Click here to read the transcript of today’s chat with Tim Dierkes.
David Hale Elects Free Agency
The Twins announced Monday that righty David Hale cleared outright waivers after last week’s DFA and rejected an assignment to Triple-A in favor of free agency. He’ll hit the open market in search of a new club after extremely brief stints with the Yankees and Twins thus far in 2018.
Hale, 30, signed a minor league pact with the Yankees over the winter and headed to Triple-A to open the season. After 14 2/3 innings there with a 5.32 ERA but a much more encouraging 10-to-2 K/BB ratio and 50 percent grounder rate, New York selected his contract to add some length to a depleted bullpen. He tossed two shutout innings for the Yankees but was designated for assignment anyhow, only to be claimed by the Twins and subsequently tagged (by the Yankees) for four runs in three innings of relief.
In all, Hale has totaled 183 2/3 innings at the big league level, most of which came with the Braves and Rockies. In that time, he’s posted a 4.56 ERA with 6.1 K/9, 3.2 BB/9 and a 51.9 percent ground-ball rate. Though he doesn’t miss many bats, Hale has done a good job in terms of limiting hard contact (career 27.1 percent). He’s worked as both a starter and a reliever and has a minor league option remaining, so he could provide some depth for a club with more 40-man roster flexibility than either the Twins or Yankees has to offer at present.
AL East Notes: Gray, Rays, Teoscar
Sonny Gray has been clobbered by opposing hitters this season, and Sheryl Ring of Fangraphs suggests that the root of his struggles could be an organizational pitching philosophy that the Yankees seem to be employing. As Fangraphs’ Jeff Sullivan highlighted in an excellent piece earlier this month, the Yankees are using far and away the fewest percentage of fastballs in the league in 2018 — continuing a trend of increasingly diminished fastball usage in recent years. Ring notes that Gray, however, has never thrown fewer than 55 percent heaters (combining both his four-seamer and two-seamer/sinker). Gray’s success against lefties, in particular, has been in no small part attributable to the success of his fastball up and in on lefty bats, she observes. While there could obviously be multiple factors at play — Ring also notes a mechanical disparity between Gray’s wind-up from 2015 and from 2018, for instance — it certainly seems plausible that Gray’s increased use of breaking pitches is making it more difficult to position himself in favorable counts. He’s thrown a first-pitch strike to just 50 percent of the hitters he’s faced in 2018 — down from a career-best 61.7 percent in 2017.
More from the division…
- Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times takes an interesting look at the number of pitchers developed by the Rays in recent years, pointing out that there have been more games started by pitchers who were originally Rays (45 of 722) in the Majors this season than any other team. That doesn’t include starters-turned-relievers like Wade Davis, Jake McGee and Felipe Vazquez. As Topkin notes, that could be used as a damning method of lamenting the frequency with which Tampa Bay has to trade its talent or as a credit to the organization’s general ability to develop quality pitching. Topkin’s column runs through the best of the best in that group of original Rays and also looks at some names who could ascend that list.
- Teoscar Hernandez’s superlative play with the Blue Jays dating back to last September means he won’t be going back to Triple-A Buffalo anytime soon, as Steve Buffery of the Toronto Sun writes. Manager John Gibbons notes that while the organization saw “a pretty good player” last year when acquiring Hernandez at the non-waiver deadline, Hernandez has improved in 2018 thanks to improved plate discipline and strike-zone recognition. “Who knows what happens (when Donaldson and Tulowitzki come off the DL), but [Hernandez has] got a chance to be an elite player in this game because he does things so easily,” said Gibbons. “He uses the whole field and he’s got as much power as anybody you’re ever going to find.” Hernandez is hitting .316/.391/.702 through 64 plate appearances in 2018 and has posted a collective .283/.340/.641 slash with a dozen homers in 159 PAs since coming over in a trade last July.
AL Central Notes: Tomlin, Zimmermann, Draft
Right-hander Josh Tomlin could be approaching a crossroads in his career with the Indians, writes Zack Meisel of The Athletic (subscription link). The 33-year-old has made four starts this season and surrendered at least five runs in each of them, totaling 19 earned runs in 17 2/3 innings of work out of the rotation. Tomlin’s starts have too often put a tax on the bullpen, Meisel writes, and haven’t given a struggling Indians lineup the ability to compete to keep the game close. Injuries to Danny Salazar and Ryan Merritt have preserved Tomlin’s spot for now, but his road won’t get any easier moving forward, as his next start is set to come at Yankee Stadium. Tomlin, it should be noted, has had plenty of sustained success in the big leagues and posted excellent K/BB numbers in 2016-17 while making 55 largely serviceable starts in the Cleveland rotation. However, Meisel posits that one of Adam Plutko, Shane Bieber or veteran Alexi Ogando could be looked at as an alternative sooner rather than later if Tomlin isn’t able to return to form.
More from the division…
- Similarly, an injury to Tigers left Daniel Norris will likely dissuade the club from making any kind of drastic move of putting Jordan Zimmermann in the ’pen, writes Evan Woodbery of MLive.com. However, Woodbery notes that Zimmermann’s tenure in Detroit is rapidly beginning to resemble the final few years of Anibal Sanchez’s ill-fated five-year deal. Zimmermann’s K/BB numbers early in the season are more encouraging than in 2016 or 2017, he points out, but the bottom-line results still aren’t there. Woodbery suggests that manager Ron Gardenhire is losing patience, as he’s openly questioning the quality of Zimmermann’s pitches — an uncharacteristic trend for manager that has historically shied away from being too critical of his veterans in a public setting.
- Carlos Collazo and J.J. Cooper of Baseball America still project the Tigers to select Auburn right-hander Casey Mize with the first overall pick in the 2018 draft. As they explain, while organizations like the Astros and Braves have saved money with top picks in recent drafts and reallocated the savings to first-round talents who are considered tough signs later in the draft, that strategy is riskier than it would be in most years this time around. Mize is “a cut above everyone else” in the draft, per the Baseball America duo, and the Tigers would be gambling by trying to get creative at the top of the draft when two clubs (Kansas City and Tampa Bay) will each have three selections between Detroit’s first and second picks. Collazo and Cooper have expanded their mock draft out to pick No. 15 in their latest version.
Danny Espinosa Opts Out Of Blue Jays Deal
10:25am: Espinosa exercised an opt-out clause in his contract with the Jays, tweets Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.
8:25am: Veteran infielder Danny Espinosa has been released by the Blue Jays organization, per an announcement from Toronto’s Triple-A affiliate in Buffalo.
The 31-year-old Espinosa opened the 2017 season at the big league level with the Angels but has since bounced to four other organizations in that time. He saw brief stints in the Majors with both the Mariners and Rays (eight games apiece) before season’s end in 2017, and he was with the Yankees in Spring Training before being granted his release and latching on with the Jays on a minor league pact.
Espinosa has had a rough start to the Triple-A season with the Bisons, hitting .232/.271/.286 with 15 strikeouts against three walks in 60 trips to the plate. That inauspicious slash comes on the heels of a combined .197/.286/.344 batting line in 896 plate appearances at the big league level across the 2016-17 seasons.
Though the past couple years have been a struggle at the plate for the switch-hitter, he’s long carried a strong defensive reputation and is capable of playing both middle-infield spots. He’s also just a season removed from slugging 24 homers for the Nationals in 2016, indicating that there’s still some pop in his bat.
Toronto’s offseason pickups of Yangervis Solarte, Aledmys Diaz and Gift Ngoepe created plenty of middle-infield competition within the organization, and the promotion of international signee Lourdes Gurriel Jr. to the Majors only further impeded Espinosa’s path to a potential roster spot. He’ll now look to latch on with what will somewhat remarkably be his sixth organization of the past calendar year — presumably one with lesser middle-infield depth than the Jays have at present.
Minor MLB Transactions: 4/30/18
Here are Monday’s minor moves from around the game, all courtesy of Baseball America’s Matt Eddy, unless otherwise noted…
- The Blue Jays have released southpaw Chad Girodo from their Triple-A affiliate. Once considered one of the more promising bullpen arms in Toronto’s system, the lefty made his MLB debut in 2016 when he tossed 10 1/3 innings with a 5-to-1 K/BB ratio and a 69.4 percent ground-ball rate en route to a 4.35 ERA. He was outrighted off the 40-man roster that year. Girodo, now 27, turned in a 3.02 ERA with 6.6 K/9, 3.2 BB/9, 0.57 HR/9 and a 49.3 percent ground-ball rate in 47 2/3 Triple-A innings last year. He’s served up three homers in 3 2/3 innings to open the 2018 campaign in Triple-A, though.
- The Reds parted ways with left-handed reliever Dean Kiekhefer, releasing him from their Double-A club. The 28-year-old tossed 22 innings at the big league level with the Cardinals in 2016, working to a 5.32 ERA with 14 strikeouts against seven walks (four intentional) and two hit batters in that brief time. Kiekhefer landed with the Mariners via waivers in the 2016-17 offseason but was outrighted off their 40-man roster shortly thereafter. Last year, he logged a 4.47 ERA with 8.5 K/9, 3.9 BB/9, 0.61 HR/9 and a 46 percent grounder rate in Triple-A. He opened the season with eight innings of one-run ball in the Cincinnati organization, albeit at the Double-A level.
Injury Updates: Ohtani, CarGo, Giants, Matz
Here’s the latest on some injury situations from around the game…
- Shohei Ohtani will be available as a DH for the Angels’ upcoming series against the Orioles (from Tuesday to Thursday) but his next start on the mound won’t be until next weekend in Seattle at the earliest, manager Mike Scioscia told MLB.com’s Maria Guardado and other reporters. Ohtani suffered a minor ankle injury while trying to beat out a grounder on Friday, and the team will hold Ohtani out of a scheduled start against the O’s in order to make sure the ankle is completely healed. Ohtani’s availability against Baltimore indicates that the injury isn’t too serious, though he wasn’t in the lineup on Saturday or Sunday.
- Carlos Gonzalez is likely to be activated from the Rockies’ disabled list on Monday, the Athletic’s Nick Groke reports (Twitter link). Gonzalez was placed on the DL with a hamstring strain and was eligible to be activated today, so he’ll end up missing slightly more than the 10-day minimum. The veteran outfielder had managed only a .235/.264/.426 slash line over his first 72 PA of the season as Gonzalez tries to rebound from a disappointing 2017 campaign.
- Some Giants DL updates are provided by The Athletic’s Andrew Baggarly (on Twitter), who notes that Madison Bumgarner could be cleared on Tuesday to play catch, while Mark Melancon is now throwing from 90 feet as the closer continues his recovery from a bothersome pronator. More immediately, left-hander Will Smith is likely to be activated from the DL on Wednesday, making his return to MLB after missing all of 2017 recovering from Tommy John surgery.
- The Mets will skip Steven Matz’s next turn in the rotation since the southpaw is dealing with some minor back stiffness. Rather than start on Tuesday as scheduled, Matz will instead pitch on Saturday. He told MLB.com’s Tim Powers and other reporters that he has dealt with the injury before and is “feeling good” following a bullpen session today, though he and the team are just being cautious to avoid a larger issue. No rotation replacement will be needed, as the Mets don’t play on Monday.
Poll: What Last-Place AL Team Is Likeliest To Turn Its Season Around?
With one day left in April, we’ve already seen a wide gulf emerge within the American League standings. Three clubs (the Red Sox, Yankees, and Astros) are on pace to surpass 105 wins, while six teams are also currently on pace to win fewer than 70 games. By comparison, only six teams in all of baseball failed to surpass the 70-win plateau in 2017.
Obviously, it’s still very early, and there’s plenty of baseball still to be played for these struggling teams. Three teams, however, will head into May in the basement of their respective divisions, and in those cases, a slower start could be much harder to overcome. The Rangers, Royals, and Orioles all faced rather tricky paths to contention even in the best of circumstances, and their poor April records may force them to make some hard decisions about how long they’re willing to go before considering selling pieces at the trade deadline.
Let’s check in on the three last-place teams to see which has the most potential to make April simply a “slow start” en route to a respectable or even a contending season…
Rangers (11-18): With Adrian Beltre, Elvis Andrus, and Rougned Odor all on the disabled list, Texas fans are beginning to have some unpleasant flashbacks to the team’s disastrously injury-plagued 2014 campaign. Still, while the injury bug explains the lack of offensive production, the Rangers’ pitching situation has looked as shaky as it appeared to be heading into the season. Other than the surprise continuation of Bartolo Colon’s late-career renaissance, it’s been mostly bad news for both the rotation and the bullpen, with Martin Perez, Matt Moore, Matt Bush, Alex Claudio, and Kevin Jepsen all getting off to particularly tough starts.
The team’s big infield trio may not all be back until June, so can the Rangers at least tread water until then? It doesn’t help that the rest of the AL West teams are all at the .500 mark or better, though the Angels (+5), Mariners (-2), and A’s (+3) are all nothing special in terms of run differential. (Of course, Texas is a miserable -39 in that department.) The Rangers will need more arms to step up if they are to turn their season around, plus some internal reinforcements have already come in the form of Delino DeShields and Tony Barnette, who are both back after lengthy DL stints of their own. Top prospect Willie Calhoun could also provide more help for the lineup, though Calhoun is off to a quiet start at Triple-A this year.
Orioles (8-20): The Orioles and Rangers share pretty similar tales of woe. Baltimore has also been hurt by a tough division, a lack of quality starting or relief pitching, plus several key injuries — Zach Britton and Mark Trumbo have yet to play a game, while Jonathan Schoop, Tim Beckham, and Colby Rasmus are all on the DL. Manny Machado’s individual brilliance has been tempered by a lack of hitting from almost everyone else on roster, with Chris Davis standing out as the single worst position player by fWAR (-0.6) in baseball so far this season.
Dan Duquette unofficially cited Memorial Day as the date when teams begin to evaluate where they really stand in a season, so the O’s therefore have just under a month to get on track. That might be enough time to get at least some of the injured parties back, plus it’ll give time for Alex Cobb to hopefully start rounding into form given that the late-to-sign righty has a 13.11 ERA over his first three starts. On paper, Baltimore has too much hitting talent to be as bad as they are at the plate, so you figure that at least some type of positive correction is in store.
Royals (7-20): The Royals held off on a full-fledged rebuild over the winter, though their decision about whether to try for another playoff run may have been made for them by their lousy April. The Royals entered Sunday’s play with the fewest runs in the majors, as only Mike Moustakas and Jorge Soler were putting up good numbers at the plate, and some quality returns by the starting rotation have been undermined by arguably baseball’s worst bullpen. Even with closer Kelvin Herrera still boasting a perfect 0.00 ERA through 9 2/3 innings, the road to Herrera has been plagued by potholes, as the relief corps is collectively at or near the bottom of the list in just about every major statistic.
One bright side for the Royals? Their competition. The AL Central has been baseball’s worst division through the first month, with the first-place Indians holding just a 14-12 record. As bad as Kansas City has been, the Royals are still just 4.5 games back of the second-place Tigers. Since the White Sox and Tigers are rebuilding and the Twins are struggling to recapture their 2017 form, there is some opportunity for the Royals to regain some ground if they can beat up on their division foes.
Which of the AL’s last-place squads do you think has the best chance of recovering from its shaky April? (Link for app users)
MLB Weekend Roster Roundup: Myers, Panik, Puig, Zobrist
ROSTER MOVES BY TEAM
(April 28th-April 29th)
NATIONAL LEAGUE
- ATLANTA BRAVES | Depth Chart
- Activated from 10-Day DL: SP Luiz Gohara
- Gohara was optioned to Triple-A.
- Released: Peter Bourjos
- Bourjos had cleared waivers after being designated for assignment.
- Activated from 10-Day DL: SP Luiz Gohara
- CHICAGO CUBS | Depth Chart
- Activated from 10-Day DL: INF/OF Ben Zobrist
- Zobrist played 2B and batted 7th on Friday.
- Optioned: INF/OF David Bote
- Activated from 10-Day DL: INF/OF Ben Zobrist
- COLORADO ROCKIES | Depth Chart
- Activated from 10-Day DL: SP Jeff Hoffman
- Hoffman was optioned to Triple-A.
- Activated from 10-Day DL: SP Jeff Hoffman
- LOS ANGELES DODGERS | Depth Chart
- Placed on 10-Day DL: OF Yasiel Puig (hip contusion)
- Promoted: OF Alex Verdugo, SP Walker Buehler, RP Brock Stewart
- Buehler was the 26th man for Saturday’s double-header. He started Game 1.
- Optioned: RP Scott Alexander
- Role change: P Ross Stripling will make a spot start on Monday. Rich Hill had been tentatively scheduled to return from the DL, but he is not ready.
- MIAMI MARLINS | Depth Chart
- Activated from 10-Day DL: SP Wei-Yin Chen
- Designated for assignment: C/1B Tomas Telis
- Role change: P Dillon Peters has been moved to the bullpen to make room in the starting rotation for Dan Straily, who will return from the DL on Monday.
- MILWAUKEE BREWERS | Depth Chart
- Role change: P Brent Suter has been moved to the bullpen to make room in the starting rotation for Wade Miley, who will be promoted from the minors on Wednesday.
- NEW YORK METS | Depth Chart
- Activated from 10-Day DL: SP Jason Vargas
- Optioned: RP Jacob Rhame
- PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES | Depth Chart
- Placed on 10-Day DL: SS J.P. Crawford (strained forearm)
- Scott Kingery played SS on Sunday and is expected to get the majority of starts there in Crawford’s absence.
- Promoted: INF Jesmuel Valentin
- Placed on 10-Day DL: SS J.P. Crawford (strained forearm)
- PITTSBURGH PIRATES | Depth Chart
- Recalled: SP Nick Kingham
- Kingham is expected to remain on the 25-man roster after what was thought to be a spot start in his MLB debut on Sunday.
- Placed on 10-Day DL: RP Enny Romero (shoulder impingement)
- Recalled: SP Nick Kingham
- SAN DIEGO PADRES | Depth Chart
- Placed on 10-Day DL: OF Wil Myers (strained oblique)
- Franchy Cordero is expected to be the team’s starting RF in Myers’ absence.
- Promoted: OF Travis Jankowski
- Placed on 10-Day DL: OF Wil Myers (strained oblique)
- SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS | Depth Chart
- Placed on 10-Day DL: 2B Joe Panik (sprained wrist)
- Panik could require surgery, which could keep him out of action for an estimate of 6-8 weeks.
- Placed on 7-Day DL OF Mac Williamson (concussion)
- Promoted: INF/OF Alen Hanson (contract purchased), OF Austin Slater, RP Derek Law, RP D.J. Snelten
- Law was the 26th man for Saturday’s double-header
- Optioned: RP Roberto Gomez
- Transferred to 60-Day DL: RP Mark Melancon
- Placed on 10-Day DL: 2B Joe Panik (sprained wrist)
- ST. LOUIS CARDINALS | Depth Chart
- Promoted: SP Jack Flaherty, RP/SP Austin Gomber
- Flaherty made a spot start on Saturday and was optioned back to Triple-A on Sunday.
- Optioned: OF Tyler O’Neill, Flaherty
- Promoted: SP Jack Flaherty, RP/SP Austin Gomber
- WASHINGTON NATIONALS | Depth Chart
- Promoted: RP Austin Voth
- Optioned: RP Austin Adams
—
AMERICAN LEAGUE
- BALTIMORE ORIOLES | Depth Chart
- Promoted: OF Joey Rickard
- Rickard was in the starting lineup on Saturday and Sunday. He will be optioned to the minors on Monday.
- Optioned: RP Tanner Scott
- Promoted: OF Joey Rickard
- BOSTON RED SOX | Depth Chart
- Activated from 10-Day DL: SP Steven Wright
- Wright was placed on the restricted list as he serves a 15-game suspension.
- Activated from 10-Day DL: SP Steven Wright
- CHICAGO WHITE SOX | Depth Chart
- Promoted: SP Dylan Covey (contract purchased), RP Juan Minaya
- Covey was the 26th man for Saturday’s double-header. He started Game 2.
- Optioned: RP Gregory Infante
- Role change: P Hector Santiago made a spot start on Sunday.
- Promoted: SP Dylan Covey (contract purchased), RP Juan Minaya
- KANSAS CITY ROYALS | Depth Chart
- Promoted: SP Trevor Oaks, RP Scott Barlow
- Oaks was the 26th man for Saturday’s double-header. He started Game 1.
- Optioned: RP Eric Stout
- Promoted: SP Trevor Oaks, RP Scott Barlow
- LOS ANGELES ANGELS | Depth Chart
- Promoted: RP Akeel Morris
- Optioned: RP Eduardo Paredes
- MINNESOTA TWINS | Depth Chart
- Promoted: RP Matt Magill (contract purchased)
- Designated for assignment: RP David Hale
- TAMPA BAY RAYS | Depth Chart
- Promoted: RP Chih-Wei Hu
- Optioned: RP/SP Ryan Yarbrough
- Role change: P Matt Andriese made a spot start on Sunday.
- TEXAS RANGERS | Depth Chart
- Activated from 10-Day DL: RP Tony Barnette
- Optioned: RP Jose Leclerc
- TORONTO BLUE JAYS | Depth Chart
- Promoted: RP Carlos Ramirez
- Optioned: 2B Devon Travis
- Lourdes Gurriel Jr. has been getting the majority of starts at 2B. Yangervis Solarte will likely move over from 3B once Josh Donaldson returns from the DL, which could be as early as next weekend.
—
FUTURE EXPECTED MOVES
- ARZ: SP Robbie Ray suffered a strained oblique in Sunday’s start. In all likelihood, he will be placed on the 10-Day DL.
- BAL: 1B/OF Mark Trumbo will be activated from the DL and INF/OF Luis Sardinas (strained lower back) will be placed on the 10-Day DL prior to the team’s next game on Tuesday May 1st, according to Dan Connolly of BaltimoreBaseball.com.
- COL: OF Carlos Gonzalez is expected to return from the DL during the team’s upcoming series against the Cubs, according to Nick Groke of The Athletic.
- DET: SP/RP Daniel Norris will likely be placed on the 10-Day DL due to groin tightness, according to Evan Woodberry of MLive. RP Chad Bell will be recalled from the minors on Monday.
- MIA: SP Wei-Yin Chen will be activated from the DL on Saturday April 28th, according to Craig Mish of SiriusXM. SP Dan Straily will likely be activated from the DL on Monday April 30th, according to Joe Frisaro of MLB.com.
- MIL: SP Wade Miley will have his contract purchased from the minors Wednesday May 2nd, according to Adam McCalvy of MLB.com.
- PHI: SP Zach Eflin will be recalled from the minors on Tuesday May 1st, according to Todd Zolecki of MLB.com.
- SFG: SP Andrew Suarez will be recalled from the minors on Tuesday May 1st, according to Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area.
Central Notes: Moustakas, Kang, Matheny, Brewers
Some rumblings from around both the AL and NL Central….
- Mike Moustakas looks like a prime candidate for a deadline trade, though in a video for FOX Sports (Twitter link), Ken Rosenthal cautions that the Royals could face some difficulties in finding a trade partner. For one, there aren’t any contenders with an obvious need at third base, though injuries can certainly change that equation. One rival executive tells Rosenthal that it can be hard to trade a single-position rental player like Moustakas at the deadline.
- Jung Ho Kang’s impending return to the Pirates “is probably his last chance with us,” GM Neal Huntington said on his weekly radio show with Joe Block (hat tip to MLB.com’s Adam Berry). Kang received a work visa earlier this week and is preparing to rejoin the Pirates organization after spending all of 2017 on the restricted list following a DUI conviction in South Korea. Should the infielder face any more off-the-field issues, things “are not going to go well for” Kang with the team, Huntington said. It isn’t any surprise that Kang is on a very short leash given his past history, and he very well could be entering his last few months with the Bucs regardless of how he might perform if and when he returns to the majors. It doesn’t seem likely that the Pirates will exercise their $5.5MM club option on Kang’s services for 2019, barring a major turn-around.
- While closer Corey Knebel has been on the DL, the Brewers’ adoption of a fully situational bullpen has been a big success, Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel writes. Manager Craig Counsell has been deploying his pitchers simply as “out-getters,” in his words, and not worrying about using specific arms in specific roles. Entering today’s play, Brewers relievers had a cumulative 2.50 ERA (third-best in baseball) despite heavy usage, as the team has the fourth-most bullpen innings of any club in the league. This outstanding relief effort has helped the Brewers offset some pretty middling numbers from the starting rotation.
- With Mike Matheny set to manage his 1000th game on Tuesday, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch looks at how Matheny has handled the pressure and expectations of his six-plus seasons running the Cardinals’ dugout. Despite Matheny’s 559-440 record, he has faced criticism from some corners of the St. Louis fanbase for not having either the consistent success (particularly after consecutive non-playoff seasons) or the openness to publicly discuss decisions as former skipper Tony La Russa. Behind closed doors, however, Matheny has been praised for his leadership and teaching skills. “He’s got a lot of talents….He has it all covered,” Michael Wacha said. “Whenever he talks in front of a group of people that group of people is leaning in, listening to what he’s saying. He carries that confidence that he knows he belongs where he is.”
