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Quick Hits: Pitching Coaches, Baseball Ops Vacancies, Orioles, Phillies, Yankees

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Chris Holt is the leading in-house candidate to take over the Orioles’ vacant pitching coach position, per MLB.com’s Joe Trezza. Holt came to the Orioles from the Astros as the minor league coordinator, but he’s since been promoted to Director of Pitching. A further step up into the ML dugout would be a natural progression for Holt, who has drawn compliments, per Trezza, for “fluency in analytics and ability to communicate that information to players, amongst other skills.” Doug Brocail was the pitching coach in 2020, but he is not returning to manager Brandon Hyde’s staff. The Orioles have made the protection and development of their young pitching one of the hallmarks of the current regime, and promoting Holt now could signal a readiness for some of those prospects to begin making an impact at the major league level. Let’s check in on some other coaching and front office rumblings from around the league…

  • The Phillies are now looking to fill their pitching coach spot yet again following Bryan Price’s retirement. Price spent just one season in the role, leaving manager Joe Girardi with a significant leadership void to fill. A former catcher himself, Girardi no doubt will take a leading role in finding the right voice to speak to his  hurlers, and a number of names are popping up already, such as Yankees bullpen coach Mike Harkey and internal candidates Dave Lundquist, Rafael Chaves, and Jim Gott, tweets Scott Lauber of the Philadelphia Inquirer.
  • This would seem to be a key decision for the future of the Phillies and Girardi, as they’ve long lacked stability in this department. Next season will mark the 5th different pitching coach in the past 5 seasons, notes Matt Breen of the Philadelphia Inquirer. The Phillies host of talented hurlers have largely disappointed, as the group of Aaron Nola, Zach Eflin, Vince Velasquez, and Nick Pivetta (now with the Red Sox) have looked like the core of a potential rotation at times, but even augmenting this group with outside additions like Jake Arrieta and Zack Wheeler hasn’t gotten the Phillies where to want to be, record-wise. Phillies pitchers have ranked 14th in the majors in fWAR over the past 5 seasons.
  • Tim Naehring has been a popular name for baseball ops openings around baseball like the Phillies and Marlins, but he’s unlikely to leave his role with the Yankees, per Andy Martino of the SNY Network (via Twitter). Connections to Derek Jeter in Miami and Girardi in Philly draw straight lines to Naehring, who is a VP of Baseball Operations in New York. But the role he is in now apparently works for Naehring, and those obvious contacts may be pumping up the possibility of a change.

Alex Gordon To Retire At Season’s End

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Royals icon Alex Gordon is set to announce his retirement after a 14-year career at the Major League level, reports Jeffrey Flanagan of MLB.com (via Twitter). The club has confirmed Gordon’s retirement. He’ll play out the remainder of the current season before formally calling it a career.

Alex Gordon | Peter G. Aiken-USA TODAY Sports

Now 36 years old, Gordon was the No. 2 overall pick by the Royals back in 2005. He spent his entire professional career in the organization, helping to stoke a baseball renaissance in Kansas City as the Royals appeared in back-to-back World Series, including their 2015 victory.

Long before Gordon was the face of the franchise, however, he was perhaps the poster child for not giving up on a top prospect after early struggles. Gordon spent just one full season in the minors before arriving in the big leagues with outlandishly high expectations in 2007. He put together a pair of solid but unspectacular seasons as the Royals’ third baseman in 2007-08 before a pair of injury-ruined campaigns in 2009-10 caused many to write the once-promising talent off at just 26 years of age. Struggles at third base had prompted the Royals to move Gordon to left field, and his .222/.319/.365 slash line in those two seasons certainly didn’t look like the savior for which Royals fans had pined after more than a decade of mediocrity.

That feels like an eternity ago, and it’s entirely due to Gordon’s remarkable mid-20s turnaround. Healthy in 2011, Gordon erupted with a .303/.376/.502 batting line, strong baserunning skills and elite left-field defense that netted him the first of an eventual seven Gold Glove Awards. From 2011-15, Gordon batted .281/.359/.450 while making three All-Star Games and totaling 26.4 wins above replacement. His breakout made him the foundational bedrock upon which the team’s young core could be built up.

Fellow homegrown talents such as Eric Hosmer, Mike Moustakas, Salvador Perez, Danny Duffy and Greg Holland joined trade acquisitions Lorenzo Cain, Alcides Escobar, James Shields and Wade Davis (among others) in fueling a brief but brilliant peak for GM Dayton Moore’s club. After a near-miss versus the 2014 Giants, the 2015 Royals ended a three-decade World Series drought. While Gordon’s overall postseason numbers — .222/.333/.398 — don’t stand out as dominant, the Royals may not have had a trophy to celebrate without his one-out, game-tying home run against Jeurys Familia in the bottom of the ninth of 2015’s Game 1 (video link).

Gordon’s breakout and the team’s revenue boost from consecutive World Series showings gave now-former owner David Glass the financial comfort to offer the three-time All-Star a franchise-record contract valued at four years and $72MM. That arrangement spanned the 2016-19 seasons, and while Gordon mulled retirement this time last year, he ultimately opted to return for one final go-around.

Certainly, Gordon wasn’t planning on doing so in the absence of the fans who hold him so dear in their hearts, but one can certainly imagine ample future opportunities for the K.C. faithful to express their gratitude. Teammate Whit Merrifield has already suggested that it’s “time to build the statue” on Instagram, and it seems there’s a good chance that Gordon will be the last Royal to ever don No. 4.

With four games yet to play, we can’t be sure of the exact totals Gordon will carry into retirement, but his overall body of work is strong. In 7237 plate appearances, all with the Royals, he’s a .257/.338/.411 hitter with 190 home runs, 113 stolen bases, 357 doubles, 26 triples, 867 runs scored and 749 runs batted in. Since he became a full-time outfielder in 2011, Gordon has the fourth-most Defensive Runs Saved of any Major League player, regardless of position, with 112.

All told, Gordon’s career has been worth 35 wins above replacement, per Baseball-Reference, although his value to the organization’s fans and the teammates who’ve followed his lead over the course of his career transcend that number. Gordon earned more than $117MM in his 14 MLB seasons and, along the way, cemented himself as a legend within the franchise’s lore — one who’ll be celebrated in Kansas City alongside greats like George Brett and Frank White for decades to come.

AL Notes: Tigers, White Sox, Anderson, Angels, Barreto, A’s, Pinder

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After Ron Gardenhire’s sudden retirement this weekend, the Tigers have a managerial opening that could be one of the more appealing around baseball. Lloyd McClendon has taken over managerial duties for the rest of this season, and he’ll get a look for the full-time job over the winter. A.J. Hinch, Will Venable, George Lombard, Vance Wilson, Don Kelly, Pedro Grifol, and Mike Redmond are also expected to enter the conversation, per MLB Insider Jon Morosi (via Twitter). Of course, it’s still too early to call this a comprehensive list.

Though they haven’t had a winning season since 2016 and haven’t made the playoffs since 2014, Detroit has had plenty of time to build a deep arsenal of interesting young arms that are nearing ML-readiness. Casey Mize, the first overall pick of the 2018 draft made his Major League debut this season, as did fellow prospects Tarik Skubal and centerfielder Daz Cameron. Matt Manning and Alex Faedo aren’t far behind, while the selection of power bat Spencer Torkelson at 1-1 replenishes the system with a top shelf offensive prospect to dream on. But there’s still some season to be played this year, so let’s check in on some injury news from around the game…

  • Tim Anderson is suffering from cramps in his right hamstring that may keep him out of a game or two, per James Fegan of The Athletic (via Twitter). His official status is day-to-day, but the White Sox won’t want to be long without their chirpy leadoff hitter. Anderson could be closing in on his second consecutive American League batting title. The 27-year-old shortstop has unexpectedly morphed into an all-around terror at the plate with a triple slash of .366/.401/.611 and a league-leading 43 runs scored. Even limited to a 41-game sample and coming off a batting title, it’s still fairly shocking to see Anderson put up a season that will merit serious MVP consideration. While Southsiders would no doubt love to see Anderson return to bolster his case, the organization’s priority will be to ensure his health for the postseason.
  • Los Angeles Angels infielder Franklin Barreto will undergo shoulder surgery on Tuesday, though it’s unclear as of right now what kind of recovery timeline Barreto will face, per Jeff Fletcher of the Southern California News Group (via Twitter). Barreto appeared in six games for the Halos after being acquired from the A’s for Tommy La Stella. It was a rough year on the whole for Barreto, who slashed .074/.107/.074, though he only had opportunity for 27 plate appearances between both clubs.
  • Athletics utility player Chad Pinder took some hacks in the batting cage while returning to baseball activities today, per Matt Kawahara of the San Francisco Chronicle (via Twitter). It remains entirely unclear if he’ll return before the postseason. The 28-year-old Pinder may not look like much from his .226/.281/.396 slash line, but he could play an important role for the A’s in the playoffs. With Matt Chapman out for the year, Pinder has a good chance to get the start at third base against southpaws while Jake Lamb and Vimael Machín fill out the hot corner rotation. Pinder boasts a 108 career wRC+ against lefties versus 89 wRC+ against same-handed hurlers.

 

Ubaldo Jimenez Retires

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Former major league right-hander Ubaldo Jimenez is calling it a career at the age of 36, Bob Nightengale of USA Today relays.

Jimenez began his big league tenure with the Rockies in 2006 and, despite calling the hitter-friendly Coors Field his home, eventually became one of the league’s top hurlers. At his best, Jimenez pitched to a 2.88 ERA across 221 2/3 innings in 2010, a year in which he threw a no-hitter. That was the second straight 200-inning season and the lone All-Star campaign for Jimenez, whom the Rockies traded to the Indians in July 2011.

The Jimenez acquisition didn’t work out as planned for the Indians, with whom he tossed 424 2/3 innings of 4.45 ERA ball through 2013. Jimenez still scored a four-year, $50MM guarantee from the Orioles during the ensuing offseason, but that deal didn’t give the O’s the value they wanted when they signed him. While Jimenez did eat up 594 1/3 frames with Baltimore, he only managed a 5.22 ERA as a member of the team.

The Orioles will end up as the last major league team for Jimenez, who hasn’t pitched in the bigs since he took the hill for them on Sept. 22, 2017. Jimenez has since tried to keep his MLB career going, including via a non-guaranteed deal with the Rockies this past offseason, but he’ll now hang it up as the owner of a 4.34 ERA with 8.28 K/9, 4.08 BB/9 and a 47.1 percent groundball rate in 1,870 innings and 329 appearances (315 starts). MLBTR congratulates Jimenez on a very respectable career and wishes him well in retirement.

Minor League Baseball President Announces Retirement

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President of Minor League Baseball Pat O’Connor will retire at the year’s end, per The Athletic’s Evan Drellich (via Twitter). O’Connor has served as President since 2007, while spending 24 years in total with the minor league baseball offices and 34 years in professional baseball.

Minor League Baseball released a statement, provided by JJ Cooper of Baseball America. The statement reads, in part: “During his presidency, O’Connor oversaw a period of unprecedented increase in revenues and franchise values as Minor League Baseball attracted over 40 million fans in each of the last 15 seasons (2005-19), and in 2008, Minor League Baseball drew over 43 million fans for the first time since 1901.”

The future of Minor League Baseball remains very much in the air after losing this season to the pandemic. Even before the pandemic, however, tensions were rising the between Major and Minor League Baseball offices. MiLB has resisted contraction, but instead of losing a couple of teams, the whole system is in danger of falling under the control of Major League Baseball. All of which led MiLB to change their negotiation team early in August. Of course, the team that was brought in was said to be more in line with O’Connor – as opposed to Minor League Baseball team owners – so O’Connor’s retirement could foretell the end of MiLB as presently constituted.

Chris Iannetta Retires

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12:49PM: Iannetta explained his decision to The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal, saying that he told the Yankees in the offseason that he was going to retire if he wasn’t on the Major League roster.  That stance didn’t change after Higashioka was injured.

“If I didn’t make the team out of spring, I was going to call it a career….That’s kind of what transpired when they took me off the roster and wanted me to go to Scranton,” Iannetta said.  “I was like, no.  I wasn’t about to hang on or sit around and wait for someone to get hurt or get called up again.  I’ve never wished anyone to get hurt in my entire career, and I wasn’t about to start now.”

12:40PM: The Yankees placed catcher Chris Iannetta on their restricted list yesterday, a somewhat curious transaction that could now be a bit more clear.  MLB Network’s Jon Heyman reports (Twitter link) that Iannetta “is believed to be retiring” after 14 seasons in the majors.

Originally a fourth-round pick for the Rockies in the 2004 draft, Iannetta spent eight seasons in total with Colorado, first from 2006-11 and then a return for the 2018 and 2019 seasons.  In between those stints at Coors Field, Iannetta also spent four seasons with the Angels (after being dealt in a notable trade that sent Tyler Chatwood to Colorado), and one season apiece with the Mariners and Diamondbacks.

He inked a minor league deal with the Yankees last February and had his contract selected prior to their July opener, though Iannetta never officially appeared in the pinstripes before he was designated for assignment last week.  Iannetta was then outrighted off New York’s 40-man roster but didn’t report to the club’s alternate training site, which George A. King III of the New York Post reports (via Twitter) was the reason for Iannetta’s placement on the restricted list.

A possible wrinkle to the story could be today’s news that Kyle Higashioka has been placed on the 10-day injured list with an oblique strain.  Erik Kratz was called up to take Higashioka’s spot as Gary Sanchez’s backup, and with the Yankees now short on catching depth, one wonders if Iannetta might be persuaded to return if he has a clearer path to a Major League job.

If this is indeed it for the 37-year-old Iannetta, he’ll head into retirement with 1197 MLB games and 4253 plate appearances to his name, with 141 homers and a career .230/.345/.406 slash line.  Iannetta’s 100 wRC+ makes him an exactly average run-creator over his 14 seasons, and his three best offensive seasons were somewhat unusually spaced out — a 129 wRC+ in 2008 over 407 plate appearances with the Rockies, a 125 wRC+ in 373 PA with the Angels in 2014, and then a 120 wRC+ over 316 PA with the D’Backs in 2017.  Iannetta’s offensive production was largely fueled by an ability to reach base, highlighted by a .390 OBP during that big 2008 campaign.

Iannetta is the Rockies’ all-time leader in games caught, and as noted by Heyman, he is also a notable figure in the history of Rhode Island baseball.  Of all big league players born in the Ocean State, Iannetta ranks seventh in games played, behind three Hall-of-Famers (Nap Lajoie, Gabby Hartnett, Hugh Duffy) and three other notables in Paul Konerko, Davey Lopes, and Bill Almon.  MLB Trade Rumors congratulates Iannetta on a fine career, and we wish him the best in his post-playing days.

Jose Reyes Announces Official Retirement

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Veteran infielder Jose Reyes has announced his retirement from the game. The 37-year-old appeared in 16 MLB seasons.

Reyes had at one point hoped to play in the 2019 season, but evidently did not draw sufficient interest to continue his career. It isn’t surprising at this point to hear that he will no longer pursue playing opportunities.

There’s no denying what a dynamic player Reyes was at his height. During his first run with the Mets, he turned in 4,453 plate appearances of .292/.341/.441 hitting with 81 home runs and 370 steals while delivering excellent glovework at the shortstop position.

By the end of the 2011 season, Reyes had accumulated four All-Star appearances and 28 rWAR. He was never better at the plate than in 2011, when he posted a .337/.384/.493 slash to set the stage for a lucrative trip onto the free agent market.

Reyes landed with the Marlins on a $106MM deal. While he performed well in his first season in Miami, the team shipped him and other veterans to the Blue Jays at season’s end. Reyes supplied two more quality campaigns in Toronto before hitting a wall in 2015. That set the stage for a blockbuster swap in which the Jays sent Reyes and prospects to Colorado for Rockies star Troy Tulowitzki.

While his struggles continued down the stretch in 2015, Reyes seemed primed for a rebound effort in the ensuing season. Instead, he was arrested in the offseason and faced charges for domestic abuse. Though charges were dropped because the alleged victim declined to testify, Reyes admitted he had made a “terrible mistake” and MLB found sufficient evidence to impose a suspension under the league’s domestic violence policy.

The Mets elected to overlook the awful situation and brought Reyes in for a second stint. He provided solid output for the 2016 and 2017 seasons but scuffled to a .189/.260/.320 slash line in what turned out to be his final campaign.

Alex Wilson Retires

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Former major league right-hander Alex Wilson has retired, Robert Murray reports. The 33-year-old will join the Ballengee Group as an advisor, per Murray.

Wilson, a second-round pick of the Red Sox in 2009, debuted in 2013 and generated solid results with Boston over a combined 56 innings through 2014. But Wilson wasn’t long for the Red Sox, who traded him to Detroit after the 2014 campaign in the teams’ Yoenis Cespedes–Rick Porcello swap. Wilson went on to enjoy a successful stint as a member of the Tigers, with whom he was a durable and effective reliever.

Wilson amassed 264 2/3 innings and pitched to a 3.20 ERA with 5.8 K/9 against 2.1 BB/9 as Tiger from 2015-18, but they non-tendered him heading into last season. He saw his final major league action in Milwaukee, where he was tattooed for 12 earned runs on 15 hits in 11 1/3 frames. Although the Tigers brought Wilson back last offseason on a minor league contract, they ended up releasing him in June.

While his career didn’t end in ideal fashion, there’s no denying Wilson had a more productive MLB career than most. He’ll depart with 332 innings of 3.44 ERA ball and 6.1 K/9 against 2.4 BB/9. MLBTR wishes Wilson the best in his next venture.

George Kontos Retires

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Longtime major league reliever George Kontos has hung up his cleats, Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area reports. The 35-year-old Kontos hasn’t pitched since the Nationals’ Triple-A affiliate released him last August, but he will stay in baseball as an analyst with NBC Sports Bay Area.

“I did have some inclinations from early on when I was a player in San Francisco that one day this might be the route that I would take,” Kontos told Pavlovic on the Giants Insider Podcast. “It’s definitely nice to be coming back to the black and orange and being around San Francisco again.”

The right-handed Kontos was a fifth-round pick of the Yankees in 2006, but the majority of his work as a big leaguer came as a member of the Giants. He notched quality results with the club from 2012-17 – a 309 2/3-inning span in which he logged a 3.05 ERA with 7.3 K/9 and 2.06 BB/9. Kontos was also part of a pair of World Series-winning Giants teams.

Along with the Yankees (with whom he debuted in 2011 and spent time with again in 2018) and Giants, Kontos saw major league action with the Pirates and Indians. All told, he amassed 357 innings of 3.10 ERA ball in the bigs over parts of eight seasons. MLBTR congratulates Kontos on a successful career and wishes him the best in his new role.

Devin Mesoraco Joins University Of Pittsburgh Coaching Staff

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Devin Mesoraco has joined the University of Pittsburgh baseball team as a volunteer assistant, per Kendall Rogers of d1baseball.com. Presumably, this means the former catcher’s playing days are done.

Mesoraco came highly-touted to the majors, from his selection at number fifteen overall in the 2007 draft, to his years as a top prospect in the Cincinnati Reds’ organization. He made his debut with the Reds in 2011 at the age of 23. Though he struggled over an 18-game sample, that did nothing to lessen the excitement over their presumed catcher of the future.

Before the start of the following season, Mesoraco was named the Reds’ number one prospect by Baseball America and a consensus top prospect in baseball. Baseball America had him as the #16 overall prospect in baseball prior to 2012 and Fangraphs had him at #15. Kevin Goldstein at Baseball Prospectus was slightly less bullish, but even he put Mesoraco at #24.

It was a tough era to be a top catching prospect, however (Jesus Montero, Travis d’Arnaud, Yasmani Grandal, Gary Sanchez, Wilin Rosario, Austin Hedges, Ryan Lavarnway, and Derek Norris were some of the other highly-regarded catching prospects). By the time Mesoraco was set to take over behind the plate in Cincinnati, he’d already suffered through a number of ticky-tack injuries. A high-character player, hopes were still high that he’d develop into a franchise catcher.

Though he didn’t quite reach those heights, he put together respectable major league career that lasted 8 seasons – all but the final 66 games taking place in Cincinnati. He largely struggled at the dish, but it all came together for a 26-year-old Mesoraco in 2014. That season, he appeared in 114 games and hit .273/.359/.534 with 25 home runs and 80 RBIs, making his lone All-Star appearance.

Injuries continued to play a part in Mesoraco’s career, however, and he only twice appeared in more than 100 games. In May of 2018 – his final season – the Reds traded Mesoraco to the Mets for another battered former top prospect in Matt Harvey. He did a nice job finishing that season for the Mets, hitting .222/.306/.409 with 10 long balls. If indeed this is it for Mesoraco, he’ll finish with a .232/.309/.406 line and 58 home runs, totaling 4.6 rWAR.

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