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NL East Notes: Nats, Bryant, Cubs, Phillies, Matz

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The Nationals’ recent interest in Kris Bryant isn’t the first time Washington has explored trading for the former NL MVP, as the Nats and Cubs held some discussions just last offseason.  Victor Robles was known to be of interest to Chicago in a potential Bryant trade, and Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post adds that held firm in keeping not only Robles, but also Juan Soto, Trea Turner, and pitching prospect Jackson Rutledge during negotiations with the Cubs.

Needless to say, there was zero chance Soto, Turner, or probably even Robles were being moved for Bryant last offseason, and this quartet will continue to be off the table in any trade talks this winter.  Rutledge (the 17th overall pick of the 2019 draft and ranked by MLB.com as Washington’s top prospect) could have made some sense as a trade chip when Bryant was coming off an impressive 2019 campaign and had two years of team control remaining.  Now, however, Bryant is just a year away from free agency and is looking to rebound from an injury-plagued 2020 season.  As Dougherty notes, the Nationals or any other team might not have to give up much or any major prospect capital to land Bryant, if the Cubs’ chief intent is just to get Bryant’s projected $18.6MM salary off their books.

More from the NL East…

  • The Phillies lost $145MM during the 2020 season, a source tells The Associated Press.  It’s safe to assume that every team took a sizeable hit, though the exact numbers for almost every team will likely never be fully known.  (The Braves, as part of the publicly-traded Liberty Media Corporation, are an exception.)  Phillies managing partner John Middleton has stated that the revenue losses will have some impact on the team’s offseason plans, but it remains to be seen if that means the Phillies simply won’t splurge as they have in recent offseasons, or if it could mean a much quieter winter.  The latter option would make things very difficult for a Phillies roster that has a lot of needs to address.
  • After a tough 2020 season, Mets left-hander Steven Matz has been mentioned as a possible non-tender candidate, as New York might prefer to seek out other rotation options rather than pay Matz a projected $5.1MM arbitration salary.  However, Newsday’s Tim Healey (Twitter links) doesn’t think the team’s decision is that hard, as Healey would “be surprised if [Matz] doesn’t get tendered a contract.”  Matz posted solid numbers as a starter in three of the previous four seasons heading into 2020, but he lost his rotation job during an injury-shortened season that saw him post an ugly 9.68 ERA and surrender 14 home runs over only 30 2/3 innings.  Retaining Matz would give New York some added rotation depth while they wait for Noah Syndergaard to return from Tommy John surgery, though the Mets are expected to be active in seeking out free agents, including pitchers.  The rotation already got a boost when Marcus Stroman accepted the Mets’ one-year, $18.9MM qualifying offer.

Phillies Reduce Front Office Workforce

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The Philadelphia Phillies let go 80 employees on Wednesday, reducing their front office workforce by 20%, reports Marcus Hayes of the Philadelphia Inquirer. A number of Major League teams have diminished their staffs since the pandemic prompted revenue losses all across the sporting landscape, but the Phillies brought their own particular panache to the unfortunate business of layoffs. Hayes reports that employees were alerted of the latest cuts by email the day before Thanksgiving.

The 80 positions that were eliminated came via buyouts and layoffs on both the business and baseball side of the front office, notes Gary Miles, also of the Philadelphia Inquirer. This is just the latest in a number of cost-cutting efforts made by the Phillies to counterbalance the losses of the past year. A letter in June gave employees some idea of the scope of revenue depletion with which the organization was wrestling, and a round of salary reductions impacted employees making more than $90K. Middleton himself forewent his salary, but none of it was enough to stave off the eventual slimming of personnel files.

Managing partner John Middleton hasn’t always put forth the best optics since taking over the Phillies in 2016, and this latest bit of personnel management certainly falls into that camp. Even if these layoffs were delayed by some time, and even if most of them were buyouts, the timing of the notice certainly paints a grim picture.

Meanwhile, the Phillies continue to search for a new GM to lead their now-depleted baseball operations team. Word is they’ve tabled the search for a president of baseball ops, but they continue to seek a new GM. On the one hand, the tepid free agent market and a presumably long winter provide opportunity for the Phillies to exert some patience in their search for a new top decision-maker. On the other hand, the Atlanta Braves – their division rival and incumbent team-to-beat in the NL East – are setting the pace early by adding two viable arms to their already-strong rotation.

Latest On Phillies’ GM Search: Byrnes, Epstein

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The Phillies have shown interest in Dodgers assistant general manager Jeff Kingston for their open GM job, but they’re also eyeing another member of LA’s front office: senior vice president of baseball operations Josh Byrnes. “There are strong indications” the Phillies met with Byrnes last week, Jayson Stark of The Athletic writes.

On the other hand, Theo Epstein is not a candidate for the Philadelphia job. Owner John Middleton did reach out to Epstein, per Stark, but the former Cubs president of baseball operations informed the Phillies he isn’t interested in the position. He’s likely to take at least a year off from running a club’s front office.

The 50-year-old Byrnes joins the previously reported Michael Hill as another former GM to meet with the Phillies regarding their vacancy. Byrnes was the GM of the Diamondbacks from 2006-10, and he then led the Padres from 2011-14. Neither one of those tenures worked out as hoped for Byrnes, but he has nonetheless been a popular GM candidate around the league in recent offseasons. It helps that Byrnes has been a prominent part of the Dodgers’ front office, arguably the best in the game, for seven seasons.

NL East Notes: Kingston, Phillies, Marlins, Kintzler, deGrom

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The Phillies are considering Dodgers assistant GM Jeff Kingston for their general manager position, MLB Network’s Jon Morosi reports (Twitter link).  Kingston joins a rather short list of names linked to the Phils’ front office search thus far, as former Marlins GM Michael Hill is also expected to interview for the president of baseball operations position and the Phillies will also make something of a longer-shot appeal to gauge Theo Epstein’s interest in the PoBO role.

Kingston has been the Dodgers’ AGM for the last two seasons and worked in the same role with the Mariners from 2016-18, also briefly serving as Seattle’s interim general manager before Jerry Dipoto was hired.  Most recently, Kingston was a finalist for the Angels’ GM opening before Perry Minasian was hired.  It would be somewhat unusual if the Phillies hired Kingston or anyone else as general manager before hiring a president of baseball ops, though it remains to be seen if Philadelphia is necessarily embarking on a full-fledged search, since it remains possible that current PoBO Andy MacPhail and interim GM Ned Rice could remain in their current roles through the 2021 season.

More from around the NL East…

  • As of Wednesday, the Marlins hadn’t made Brandon Kintzler a new contract offer, The Miami Herald’s Barry Jackson reports.  The Marlins declined their 2021 club option on Kintzler (worth $4MM) last month and had expressed interest in bringing him back, though no progress has yet been made on that front.  Kintzler posted a 2.22 ERA over 24 1/3 innings in his first season in Miami, with the caveat that advanced metrics and ERA predictors were much less impressed with the groundball specialist’s work.
  • Jackson also provides an update on negotiations between the Marlins and Sinclair Broadcast Group about a new TV contract, as the team’s old deal expired at the end of the season.  The Marlins are looking to more than triple the $18MM-$20MM they received annually under the terms of their old contract, though “one problem is that there’s no legitimate TV competitor to challenge Sinclair for Marlins rights.”  The club could explore such alternative broadcast options as Amazon or YouTube (which Jackson describes as “a long shot”), though barring such a development, talks with Sinclair might stretch into January or February.
  • Less than two years after signing Jacob deGrom to a contract extension, should the Mets explore another deal with their ace?  The New York Post’s Joel Sherman makes the case, noting that deGrom can opt out of his current contract following the 2022 season, if he chose to move on from the $30.5MM owed to him for 2023 and a potential $32.5MM for 2024 via a club option.  DeGrom would entering the 2022-23 free agent market as a 34-year-old, though if he kept pitching close to his current form, he would surely land more than one guaranteed year on the open market.  If deGrom has another Cy Young-caliber season in 2021, it will give him more leverage in extension talks, which is why it could behoove the Mets to discuss an extension now.  On the other hand, with deGrom’s decision still two years away, the Mets could decide to stand pat rather than commit more big money to a pitcher approaching his mid-30’s.

Phillies Add 6 Players To 40-Man Roster

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The Phillies have added three left-handers – Kyle Dohy, Bailey Falter and Damon Jones – as well as infielder Nick Maton, righty Francisco Morales and outfielder Simon Muzziotti to their 40-man roster, the team announced. They now have 37 players on their roster.

Going by MLB.com’s rankings, the most promising player in this group is Morales, whom it places fourth overall in the Phillies’ farm system. The hard-throwing 21-year-old has a chance to morph into a workhorse at the major league level, per MLB.com. So far, Morales has topped out at Single-A ball, where he recorded a 3.82 ERA/3.51 FIP and 12.01 K/9 against 4.28 BB/9 in 96 2/3 innings in 2019.

Muzziotti (No. 11), Maton (13), Jones (15) and Dohy (27) are also among the Phillies’ top 30 prospects. All of those players are homegrown products.

Phillies Hire Caleb Cotham As Pitching Coach

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The Phillies announced Friday that they’ve hired Caleb Cotham as their new pitching coach, replacing the recently retired Bryan Price. Cotham was reported to be the front-runner last week.

It’s been a rapid ascent to this position for Cotham, who is still just 33 years of age and as recently as 2016 was pitching in the big leagues. He retired shortly thereafter and was quickly hired as an assistant pitching coach with one of his former teams, the Reds. Cotham’s extensive work with Driveline Baseball opened him up to myriad ways in which data and technology could be implemented as a means of improving velocity and optimizing pitching arsenals. When the Reds hired Driveline’s Kyle Boddy a year later in 2019, Cotham added “director of pitching” to his title with the Reds organization.

Despite his youth, Cotham’s growing knowledge of cutting-edge technological advancements in pitching development has made him something of a rising star on the coaching ranks. He reportedly interviewed with multiple clubs this winter. Cotham’s familiarity with Phillies skipper Joe Girardi, his manager with the 2015 Yankees, surely couldn’t have hurt his chances at landing the job in Philadelphia.

“Caleb has many strengths as a pitching coach that we believe will help him excel with our staff,” Girardi said in a statement within today’s press release. “He has a very good feel for evaluating pitchers and getting them back on track when things start to go wrong. The pitchers in Cincinnati were very complimentary of his game-planning ability and knowing how to play to each one of their strengths. Caleb is a tremendous competitor whose experience as both a major league pitcher and major league coach will enhance our staff.”

The loss of Cotham gives the Reds some work to do on their coaching staff. Boddy, the organization’s pitching coordinator and director of pitching initiatives, noted at the end of a congratulatory Twitter thread that he is “not throwing [his] hat into the ring” to replace Cotham. Boddy added that Cotham’s presence with the organization “helped to attract considerable coaching talent” from outside the organization and that the Reds have “a lot of great directions to investigate.”

Phillies Front Office Rumors: Epstein, Hill

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The Phillies have a couple of high-profile names on their list as they seek a new front office head. The club will check on Theo Epstein’s interest in becoming its next president of baseball operations, Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadelphia reports. It’s also planning to interview former Marlins president of baseball operations Michael Hill, per Ken Rosenthal and Jayson Stark of The Athletic. Philadelphia’s the latest team to show interest in Hill, who previously interviewed with the Angels and Mets for prominent front office positions. However, the Angels went on to hire Perry Minasian as their GM.

Epstein may be an extreme long shot for the Phillies, as he suggested when he resigned from the Cubs on Tuesday that he’s going to take a year away from the game. From the Phillies’ perspective, though, it’s at least worth trying to coax a three-time World Series winner and a future Hall of Famer into leading its front office.

Hill had an 18-year tenure in Miami’s front office before the club parted with him in October. While there wasn’t a great deal of team success during that span, it’s hard to place much blame on Hill, who spent the majority of it working under maligned ex-owner Jeffrey Loria and was at a payroll disadvantage. To Hill’s credit, he did help build a playoff team in his final year with the Marlins. Nevertheless, that wasn’t enough to save his job.

In heading to Philadelphia, Epstein or Hill would grab the reins from current president of baseball ops Andy MacPhail, who has become a placeholder as the Phillies seek a long-term answer. MacPhail plans to retire at the end of the 2021 season at the latest, but if the Phillies are able to find someone to take over for him before then, he’s poised to step aside. He and interim GM Ned Rice are currently running the Phillies’ front office.

Caleb Cotham “Clear Frontrunner” To Be Next Phillies Pitching Coach

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NOVEMBER 15: The Phillies are indeed hoping to finalize a deal with Cotham in the next week, hears Jon Heyman of MLB Network (Twitter link).

NOVEMBER 14: Reds’ assistant pitching coach and director of pitching Caleb Cotham is the leading candidate to take over as the next pitching coach of the Philadelphia Phillies, per Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadelphia. Salisbury names Cotham as the “clear frontrunner.”

Cotham, 33, pitched for two seasons at the major-league level, making his debut for manager Joe Girardi and the New York Yankees in 2015. Girardi likely has significant sway in this hiring decision as the manager of the Phillies, especially since they continue to search for a new head of baseball ops. The Phillies, however, aren’t the only team that Cotham has spoken with this offseason.

Speculatively speaking, Cotham’s experience with Driveline Baseball could be a selling point for data-interested hurlers, as well as the organization on the whole. One such hurler happens to be the top starting pitcher on the free agent market. It’s easy to connect the dots between a potential Cotham hire and NL Cy Young Trevor Bauer – just as we do between Cotham and Girardi – but that’s two steps down the line. If a connection is all it takes to sign Bauer, after all, the Reds would still be in pole position. The Phillies have, however, shown a willingness to spend for starting pitching on the open market in recent years with the additions of Jake Arrieta and Zack Wheeler. Still, if Cotham does indeed turn out to be their hire, it will be on his own merit.

Latest On Phillies Front Office Search

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The future of the Phillies front office has been in flux since general manager Matt Klentak stepped down in the first week of October. Since that time, president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail and interim GM Ned Rice have been leading day-to-day operations, an arrangement that reportedly could continue through the end of next season.

However, Philadelphia expects to begin interviewing potential candidates next week, reports Jayson Stark of the Athletic. It seems the Phillies are planning to make a pair of hires: a president of baseball operations to lead the department, and a new general manager to serve as that individual’s top lieutenant.

That kind of arrangement has become increasingly common throughout the sport, but the Phillies are leaving open the possibility of taking a less typical approach to the hiring process. The Phils would unsurprisingly prefer to hire the team president before turning to the GM search, Stark notes. However, that’s not a mandate, as Stark suggests the organization could hire the GM first if circumstances dictate.

That’d be an odd course of action- one would think any incoming president would want to have a say in the GM hiring process- but it’s apparently not out of the question. It also remains possible, Stark says, the organization elects to halt the hiring process midway through and allow the MacPhail-Rice pairing to continue to run the club next year. (MacPhail is generally expected to retire after the 2021 season, but it’s possible a more immediate restructure leads him to step away sooner).

Assuming the Phillies do commit to finalizing the front office this winter, they could opt to pursue a number of different candidates. The organization is leaving open the possibility of pursuing high-profile executives with past experience leading baseball ops, as well as considering “rising stars” types similar to recent Angels hire Perry Minasian, Stark adds. There remains plenty of uncertainty regarding the Phils’ ultimate course of action, but it seems the process will kick into gear in the coming days.

NL East Notes: Ozuna, Braves, Mets, La Russa, Nationals, Phillies

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Marcell Ozuna is unsurprisingly drawing a lot of early attention in free agency, as MLB Network’s Jon Heyman (Twitter link) reports that the Braves and at least nine other teams have already shown interest in the slugger.  The list of suitors includes teams from both the National and American League, despite uncertainty about whether or not the DH will be available to NL teams next season.  Of course, Ozuna isn’t yet a full-time designated hitter at this point in his career, as he played 21 of his 60 games as a corner outfielder in 2020, but teams would undoubtedly prefer the security blanket of a DH spot for Ozuna over the course of a multi-year deal.

Braves GM Alex Anthopoulos has mostly preferred to invest in pricey one-year contracts for veteran players (including Josh Donaldson, Dallas Keuchel, and Ozuna himself) in free agency, though Atlanta signed Will Smith to a three-year, $39MM deal last offseason.  Ozuna’s next deal might be worth almost twice as much as it took to land Smith, but considering how Atlanta expects to be contending for the World Series, making the big investment to re-sign Ozuna might be deemed as worthwhile from the Braves’ perspective.

Some more from around the NL East…

  • The White Sox hiring Tony La Russa as their next manager was a controversial hire for many reasons, including the fact that La Russa hasn’t managed a big league game since 2011.  However, La Russa did receive consideration for a managerial opening just last winter, as Jon Heyman (in a radio interview on WFAN’s Moose and Maggie show) said the Mets interviewed La Russa about potentially replacing Mickey Callaway.  “Nothing came of” the talks and La Russa wasn’t extended an offer, as the Mets went to hire Carlos Beltran.
  • The Nationals seem likely to take a “middle of the pack” approach to spending this winter, The Athletic’s Brittany Ghiroli opines, operating as neither “big spenders or big savers” in the wake of revenue losses from the 2020 season.  Washington has over $161MM in projected payroll for the 2021 campaign, and though a lot of that is scheduled to come off the books next winter (most notably Max Scherzer’s salary), one would imagine the Nats might want to earmark some of those savings for possible extensions for Trea Turner and Juan Soto.  Ghiroli feels the Nationals will be active in free agency to some degree but doesn’t expect any splashy signings.
  • The Phillies are in their second round of interviews as they search for a new pitching coach, NBC Sports Philadelphia’s Jim Salisbury writes.  There isn’t much known about the Phils’ search thus far, though Salisbury lists three of the candidates who were interviewed in the first round — two internal names in assistant pitching coach Dave Lundquist and minor league pitching coordinator Rafael Chaves, plus one name from outside the organization in Reds assistant pitching coach and director of pitching Caleb Cotham.  It isn’t known if any of Lundquist, Chaves, or Cotham advanced to the second-interview stage.  [UPDATE: Cotham has interviewed with two different teams, Reds GM Nick Krall told C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic.)
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