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Phillies Hire Howie Kendrick As Special Assistant

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The Phillies announced a series of hirings in the front office and on the coaching staff this afternoon. Perhaps most notably, longtime big leaguer Howie Kendrick has joined the club as a special assistant to general manager Sam Fuld. The Phils also hired Brian Kaplan as assistant pitching coach and director of pitching development, while Jason Camilli has joined the staff as assistant hitting coach.

Kendrick played in the majors for fifteen seasons, breaking in with the Angels in 2006. The right-handed hitting second baseman spent the next eight seasons in Anaheim, regularly offering above-average production on both sides of the ball. His .285/.338/.464 showing earned him an All-Star nod in 2011, and Kendrick picked up some down ballot MVP support after posting a .293/.347/.397 mark with plus defensive ratings in 2014.

While Kendrick spent the bulk of his career as a regular with the Halos, he adapted with aplomb to more of a situational role later in his career. After a pair of solid seasons with the Dodgers, Kendrick landed with the Phillies in November 2016 via trade. His playing tenure in Philly lasted only a few months, as the eventual last place Phils sent him to the Nationals just before the ensuing trade deadline. While Kendrick’s stint in Philadelphia was brief, he clearly garnered the respect of those within the organization.

Productive as Kendrick was in Anaheim, he might wind up being best remembered for his final few seasons in Washington. While the Nats cut back on his playing time over his final few years, Kendrick was as effective as ever from 2018-19. After mashing at a .344/.395/.572 clip during the 2019 regular season, he had a stellar postseason that helped the franchise to its first World Series title. Kendrick was named the 2019 NLCS MVP after a .333/.412/.600 showing during the Nats’ sweep of the Cardinals. He returned for a final season in 2020 and announced his retirement last December.

While Kendrick is certainly the most famous of the Phillies’ recent hires, Kaplan and Camilli figure to be more involved in the organization on a day-to-day basis as members of the coaching staff. Kaplan comes over from the private ranks, as he’d previously been the vice president and co-founder of Cressey Sports Performance, an independent training facility in Florida. One of CSP’s other co-founders, Eric Cressey, also works in strength and conditioning with the Yankees.

Camilli comes over from the Reds, where he spent the 2021 season coaching their Arizona Complex League affiliate. The 46-year-old had previously spent time as an instructor in the Nationals and D-Backs farm systems. He’ll pair with new Philadelphia hitting coach Kevin Long, whom the club hired away from the Nats last month.

Quick Hits: Marte, Neris, Dominguez, Heaney, McLeod

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The Marlins were known to be interested in reuniting with Starling Marte, and The Miami Herald’s Barry Jackson (Twitter link) reports that the Fish have already stepped up with an offer for the free agent outfielder.  Since Marte is still gathering interest from many teams, “no decision [is] imminent” on either the Marlins’ offer or whatever might be floated by another club.  The 33-year-old Marte has plenty of leverage to work with as the top everyday center fielder of this year’s free agent class, though the Marlins’ early offer does indicate their laser focus on ways to upgrade their lineup.

It could be interesting to observe if the Marlins could be similarly aggressive in approaching other free agents with offers — should such an offer be floated towards a player with fewer options than Marte, Miami might be able to strike a quick deal.  In Marte’s case, however, the Marlins now have to contend with such known suitors as the Yankees, Phillies, and Mets, plus any other clubs that might yet emerge.  The Astros could be another team in the mix, as MLB Network’s Jon Heyman reports (via Twitter) that Houston met with Marte’s agents.

More from around the league….

  • The Phillies have interest in re-signing Hector Neris and the team will also tender a contract to Seranthony Dominguez, president of baseball ops Dave Dombrowski told reporters (including NBC Sports Philadelphia’s Jim Salisbury).  Neris has generally pitched well over his eight seasons in Philly, though some high-profile blowups and down periods have made him an unreliable choice as closer.  “We’d prefer to bring him back as a non-ninth-inning guy.  That would be our hope,” Dombrowski said, and since Neris also expressed an openness to any bullpen role back in September, there would appear to be some common ground.  As for Dominguez, he underwent Tommy John surgery in July 2020 and made it back to pitch one inning in the Phils’ last game of the 2021 campaign.  The Phillies already opted to tender Dominguez a contract last winter in his first year of arbitration eligibility, so it stands to reason that they’d retain him now that he should be healthy to pitch.  Dominguez is projected for an $800K salary in 2022.
  • The Blue Jays’ interest in Andrew Heaney included “a strong offer” for the lefty’s services before Heaney signed with the Dodgers, Sportsnet.ca’s Shi Davidi writes.  Despite a rough 2021 season, Heaney’s peripherals were intriguing enough that Toronto, Los Angeles, and at least two other teams were known to be considering a signing.
  • Former Cubs senior VP Jason McLeod could be close to a new job, as McLeod tells NBC Sports Chicago’s Gordon Wittenmyer that “There’s three or four teams I’m talking to a little more intently [than others] about potentially joining them in an executive position.  It’s still determined what the exact roles would be.”  McLeod has a long association with Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer dating back to their time together in the Red Sox front office, and McLeod left the Cubs last month after a decade-long run in Wrigleyville.  McLeod didn’t mention specifics about his potential suitors but he hasn’t heard from the Mets about their front office vacancy.

Phillies To Hire Anirudh Kilambi As Assistant GM

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The Phillies are hiring Anirudh Kilambi as the team’s new assistant general manager, ESPN.com’s Jeff Passan reports (Twitter link).  The 27-year-old Kilambi comes to Philadelphia after working as the Rays’ assistant director of baseball research and development, and according to The Athletic’s Matt Gelb, Kilambi will now oversee the Phils’ research and development division.

Kilambi began interning with the Rays front office in 2015, and worked his way up to his AD role in a little over three years’ time.  In a piece from last August, Marc Topkin of The Tampa Bay Times named Kilambi as one of the many organizational figures instrumental in the Rays’ ability to find and develop a seeming unending stream of quality relief pitchers.

As evidenced by the long list of Tampa executives who have gone on to lead or work within other front offices, teams are forever curious to learn some of the Rays’ secrets.  If Kilambi can duplicate his magic in Philadelphia, it will be a particular boon to a team that has been plagued by a severe lack of reliable relief pitching in recent years.

Phillies Interested In Starling Marte, Aaron Loup

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The Phillies have interest in center fielder Starling Marte and reliever Aaron Loup, according to MLB Network’s Jon Heyman (Twitter links).  Since the outfield and bullpen are the top priorities for the Phils this winter, it isn’t surprising that Marte and Loup have gained the club’s attention.  Among the several teams involved in Loup’s market, Heyman also notes that the Mets are looking into bringing Loup back to Queens for a longer stint after the southpaw dominated out of New York’s bullpen in 2021.

Marte is really the only true full-time center fielder in this year’s free agent class, though Marte’s 2021 numbers would’ve still put him at or near the top of a deeper center field market.  Marte hit .310/.383/.458 with 12 home runs and a league-best 47 stolen bases over 526 combined plate appearances with the Marlins and Athletics, despite missing about five weeks due to a fractured rib.  Marte did benefit from a .369 BABIP, though his excellent speed and baserunning played a big factor in that extra batted-ball “luck.”  His 8.2% walk rate was still below average, though also the best of Marte’s 10 big league seasons.

Reviews were a little mixed on Marte’s glovework, as Defensive Runs Saved had him at -4, though UZR/150 (+1) and Outs Above Average (+4) gave his center field defense positive grades.  As Marte enters his age-33 season, however, he certainly still seems athletic enough to provide some quality help up the middle.

This is all music to the Phillies’ ears, considering the club has Bryce Harper and not much else in its current outfield mix.  Both Andrew McCutchen and Odubel Herrera are free agents, and while Herrera had a pretty modest 2021 season, he was still the best of a revolving door of subpar options for the Phils in center.  Installing Marte in center field and at or near the top of the Philadelphia lineup would fill a couple of major holes for the club.

Signing Marte would represent yet another big expenditure on the Phillies’ books, though president Dave Dombrowski had given some indication (“I don’t find it restrictive“) that ownership has given him some spending flexibility.  With roughly $171.1MM committed to payroll in 2022, the Phillies could afford to give Marte a big contract and still have some significant room under whatever the luxury tax threshold ends up being next season.  Or, the Phils might even be comfortable going over the tax threshold, as owner John Middleton has indicated in the past that he would be okay with paying the tax in the right circumstance.

Loup won’t cost anywhere near Marte’s price range, but after signing a one-year/$3MM deal with the Mets last winter, Loup is in line for a much more significant contract this time around.  The veteran left-hander had one of the better seasons of any reliever in baseball, with a tiny 0.95 ERA over 56 2/3 innings out of New York’s bullpen.  While Loup’s .229 wOBA far outpaced his .272 xwOBA, Loup also had a 50.4% grounder rate to go along with above-average strikeout (26.1%) and walk (7.3%) rates.

Even if Loup pitches closer to his 3.32 SIERA next year, the Mets would certainly still like that kind of production back in their pen, and Loup would be even more of a boost to a Philadelphia relief corps that badly struggled in 2021.  Loup doesn’t much closing experience, so while he isn’t the lockdown ninth-inning answer Dombrowski is looking for, Loup can at least help the Phillies take a lead into the ninth.

Phillies Prioritizing Bullpen, Outfield Upgrades

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It’s the first full offseason as Phillies president of baseball operations for Dave Dombrowski — he joined the team in mid-December last year — and he kicked things off be speaking rather candidly about his club’s needs while addressing reporters at this week’s GM Meetings in California. Notably, Dombrowski indicated that he’s received a budget from owner John Middleton that he does not “find restrictive” (Twitter link via Matt Gelb of The Athletic) and that he’s already begun to map out his offseason priorities.

“If I had to say one thing, I’d probably say I’d like to have somebody that can close a game for us, and count on it,” Dombrowski said while also labeling left field and center field as “complete necessities” (link via NBC Sports Philadelphia’s Jim Salisbury). The veteran baseball ops leader has myriad avenues to pursue upgrades at all three of those spots, though he did note a “preference” not to surrender a draft pick when signing a free agent this winter. That’s far from a hard declaration that the Phils will be out on the likes of Raisel Iglesias, Michael Conforto, Nick Castellanos and Chris Taylor, but the fact that all four of those players received a QO has to factor into the calculus when contemplating them as a fit for the Phils.

Speculatively looking to some higher-end free agents who did not receive a qualifying offer, Starling Marte makes a good bit of sense in center field, while the left field market could include Kris Bryant (a close friend of Bryce Harper), Kyle Schwarber, Avisail Garcia, Mark Canha and others. In the bullpen, Kenley Jansen, Corey Knebel and Kendall Graveman are among the top relievers who didn’t receive qualifying offers. This year’s saves leader, Mark Melancon, is also a free agent.

Of course, names like Graveman and, in particular, Melancon are somewhat questionable fits given the Phillies’ woeful infield defense in 2021. Improving the glovework around the infield ought to be a major priority for Dombrowski as well — particularly given the presence of so many ground-ball pitchers in the rotation mix (e.g. Kyle Gibson, Ranger Suarez and even ace Zack Wheeler).  The Phillies ranked as one of the worst defensive units in MLB last season, which has been a recurring theme in recent years.

That segues nicely into other potential area of need for the Phillies: shortstop. While it wasn’t specifically highlighted by Dombrowski, Salisbury notes that the Phils are indeed looking for an upgrade at that position. That comes as little surprise after Dombrowski already made clear that veteran Didi Gregorius is not guaranteed the starting job next year — even in spite of the $14.5MM he’s owed in 2022 (the second season of a two-year contract). The Phils could certainly jump into the free-agent market at shortstop, but doing so would impact their ability to fill the top needs listed by their second-year president. The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal suggests it may be something they pursue more opportunistically, in the event that a high-end shortstop’s market doesn’t materialize as hoped.

One potential in-house alternative to Gregorius comes in the form of 2019 first-rounder Bryson Stott, whom Dombrowski praised at length during yesterday’s chat with the Phillies beat (link via Matt Breen of the Philadelphia Inquirer). Phils fans, in particular, will want to check out the full slate of Dombrowski’s quotes to draw their own conclusions, but he explained that he’s already told Stott to come to Spring Training “with the mindset of trying to win a job” rather than simply being happy to be there. No promises have been made to Stott, but Dombrowski acknowledged that his presence impacts the manner in which the Phils will approach the free-agent market for shortstops.

Stott, who turned 24 shortly after the season ended, soared from Class-A to Triple-A (10 games) in 2021, hitting a combined .299/.390/.486 with 16 home runs, 26 doubles, a pair of triples, 10 steals (in 14 tries), a 22.2% strikeout rate and a 13.3% walk rate across three levels.  The No. 14 overall selection in 2019 also played in this year’s Arizona Fall League and turned in a hearty .299/.446/.403 line in 92 plate appearances.

Stott could theoretically move to another spot (e.g. second base, third base) if the Phils add a shortstop or if Gregorius looks resurgent in Spring Training following an offseason elbow surgery. However, the combined presence of Stott, Gregorius, first baseman Rhys Hoskins, veteran second baseman Jean Segura and young third baseman Alec Bohm (who finished third in 2020 Rookie of the Year voting before struggling in 2021) gives the Phils more options in the infield than in the outfield or at the back of the bullpen.

The Phillies currently project to carry a payroll of about $171MM, per Roster Resource’s Jason Martinez — a lofty number but one that also sits well shy of last year’s approximately $205MM mark. Philadelphia also avoided paying the luxury tax in 2021, which could make crossing the threshold more palatable in 2022. Then again, it’s hard to glean anything about teams’ comfort level with respect to the luxury tax, as the structure of that system will be one of the most critical factors during the ongoing collective bargaining negotiations.

Phillies Outright Six Players

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The Phillies announced that six players — outfielders Odúbel Herrera and Travis Jankowski, infielder Ronald Torreyes, catcher Andrew Knapp and right-handers Ramón Rosso and J.D. Hammer — have all cleared outright waivers. Each member of that group has elected free agency.

Herrera is the most notable of this bunch, although it was apparent his time in the Philly organization was nearing its end when the team declined his option on Wednesday. He has fewer than six seasons of big league service, so he’d technically remained eligible for arbitration, but he was an obvious non-tender decision at that point. Rather than wait until next month’s non-tender deadline, the Phils will cut him loose and clear a roster spot a few weeks early.

The move officially brings to a close Herrera’s six-season tenure in Philadelphia. Selected out of the Rangers’ organization in the 2014 Rule 5 draft, the left-handed hitter offered strong production on both sides of the ball over his first few major league campaigns. The Phils rewarded him with a long-term extension in December 2016, but his production started to slip by 2018.

Herrera performed terribly for the first month and a half in 2019 before being arrested and charged with domestic assault. MLB suspended him for the remainder of that season, and Herrera spent all of last year in the minor leagues after being outrighted off the roster. He returned to the majors in 2021, serving as Philly’s primary center fielder and hitting a slightly below-average .260/.310/.416 over 492 plate appearances.

Knapp has been a career-long Phillie, appearing in the majors in each of the past five seasons. The switch-hitting backstop has worked primarily in a reserve capacity, mashing in a brief 2020 run before stumbling to a .152/.215/.214 mark over 159 trips to the plate this past season. Projected by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz for a $1.2MM salary if tendered an arbitration contract, he’ll instead be let go as the Phils look elsewhere for a J.T. Realmuto backup.

Torreyes and Jankowski have bounced around the league as role players in recent seasons. Both players were arbitration-eligible, with Torreyes projected for a $1.6MM salary and Jankowski slated to make around $900K. The Phils will let both go and look elsewhere to fill their respective utility infielder and backup outfielder roles. Torreyes hit .242/.286/.346 in 344 plate appearances in 2021; Jankowski slashed .252/.364/.351 in 157 tallies at the dish.

Neither Rosso nor Hammer had been eligible for arbitration, but the front office decided to reallocate their spots on the 40-man roster. Rosso posted a 6.11 ERA/4.95 SIERA over 17 2/3 combined MLB innings between 2020-21. Hammer owns a 4.38 ERA/5.07 SIERA in 39 frames dating back to 2019.

Phillies Claim Ryan Sherriff From Rays

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The Phillies have claimed left-hander Ryan Sherriff off waivers from the Rays, per a club announcement. Should he stick around, Sherriff will look to help solidify a leaky Phillies ’pen that pitched to a 4.60 ERA (sixth-worst in the bigs) and 4.61 FIP (fourth-worst) in 2021. Sherriff posted a mediocre 5.52 ERA across 14 2/3 innings (16 appearances) this year, albeit with 16 Ks and a 3.65 FIP that suggest he may have suffered from a bit of bad luck. For his career, the lefty has been good for a 3.65 ERA (3.98 FIP) in 44 1/3 innings.

Originally a 2011 28th-rounder of the Cardinals, Sherriff debuted in the majors in 2017, making 18 relief appearances in St. Louis before undergoing Tommy John surgery in the middle of the 2018 season. The Cards released him shortly thereafter, and he landed in Tampa on a minor-league pact shortly thereafter. He didn’t get back to the bigs until midway through the pandemic-shortened 2020 season but put up by far the best numbers of his career when he did, not giving up a single earned run in 9 2/3 innings — albeit while striking out only 2. He also covered two scoreless innings for the Rays in the 2020 World Series.

Though he made the opening day roster, Sherriff spent the season on the Triple-A shuttle, covering nearly twice as many innings for Durham as he did for Tampa. With just over a year in aggregate service time, Sherriff comes with considerable control and could become a mainstay for the Phils if he manages to establish himself in Philadelphia. How he’ll be asked to slot in remains to be seen, but sticking around in the Phillies’ notoriously leaky bullpen should prove a much easier task than it had been at the back end of Tampa’s stable of high-end arms.

Tampa Bay has also outrighted right-handers Oliver Drake, DJ Johnson and Chris Mazza in addition to lefty Cody Reed. All four of Drake, Johnson, Mazza and Reed will become free agents.

Phillies Decline Club Options On Andrew McCutchen, Odubel Herrera

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The Phillies have announced that they have declined their club options on outfielders Andrew McCutchen and Odubel Herrera for the 2022 season.  McCutchen will receive a $3MM buyout rather than a $15MM salary next year, and Herrera has been bought out for $2.5MM rather than a $11.5MM salary.

Today’s decision closes the book on the three-year, $50MM free agent contract McCutchen signed with the Phils in December 2018, a deal that ended up as something of a mixed bag.  Both sides might wonder what have been had McCutchen not suffered a torn ACL in June 2019, as the veteran had gotten off to a very strong start in his first 59 games in a Phillies uniform.

Since returning from injury rehab, McCutchen has provided above-average (106 wRC+, 107 OPS+) offense and hit .232/.331/.441 with 37 home runs over 815 PA in 2020-21.  It isn’t bad production by any stretch, though McCutchen’s .222 batting average in 2021 was a career low, and defensive metrics didn’t like his glovework as the Phillies’ regular left fielder.

Between these diminished numbers and the fact that McCutchen turned 35 in October, he might have to settle for a one-year deal this offseason.  That said, McCutchen will surely catch on somewhere, quite probably with a contender that will value having one of the game’s most respected players in the clubhouse to provide some veteran leadership.  A return to Philadelphia might not be out of the question, even if the Phillies would certainly rather pay “Cutch” a great deal less than $15MM.

Herrera is still under team control via one final year of salary arbitration, but since he is projected to earn $11.6MM, the Phillies are likely to non-tender Herrera and end their seven-year association with the outfielder.  Selected away from the Rangers in the 2014 Rule 5 draft, Herrera earned an All-Star nod in 2016, which led the Phils to sign him to a five-year, $30.5MM extension in December 2016.

However, Herrera was arrested on assault charges related to domestic violence in May 2019, and while the charges were dropped, the league suspended Herrera under the purview of the MLB/MLBPA Joint Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault and Child Abuse Policy.  Herrera missed the rest of the 2019 season due to the 85-game suspension, and also didn’t play in 2020 when the Phillies outrighted him off their 40-man roster.  It seemed as if the Phillies were ready to part ways with Herrera, though he re-emerged in 2021 to play 124 games for the team, hitting .260/.310/.416 over 492 plate appearances.

If neither McCutchen or Herrera are brought back, the Phillies are in drastic need of outfielders to line up alongside Bryce Harper.  Existing in-house options (Mickey Moniak, Adam Haseley, Travis Jankowski, Roman Quinn, Matt Vierling) don’t hold a lot of appeal as regular big league options, so outfield figures to be a key target for president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski this offseason.

Front Office Notes: Mets, Angels, Rangers

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The Mets’ front office search has become a rather prominent storyline in baseball at the moment, as several notable executives have either removed their names from consideration or been denied permission by their current clubs to interview. Despite those struggles in pursuing rival GMs and presidents, SNY’s Andy Martino reports that the Mets are not considering some of the rumored former baseball ops leaders who are no longer running a department. Former Giants president Brian Sabean, former Marlins president Michael Hill and former Astros president Jeff Luhnow are not currently being considered, per Martino. Rather, current Mets president Sandy Alderson is still actively seeking permission to interview the No. 2 and No. 3 executives with various clubs as the Mets seek a new baseball ops leader.

Some more front office notes from around the game…

  • The Angels have hired Tim McIlvaine away from the Brewers to fill as their new scouting director, Kiley McDaniel and Alden Gonzalez of ESPN report (Twitter thread). McIlvaine, who was previously the Brewers’ assistant director of scouting, worked extensively with current Angels vice president of amateur scouting Ray Montgomery when both were in Milwaukee. Montgomery was one of the first hires by under new Angels GM Perry Minasian last offseason. The Angels removed former scouting director Matt Swanson from his post last week but offered him a position elsewhere in the organization. Swanson was hired by former general manager Billy Eppler and has overseen the Halos’ past five drafts.
  • Josh Bonifay is returning to the Rangers organization as their new farm director, Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News reports. Bonifay had been the Phillies’ farm director for the past three seasons but was removed from that role and offered a spot on the team’s pro scouting staff for next season back in August. The son of former Pirates general manager Cam Bonifay, Josh has spent more than a decade in baseball operations, mostly in the Astros organization, but was also the Rangers’ field coordinator and a member of the Major League coaching staff with then-manager Jeff Banister in 2017. Bonifay has also spent time as a minor league coach and manager, a minor league field coordinator and was the Astros’ hitting coordinator in 2018 before being hired by Philadelphia.

Phillies Hire Bobby Dickerson As Infield Coach

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Oct. 25: The Phillies have formally announced the hiring of Dickerson as the Major League infield coach for the 2022 season.

Oct. 22: Turnover continues in the Philadelphia and San Diego dugouts, as the Phillies are set to hire Bobby Dickerson away from the Padres to serve as their infield coach reports USA Today’s Bob Nightengale. Dickerson pulled double duty during the 2021 season for the Padres, serving as the team’s official bench coach and third base coach following the front office promotion of previous third base coach Glenn Hoffman.

The hiring serves as a reunion between coach and organization, as Dickerson served in the same infield coach capacity for the Phils during the 2019 season. This followed an eight year stint with the Orioles, who boasted a few Gold Glove-winning infielders during Dickerson’s tenure.

As was the case with the team’s recent hiring of Kevin Long, Phillies manager Joe Girardi adds a veteran coaching presence to cajole some new talent out of the existing roster.  Dickerson will look to help Girardi in the latter’s third year with the team and boost an organization that has been stuck in a near .500 rut for four years in a row.

Philadelphia’s move to rehire a respected defensive coach comes on the heels of what the front office surely recognizes was an organizational weakness this past season. By measure of Defensive Runs Saved the Phillies ranked last in all of baseball in 2021, with the Jean Segura-manned second base the only position on the team to score plus marks in the metric.

As for the Padres, the departure of Dickerson comes as no surprise in the wake of recent firings to pitching coach Larry Rothschild and manager Jayce Tingler. It remains to be seen what other changes await a San Diego dugout that is quickly growing accustomed to making them.

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