Latest On Giants’ Managerial Search
The Giants may be nearing the final stages of their search for Bruce Bochy’s replacement, as Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area reports that either former Phillies manager Gabe Kapler, Astros bench coach Joe Espada, or Royals quality control coach Pedro Grifol will be the next Giants manager. Kapler, Espada, and Grifol are the only candidates known to be asked back for a second interview, thus seemingly confirming them as the top choices.
Among other known candidates, it’s worth noting that the Athletics announced their 2020 coaching staff today, with quality control coach Mark Kotsay listed as returning. Giants bench coach Hensley Meulens has been busy managing the Netherlands’ team in the Premier 12 tournament (which doubles as a qualifying tournament for the 2020 Olympics), which perhaps served as an early hint that he wouldn’t be promoted to the top job in San Francisco’s dugout.
“Kapler has at points been the favorite in the process,” a source tells Pavlovic, due to the longstanding relationship between Kapler and Giants president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi due to their time together in the Dodgers’ front office. However, “it’s unclear where the search stands currently,” as both Grifol and Espada have been asked back for secondary interviews. It could be that the Giants are simply doing their due diligence in an important decision, or perhaps one of the other two candidates has started to garner more of the team’s attention.
Joe Espada To Take Second Interview With Giants
Astros bench coach Joe Espada is set for a second interview for the Giants’ managerial vacancy, as first reported by Ken Davidoff of the New York Post (via Twitter). He’ll meet with San Francisco brass after the conclusion of the World Series. Espada’s first interview with the organization came on Thursday’s travel day between Games 2 and 3 and lasted a little more than four hours, as Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic details (subscription required).
Espada expressed optimism to Rome about his chances of securing the Giants’ position. After meeting with GM Farhan Zaidi, CEO Larry Baer and members of the organziation’s analytics department Thursday, Espada anticipates his second interview will include more involvement with ownership. The 44-year-old has been a popular candidate for interviews the past two seasons, and he was reportedly on the radar for the Cubs’ and Pirates’ jobs this month. It appears, though, that San Francisco offers Espada’s best hope of landing a head position this offseason, as he tells Rome he has no other interviews on tap. The Cubs have since tabbed David Ross, but Pittsburgh’s position remains unresolved.
Espada succeeded Alex Cora as A.J. Hinch’s bench coach after the 2017 season. Prior to that, he’d worked with the Marlins and Yankees in various coaching and front office roles. His only prior managerial experience came in 2012 in Puerto Rican winter ball, although teams certainly value his recent coaching experience with successful teams in New York and Houston.
The Giants have cast a wide net in their search for Bruce Bochy’s replacement. Royals quality control coach Pedro Grifol, former Phillies manager Gabe Kapler, A’s quality control coach Mark Kotsay, Rays bench coach Matt Quatraro, Cubs first base coach Will Venable, and internal candidates Hensley Meulens and Ron Wotus have all joined Espada in interviewing.
You can track all of the league’s managerial news and rumors here.
AL Notes: Rangers, Choo, Red Sox, Bloom, Espada
As presently constructed, the 2020 Rangers project to roster four left-handed corner outfield options in Nomar Mazara, Joey Gallo, Willie Calhoun, and Shin-Soo Choo. That Choo underwent a surgical debridement last week is bad news from the perspective of The Athletic’s Levi Weaver, who opines that the soon-to-be-38-year-old Choo would have made for the club’s most obvious trade chip, had he not undergone the knife (link). While Choo projects to be fully healthy for Opening Day, Weaver still describes the outfield/DH option as “damaged goods” which other teams might be disinclined to deal for.
While Weaver’s concern over an aging player undergoing a shoulder procedure is justified, it’s far from certain that Choo’s minor operation would be the straw that broke the camel’s back in a trade negotiation. With one season and $21MM left on his deal and limited defensive value (-16 DRS and -9.0 UZR in 2019), it stands to reason that other clubs would simply prefer the Rangers other, younger, cheaper outfield options–with Mazara standing out as a player that both the Padres and White Sox checked in on this summer.
More items of interest from around the American League…
- As a means of welcoming Chaim Bloom to his new city, Boston Globe beat writer Peter Abraham gifts the new Red Sox GM with a letter prescribing first orders of offseason business (link). Abraham describes the club’s difficulty in discovering and developing starting pitching as their “greatest concern”, pointing out that the Sox have not drafted or signed an amateur pitcher of great import since the days of Jon Lester, Clay Buchholz, and Justin Masterson (current Boston starter Eduardo Rodriguez was a signee of the Orioles). Abraham’s reasoning is hard to argue with, although it is worth mentioning that the club drafted starter Michael Kopech in 2014, later trading the young righty (along with Yoan Moncada) in the Chris Sale deal. Otherwise, the club’s decision to draft Jay Groome in 2016 (with arms like Forrest Whitley, Eric Lauer, and Dakota Hudson still on the board) does loom as one developmental misstep of Bloom’s predecessor, Dave Dombrowski. Earlier today, our own TC Zencka took a look at some routes available to the former Rays executive as he seeks to bolster the club’s pitching for 2020.
- Astros coach Joe Espada was passed over for the Cubs manager job in favor of David Ross, but it doesn’t sound as if the coach is harboring any resentment toward the club, judging by quotes presented in a piece from Ken Davidoff of the New York Post (link). “I go in there and I present myself, and I provide a vision, my goals, and I show them my style and my personality and why I think I’m the right guy for the job,” Espada said on Friday. “And I made a strong case for myself [with the Cubs], and that’s all you could ask for.” In assessing the recent movements on the managerial market, Davidoff opines that Espada represents something of a middle-ground between the experience (Joe Maddon, Joe Girardi) and fresh perspective (Jayce Tingler, David Ross) that clubs have been opting for in their recent hires. Espada reportedly remains a candidate in both the Giants and Pirates manager searches.
NL Notes: Castellanos, Giants, Mets, Arrieta
MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand takes advantage of the break in World Series action to profile six upcoming free agents whose free agent values are “tough to define” heading into the 2019-2020 offseason. Cubs outfielder Nicholas Castellanos kicks off his list, with Feinsand noting that Castellanos’ defensive limitations may limit his market. On the more optimistic end, however, one unnamed NL executive is quoted as saying that “parallels” can be drawn to the profile of J.D. Martinez. As a formerly maligned outfield defender who showed pronounced growth at the plate after a few ho-hum early years in Detroit, Martinez netted a five-year, $110MM deal with the Red Sox back in 2018. Ironically, Castellanos and Martinez could be in direct competition on the open market this winter if Martinez opts out of his Red Sox contract and takes another spin through free agency.
More notes from around the senior circuit…
- Astros bench coach Joe Espada is using his day off between World Series games to travel to San Francisco for a meeting with Giants brass, according to Mark Feinsand of MLB.com (link). Espada has already conducted a phone interview with San Francisco reps, so his decision to sandwich an in-person interview between Fall Classic contests could be viewed as a sign that interest between both parties is fairly serious.
- Tim Bogar‘s previously reported second interview with Mets leadership is also expected to go down today, according to a tweet from Jon Heyman of MLB Network (link). Bogar, a coach with the Nationals, will also apparently be using his off day with an eye on securing one of MLB’s four remaining open managerial seats. As Heyman notes, Carlos Beltran, Eduardo Perez, Twins coach Derek Shelton, Mets coach Luis Rojas, and an “unknown bombshell candidate” are still in play for the New York position, with tongue presumably planted firmly in cheek on that last item.
- Heyman also relays that Phillies starter Jake Arrieta will not opt out of the last year of his contract (link). This is largely expected after the starter turned in a mediocre season marred by an arm injury that ultimately required surgery. As part of the three-year, $75MM deal agreed to prior to the 2018 season, Arrieta could have re-entered the free agency portal this offseason were he willing to forego the final year and $20MM slated for Philadelphia’s 2020 payroll. Instead, the 33-year-old will look to regain his form under the watch of new manager Phillies Joe Girardi. Arrieta pitched to a 4.64 ERA (4.89 FIP) in 24 starts and 135.2 innings in 2019.
Latest On Giants’ Manager Search
The Giants continue to vet candidates to be Bruce Bochy’s replacement. After sitting down with Cubs first base coach Will Venable last Friday, the organization recently spoke with Astros bench coach Joe Espada over the phone, reports MLB Network’s Jon Heyman (via Twitter). It doesn’t appear they have yet met in-person with Espada, who Heyman quips has been “pretty busy” in recent weeks. Not only has Espada had postseason work to handle, he’s also twice interviewed with the Cubs for their managerial opening and at least garnered some consideration from the Pirates for the same role. Heyman notes that Espada remains in play in Chicago and Pittsburgh, although most recent indications are that the Cubs will turn elsewhere.
Espada’s inclusion in the Giants’ mix reflects the organization’s patience and willingness to cast a wide net in search of their new skipper, opines Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle (via Twitter). There’s been recent chatter that A’s quality control coach Mark Kotsay is the favorite to land the job. However, Schulman pumps the brakes a bit, reporting that the organization isn’t yet set on either Kotsay or former Phillies manager Gabe Kapler, both of whom have clear ties to President of Baseball Operations Farhan Zaidi.
With so many names still floating around, it doesn’t seem any decision is imminent. Indeed, Schulman predicts the search will last into November (Twitter link). That would give the club more than enough time to formally sit down with Espada if they so desire, as the World Series wraps up October 30 at the latest (assuming, of course, Espada doesn’t get a managerial offer somewhere else in the meantime). Regardless, it seems clear Zaidi’s leaving no stone unturned in his first chance to handpick a dugout leader.
Stay up to date on all the league’s managerial rumors here.
Coaching Notes: Phillies, Girardi, Red Sox, Fatse, Espada
Joe Girardi is in Philadelphia today for his second meeting with ownership, and it’s his job to lose, tweets ESPN1000’s David Kaplan. The Phillies have no qualms about their ability to compete in 2020, and Girardi certainly fits the bill of a guy who’s been there before – both in terms of competition and level of scrutiny. Ownership and the front office weren’t necessarily aligned in their decision to part ways with Gabe Kapler, and it seems clear that ownership’s desire for a veteran hand is top-of-mind in their current search. Whomever takes the role will have an expectation to compete right away. Easier said than done in a division with the Braves, Nationals, and Mets also in gung-ho win-now mode. Let’s take a look elsewhere on the coaching carousel…
- Peter Fatse will become the assistant hitting coach of the Boston Red Sox, per Brandon Warne of ZoneCoverageMN (via Twitter). Fatse, 32, spent last season as a minor league hitting coordinator for the Minnesota Twins. He is a native of Massachusetts, and he has owned an Advanced Performance Facility in the area since 2010, per Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com. Fatse is the first offseason addition to Boston’s coaching staff, but they will soon look to fill out the pitching side of their coaching team.
- Joe Espada has a second interview upcoming in Chicago, but he’s been through the ringer before. Espada interviewed with the Angels, Blue Jays, and Rangers last year before returning to Houston. Better than last year’s tryout, Espada’s off-field perseverance prepped him for this year’s round of interviews, per MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand. While serving as Girardi’s third base and infield coach with the Yankees, Espada and his wife began to wrestle with what would become a diagnosis of autism for their daughter, who was only two-years-old at the time. “Seeing a four-year-old struggle to communicate with another four-year-old; you need to take time to spend with someone to teach them basic things,” Espada said, per Feinsand. “That can be the case in a clubhouse, too. The more we get involved, they see how much you care. The compassion, the commitment to do something together, it makes you a better person. It’s made me a better father and a better coach.”
Latest On Cubs’ Managerial Search
Just hours after celebrating the Astros’ thrilling ALCS victory over the Yankees, Houston bench coach Joe Espada is headed to Chicago for a second interview with the Cubs, MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand reports (Twitter link). For now, Espada is the only one of the Cubs’ six managerial candidates to be brought back for a second interview, greatly elevating his chances of becoming the next dugout boss at Wrigley Field. Indeed, as MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian writes, Espada and former Cubs catcher David Ross “are widely considered the top two candidates for the post.”
It should be noted that a formal second interview might not necessarily be required for three of the other known Cubs candidates, since they all currently work for the organization — bench coach Mark Loretta, first base coach Will Venable, and Ross, a special assistant to the baseball operations department. As Bastian puts it, “the Cubs know what they have in-house in Ross. A second interview with Espada will help the franchise get a better sense of what he brings to the table, too.”
Espada has been a popular managerial candidate this winter, as the Giants and Pirates have also shown interest in speaking with the 44-year-old about their own open manager positions. There hasn’t yet been any indication that Espada has interviewed with either of those clubs, however, though obviously Espada hasn’t had a lot of free time for interviews in recent weeks given the Astros’ continued postseason run.
Moving into the “second interview” phase would seem to hint that the Cubs are approaching an end to their search, though a formal announcement about a hiring may not come until after the World Series, as the league prefers teams to wait until postseason off-days to announce major news in order to keep the focus of the baseball world entirely on the Fall Classic. This isn’t to say that the Cubs couldn’t announce Espada’s hiring on a World Series off-day, of course, or that he could be hired before his Astros’ tenure is officially over. In fact, Alex Cora (Espada’s predecessor as Houston’s bench coach) was hired by the Red Sox as their next manager in the days leading up to the Astros beginning play in the 2017 World Series.
Managerial/Coaching Notes: Openers, Pirates, Phillies
Though the opener concept is less than two years old, it is suddenly unsurprising to see not one, but both teams planning a bullpen day for game 6 of the ALCS. To see juggernauts like the Astros and Yankees turn to relievers to start a game this late in the postseason is a testament to how quickly the game of baseball can change, writes ESPN’s Jeff Passan. Whether this on-field evolution will change the free agent market remains a question, but the Rays acquisition of Nick Anderson at the trade deadline could point to changing valuations regarding relievers. That trade in particular had a lot of moving parts that make it anomalous, including Ryne Stanek‘s inclusion in Miami’s return and Jesus Sanchez‘s struggles in Triple-A prior to the trade. Still, the Marlins acquired a borderline top-50 prospect in exchange for a 29-year-old rookie reliever, and the Rays very well could end up with the better end of the deal. Anderson’s performance in the postseason (5 2/3 innings, 1 earned run, 5 hits, 8 strikeouts, 0 walks) goes a long way in explaining to the casual baseball fan why Anderson might be so highly valued. As we await the first-ever bullpen day in a league championship series, let’s see what else is going on around baseball…
- Astros bench coach Joe Espada surely has enough on his plate ahead of tonight’s game 6, but he’s a man in high demand. The Pirates have joined the list of teams interested in interviewing Espada for their managerial vacancy, per MLB Network’s Jon Heyman (via Twitter). Espada has also received interest from the Giants and Cubs. The Cubs, for one, came away from their interview on Monday “exceptionally impressed” with Espada, per David Kaplan of NBC Sports Chicago (via Twitter).
- The Phillies still have a manager’s seat to fill, but they appear closer to hiring their next Amateur Scouting Director, per Jim Salisbury of NBCSPhilly (via Twitter). Brian Barber, the national crosschecker for the Yankees, appears to be their primary target. Former scouting director Johnny Almarez stepped down in September after serving in the role since October 2014, citing personal reasons.
AL West Notes: Espada, Rendon, Athletics
Astros bench coach Joe Espada has been linked to another managerial opening, as MLB Network’s Jon Heyman reports (Twitter link) that the Giants have asked the Astros for permission to speak to Espada. This will mark the third team who has put Espada on their radar this offseason, as he has already interviewed with the Cubs and received some consideration from the Angels before Los Angeles hired Joe Maddon. At least three more teams (the Blue Jays, Orioles, and Rangers) all considered Espada for managerial vacancies last offseason, as well.
As Heyman notes, San Francisco’s list of known candidates consists of “mostly younger guys” who have never managed at the Major League level before, like the 44-year-old Espada. Gabe Kapler and Mike Matheny (who has to be interviewed for the job) are the only candidates who have been big league skippers, though Kapler is only 44 years old and Matheny is 49. Longtime Giants coach Ron Wotus, at 58, is the oldest of the candidates. It certainly seems as though Giants president of baseball ops Farhan Zaidi is looking to follow the league’s recent trend towards younger, more analytically-inclined dugout bosses, though Zaidi said earlier this month that he was going to embark on a rather extensive search, so more candidates could still emerge.
More from around the AL West…
- Anthony Rendon in a Mariners uniform? It isn’t like to happen via free agency this offseason, though it was almost a reality back in 2011 when the M’s heavily scouted Rendon as the second overall pick in the draft, The Athletic’s Corey Brock writes (subscription required). “Going into the draft, [Rendon] was probably the player a lot of people thought we were going to take…and we did, too,” then-general manager Jack Zduriencik said. The Mariners had other players on their radar, however, and as draft day approached, Danny Hultzen eventually emerged as the pick. While selecting the highly-touted Hultzen was a perfectly respectable choice at the time, it ended up being a critical miss for Seattle —- Hultzen battled injuries throughout his career and only made his MLB debut this season, as a reliever for the Cubs. Rendon, of course, has gone onto stardom, as have several other players from what now looks like a stacked draft class. Rendon was the sixth overall pick, and Trevor Bauer (3rd), Francisco Lindor (8th), Javier Baez (9th), and George Springer (11th) also went in the top half of the first round.
- The Athletics have promoted Ed Sprague to director of player development, as per a team press release (Twitter link). Sprague will take over from Keith Lieppman, who has served in the role for the last 28 seasons as part of a 49-year run in the organization. Lieppman will become a special advisor to the player development department. Sprague, perhaps best known as a starting third baseman for the Blue Jays during his 11-year playing career, has worked in Oakland’s front office for the past four years.
NL Notes: Rockies, Strasburg, Scherzer, Espada
Thomas Harding of MLB.com confirms that the Rockies have dismissed several minor league coaches, including longtime Triple-A manager Glenallen Hill (link). Double-A hitting coach Lee Stevens and Single-A hitting coach Norberto Martin will also be let go, according to assistant general manager of player development Zach Wilson.
A member of the club’s coaching ranks since 2004, Hill was previously first base coach with Colorado’s big league squad from 2007 to 2012. The 54-year-old Santa Cruz native played for the Jays, Indians, Cubs, Giants, Yankees, and Angels over the course of a twelve-year MLB career. After Hill’s dismissal, top Colorado third base prospect Colton Welker figures to suit up for a fresh face at Triple-A Colorado Springs next season.
More notes from around the National League…
- In another Rockies item, Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post gives an eye toward the defensive improvements made in 2019 by catcher Tony Wolters–while also opining that the club should acquire a veteran backstop to lighten the workload of the light-hitting Wolters (link). As Saunders notes, Wolters, a former second baseman, was charged with just one error last season while throwing out 34% of would-be base stealers, a rate which trailed only J.T. Realmuto of the Phillies. Manager Bud Black, for one, told the Post this year that Wolters had turned himself into “one of the best defensive catchers in baseball”. Unfortunately, the value-added performance hasn’t translated to the plate for the 27-year-old San Diego native, as his .239/.327/.324 line in parts of four seasons would indicate. Weighted runs created plus, which discounts the effect of his offensively friendly Coors Field home, pegs Wolters with a 59 wRC+ in that same timeframe, profiling him as one of the weakest-hitting regulars in the sport. For this reason, Saunders posits that finding a platoon partner for the lefty-swinging Wolters will be a high priority for Rockies GM Jeff Bridich this winter.
- Two notes on Nationals players, one bullet point–efficiency reigns here at MLBTR. First up is a piece from MLB.com’s Anthony Castrovince, who, in creating a list of eight potential opt-out candidates this offseason, posits that any possibility of Stephen Strasburg opting-in to the remaining four years and $100MM on his contract has been “totally erased” this postseason (link). This seems a good time to supply a standard public service announcement regarding small sample size caveats, as recent history would suggest that postseason performance does not affect free agency decisions as frequently as many would expect. Still, Castrovince might not exactly be going out on a limb RE: Strasberg. While the pitcher’s injury concerns–evidenced best by his team’s decision to hold him out of the 2012 playoffs–have loomed over him for most of his career, Strasberg’s 1.64 ERA across 22 postseason innings this year has arguably gone some way toward ameliorating that fragile rap.
In a piece with fewer implications on the forthcoming hot stove, every baseball fan would be well-served to check out Rustin Dodd’s oral history regarding the college days of one Max Scherzer, published on The Athletic this morning (link). For Nats faithful feeling the afterglow of an NLCS sweep, hearing tales of some of Scherzer’s collegiate habits–including his ravenous affinity for Cici’s Pizza–should provide a giddy laugh. - A Houston source tells David Kaplan of NBC Chicago that Astros bench coach Joe Espada gave a “sensational” interview for the open Cubs manager job (link). Espada gave executive Theo Epstein and GM Jed Hoyer “a lot to think about”, per Kaplan’s source, but the question still remains if Espada can surpass franchise favorite David Ross in consideration for the managerial opening. For the time being, Espada’s ‘Stros will square off with the Yankees in New York this evening for the fourth game of the ALCS.