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West Notes: Nevin, Giants, Angels, A’s

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The Padres reportedly have former Angels manager Phil Nevin among the finalists for their managerial position, according to Jon Morosi of MLB Network. Nevin, 52, was hired as third base coach in Anaheim prior to the 2022 season but became the club’s interim manager early in June of that year following the firing of Joe Maddon. Nevin continued as the club’s interim manager for the remainder of the season and the club decided to retain him in the role for 2023. Ultimately, however, the sides parted ways at the conclusion of the regular season. Anaheim found their replacement for Nevin last week, hiring Ron Washington away from his role as third base coach for the Braves.

Upon former Padres manager Bob Melvin’s departure to manage the division rival Giants, Nevin quickly became a candidate linked to San Diego’s managerial vacancy. Reports indicated late last week that Nevin had interviewed with the Padres for the role, and now Morosi’s report places Nevin as a potential finalist for the position. That being said, Nevin is far from the only finalist with a chance to be San Diego’s next manager. A pair of internal candidates in bench coach Ryan Flaherty and senior advisor Mike Shildt interviewed for the position shortly after Melvin’s departure and have long been seen as likely favorites to ultimately land the role. Shildt, in particular, has been linked to the role very frequently in recent weeks as an experienced skipper with four seasons at the helm of the Cardinals under his belt.

More from around MLB’s West divisions…

  • The Giants have reportedly settled on a new bullpen coach to replace outgoing coach Craig Albernaz, who was recently hired away by the Guardians. Per Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle, San Francisco has decided upon Garvin Alston for the role. Alston, 51, was drafted as a player by the Rockies in the 10th round of the 1992 draft and spent eight seasons pitching in the minors, eventually briefly cracking Colorado’s big league roster during the 1996 season. Since retiring from his playing career, Alston has served in a variety of coaching roles in Oakland’s organization, including as bullpen coach, in addition to spending the 2018 season as pitching coach for the Twins.
  • The Angels have begun to assemble a coaching staff under the newly-hired Washington, though despite suggestions to the contrary 19-year big league veteran Torii Hunter will not be joining that staff. Speaking to reporters (including Bill Shaikin of the LA Times), Hunter confirmed that he interviewed for the managerial position prior to Washington’s hiring and that the club subsequently reached out to gauge his interest in coaching, but that he declined to be considered for a coaching role. Nonetheless, Hunter spoke effusively of the Angels, noting that he would have been excited by the “challenge” of managing the Angels through what figures to be a difficult 2024 season, particularly if they are unable to retain franchise face Shohei Ohtani.
  • While Hunter won’t be coaching for the Angels in 2024, the New York Post’s Jon Heyman wrote recently that former Astros manager Bo Porter is a candidate to join the club’s coaching staff. While Porter’s hypothetical role on the staff is unclear, Porter has plenty of experience from his time as a big leaguer with the Cubs, A’s, and Rangers to his time as third base coach with the Diamondbacks, Marlins, Nationals, and Braves to his two seasons managing in Houston, though those Astros clubs struggled to a 110-190 record under his guidance. As Heyman notes, Porter has connections to Washington both from his time as a player in Oakland and also from his time on the coaching staff and in the front office with Atlanta.
  • The A’s announced their coaching staff for the 2024 season today, with a pair of new faces on the staff: Bobby Crosby, who won the AL Rookie of the Year award with Oakland back in 2004 and more recently has served as a manager in the minor leagues, as well as Dan Hubbs, who previously served as director of pitching development for the Tigers from 2020-21 and as a minor league coach with the A’s this past season. Crosby is replacing Mike Aldrete as first base coach as Aldrete moves into a hitting coach role, while Hubbs will replace Mike McCarthy as bullpen coach.

Twins To Make Changes To Coaching Staff

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Following the hiring of new manager Rocco Baldelli, it seems that the Twins will make further changes to the coaching staff. Dan Hayes of The Athletic reports that while hitting coaches James Rowson and Rudy Hernandez will return to the organization, pitching coach Garvin Alston won’t be retained for a second season (subscription link). Moreover, bench coach Derek Shelton, the runner-up to Baldelli in the team’s search, will be allowed to interview outside the organization, per Hayes.

Beyond the decision not to retain Alston, La Velle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports that bullpen coach Eddie Guardado, third base coach Gene Glynn, first base coach Jeff Smith and Major League coach Jeff Pickler won’t return to the staff in 2019. Neal adds that Shelton is interviewing for the Rangers’ managerial vacancy — specifically, Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports that Shelton interviewed today — but the organization is hopeful Shelton will stay if he is not named the manager in Texas. Both chief baseball officer Derek Falvey and GM Thad Levine were emphatic following the hiring of Baldelli that they hoped Shelton would remain on as the bench coach.

Alston had previously served as the Athletics’ bullpen coach and was hired to work as the pitching coach under former manager Paul Molitor last season. He brought a lengthy background as a minor league pitching rehab coordinator to the Twins, having previously served in that role with both Oakland and San Diego. He had a year remaining on his contract, according to Hayes.

It’s a substantial overhaul for the Twins organization, although this type of turnover isn’t uncommon when a new manager takes over a team. Guardado, remembered fondly by many Twins fans for his time as the team’s closer, had been Minnesota’s bullpen coach since being appointed in 2014. He enjoyed a successful career as a big league reliever and brought plenty of experience and a bilingual presence to the coaching staff.

However, it wasn’t the best look for the Twins’ bullpen coach or pitching coach when in an interview with the Washington Post’s Dave Sheinen, Ryan Pressly attributed his dominance with the Astros to the manner in which the Houston organization presented him with data and the manner in which it could improve what were already solid results. Pressly’s comments and improvements alone surely didn’t lead to the decision to make changes, but they do perhaps shed some light on areas in which the Twins hope to improve their coaching staff.

Glynn, 62, has been with the Twins organization since 2012 when he was hired as the team’s Triple-A manager. He moved up to the big league staff in 2015 and spent four years as the team’s third base coach. Prior to his time in Minnesota, he served as either a third base coach or first base coach with the Rockies, Expos, Cubs and Giants in addition to working as a pro scout with the Rays and spending another couple of seasons as a minor league manager and minor league field coordinator with the Rockies.

Pickler, 42, spent two years on the Twins’ staff as a coach and coordinator of Major League development after previously serving as a player development special assistant with the Dodgers in 2015-16 and, prior to that, a pro scout with the Padres organization. Neal adds that Glynn, Guardado and Pickler were all on expiring contracts.

Smith, meanwhile, had the longest tenure in the organization. A 20th-round pick by Minnesota all the way back in 1995, he joined the Twins’ minor league coaching ranks back in 2005 and managed at three different minor league levels before joining the big league staff as a first base coach in 2017. While he won’t be on the big league staff in 2019, Hayes does report that Smith could end up in a player development role with the organization.

Twins Hire Garvin Alston As Pitching Coach

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The Twins announced on Thursday that they’ve selected Athletics bullpen coach Garvin Alston as their new pitching coach, replacing the previously dismissed Neil Allen.

Alston, 45, was the Diamondbacks’ bullpen coach in 2016 and opened the 2017 season as the Padres’ coordinator of pitching rehab before joining the Athletics as their bullpen coach for the bulk of the 2017 season. He’s served as a minor league pitching coach and minor league pitching rehab coordinator with the A’s for parts of 10 years as well. Alston made a handful of appearances with the 1996 Rockies during his playing days and spent parts of nine seasons playing professionally after being taken in the 10th round of the 1992 draft.

With the Twins, he’ll be tasked with molding a young staff that is fronted by veteran Ervin Santana but otherwise figures to consist largely of still-developing arms. Young Jose Berrios is among the Twins’ most important core pieces, and top prospects Stephen Gonsalves and Fernando Romero could both figure to factor into the Twins’ 2018 plans (though both will almost certainly open the year in Triple-A). Alston’s background in pitching rehab is also of note for a club with Phil Hughes (thoracic outlet surgery), Trevor May (Tommy John surgery) and touted minor league relievers Nick Burdi (Tommy John surgery) and J.T. Chargois (stress reaction in right elbow) all missing the majority of the season due to injury.

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