AL East Notes: Neander, Rays Stadium, Hicks, Jays
Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times takes an interesting look at how Erik Neander came to land atop the Rays‘ baseball operations department. Neander took an unusual path to his current position, with data providing his hook into the Tampa Bay baseball operations department — but only after a lot of hustle. At MLBTR, we often field emails and chat questions about how to break into the business; perhaps this article serves as something of a guide for what kind of effort it might take, even if you do have ability to go with the passion.
Here’s more from the AL East:
- While Neander will do all he can to squeeze value out of limited payroll resources, the Rays‘ ongoing stadium efforts remain critical to the organization’s long-term viability. On the heels of recent news that the club has settled on a preferred site, Topkin and others at the TB Times have compiled a comprehensive look at the current state of play surrounding the proposed site in Tampa Bay’s Ybor City. Those with interest in the subject will need to read the full post for its many details; suffice to say that a variety of challenges still lay ahead to convert this idea into reality.
- Yankees outfielder Aaron Hicks says he’s coming to camp with sights set on winning a starting job in center, as Bryan Hoch of MLB.com reports. The 28-year-old unquestionably impressed in 2017, with a surprising .266/.372/.475 batting line and 15 home runs. Of course, that’s the first time the switch-hitter has posted above-average offensive production and he has still yet to top four hundred plate appearances (due to performance issues and, more recently, injuries) in a given season. Plus, the Yankees have to consider Jacoby Ellsbury, who isn’t likely to find time playing in the corners with Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton on hand along with Brett Gardner. It’s certainly still possible that the Yanks will clarify the roster logjam before the start of the season. If not, though, it seems reasonable to anticipate that Ellsbury will at least take a fair amount of time against right-handed pitchers. (While Ellsbury has long thrived against righties, Hicks has traditionally been better against southpaws.)
- John Lott of The Athletic examines the seven recent PED suspensions doled out to Blue Jays Latin American farmhands in a subscription-only post. Of course, there are lots of difficult issues surrounding this subject, due in large part to the difficult incentive system facing these young players. In the case of the Toronto prospects, they were caught using the kinds of unsophisticated substances that MLB deputy commissioner Dan Halem says are easy to detect. Of course, this isn’t a problem facing only the Blue Jays. The Latin American signing and development system, which typically involves so-called buscones and very youthful players, has long been riddled with problems.
AL East Notes: Price, Neander, Tillman, Blue Jays
David Price wasn’t satisfied with his first season in a Red Sox uniform, telling Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe that “last year was the first time in my career I didn’t have fun when I was on the field.” Price’s 2016 season (3.99 ERA, 8.9 K/9, and 4.56 K/BB rate over a league-best 230 innings) counts as a down year only by his high standards, though the southpaw did post a career-high 1.17 HR/9 and he struggled in his only postseason start. Price signed a seven-year, $217MM contract with the Sox last winter, and while that deal contains an opt-out clause after the 2018 campaign, Price said he will remain in Boston throughout the life of the contract. Even if Price delivers better numbers in 2017-18, he’ll be entering his age-33 season when he’s officially faced with the decision to opt out, which could make it hard for him to top the $127MM he’s already slated to earn from the Sox from 2019-2022.
Here’s more from around the American League East…
- Speaking to Jim Bowden and Jim Duquette on MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM (Twitter link), Rays GM Erik Neander says his team “will continue to have an open mind” about moving another starting pitcher. Trade rumors have swirled around Tampa’s rotation all winter, seemingly culminating in the deal that sent Drew Smyly to the Mariners earlier this week. Chris Archer, Jake Odorizzi and Alex Cobb also drew interest, so it’s not out of the question that the Rays would deal another starter if they can score a significant return.
- In a recent radio interview with 105.7 The Fan (hat tip to MASNsports.com’s Roch Kubatko), Chris Tillman reiterated that he would love to sign an extension to remain with the Orioles. There doesn’t appear to be much progress in talks between the two sides (“I haven’t heard anything, I haven’t seen anything,” Tillman said), though the right-hander did note that he lets his agent handle business negotiations until late in the process. The O’s began preliminary talks with Tillman’s representation last month, and Kubatko figures more serious discussions will take place during Spring Training to see if a deal can be reached before Opening Day. Tillman avoided arbitration by agreeing to a $10.05MM deal for 2017, and he is eligible for free agency next winter.
- The Blue Jays’ rotation enjoyed an unusual amount of good health in 2016, Richard Griffin of the Toronto Star writes, and such durability will probably be hard to replicate this season. With the Jays short on depth options, it opens the door for top prospects Sean Reid-Foley or Conner Greene to emerge as potential late-season call-ups.
Rays Promote Erik Neander, Chaim Bloom
The Rays have announced a restructuring of their front office, as Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reported on Twitter. Erik Neander has been promoted to senior VP of baseball operations and general manager, while Chaim Bloom will also receive a promotion to a senior VP title.
President of baseball operations Matthew Silverman will remain in his position, though it sounds as if there are some changes in the team’s decisionmaking process forthcoming. The organization’s press release says that Neander and Bloom “will directly oversee all functions within baseball operations,” with Neander specifically “focus[ing] on the department’s player evaluation and procurement process.”
Silverman explains in a prepared statement that the move had been envisioned since he took over for Andrew Friedman before the 2015 season. “This evolution is one that we envisioned two years ago,” he said. “I’m proud to work together with Erik and Chaim and empower them to direct the operations of our department.”
At the time of Silverman’s hiring, his primary duties were on the business side of the organization, as Topkin explained at the time. Though he was also involved in significant decision in the operations department, that was primarily Friedman’s domain. With Silverman’s changed role, Brian Auld took over as the team president.
Now, Silverman tells Topkin, he’ll hand off more day-to-day responsibility. “Going forward, the charge is the same with my focus shifting away from daily management and more towards our longer term vision and priorities,” said Silverman. “When it comes to key decisions, we will all work closely together.”
The organization will turn over greater authority to a pair of 33-year-old executives who have long served as key staff members in the organization, with indications being that they’ll work not only as a pair, but also in conjunction with Silverman and newly-anointed VP of baseball ops James Click. “Because of their decade-long working relationship, Erik and Chaim are ideal partners to team up on the daily management of our department,” Silverman explained. “The GM title marks Erik’s focus on our player acquisition process.”