NL East Notes: Jennings, Gillick, Fernandez, Aardsma
Having just begun to look for a new baseball operations leader, the Phillies have at least some interest in Marlins manager (and recent GM) Dan Jennings, Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald reports (Twitter links). Philadelphia has yet to request permission to interview Jennings, who is not only still manning the dugout in Miami but reportedly has an offer on the table to step back into the GM role there. It’s a complicated situation already, but interest from the Phillies, who have quite an appealing GM opportunity up for grabs, would be an interesting wild card.
Here’s more from the NL East:
- Outgoing Phillies president Pat Gillick says he’s not sure what he’ll pursue next, as MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki reports. “At this point, I haven’t even thought about it,” said the long-time, 78-year-old executive. Gillick also acknowledged that he was not surprised that his replacement, Andy MacPhail, had decided to find a new GM rather than keeping Ruben Amaro Jr. “I don’t think … the public would really accept that,” said Gillick, who has long been a supporter of the deposed Amaro. “That wasn’t the reason the decision was made, but certainly the fans and the public play into every organization in the sports industry.”
- The Marlins hope to avoid the recent Matt Harvey controversy with their own ace, Jose Fernandez, as Spencer writes. Both pitchers, of course, are in their first seasons back from Tommy John surgery. Fernandez himself says he does not foresee any difficulties in working out an approach before the season, noting that he expects the team will meet with his agent (Scott Boras, as with Harvey) and medical experts to arrive at an agreement. The young righty added that a plan was in place this year, had the Fish remained in contention, to help limit the strain on his recently-replaced UCL while maximizing his value to the club.
- The Braves recently designated and then released right-hander David Aardsma, and he has penned an interesting piece on the subject at Baseball Essential. We cover an awful lot of DFAs here, and it’s easy to forget that there is a person involved who faces a potentially life-changing impact. Aardsma walks through the process from the awkward moment of hitting DFA limbo through the battle to stay prepared for another opportunity. It’s a great read and well worth your time.
Heyman’s Latest: Harvey, Cespedes, GM Openings, Offseason Decisions
The Mets expect that they’ll receive calls on righty Matt Harvey, but have no intentions of discounting his trade value based on the recent shutdown controversy, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com reports. Harvey is reportedly displeased with some statements from the front office, per Heyman, though it’s far from clear whether there will be any long-term ramifications from the flare-up.
That’s just one of many interesting notes in a column that is chock full of information. Here are some more notable items:
- Also in the news recently, of course, is outfielder Yoenis Cespedes, who has thrived with the Mets and just tweaked his contract to make a re-signing possible. Heyman says that the movement on that front was generated by Cespedes’s side, with the team readily agreeing to the proposal. Steve Adams and I discussed this on Thursday’s edition of the MLBTR Podcast, generally agreeing that he’s unlikely to return despite that agreement given other needs and the presence of Curtis Granderson, Michael Conforto, Juan Lagares, and Michael Cuddyer. But Heyman hears that New York is “expected to make a serious play” for the soon-to-be free agent. Certainly, that’s an important open market storyline to watch this fall and winter. Despite the presence of several other highly-regarded players on the coming market, Heyman says a deal of $175MM (or even more) for the Cuban star would not be surprising.
- The Red Sox‘ GM hiring appears to be wide open, with Heyman writing that Diamondbacks senior VP of baseball operations De Jon Watson presents one possibility from another organization and AGM Mike Hazen could be an internal option. Other names that have come up include the frequently-mentioned Frank Wren and Brewers VP of amateur scouting Ray Montgomery.
- There is a “prevailing belief” that Reds GM Walt Jocketty will keep his position, says Heyman, though manager Bryan Price seems somewhat more likely to lose his job after a rough season. On the other hand, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale did suggest today on Twitter that Jocketty could be shifted into an advisory role, with Cincinnati hiring a new general manager.
- Yankees GM Billy Eppler is seen as the favorite to take the GM position with the Angels, says Heyman. Rangers GM Thad Levine could also get a long look, per the report.
- The Phillies‘ GM position just opened, of course, and Heyman says it will be in high demand among young executives — not only because of Philadelphia’s resources, but because the new general manager could be handed fairly broad authority. Possible names have been filtering out since even before Ruben Amaro Jr. was let go, and Heyman lists Angels AGM Matt Klentak, Giants scouting director John Barr, Royals AGM J.J. Piccolo, and the aforementioned Levine as some of the possibilities.
- Fans calling for the Braves to replace manager Fredi Gonzalez may not get their wish, says Heyman. Gonzalez is “said to be in no jeopardy,” per the report.
- The Tigers have a lot of work to do under new GM Al Avila, and Heyman says their “winter wish list” includes an outfielder — possibly Cespedes, though he may be too expensive, along with two starters and several bullpen arms. Detroit expects to plunk down some cash in the offseason, he adds.
- It’s always seemed likely that the Blue Jays would pick up their $12MM option over veteran righty R.A. Dickey, and Heyman says that is highly likely as things stand. Toronto will also at least attempt to retain lefty David Price, who has obviously been outstanding (even by his lofty standards) since being acquired at the deadline.
- The Dodgers will likely extend lefty Brett Anderson a qualifying offer. The 27-year-old has been well worth the $10MM that Los Angeles paid him this year, putting up a 3.36 ERA over 158 innings — his highest tally since his rookie campaign way back in 2009. Given his age and the fact that he has a nice platform to work from, it would seem likely that Anderson will decline a QO (if extended), though he’ll face a crowded market.
- Padres president Mike Dee tells Heyman that the organization is frustrated, but has good relationships in its upper front office and is looking forward rather than looking back at last winter. San Diego will need to make a permanent decision with its field staff, and is said to be undecided on whether to retain interim skipper Pat Murphy.
- Meanwhile, the Padres are assessing “whether to tweak or completely retool” its roster. Interestingly, Melvin Upton has played well enough that he could end up with a regular role as a platoon partner in center alongside Travis Jankowski. San Diego will face a somewhat difficult decision on whether to make starter Ian Kennedy a qualifying offer, but it appears the organization is leaning towards doing so.
Mark Teixeira Out For Season With Fractured Leg
Yankees first baseman Mark Teixeira will not return this season after tests showed that he has a fracture in his right shin, GM Brian Cashman told reporters including Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News (via Twitter). It’s expected that he’ll require three months to recover, Jack Curry of the YES Network adds on Twitter, meaning that he should be ready to go for the spring.
The loss of the 35-year-old puts a dent in New York’s efforts to keep pace with the Blue Jays in the AL East. He had rebounded from two straight marginal seasons with an excellent .255/.357/.548 batting line and 31 home runs in 462 plate appearances. The switch hitter has been out since fouling a ball off of his shin on August 17th, but it seems the significance of the injury was only just detected.
Replacing that level of production is nearly impossible, of course, but 22-year-old Greg Bird has been solid in his first 94 big league plate appearances. Bird, who hits from the left side, owns a .241/.319/.458 slash with five long balls. He has been relied upon heavily in Teixeira’s absence, appearing in every single game since the veteran went down.
While Bird figures to hold down the position in the long run, assuming he can build upon a promising start to his major league career, the Yanks will no doubt give Teixeira every opportunity to retake the position next spring. Next year will be the last of the eight-year, $180MM deal he signed before the 2009 season. New York owes him $22.5MM for the 2016 campaign. Both players could conceivably share time in the field, with the other taking swings from the DH slot, though veterans Carlos Beltran and (especially) Alex Rodriguez factor heavily in that role.
NL West Notes: D-Backs, Hudson, Giants, Gyorko
Though the Diamondbacks have a strong anti-analytics reputation, team president Derrick Hall told Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports that they’ve hired a pair of full-time employees and two interns recently to add to their growing analytics department. Chief baseball officer Tony La Russa disputed the notion to Rosenthal as well, noting that he feels the data provided by D-Backs analysts is important for game preparation. La Russa wants manager Chip Hale and his coaches to employ “observational analytics” during games, though — that is, to adjust based on what they see on the field and in their guts. That, of course, sounds like a decisively non-analytical approach. The additions to the staff are noteworthy, to be sure, but it’s worth questioning how much buy-in there is at the top of the food chain given quotes such as this one from La Russa: “But once the game starts, you’ve got to really make sure that you don’t let some of the preparation change what your guts and brain are telling you when you look out at the field. During the game, you observe. That supersedes what you would have learned from the preparation going in. … You have to allow your managers and coaches to make adjustments. That’s how you can win extra games.”
Here’s more from the NL West…
- Daniel Hudson has spent the season in the Diamondbacks‘ bullpen and seen his velocity tick up to triple digits while working in relief, but the former starter and two-time Tommy John victim tells the Arizona Republic’s Nick Piecoro that he believes he can return to the rotation. “I’d really like to try it again and if we get to a point where we say, ‘Well, we don’t know if this is the smartest thing to do,’ then I’ll be perfectly fine doing whatever they need me to do and just going like that the rest of my career,” says Hudson. As Piecoro notes, the righty was initially placed in the ‘pen because doctors didn’t want him tossing more than 80-90 pitches per outing, and there were questions about how deep he could work into games early on as he reestablished his control.
- We’ve touched upon the state of uncertainty in the Giants future rotation several times recently, and Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle is the latest observer to offer his take of the situation. The upcoming rotation market has a lot of talent, of course, but many of its better arms of it will at least start out looking for nine-figure guarantees. Schulman says the “most likely scenario” for San Francisco is to try to bring back Mike Leake, who he pegs in the six-year, $90MM range, while also looking to deal for another mid-rotation arm.
- The Padres face ongoing shortstop questions, and Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune takes a look at the early returns from the latest player under consideration at the position: Jedd Gyorko. Still just 26 and locked up for years to come, Gyorko has come alive at the plate in recent months. While he’s only logged 103 frames at short, Lin suggests that he’s shown enough at least to merit a continued look the rest of the way. With an upcoming shortstop market that is fronted by players like Ian Desmond, Asdrubal Cabrera, Jimmy Rollins, and Alexei Ramirez, there are certainly some free agents that could warrant consideration as everyday options — to say nothing of the possibility of a trade. But Gyorko’s work at short potentially gives the team some flexibility in its acquisition plans.
Red Sox Claim Roman Mendez From Rangers
The Red Sox have claimed righty Roman Mendez off waivers from the Rangers, Boston announced (h/t to Tim Britton of the Providence Journal, on Twitter). A 40-man spot was cleared by placing Koji Uehara on the 60-day DL.
Mendez, 25, was designated by Texas earlier this month as part of the team’s September call-up plan. While he was able to put up 33 innings of 2.18 ERA pitching in his MLB debut last year, that success was not supported by the peripherals and he was knocked around in his brief big league action in 2015.
Now, Mendez will head back to Boston, which originally shipped him to Texas as part of the return for Jarrod Saltalamacchia. Mendez has put up better strikeout-to-walk numbers in the minors , including 8.5 K/9 against 2.8 BB/9 over 67 Triple-A innings, and the Red Sox will hope that he can make the final step in his development and become a big league contributor.
Scott Feldman Out For Season With Sprained Shoulder
The Astros have shut down righty Scott Feldman for the rest of the season, per a club announcement. Rather than trying to work back for the playoffs, the 32-year-old will “immediately begin a rehabilitation protocol that will extend through the offseason” in hopes that he’ll be ready to go for 2016.
Feldman left his last start, on September 1st, with shoulder discomfort. Initial reports were not terribly alarming, but the veteran struggled in a throwing session. It would seem that the team and the player were unable to identify a workable way for him to safely return this fall.
While this obviously represents disappointing news for all involved, Feldman’s contributions to the surprising ‘Stros won’t be forgotten. Since signing the three-year, $30MM deal that brought him to Houston before the 2014 season, Feldman has racked up 288 2/3 innings of 3.80 ERA pitching. While hardly dominant, that was just the kind of steady rotation work that the Astros sought when they signed him.
Things have changed quite a bit over Feldman’s tenure, of course. Most recently, the so-far-successful call-ups of youngsters Lance McCullers and Vincent Velasquez, in addition to trades for Scott Kazmir and Mike Fiers, have both deepened and raised the ceiling of the rotation.
Houston will, it appears, focus on getting Feldman healthy for the final year of his contract. He figures to play an important stabilizing role on the 2016 club, especially if the team decides to rely heavily on its younger pitchers rather than pursuing veterans on the open market.
Avila: No Decision Made On Ausmus
11:38am: Via Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (Twitter links), general manager Al Avila has issued the following statement regarding Ausmus: “I spoke to Mr. Ilitch today and to Brad and I can reconfirm that our evaluation is ongoing and decision has not been made.” A decision on Ausmus will be made by season’s end, Avila adds.
7:40am: The Tigers are planning to fire manager Brad Ausmus at season’s end, according to Bernie Smilovitz of WDIV-TV in Detroit. Per Smilovitz, new general manager Al Avila wants to bring in his own manager to give the organization a fresh start. Ausmus, notably, was a hire of former GM Dave Dombrowski, who was dismissed in August and quickly landed in Boston as the Red Sox’ new president of baseball operations. Former Twins manager Ron Gardenhire is among the candidates being discussed internally as a potential replacement in 2016, according to Smilovitz.
The Tigers are currently a surprise last-place team in the American League Central, with a record of 64-76. Part of the reason for that standing, of course, is the decision by the since-dismissed Dombrowski to sell at the deadline, moving the likes of David Price, Yoenis Cespedes and Joakim Soria in a trio of trades for younger talent. However, even at the deadline, the Tigers were a disappointment, having fallen well behind the division-leading Royals and sitting two games below .500 entering the final day of the non-waiver trade deadline.
As George Sipple the Detroit Free Press notes in reporting that he, too, has also heard Ausmus will be ousted at season’s end, Avila said at the time he took over as GM that Ausmus would manage the club for the remainder of the 2015 campaign: “He’s our manager for the rest of the season for sure. I have all the confidence in him. I think he’s done a good job,” said Avila at the time. “…I do have all the confidence in the world in Brad Ausmus and his staff right now.”
If the Tigers have indeed made up their mind on Ausmus, it would seem only fair to the skipper and the team to make a move more immediately. Waiting until season’s end to do so would almost certainly create an uncomfortable atmosphere in the clubhouse and put Ausmus in an extraordinarily difficult position for the season’s final few weeks. An interim manager from the current staff could certainly be named — such is often the case in these situations — before searching for a permanent replacement this winter.
For his part, Ausmus tells Chris McCosky of the Detroit News that he “[hasn’t] been told anything” by the Tigers yet. Last week, Jon Heyman of CBS Sports reported that Ausmus’ job did appear to be in jeopardy, adding that owner Mike Ilitch was skeptical about hiring a rookie manager from day one.
Reactions To And Effects Of Ruben Amaro’s Dismissal
The Phillies made a move that many felt to be inevitable yesterday when they announced that Ruben Amaro Jr.’s contract would not be extended, and assistant GM Scott Proefrock would become interim GM immediately as the team began its search for a new full-time general manager. Plenty has already been written about the decision and what it means for the Phillies’ future, and here are some early reactions and aftereffects in the wake of the fifth front-office shakeup we’ve seen in about two months’ time…
- Amaro’s firing was “only a matter of time,” writes ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick, but he did well to position his successor for a quick turnaround with recent trades of Cole Hamels, Jonathan Papelbon, Chase Utley and others. Crasnick lists former Angels GM Jerry Dipoto, former Cubs GM Jim Hendry and current Royals assistant GM J.J. Picollo as potential candidates, also noting that former Red Sox GM Ben Cherington isn’t likely to pursue any GM opening at present, thus removing him from consideration. President-to-be Andy MacPhail told Crasnick that he isn’t limiting himself to targeting a specific “type” of GM (e.g. a young, analytically savvy candidate or a more traditional, scouting-based GM). Said MacPhail to Crasnick: “Let’s look at a wide spectrum of candidates. You might be surprised.”
- MacPhail said at yesterday’s press conference (via MLB.com’s Paul Hagen) that while he will, of course, have a role in roster decisions and general baseball operations — “…let’s face it, I’m not here for my marketing acumen,” he joked — any GM he hires will have a good deal of power. “I’ve had GMs under me before,” said MacPhail. “If you talk to them, I think they feel like they had a fair amount of autonomy, which I think is important to them to be able to do their job. They can’t be in short pants running back to the president every time they have to make a decision. … They should keep me apprised, but that is a balance I’m going to have to strike.”
- MacPhail feels that it would be ideal to have a new GM in place by the time the Phillies hold their organizational meetings on Oct. 26, writes Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com, but he admitted that said timeline may be a bit “ambitious.” Hiring an outside-the-box thinker is key to the hire, whether he comes from an analytical background or scouting background, writes Salisbury, though if the selection is of the latter variety, MacPhail will look to add to his analytics department in other ways. Proefrock, who has worked for MacPhail in the past (with the Orioles) will receive some consideration for the full-time position, per Salisbury, but Angels assistant GM Matt Klentak could be the early favorite. Klentak, whose name has been mentioned in connection with the Phillies’ presumed GM vacancy in the past, was the Orioles’ director of baseball ops while MacPhail served as president. Also named by Salisbury are Dipoto, Picollo, Hendry, Yankees AGM Billy Eppler, Giants scouting director John Barr and Angels pro scouting director Hal Morris.
- Partial owner John Middleton offered his take at yesterday’s presser as well, Salisbury notes, stating that he wants MacPhail to find a young version of himself. “And I say that because, 30 years ago, a very young Andy MacPhail was a general manager, a newly minted general manger at that,” said Middleton. “This guy was sitting in an office in Minneapolis and he was playing with mathematical, statistical, analytical tools. And he was using them to try to figure out how he could make better evaluations and therefore better personnel decisions. Andy was constantly pushing himself to get better.” (Salisbury has a second piece with further, more in-depth quotes from the press conference for those interested.)
- Interim manager Pete Mackanin has a good chance at returning in 2016, sans the “interim” label, writes MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki. “I would encourage everybody not to make any assumptions about what’s happening today to have any domino impact on the manager,” said MacPhail. “…I know the tradition is that the GM picks his manager. I’ll just go full disclosure here, if that happens, and it takes you a while to find a GM and then he gets consumed the first month or two with a manager and coaching staff, look how much of the offseason we’ve lost. That’s a high price to pay.” MacPhail said the best way to measure a manager is by the energy, effort and enthusiasm he gets out of whatever talent is provided to him, and Mackanin has shined in that area thus far.
- MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro tweets that he expects to see Dan Jennings’ name connected to the Phillies’ GM opening if he does not return to his former post as Marlins general manager following the season.
NL Notes: Juan C. Rodriguez, Cain, Giants, Winkler
Regular MLBTR readers will be familiar with the work of Juan C. Rodriguez, who covers the Marlins for the Sun-Sentinel. Juan has battled brain cancer for several years, undergoing surgeries and chemotherapy treatments. A campaign has been launched to help support him, as well as his wife and children, in this difficult time. Please take a moment to read the story and consider giving to provide a hand to the Rodriguez family.
With our very best wishes to Juan, let’s check in on the latest from the National League:
- Giants righty Matt Cain says he is working on correcting some mechanical issues as he continues to adjust to ongoing elbow issues, John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle reports. His new motion was making it easier for hitters to pick up his pitches, says Cain, who has been tagged for 36 earned runs in 52 2/3 big league innings this season. He’s still owed $47.5MM on his extension after this season, which covers two guaranteed campaigns and the buyout of a 2018 option.
- Whether or not the 30-year-old Cain returns to form will be a major factor in the Giants‘ ability to contend in the near term, as Andrew Baggarly of the Mercury News writes. Manager Bruce Bochy says that he expects the veteran righty to return to logging a high number of quality innings. But even if that occurs, change is probably coming. Ryan Vogelsong will likely not be brought back, says Baggarly, and while Tim Lincecum may be, the club probably will not count on much from him. Also, of course, Tim Hudson has made clear that he’s retiring.
- Braves Rule 5 pick Daniel Winkler has been activated from the DL, as MLB.com’s Mark Bowman reports (Twitter links). Atlanta took advantage of the fact that he was recovering from Tommy John surgery to pluck him from the Rockies. The team can now begin building up to the ninety active roster days required to gain Winkler’s rights moving forward. The 25-year-old had shown promise in the Colorado organiation, dominating the Double-A level in 2014 — with a 1.41 ERA and 9.1 K/9 against 2.2 BB/9 in 70 innings — before suffering the UCL tear.
AL Notes: Scioscia, Angels, Orioles, Price
Reiterating what Angels manager Mike Scioscia recently said himself, club president John Carpino says that the skipper “will not be involved in the GM selection process,” Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times reports. But he also acknowledged that a new hire won’t have full authority to chart the organization’s operating philosophies. Instead, per Carpino, that will be determined through a “collective effort,” which Shaikin says appears to be an implicit validation of the widely-held notion that the incoming GM will face some notable restrictions. Indeed, Scioscia expanded upon his recent comments regarding the need for philosophical harmony, which, he said, “encompasses, certainly, how you are going to recruit talent, the draft, free agents, international scouting, and the development process.”
- Answering some Angels fan questions, MLB.com’s Alden Gonzalez provides a look at some theoretical free agent targets. The Halos have rotation depth, but some within the organization believe a top-end arm would make sense, he says. If not, a significant corner outfielder — he addresses Yoenis Cespedes — could be under consideration.
- The collapse of the Orioles has been somewhat overshadowed by other divisional storylines, but has nevertheless been dramatic, as ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick explores. “It’s a snowball time of the year,” said manager Buck Showalter. “There’s so much positive and negative feeding frenzy this time of year, nothing is as good or bad as it seems.” There is immense uncertainty in Baltimore entering the offseason, and Crasnick sets the stage well for what figures to be an interesting winter.
- Blue Jays lefty David Price says he enjoyed his relationship with then-Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski, but doesn’t envision being uniquely moved to sign with the Red Sox just because Dombrowski is now at the helm there, as John Tomase of WEEI.com reports. Price did note that he has found his time in Toronto thus far to be “pretty special.” While it’s not at all clear whether Boston will pursue the star lefty, Dombrowski is obviously a fan (having acquired him at last year’s trade deadline) and has indicated that the team intends to improve the top of its rotation.