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Marlins, Royals Interview Dusty Wathan For Managerial Posts

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Phillies third base coach Dusty Wathan interviewed with the Marlins and Royals about their managerial vacancies this past week, NBC Sports Philadelphia’s Jim Salisbury reports.  Wathan has been fitting these interviews in between gaps in the Phils’ postseason schedule, speaking with Miami last Sunday (the day after the Phillies clinched their NLDS matchup with the Braves) and the Royals on Thursday (between Games 2-3 of the NLCS).

Wathan has never managed at the Major League level, but he did amass quite a bit of dugout experience in the minors from 2008-17, managing affiliates at five different levels of Philadelphia’s farm system.  He was also a candidate for the Phillies’ managerial post prior to the 2018 season, and after that job went to Gabe Kapler, Wathan still received a promotion to the MLB coaching staff as the new third base coach.

Following the 2018 season, Wathan interviewed for the Rangers’ managerial opening that was eventually filled by Chris Woodward.  Now, the 49-year-old Wathan is again on the radar for teams in need of a new skipper, with the Kansas City job adding some particular intrigue given Wathan’s longstanding ties to the organization.

A veteran of 14 seasons in the minor leagues, Wathan’s only MLB experience came in a Royals uniform, as he appeared in three games during the 2002 season.  Beyond that cup of coffee, Wathan also carried on part of a family tradition in Kansas City, as his father John spent 47 years with the organization in a wide variety of roles, including player (from 1976-85) and manager (1987-91).  The elder Wathan only just retired at the end of the 2022 season, and Dina Blevins (John’s daughter and Dusty’s sister) still works for the Royals as part of their community impact department.

Wathan is the third known candidate to interview with the Royals in their search for Mike Matheny’s replacement, joining bench coach Pedro Grifol and Rays bench coach Matt Quatraro.  Grifol and Quartraro are also candidates in Miami, and both have received a second interview for the position.

Given that the Marlins are already in the second-interview phase, it would seem like they’re relatively close to making a decision on their new manager, though there haven’t been a lot of public details about the team’s search.  Cardinals bench coach Skip Schumaker is also reportedly one of the leading contenders for the job, though it isn’t known if he has also gotten a second interview, or if the pool of Schumaker/Grifol/Quatraro could comprise a group of finalists.  Former Blue Jays manager John Gibbons also interviewed with the Marlins, according to MLB Network’s Jon Morosi (Twitter link), but it doesn’t appear that Gibbons is still under consideration.

Latest On Padres’ Managerial Candidates

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The Padres are one of two teams with a current managerial vacancy, having fired Jayce Tingler last week. Braves third base coach Ron Washington — the runner-up to Tingler in the club’s previous managerial search — has already expressed interested and been reported to be under consideration for the position, and speculation about a few other potential candidates has begun to emerge.

In addition to Washington, Padres’ brass has done some background work on veteran managers Bruce Bochy and Buck Showalter, reports Buster Olney of ESPN (Twitter link). Bochy told Chris Russo of SiriusXM’s Mad Dog Sports Radio channel last Friday that he hadn’t been contacted by the Friars to that point, but he expressed some openness to considering the role if the club were interested. Showalter, meanwhile, has a lengthy managerial career that includes stints with the Yankees, D-Backs, Rangers and Orioles dating back to 1992. The 65-year-old last managed in 2018 with Baltimore, but he’d bring an accomplished resume — three Manager of the Year award wins and five postseason appearances — to the table.

Bob Nightengale of USA Today adds three more candidates to the mix, suggesting each of Brad Ausmus, John Gibbons and Jeff Banister could be under consideration. Ausmus, a former Padre player and front office executive, had previous stints managing the Tigers (2014-17) and Angels (2019). Gibbons spent two separate stints at the helm of the Blue Jays, leading the club to a pair of playoff appearances from 2015-16.

Banister, meanwhile, spent four years leading the Rangers — somewhat ironically succeeding Washington in that position after the latter stepped down near the end of the 2014 season. Padres president of baseball operations A.J. Preller has hired quite a few former colleagues from his time in Texas, but Preller had already matriculated to San Diego by the time the Rangers hired Banister. The 57-year-old Banister spent four years at the helm in Arlington, leading the team to a pair of playoff appearances in his first two seasons before they dropped below .500 over his final couple campaigns.

Olney also adds one more interesting wrinkle, suggesting the Friars may have interest in Yankees’ skipper Aaron Boone. Boone has spent the last four seasons in the Bronx, but his contract is set to expire at the end of this season. It’s entirely possible the Yankees sign Boone to an extension and keep him in the fold, but there’ll be at least some uncertainty regarding his status until New York makes a formal announcement about his future with the organization.

Clearly, San Diego has taken a broad approach to the initial round of hiring, with a wide array of early candidates in the mix. Kevin Acee of the San Diego of the Union-Tribune reports that the club is hoping to pare things down a bit by the end of this week, although there’s no firm timetable set for advancing the process.

Interestingly, each of the publicly-known initial candidates has some degree of managerial experience at the major league level, a few having managed with multiple franchises. Padres’ chairman Peter Seidler indicated last week that wouldn’t be a prerequisite for the position. It’s likely there are also others under consideration who have no prior MLB managing history, but it’s nevertheless noteworthy to see the Pads at least kicking the tires on a group of well-known skippers after Preller’s first two hires (Andy Green and Tingler, respectively) were both assuming the role for the first time.

Quick Hits: Rays, Franco, Gibbons, Phillies, Harper, Storen

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Wander Franco has apparently heard some of the positive chatter around his game. MLB Insider Hector Gomez tweets that Franco fully expects to have $300MM in front of him within four years. Of course, baseball economics make that a somewhat suspect goal, as there’s a decent chance Franco will not be arbitration eligible yet in that timespan, and even if he were, the largest contract given out by the Rays is the six-year, $100MM deal given to Evan Longoria. It’s hard to imagine them tripling that high overnight. And yet, if there were a guy to prompt such spending, Franco might be the one. The Rays’ 19-year-old shortstop has a hit tool that scouts are raving about in no uncertain terms. The youngster hit an absurd .318/.390/.506 in Single A last season against competition an average of more than 3 years his elder. Franco’s on-field performance thus far certainly merits bawdy talk, and in an open market, there’s no telling how much Franco might earn today. While Franco’s stock continues to appreciate, let’s check in elsewhere around the league…

  • Former Blue Jays manager John Gibbons has been vocal about his desire to get back into a major league clubhouse. He hasn’t gotten much traction, however, despite efforts on his part to dispel certain assumptions about his managerial style. Gibbons doesn’t agree with his reputation around the league, which considers him an old-school type, non-adept with analytics and better-suited to a veteran clubhouse. He had reached out to a number of teams with openings this offseason, but couldn’t even secure himself an interview. Not until the Astros’ position became available, writes The Star’s Gregor Chisholm. The role ultimately went to Dusty Baker, returning Gibbons to his current role as a scout for the Braves. Gibbons will continue to reach out to clubs with managerial openings.
  • Drew Storen has been through a lot in his baseball life, from an undefeated high school season alongside teammate Lance Lynn, to anchoring the bullpen on early Nats contenders that featured a young Bryce Harper, to Tommy John surgery in 2017 that stuck his career in the mud, writes Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadelphia. While in camp with the Phillies this spring, Storen had a couple of major takeaways. First was how much he enjoyed playing the game. Second was how much Harper has grown as a leader since his early days with the Nats. And third was that Storen actually had a pretty decent chance of making the team. Being released by the Royals last June lit a fire for Storen, reminding him the type of urgency and intention it would take to return to the big leagues. He went to work at Driveline in an effort to build his arm enough to make a major league bullpen. Storen looked good this spring, with a 3.60 ERA over 5 innings with 5 strikeouts and zero walks.

Red Sox Name Ron Roenicke Interim Manager

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3:05pm: The Red Sox have now officially named Roenicke their interim manager, issuing a press release to announce the move. Speier tweets that the “interim” label will likely be shed as soon as MLB finishes its investigation into the 2018 Red Sox.

FEBRUARY 11, 12:32pm: The Red Sox are preparing to name Roenicke to the interim manager, Alex Speier of the Boston Globe reports on Twitter.

FEBRUARY 7, 10:57am: Adding another layer of intrigue, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic tweets that the Red Sox also interviewed former Blue Jays manager John Gibbons earlier this week. Gibbons interviewed with the Astros before they hired Dusty Baker as well.

10:47am: The Red Sox issued the following statement in response to the report regarding Roenicke (Twitter link via MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo): “Our managerial search is not yet completed. We will comment at the completion of the search.”

That, of course, doesn’t mean that Roenicke won’t ultimately be named manager, although it’s nevertheless notable that the team felt compelled to issue a statement without being prompted.

9:38am: The Red Sox are planning to name bench coach Ron Roenicke as manager, replacing the recently fired Alex Cora, the Boston Globe’s Peter Abraham reports (via Twitter). The Boston organization is waiting for the commissioner’s office to conclude its investigation into the team’s 2018 sign-stealing allegations before making a formal announcement, however.

Ron Roenicke | Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

That the Red Sox are planning to promote him seemingly suggests that the organization doesn’t believe Roenicke played a significant role in the club’s 2018 transgressions and won’t face discipline from the league; Roenicke was Cora’s bench coach that season — his first year on the job in Boston.

Roenicke, 63, played in parts of eight big league seasons from 1981-88 and also has 18 seasons as a Major League coach and five as a Major League manager on his resume. He served as the Brewers’ manager from 2011-15, although he was dismissed from that post just 25 games into his final season at the helm. (Milwaukee hired current skipper Craig Counsell to replace him.) Despite that ousting, it’s worth noting that Roenicke’s Brewers posted a winning record in three of his four full seasons as manager, including a 96-win effort in 2011 that saw the club last until Game 6 of the National League Championship Series.

With the league expected to formally conclude its investigation in the near future, an announcement on Roenicke may not be too far off. The dugout veteran will be stepping up into a delicate and tumultuous situation, so it’s not especially surprising to see the Red Sox opt for someone who both knows the players in the clubhouse and has experience working as a big league manager in the past. The Sox also reportedly interviewed Athletics quality control coach Mark Kotsay, D-backs bench coach Luis Urueta and their own third base coach Carlos Febles, but Roenicke is the lone known candidate who has previously run a Major League team at the field level. He’ll no doubt face some tough questions if and when he’s formally promoted, although the exact timing on conclusion of the league’s investigation obviously can’t be known.

The managerial change will be the latest step in what would’ve been an unfathomable shakeup just 16 months ago. The Red Sox, of course, won the 2018 World Series in Cora’s first season as a big league manager and in now-former president Dave Dombrowski’s third full year running the club’s baseball operations outfit. With a talented core of veterans and several key young talents emerging at the MLB level — Rafael Devers and Andrew Benintendi among them — the Sox appeared poised for another lengthy run as one of the game’s premier teams. Barely a year later, both Dombrowski and Cora are out, however, and the team is in the process of trading arguably its best player of the current generation in a poorly veiled ploy to duck under the luxury tax barrier. Former Rays senior vice president Chaim Bloom was brought in as the club’s chief baseball officer, and he’ll now work with Roenicke — at least for the 2020 season — in an effort to steer the Sox out of what has become one of the rockiest years in the franchise’s storied history.

Latest On Mets’ Managerial Search

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Longtime major league managers Buck Showalter, Dusty Baker and John Gibbons have been mentioned as speculative fits for the Mets since Carlos Beltran stepped down last week. However, as of now, none of them are candidates to take over in New York, Jon Heyman of MLB Network suggests. Something would have to “drastically” change for any of the three to emerge as a possibility for the Mets’ job, according to Heyman.

To this point, almost no known Beltran successors have come to the fore since he left the organization Thursday as a result of the Astros’ 2017 sign-stealing fiasco. The lone reported name is Mets quality control coach Luis Rojas, whom they almost hired before making the ill-fated decision to tab Beltran back in the fall.

Now, it seems Mets bigwigs aren’t fully sure how to proceed in the wake of Beltran’s sudden exit. There’s “some level of paralysis” from their front office on where to turn, according to the New York Post’s Mike Puma, who notes an eventual ownership change is part of the issue.

While minority owner Steve Cohen won’t grab the reins from Fred Wilpon and Jeff Wilpon as the Mets’ control person until 2025, his eventual takeover has slowed down the club as it seeks its next skipper. GM Brodie Van Wagenen & Co. fear they’ll “look bad to Cohen” if they hire a manager whom they didn’t consider in their previous search, Puma writes. So, with that in mind, it appears Rojas is the front-runner to land the position after coming up short in his bid for it just a couple months ago.

Latest On Astros Managerial, GM Vacancies

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There hasn’t been much scuttlebutt in terms of the Astros’ GM vacancy – but a number of names have been floated for their next manager. USA Today’s Bob Nightengale observes that the current known pool of candidates leans heavily toward veteran, respected leaders (Dusty Baker, Buck Showalter, John Gibbons), while MLB Network insider Jon Heyman succinctly recaps what makes this hiring situation so very unique. The front office executives left behind in Houston would likely lean towards a more contemporary approach, given their heavily analytical approach, but with spring training not that far off, owner Jim Crane made the decision to hire his next field manager personally. Bringing in a field manager before the next general manager is not the ideal process, writes The Athletic’s Jake Kaplan, but little about the Astros’ current situation is.

  • Cubs third base coach Will Venable is the exception to Nightengale’s observation. When asked today at the Cubs Convention if he’d be leaving, Venable said plainly, “No, I’m not.” This, per Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun Times (via Twitter) and many others in attendance – though Venable did walk back the absolute denial a little bit later in the day (covered in depth by The Athletic’s Sahadev Sharma here). Sitting bench coach Joe Espada has also been speculated about, though given the circumstances, an outside hire seems like the prohibitive favorite. For what it’s worth, MLBTR readers settled this issue just two days ago, electing Buck Showalter as the best choice with 34% of the vote.
  • Now a few days removed from the release of the Commissioner’s verdict on the sign-stealing scandal, most Houston Astros players have avoided public comment. Jose Altuve and Alex Bregman did speak to the media today, expressing empathy for A.J. Hinch and Jeff Luhnow, while denying any use of wearable tech, per MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart. The Commissioner’s report found no evidence of wearable tech utilized by Astros players in 2019. Still, The Athletic’s Jake Kaplan writes, the organizational response (or lack thereof) from players on the whole misses an appropriate measure of contrition. As players participated in the Astros’ FanFest today, Kaplan describes a couple of scenes wherein the organization’s PR staff attempted to mollify any discussion of the scandal by pairing stars of the team under fire – Bregman and Altuve, namely – with youngsters like Kyle Tucker, Yordan Alvarez, and Abraham Toro, who were not yet with the club in 2017. 

 

 

Astros To Interview John Gibbons

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The Astros have lined up their first reported interview as they search for a new manager. They’ll meet with veteran skipper John Gibbons on Thursday, according to Mark Berman of Fox 26.

The Texas-raised Gibbons is one of many experienced possibilities to reportedly land on the Astros’ radar early in their quest to replace A.J. Hinch. Gibbons has nearly 1,600 games on his resume, all of which have come with the Blue Jays. The 57-year-old had two separate stints as Toronto’s manager (one from 2004-08, the next from 2013-18), combining for 11 years, a 793-789 regular-season record and a pair of playoff berths. The Blue Jays advanced to the ALCS in each of those two seasons.

After the Blue Jays parted with him, Gibbons spent last season out of coaching. Gibbons made it known back in the fall that he was hoping to get back into managing, but he didn’t receive any reported interviews before now.

John Gibbons Hopes To Interview For Managerial Vacancies

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Former Toronto Blue Jays manager John Gibbons is throwing his hat in the ring for the many managerial openings across Major League Baseball, per MLB Network’s Jon Morosi (via Twitter).

Gibbons last managed a major league team in 2018 when he led the Toronto Blue Jays to a record of 73-89. It was the final season of a 6-year stint in Toronto during which the Blue Jays went 488-484, winning the AL East with a 93-win season in 2015. Toronto came within two wins of reaching the World Series, falling in six games to the eventual World Series champion Kansas City Royals in the ALCS.

They made the playoffs twice in Gibbons’ tenure, also capturing the Wild Card in 2016. The Blue Jays won that WC game in thrilling fashion when Edwin Encarnacion walked off Ubaldo Jimenez in the bottom of the 11th with a 3-run home run. That game is more famous for the decisions made in the opposing dugout, as Buck Showalter never got uber-closer Zack Britton into the ballgame, despite owning a 0.54 ERA across 69 games on the season. Showalter’s decision certainly played a role in the expansion of the fireman concept in contemporary bullpens, as teams are far less likely these days to save someone like Britton for a save situation that may never come.

Gibbons’ teams performed well in the postseason, winning not just the WC game but also sweeping the Rangers in the ALDS. Losing two straight seasons in the ALCS won’t etch Gibbons name anywhere in Cooperstown, but it was an achievement nonetheless. He helped end a 22-year postseason drought that extended from their World Series victory in 1993 until the division title in 2015.

Of course, Gibbons was well aware of the drought, as his first and only other managerial experience came with the Blue Jays from August 2004 until June of 2008. Those Blue Jays teams were always competitive, despite never reaching the postseason. His entire Blue Jays tenure ended with a record of 793-789, a .501 winning percentage.

There are a number of managerial vacancies around the MLB at present, including high profile offices in New York and Chicago. The Royals, Padres, Pirates, Giants and Angels are the other clubs hunting a new field manager. For what it’s worth, Gibbons began his professional coaching career with the Mets in 1990. He also served as a bench coach in Kansas City, and Double-A manager in the Padres system for the 2012 season.

Managerial Rumors: Angels, Maddon, Giants, Ibanez, Farrell, Gibbons

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Joe Maddon is reportedly a leading candidate to take over as the Angels’ next manager, but he’s not the lone possibility to replace Brad Ausmus. General manager Billy Eppler stated Tuesday that the Angels “plan on sitting down with a number of candidates” to discuss the job, per Maria Torres of the Los Angeles Times. Maddon’s a highly accomplished manager who earlier spent three decades with the Angels organization in several different roles, which seems to make him a slam-dunk choice for the position. However, it’s worth noting that Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reported last week that the Angels might be hesitant to meet Maddon’s asking price. Maddon made $6MM this year with the Cubs, who moved on from him after they fell way short of expectations in 2019.

  • The Giants, who are seeking a successor to Bruce Bochy, are interested in ex-major league outfielder Raul Ibanez, Jon Morosi of MLB.com reports.  Ibanez has been working as a special assistant to Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman since 2016, giving him familiarity with the Giants’ Farhan Zaidi. Before Zaidi took the reins as San Francisco’s president of baseball ops last offseason, he worked as the Dodgers’ general manager.
  • Former big league skipper John Farrell remains interested in a third go-around as a manager, Rosenthal tweets. The 57-year-old last managed in 2017, when he oversaw a Red Sox team that finished 93-69 and earned an AL East title. Farrell managed three division winners and a World Series champion (2013) in Boston over five years, though he also guided two last-place clubs during his uneven reign. Prior to that, he managed the Blue Jays to a 154-170 record from 2011-12. Farrell has served as a scout and a pitching consultant in Cincinnati since 2018, and he interviewed for the Phillies’ and Reds’ managerial openings during the previous two offseasons.
  • Fellow ex-Jays manager John Gibbons also could be a possibility for clubs, Mark Feinsand of MLB.com relays. The 57-year-old wants to manage again or at least serve as a bench coach, according to Feinsand. Gibbons lost his job in Toronto after 2018, ending a two-stint, 11-year run with the franchise. He led the club to a 793-789 record with a pair of playoff berths.
  • Astros first base coach Don Kelly is a candidate to draw managerial interest in the coming weeks, Morosi hears. The 39-year-old Kelly, best known for his run as a major league utlityman for the Pirates, Tigers and Marlins from 2007-16, is only in his first season as a coach. He spent the previous two seasons in a pro scouting role with Detroit.

Blue Jays’ Managerial Search Enters Second Round

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Since announcing the departure of manager John Gibbons, the Blue Jays have begun their search for a new skipper as they look to return to contention for the first time since back-to-back playoff appearances in 2015 and 2016. The search is now well underway, with the Jays narrowing a broad list of candidates to a smaller group that warrants closer consideration.

As of Oct. 18, the Blue Jays were “believed to be down to five candidates,” per Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca. He cited Astros bench coach Joe Espada, Rays field coordinator Rocco Baldelli, Cubs bench coach Brandon Hyde and Giants director of player development David Bell as finalists, though Bell’s name is obviously no longer in play since he’s been hired by the Reds as their new manager. Here’s where things presently stand…

Latest Update – October 23

  • Rays bench coach Charlie Montoyo interviewed with the Jays today, per Fancred’s Jon Heyman (Twitter link). It’s not clear if it was a second interview and Montoyo had already emerged as one of the reported finalists or if the Jays set up additional interviews after the Reds hired Bell (a reported Jays finalist) away. That brings the Blue Jays to 15 or more candidates interviewed for the managerial vacancy.

Full summation of the Blue Jays’ managerial search below:

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