skipper. The other club, the Mets, has also expressed interest in Quatraro. Buster Olney of ESPN reported this morning (on Twitter) that New York was requesting permission from the Rays to interview him. Topkin reports that Tampa Bay has granted that request, writing that Quatraro could sit down with members of the New York front office as soon as tomorrow.
Padres To Hire Ryan Christenson As Bench Coach
One of Bob Melvin’s trusted lieutenants will be joining the manager in San Diego, as The Athletic’s Dennis Lin reports (via Twitter) that the Padres will hire Ryan Christenson as their new bench coach. Christenson worked as Melvin’s bench coach with the Athletics for the last four seasons.
Christenson has longstanding ties to Oakland, working as a minor league manager from 2013-2017 and also playing for the A’s from 1998-2001 after being drafted by the club in 1995. The 47-year-old saw MLB action with four different teams during his six seasons in the Show, and while he played 60 games with the Rangers in 2003, this was just a year before Padres president of baseball operations A.J. Preller was initially hired to join the Texas organization.
The firing of manager Jayce Tingler following the season also led to an overhaul of the Padres’ coaching staff. Along with Christenson, Ruben Niebla is the new pitching coach, Michael Brdar the new hitting coach, and Francisco Cervelli was hired as a catching coach. According to Lin, the Padres will announce their full slate of coaches next week.
With Christenson now moving on, the A’s have one less internal option to consider as Melvin’s replacement. Christenson had been mentioned as a possible candidate as Oakland’s next skipper, and he also interviewed for the Pirates’ last managerial vacancy back in October 2019. There has been very little public buzz about the Athletics’ managerial search, but with all other baseball business on hold due to the lockout, the team has been expected to now turn its full attention to finding a new bench boss.
Braves, Rangers Interested In Matt Olson
As the Athletics prepare to reduce their payroll, first baseman Matt Olson stands out as an obvious and popular trade chip, even if Oakland naturally is asking for quite a bit in return for the All-Star. The Braves are among the teams who have “checked in” with the A’s about Olson, MLB Network’s Jon Heyman reports, while Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News writes that the Rangers “have already begun investigating what it would take to get Olson.”
Atlanta’s interest in Olson is obviously viewed through the lens of the Freddie Freeman market, as there seems to be some level of increased chatter that Freeman might depart the Braves after 12 seasons, as the two sides have yet to agree on the length and dollar value of a new contract. As Heyman notes, there is a general feeling that Freeman will ultimately wind up re-signing, but if not, Olson could be the Braves’ “contingency plan” if they have a sudden vacancy to fill at first base.
For the Rangers, adding Olson would be only the latest move for a club that has been one of the biggest stories of the free agent season. Marcus Semien, Corey Seager, Jon Gray, and Kole Calhoun have already been signed on the open market, though prying Olson away from the A’s would now carry a different cost for Texas in terms of younger talent. While the A’s and Rangers have lined up on some very notable trades in recent years, it is possible Oakland might command a particular premium from Texas (or any other AL West suitor) to move Olson within the division.
One of baseball’s top all-around first basemen, Olson has won two Gold Gloves to go along with his big power numbers, and he is only entering his age-28 season. Olson is also controlled via arbitration over the next two seasons, and while his $12MM projection for 2022 isn’t exactly light, it is still more than reasonable for a player of his caliber.
For the Braves, this salary would surely be a smoother fit in the long-term payroll plans than giving Freeman something in the realm of $160MM+ throughout his 30’s. President of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos has said that the club’s payroll will rise in the wake of their World Series triumph, though a mega-deal for Freeman could itself take up all of that increase. Anthopoulos has scored big on the free agent market during his time in Atlanta, though mostly on short-term contracts — if Freeman leaves and the asking price for Olson isn’t palatable, it is easy to see the Braves pivoting to a shorter-term first base option that wouldn’t cost a ton in either free agent dollars or prospect capital.
It’s safe to say that payroll isn’t quite as big a concern with the Rangers, given what they’re already invested in roster upgrades. By that token, the Rangers might prefer to continue spending to address any needs rather than deal from their prospect base, though Grant observes that such middle-infield prospects as Justin Foscue, Davis Wendzel, Ezequiel Duran and Josh Smith could now be trade candidates in the wake of the Seager/Semien additions. Texas also has a good first base option already on hand in Nathaniel Lowe, yet Lowe (who is controlled through 2026) would also seem like the kind of trade chip that the Athletics would seek out as an Olson replacement at first base.
Tender Deadline Signings: 11/30/21
With the deadline to tender contracts to arbitration-eligible players looming tonight at 8pm ET — the MLBPA and MLB jointly agreed to move the deadline up a couple days due to the looming expiration of the collective bargaining agreement — we’ll likely see a slew of arbitration-eligible players signing one-year deals.
It’s commonplace for a large batch of players to sign deals in the hours leading up to the tender deadline. “Pre-tender” deals of this nature often fall shy of projections due to the fact that teams use the looming threat of a non-tender to enhance their leverage. Arbitration contracts at this juncture are often take-it-or-leave-it propositions, with the “leave it” end of that arrangement resulting in the player being cut loose. Given the widely expected lockout, there could be more incentive than usual for borderline non-tender candidates to take those offers rather than being cast out into free agency just hours before a transaction freeze is implemented.
As a reminder, arbitration contracts are not fully guaranteed. In a typical year, a team can cut a player on an arb contract at any point before the halfway point in Spring Training and only be responsible for 30 days’ termination pay (about one-sixth of the contract). Releasing a player in the second half of Spring Training bumps the termination pay to 45 days of his prorated salary.
MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projected salaries for each team’s arbitration-eligible players last month, although for many of the players listed below, this isn’t so much avoiding arbitration as it is avoiding a non-tender. Here’s a look at today’s agreements…
- The Yankees have agreed to deals with infielder Gio Urshela and right-hander Domingo German, reports Mark Feinsand of MLB.com (Twitter links). Urshela will make $6.55MM, while German has agreed to a $1.75MM deal. Urshela has two seasons of control remaining; German is controllable for three years. Urshela is coming off a .267/.301/.419 showing while playing third base and shortstop. German tossed 98 1/3 innings of 4.58 ERA ball.
- The Twins have signed three arbitration-eligible pitchers, per reports from Feinsand and Darren Wolfson of SKOR North (on Twitter). Right-hander Jharel Cotton signed for $700K, reliever Caleb Thielbar lands $1.3MM and reliever Tyler Duffey signs for $3.8MM. Thielbar and Duffey were both productive members of the Minnesota relief corps in 2021. Cotton was recently claimed off waivers from the Rangers.
- The Giants have agreed to terms with outfielder Austin Slater on a $1.85MM deal, reports Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic (Twitter link). The 28-year-old (29 next month) appeared at all three spots on the grass while hitting .241/.320/.423 over 306 plate appearances in 2021.
- Reliever Emilio Pagan and the Padres have agreed on a $2.3MM deal, reports Rosenthal (on Twitter). The 30-year-old worked 63 1/3 innings of 4.83 ERA/3.93 SIERA ball this past season.
- The Diamondbacks agreed to a $2MM deal with left-hander Caleb Smith, reports Zach Buchanan of the Athletic (via Twitter). The 30-year-old posted a 4.83 ERA/4.68 SIERA across 113 2/3 innings in a swing capacity in 2021.
Players Avoiding Arbitration: 11/29/21
With the non-tender deadline on the horizon, expect quite a few players to agree to contracts for the 2022 season over the next 24 hours, avoiding arbitration in advance. In many (but not all) cases, these deals — referred to as “pre-tender” deals because they fall prior to the deadline — will fall shy of expectations and projections. Teams will sometimes present borderline non-tender candidates with a “take it or leave it” style offer which will be accepted for fear of being non-tendered and sent out into an uncertain market. Speculatively, such deals could increase this offseason due to a desire among players to avoid the potential uncertainty of a lockout and accompanying transactions freeze after the current collective bargaining agreement expires Wednesday evening.
View projected salaries by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz:
Today’s Agreements
- The Athletics have agreed to deals with utilitymen Chad Pinder and Tony Kemp, reports Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic (via Twitter). Pinder will make $2.725MM, while Kemp lands a $2.25MM salary. Pinder, a career-long member of the organization, is headed into his final season of arbitration control. Kemp remains controllable through 2023. Pinder hit .243/.300/.411 in 2021; Kemp’s coming off a very productive .279/.382/.418 showing.
- The Pirates announced they’ve agreed to terms with outfielder Ben Gamel. The 29-year-old will receive a $1.8MM guarantee, with the opportunity to earn an additional $200K in incentives based on plate appearance thresholds, reports Rosenthal (on Twitter). Gamel is entering his final year of club control, coming off a .247/.347/.388 showing over 400 plate appearances between Cleveland and Pittsburgh.
- The Nationals announced agreement with outfielder Andrew Stevenson. He’ll receive an $850K salary, reports Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post (on Twitter). The 27-year-old qualified for arbitration as a Super Two player and will remain under club control through 2025 so long as he sticks on the 40-man roster. He hit .229/.294/.339 with five homers over 213 plate appearances this past season.
AL West Notes: Ray, Gray, Angels, Bryant, Mariners, Athletics
Even after adding Noah Syndergaard, the Angels are still looking to further supplement their pitching staff. In recent days, they’ve been connected in rumors to Steven Matz, before he became a Cardinal, as well as Kevin Gausman, Max Scherzer and Marcus Stroman. But Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic writes that Robbie Ray “remains atop their wish list.”
As Rosenthal notes, the Angels’ budget is a big unanswered question surrounding all of this. He lists their 2022 payroll as around $157MM. Adding someone like Ray would likely add more than $25MM to that total. (MLBTR predicted Ray would get a contract of $130MM over five years, an average annual value of $26MM.) That alone would put the Angels above their 2021 opening day payroll of $182MM, per Cot’s Baseball Contracts, with still other roster issues to address. A budget increase would likely be required in order to facilitate a plan involving a contract of that size.
Another question is whether the Angels will deviate from their longstanding avoidance of committing to free agent starting pitchers. As recently explored by MLBTR’s Steve Adams, the Angels haven’t given a starting pitcher a contract longer than a single year since signing Joe Blanton way back in 2012. Ray, who recently turned 30 and won the AL Cy Young Award, would certainly require the Angels to wade into territory they haven’t been in for quite some time.
Another potential target is Jon Gray, as Rosenthal notes the Angels “had interest in Gray at the deadline.” Signing Gray would likely add less to the 2022 payroll than Ray, but probably still require the club to lay out a multi-year deal. MLBTR predicted Gray to get a contract of $56MM over four years, an AAV of $14MM.
More from the AL West…
- Even after yesterday’s Adam Frazier trade, the Mariners could still add to their position player mix, with Kris Bryant apparently piquing their interest, per Robert Murray of FanSided. With Kyle Seager now a free agent, Seattle figures to have a new third baseman for the first time in quite a while. Bryant’s bat would certainly be welcome in a Seattle lineup that ranked 22nd in runs scored in 2021. Aside from the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, Bryant has had a wRC+ of at least 123 in each season of his career. In 2021, he hit 25 home runs and slashed .265/.353/.481, producing 3.6 fWAR in the process. However, Seattle may have to be patient with their interest in Bryant, as Murray relays that he’s not expected to sign before the transaction freeze that is reportedly going to be implemented after the CBA expires on Wednesday.
- It is widely expected that the expiration of the current CBA on December 1 will lead to a transaction freeze, which has teams and agents scrambling to get business done before then. One thing getting pushed to the backburner is managerial hirings, as Ken Rosenthal reports that teams will still be able to hire managers and coaches during a lockout. (Same link as above.) That means that the two clubs currently without managers, the Mets and Athletics, will likely wait until next week to get serious about searching for new skippers.
Latest On The Athletics’ Offseason Approach
Ever since the Athletics let manager Bob Melvin pack his bags and go to San Diego, it has seemed like a long and dark winter is ahead for the franchise and its fans. The skipper still had one year remaining on his contract but was allowed to sign on with the Padres without compensation, as Oakland seemed content with saving the roughly $4MM he was going to make. Since then, the questions surrounding the franchise have largely been about exactly how far they will go in stripping down the roster.
In a recent piece from Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, he relays that it is unlikely they will bottom out to such a degree that their payroll drops as low as $40MM, a level that even the low-budget Athletics haven’t seen in 20 years. While that might sound like good news to A’s fans at first, it doesn’t necessarily mean there won’t be selling, as Rosenthal reports they are still “likely to trade almost every player with value on their roster” but could then patch the holes on the club “by signing a bevy of free agents to one-year contracts.”
As to how this would work, Rosenthal points to the 2014-2015 offseason. At that time, the Athletics were coming off a third consecutive winning season, yet embarked on a massive roster overhaul that included trading away Josh Donaldson, Brandon Moss and Jeff Samardzija for prospects. This led to three straight years of basement dwelling in the AL West while acquiring big leaguers – such as Ben Zobrist, Rich Hill, Ryan Madson – who would later be flipped for further prospects. Despite all of that selling, the payroll didn’t significantly drop in those losing seasons. Per Cot’s Baseball Contracts, it hovered in the vicinity of $80MM from 2014 to 2017.
As to who is expected to move, Rosenthal lists many names that have previously popped up in rumors, such as Matt Olson, Matt Chapman, Sean Manaea, Chris Bassitt and Frankie Montas. All of that group have been speculated to be trade chips due to their arbitration raises and shrinking team control. However, Rosenthal also says that “their available parts include even catcher Sean Murphy, who is a year away from arbitration,” and later adds that Murphy “will be a hot commodity in a market starved for catchers.” It has been certainly been noticed, including by MLBTR, that the free agent catching market in indeed weak this year, with the best option being 34-year-old Yan Gomes. Murphy, who just turned 27 and has four remaining years of control, would certainly be more appealing than any option on that list. In 182 career games so far, he has hit 28 home runs and slashed .222/.321/.431, a wRC+ of 109. When combined with his excellent defense, he’s produced 5.4 fWAR.
Jason Martinez of Roster Resource currently pegs the club’s 2022 payroll at $85MM, including arbitration estimates. Shipping out all the aforementioned players would subtract around $45MM and leave it sitting around the $40MM mark. But then, under this theoretical scenario, the club could then reallocate that money towards short-term deals for free agents.
Even if the A’s do decide to put this plan into action, it won’t be soon. As Rosenthal notes, most of their potential trading partners are preoccupied with trying to sign free agents before the CBA expires on December 1, which is widely expected to lead to a transaction freeze shortly thereafter. Despite all that, he reports that the Athletics have been “bombarded with trade interest in their players” and are “still gathering and organizing information.” That means any sell-off, whatever its eventual scope, will likely be crammed into the window between the thawing of the transaction freeze and the beginning of the 2022 season.
Athletics Sign Ryan Castellani
The A’s have signed right-hander Ryan Castellani, reports Chris Hilburn-Trenkle of Baseball America. Presumably, it’s a minor league deal that’ll include an invitation to big league Spring Training.
Castellani has appeared in the big leagues with the Rockies in each of the past two seasons, but the bulk of his experience came in 2020. He made ten appearances (including nine starts) during last year’s truncated campaign, working to a 5.82 ERA/6.49 SIERA over 43 1/3 innings. Castellani pitched in just one big league game this year, tossing 3 1/3 frames of two-run ball during a May 4 victory over the Giants.
The past two seasons haven’t been kind to Castellani, who has also struggled mightily with the Rox’s top affiliate in Albuquerque. That’s among the most hitter-friendly environments in affiliated ball, though, and the 25-year-old comes with some decent prospect pedigree.
A former second-round pick, Castellani appeared among Baseball America’s top ten Colorado farmhands entering each of the 2017, 2018 and 2020 campaigns. The sinkerballer has never missed many bats, but he posted solid walk and ground-ball numbers early in his professional tenure. He’s worked almost exclusively as a starter to this point, but it’s possible the A’s view him as rotation or long relief depth for 2022.