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Mets Interview Michael Hill

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The Mets have interviewed Michael Hill for the role of president of baseball operations, Andy Martino of SNY.tv reports on Twitter. The chat occurred over the weekend.

It’s an especially interesting time to follow the rarely dull New York franchise. New owner Steve Cohen raised already lofty expectations for his first offseason at the helm in a recent talk with the media, but he’ll first need to add baseball operations leadership before attacking the player market.

Cohen brought back Sandy Alderson in the team president role, with intentions of overhauling the front office. Now Alderson is leading the search for someone to take over his former role atop the baseball ops hierarchy.

It wasn’t long ago that Hill and Alderson were doing battle in the NL East, with the former heading up the Marlins front office. Though Hill survived an ownership change in Miami and helped put together a successful 2020 roster, he ended up departing at season’s end.

No doubt the Mets are strongly considering other candidates as well as Hill, who has also been linked to the Angels. The full slate of candidates isn’t yet clear. It’s quite an appealing opportunity now that the deep-pocketed Cohen is aboard. Alderson has stated that he’ll delegate primary decisionmaking authority to the baseball operations president.

Quick Hits: Mets, Lindor, Angels, Hill, Padres, Pirates

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The Mets could go after Indians shortstop Francisco Lindor in a trade during the offseason, but the return might prove prohibitive for New York. As David Lennon of Newsday tweets, the Indians could ask for an Andres Gimenez–Jeff McNeil tandem in trade talks. That would be a lot for the Mets, who saw Gimenez perform well as a rookie in 2020 and who have gotten tremendous production from the versatile McNeil dating back to his 2018 debut. McNeil has batted an outstanding .319/.383/.501 in 1,024 major league plate appearances, so it seems highly unlikely the Mets will part with him and Gimenez for one year of control over Lindor.

  • Former Marlins president of baseball operations Michael Hill, whom they parted with in late October, continues to look like a serious candidate for the Angels’ general manager job. Hill will have an in-person meeting soon with Angels owner Arte Moreno, according to Jon Heyman of MLB Network.
  • Padres left-hander Matt Strahm recently underwent successful surgery on his partially torn right patellar tendon, Robert Murray of Fansided reports. The 28-year-old Strahm logged a 2.61 ERA/4.93 FIP with a career-worst 6.53 K/9 against 1.74 BB/9 over 20 2/3 innings in 2020.
  • John Baker looks like the front-runner to take over as the Pirates’ farm director, Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh-Post Gazette reports. The former major league catcher has been working in the Cubs’ front office since 2015.

Latest On Angels’ GM Search

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OCT. 30, 6:07pm: Brewers assistant GM Matt Arnold has also interviewed with the Angels, per Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. Arnold was a candidate for Pittsburgh’s GM vacancy last winter, but that position went to Ben Cherington.

3:47pm: Ricciardi is not a candidate, Fletcher tweets. Former Giants GM Bobby Evans has received an interview, though, and Mariners assistant GM Justin Hollander (formerly with the Angels) is also in the mix, according to Fletcher. Additionally, they’ve reached out to Eddie Bane, their former scouting director, to gauge his interest in the GM job, Robert Murray reports.

OCT. 29, 11:01pm; Former Marlins president of baseball operations Michael Hill, Nationals special assistant to the GM Dan Jennings and Cubs VP of player personnel Jason McLeod are also in the running, according to Kiley McDaniel of ESPN.

10:28pm: The Angels have moved slowly to find a new general since firing Billy Eppler at the end of September, but at least a few names have emerged for the job, per reports from Robert Murray, Jon Heyman of MLB Network, Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register, Maria Torres of the Los Angeles Times and Mike Puma of the New York Post.

According to the aforementioned group of reporters, Diamondbacks assistant general managers Jared Porter and Amiel Sawdaye, Athletics assistant Billy Owens and Padres senior advisor Logan White have all interviewed for the job in Anaheim. Giants special advisor J.P. Ricciardi, once the Blue Jays’ GM, is also in the running. The Angels also contacted Cubs vice president of scouting Dan Kantrovitz to gauge his interest in the position, but he’s not a candidate. Kantrovitz turned down the Angels’ overtures and will stay with the Cubs in 2021, Sahadev Sharma of The Athletic reports.

While both Porter and Sawdaye received new contracts with the Diamondbacks just over a year ago, perhaps they’re amenable to taking over another team’s baseball operations. Owens just finished his 19th season in the A’s front office, though he may be open to a change with executive VP Billy Beane possibly set to pursue other interests. And then there’s White, who previously worked for the Dodgers but has been with the Padres since before 2015.

Of course, anyone succeeding Eppler will be taking over a fairly appealing situation. The Angels have missed the postseason six times in a row, but they have the game’s best player, center fielder Mike Trout, as well as a great complement in third baseman Anthony Rendon. Infielder David Fletcher, two-way player Shohei Ohtani, young outfielder Jo Adell and starters Dylan Bundy and Andrew Heaney are also on hand. Plus, owner Arte Moreno has typically been willing to spend, so the budget shouldn’t be a hindrance for the club’s next GM.

Quick Hits: Bauer, Angels, Hill

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The Rays are changing it up tonight in an effort to even up the World Series with the Dodgers, per MLB.com’s Juan Toribio (via Twitter). Against the southpaw Julio Urías, the Rays have dropped Brandon Lowe to the 5-spot, while lefty killer Mike Brosseau gets the start at third base batting third. Hunter Renfroe gets the start in right field in place of Austin Meadows. The Rays tend to play match-ups against lefties, but don’t be surprised to see Ji-Man Choi or Meadows come in off the bench late in the game. While we wait for first pitch, let’s see what else is going on around the game…

  • Trevor Bauer had more fun playing baseball with the Reds this season than in any of his prior professional campaigns, per the Athletic’s C. Trent Rosencrans. That bodes well for a return to Cincinnati for the free agent hurler, though the financial component will still have to be figured out by new head baseball decision-maker Nick Krall. Projecting free agent contracts has never been a murkier business than this season following widespread revenue loss around baseball. Bauer figures to be a rare free agent not to have his market diminished all that much, not after a Cy Young worthy campaign.
  • The Angels will consider ex-Marlins executive Michael Hill to fill their General Manager vacancy, per MLB Network contributor Craig Mish (via Twitter). By all accounts, Hill’s departure from Miami stemmed from a salary disagreement, which would not be out of character for the cost conscious Marlins. Hill had been with the Marlins in one capacity or another since 2002. The Angels would represent a starkly different challenge for Hill, who has spent years managing slow-burn rebuilds in Miami. Whoever takes over baseball ops in Los Angeles will be pressured to get the team back to the playoffs as soon as possible, lest another year of Mike Trout’s prime pass by without postseason play.

Front Office/Coaching Notes: Red Sox, Venable, Marlins, Denbo, Cubs, Epstein, Hoyer

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The Red Sox are beginning the process of bringing in candidates for their managerial opening. Cubs coach Will Venable has already come in to interview, while George Lombard of the Dodgers and Don Kelly of the Pirates are likely on the list of incoming interviewees, per MLB Network’s Jon Heyman (via Twitter). Venable has been a popular managerial candidate recently. He interviewed for openings with the Astros and Giants last season, ultimately returning to the Cubs to serve as their third base coach in 2020. The former player moved back into the dugout for the 2018 season after being hired by the Cubs as a special assistant. For the Red Sox opening, however, Alex Cora continues to be seen as the favorite, though he will not be able to interview for the role until his suspension lifts after the conclusion of the World Series.

  • The Marlins are looking to hire a Team President that can complete their upper leadership group in the player ops department. That means augmenting and supplementing the work of Gary Denbo, their Director of Player Development and Scouting. Derek Jeter and Denbo are close, making it easy to presume that he could be a candidate to fill Michael Hill’s Team President role, but that’s not the case, per Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. Jackson provides a quote from Jeter that shines some light on his thinking for the position, as Jeter said, “Gary has done a great job where he is right now. You look at how you build an organization; you have to have a great scouting department and a great player development department. Gary deserves a lot of credit for what we’ve been able to do to this point. Where he is right now is where he is most important.”
  • The Cubs and Theo Epstein remain aligned on the current plan for Epstein to play out the last year of his contract before likely departing after 2021. Executive VP and General Manager Jed Hoyer does not share Theo’s exit strategy, however, and it seems right now as if he’ll stay on to fully take control of the Cubs’ baseball ops department after Theo departs, writes The Athletic’s Sahadev Sharma and Patrick Mooney. Hoyer has served as Theo’s partner in the front office for many years, but Theo still steers the ship, as was the case specifically with the Cubs’ rigorous approach to COVID-19 testing this year when they were the only team in the majors without a positive test. Hoyer will preserve a healthy dose of continuity when Theo leaves, but there will be change when the buck officially stops with him.

Marlins Part Ways With Michael Hill

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10:31AM: In a conference call with Barry Jackson and Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald (Twitter links) and other media members, Jeter said the club had talks with Hill about a new contract but eventually decided to part ways.  The club will have a GM/president of baseball operations in place, though Jeter likes his front office’s collaborative way of decision-making.  Marlins director of player personnel Dan Greenlee has also been promoted to assistant GM, Jeter said.

9:12AM: The Marlins have moved on from president of baseball operations Michael Hill, the Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reports (Twitter link).  The news ends an 18-year run for Hill in Miami’s front office.

The move isn’t a firing, as Hill’s contract with the club (an extension signed under previous owner Jeffrey Loria) was up at the end of the 2020 season.  There hadn’t been any word about a new deal for Hill, yet today’s news still counts as a surprise, both because there hadn’t been any indication that Hill wouldn’t be staying on with the club, and because the Marlins are coming off their first playoff appearance since 2003.

Despite this recent success, however, it could be that majority owner Bruce Sherman and CEO Derek Jeter simply wish to cut ties with one of the few remaining faces from the Loria era.  The Marlins organization underwent a pretty substantial makeover once Sherman bought the team in 2017, though Hill retained his job and helped oversee the Marlins’ latest roster overhaul.

Hill steadily moved up the chain of command over his long stint in Miami, moving from an assistant general manager to the GM job in 2007, and then the president of baseball operations role in 2013.  It is a tenure that is difficult to properly evaluate, given the tumult that Hill often had to navigate amidst Loria’s controversial ownership of the Marlins.  As noted by the Miami Herald’s Barry Jackson (Twitter links), “Hill never had total authority” to run the front office under either Loria or Sherman.  “Loria made all significant personnel decisions in prior regime,” while Hill was the public face of the front office under Jeter but was “part of what was essentially a committee of people who gave input to Jeter on personnel moves.”

One common thread throughout Hill’s time with the Marlins has been the team’s knack for drafting and developing young talent, though time after time, this pipeline was undercut by Loria ordering ill-advised trades and major signings.  Compounding the problem was Loria’s tendency to immediately lose faith in his team after failing to experience immediate success, which led to the front office having to then figure out how to cut costs and start over with another rebuild.  The fact that the Marlins were able to generate a good core group of young talent multiple times over (both under Loria and under Jeter) is perhaps a hint of what Hill could achieve if he was able to run a more normal front office environment.

Hill is only 49 years old, and given his respected reputation around baseball, it wouldn’t be surprising to see him emerge as a candidate for one of the open GM/president of baseball operations jobs this offseason.  The most immediate speculation has focused on the Reds, as president of baseball ops Dick Williams resigned earlier this month and Hill is from Cincinnati.  It stands to reason that the Phillies and Angels might also have interest in speaking to Hill about their front office vacancies.

Speaking of the Angels, former Halos GM Billy Eppler could potentially be a candidate to step into Hill’s old role in Miami, MLB Network’s Jon Morosi tweets, as well as Yankees VP of baseball operations Tim Naehring.  Both Eppler and Naehring were in the Yankees organization during Jeter’s time in New York, and Jeter has shown a propensity for hiring people with ties to the Bronx.

It also isn’t necessarily clear whether or not a new Marlins hire would enjoy any more autonomy than Hill did, since Jeter is ultimately making the baseball decisions.  A new GM or president of baseball ops might simply be trusted with handling day-to-day duties and being a member of the aforementioned “committee” reporting to Jeter.  Joel Sherman of the New York Post notes that Gary Denbo, the Marlins’ director of player development and scouting, is seen around baseball as being Jeter’s top front office advisor, so a new general manager might not even rank second in Miami’s front office pyramid.

Still, there is bound to be plenty of industry interest in being part of a Marlins organization that has signs of turning the corner.  After ten losing seasons, the Fish went 31-29 to reach the postseason and then defeated the Cubs in the NL wild card series before being swept by the Braves in the NLDS.  This success was in spite of a widespread COVID-19 outbreak within the clubhouse that impacted 18 players and coaches and put the Marlins’ season on hold for over a week.

Marlins Notes: Rotation, Smith

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The Miami Marlins haven’t had a lot to feel good about in recent seasons, but the rebuild is beginning to bear fruit. The Marlins rotation has been a talking point since around the All-Star break of 2019, and though they’re not yet a fearsome unit, they’re worth keeping an eye on. They finished the year 16th in the majors by ERA, 20th by FIP, 14th in HR/9, and 22nd by fWAR. They didn’t generate a lot of groundballs, but that’s playing to strength given their ballpark. The biggest area of improvement looking ahead to next season will be control, as they finished second-to-last with 3.50 BB/9. Still, given where the franchise has been in recent seasons, any unit climbing from the cellar is noteworthy.

That said, the first wave of talent often becomes the last wave of prospect-gathering trade bait. At least for the time being, however, the Marlins aren’t overeager to move their starting pitching. Still, that doesn’t stop teams from asking, particularly about Caleb Smith, per MLB Network Insider Jon Heyman. Smith, 28, is the veteran at the front of their young group, and his trade value remains high due to having just over two years of service time. He struggled with the long ball in 2019, but it was an overall successful campaign: 10-11, 28 starts, 4.52 ERA/5.11 FIP, 153 1/3 innings. Smith definitely made strides in securing his spot as a major leaguer, though it would not be surprising were the Marlins to pivot and decide to move him.

Regardless, President of Baseball Ops Michael Hill suggested the Marlins are secure in their starting options heading into 2020, and they’re unlikely to make a major acquisition in that regard, per Wells Dusenbury of the South Florida Sun Sentinel. The current group includes Smith, 2019 All-Star Sandy Alcantara, Pablo Lopez, Jordan Yamamoto, Jose Urena, Elieser Hernandez, and Robert Dugger. Alcantara and Smith are probably the only two with their rotation spots guaranteed. The rest of the group should have no trouble conjuring a sense of urgency, as top prospect Sixto Sanchez finished the year in Double-A, as did Edward Cabrera, perhaps their most promising arm after Sanchez.

The Marlins felt secure enough in this group (and the intriguing group of prospects coming behind them) that they dealt Zac Gallen to the Diamondbacks for young shortstop Jazz Chisholm. The position player side of the ball should soon see an influx of intriguing young talent get their chance in the big leagues. Along with Chisholm, the Marlins added JJ Bleday with the 4th overall pick in the draft and acquired another top prospect in Jesus Sanchez from the Rays. Chishold and Sanchez are likely to reach the majors in 2020, along with centefielder Monte Harrison. Chisholm, Sanzhez, and Harrison are the Marlins #3, 4 and 5 ranked prospect by MLB.com. On both sides of the ball, patience will carry the day for now in Miami. Given the gusto with which their division mates have approached the offseason, Miami is all but assured to finish 2020 in the NL East cellar for the third consecutive season.

NL East Notes: Freeman, Braves, Phillies, Marlins

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Nick Markakis returned to the Braves lineup Friday night after a seven-week layoff. The Braves were able to “ease” Markakis back into action with a cupcake matchup against Max Scherzer, against whom he’s rolled to a .323/.375/.423 line in 65 career at-bats. Not bad production against one of the best pitchers of his generation. Three innings into his return, the Braves faced a fresh injury scare. Freddie Freeman left yesterday’s game with elbow soreness, per The Athletic’s David O’Brien. Freddie Franchise aggravated a bone spur while making a defensive play, but his removal was precautionary, and the Braves don’t expect him to miss any time. Freeman himself classified the injury as day-to-day, per MLB.com’s Mark Bowman. He’ll be back in the lineup by Sunday at the latest. Let’s see what else is happening in the NL East…

  • Phillies manager Gabe Kapler’s decision-making has been under the microscope of late, and it could result in his dismissal, per The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal (subscription required). Kapler’s competency in managing the bullpen was called into question as recently as last week, per The Athletic’s Meghan Montemurro, and as far back as game number three of his managerial tenure in Philly. With one year remaining on his contract, expect Kapler’s employment status to remain top-of-mind in Philadelphia for the foreseeable future. GM Matt Klenak’s job is safe, but even with a contract that runs through 2022, he may feel the pressure to find and install the right guy to lead this team, if indeed ownership has doubts about Kapler.
  • Meanwhile in Miami, Don Mattingly may have priced himself out of a job. Rosenthal suggests finances could be a primary motivator in deciding whether to return Mattingly to his role as Miami’s field manager beyond 2019. Regardless of performance, keeping Mattingly at his current price sounds like a no-go for the cost-conscious ownership group. Perhaps of even more consequence, there are rumblings that Michael Hill will be removed from his position as President of Baseball Ops, a title he’s held since a being promoted from GM in 2013. Hill has been with the organization since 2002. Scuttlebutt has long-time Giants front office frontman Brian Sabean as a potential replacement, while current Marlins VP of Player Development and Scouting Gary Denbo has be increasingly relied upon of late. Notably, both Sabean and Denbo have ties to Derek Jeter’s early days with the Yankees.

NL Notes: Marlins, Machado, Rockies

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MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro tweeted today that the Marlins have announced a press conference for Monday at Marlins Park. No news yet as to the specifics, but with Derek Jeter and President of Baseball Ops Michael Hill planned to be in attendance, speculation is there will be news regarding the Mesa brothers. Still, it’s only speculation as of now, and we’ll have to wait for tomorrow’s press conference to confirm the specifics. Stay tuned.

In the meantime, a couple of other notes…

  • Fancred’s Jon Heyman talks to executives around the league about Manny Machado’s upcoming free agency and whether or not his recent antics will adversely affect his earning potential. Machado’s recent character issues trouble many around the league, but his on-field talent continues to speak for itself. One executive suggests the Phillies may be the only team willing to give Machado the monster payday many have expected, but at this stage any specific prediction remains speculative. People close to Machado have suggested he wants to return to the East Coast – specifically the Yankees – but it remains to be seen how exactly the market will shape up for the talented infielder.
  • Kyle Newman of the Denver Post suggests the Rockies could push right-handers Yency Almonte and DJ Johnson into bigger roles next season. Newman presuppose the departures of  Seunghwan Oh, back to Korea, and Adam Ottavino to free agency, but they’re interesting names to dig into regardless. Baseball America listed the 6’3” Almonte as the 8th best prospect in the Rockies system last season prior to his debut in June, while Johnson is an undrafted 29-year-old rookie having spent time in four organizations. Almonte was a starter in the minors, but a 97-98 mph fastball and power slider certainly play well late in games if that’s how the Rockies choose to deploy him. Johnson’s stuff isn’t as overpowering, but he nevertheless produced a gaudy 13.66 K/9 while pitching in Triple-A this season. That nearly doubles his strikeout rate of the previous two seasons, but he kept it up across 6.1 innings as a September callup (12.79 K/9). Neither Almonte nor Johnson are locks to take on major roles in the Rockies bullpen, but especially in a bullpen with quite a few overpriced, underperforming veterans already on the books, they represent valuable low-cost options that manager Bud Black may turn to in 2019.

Trade Chatter: Marlins, Yates, Brewers, Twins, Rays

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The Marlins are drawing interest in relievers Kyle Barraclough, Drew Steckenrider, Adam Conley and Brad Ziegler, writes Joe Frisaro of MLB.com, but president of baseball operations Michael Hill acknowledges that he’s placed a lofty price on the former three, each of whom has at least three years of control beyond 2018. “You’re talking about trading one-pluses and two-pluses [years of service time],” says Hill. “If I call and I’m trying to acquire a one-plus, or two-plus, I know it’s going to be costly. Our game is about maximizing value, and control of players.” Hill adds that despite the Marlins’ rebuild — or “build” as the organization is terming it — his goal is to win as often as possible. The Indians, Astros, Red Sox and Dodgers have all been previously linked to Miami’s bullpen.

Furthermore, Frisaro notes that while teams will inquire about catcher J.T. Realmuto in the coming weeks, the asking price remain extremely high. Realmuto may even be approached about a contract extension this offseason, per Frisaro, though that may be a tough sell after the Fish shipped out the Marlins’ entire core last offseason.

More trade rumblings from around the league…

  • Padres reliever Kirby Yates has emerged as a terrific setup option in San Diego, but ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick spoke to one scout who expressed doubts that the Padres would find someone willing to meet their asking price in a trade (Twitter link). “He’s been really good. But he’s not going to get the return they’re asking for, because he kind of came out of nowhere,” the scout said. “It’s hard to give up a pretty good prospect for a guy who’s had three good months.” Of course, it’s worth noting that Yates performed well for the Friars all through the 2017 season as well. However, he didn’t adopt the splitter that has become a wipeout pitch for him until the current season, which is likely the point to which that unnamed scout was alluding. Yates has a ridiculous 1.51 ERA with 11.4 K/9, 2.8 BB/9, 0.25 HR/9 and a 49.4 percent grounder rate in 35 2/3 innings this season. The 31-year-old can be controlled through 2020.
  • The Brewers have been in contact with the Twins about infielders Brian Dozier and Eduardo Escobar, tweets Jon Morosi of MLB.com. There’s no indication that talks are serious or have extended beyond preliminary stages, though the Milwaukee middle infield has been a weak point in 2018. Brewers second basemen entered play hitting a combined .248/.299/.376, while their shortstops have batted just .202/.255/.300. Milwaukee has been heavily linked to Manny Machado, of course, but either Minnesota slugger would represent a less expensive option — both in terms of prospect capital and salary. Reports have suggested that the Twins are open to selling off pieces, but the Twins have also won six of their past seven and play in a weak division.
  • To that end, Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN chatted with Minnesota GM Thad Levine about the team’s deadline strategy (Twitter link, with video). Levine acknowledges that the Twins have received interest on numerous players, which he says is to be expected given the number of expiring contracts on the club. However, he doesn’t definitively state that the Twins will be active sellers on the market. If anything, the Twins may move some short-term pieces while also looking to acquire some big league players controllable beyond the current campaign. Levine concedes that “there’ll be opportunities for [the Twins] to make some deals.” Levine also notes, though, that trading pending free agents only creates new holes to fill. “We have numerous times to try to address some of those holes,” he says. “It’s now at this deadline, and it’s this offseason and it’s next Spring Training. We may try to do some of that across all three platforms so we don’t have to do all of our heavy lifting this offseason.”
  • Though the Rays have surprised and as of Tuesday sit four games over .500, they’re still buried in the AL East, and Peter Gammons of the Athletic tweets that their goal this month is to extract as much as they can in trades for Wilson Ramos, Nathan Eovaldi and Adeiny Hechavarria. Gammons notes that the Rays have also been getting inquiries on right-hander Matt Andriese, though, as teams scour the market for relief help. Andriese, 28, is controlled through 2021 and has a 3.63 ERA with 8.1 K/9, 2.3 BB/9, 0.87 HR/9 and a 51 percent grounder rate. He’s capable of working both in the rotation and ’pen, as well, so teams likely have interest in him in a variety of roles.
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