Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Walt Weiss

Marlins Managerial Rumors: Espada, Quatraro, Weiss

By | at

TODAY: Braves bench coach Walt Weiss turned down an interview request from the Marlins, according to Jon Heyman of The New York Post.  Weiss posted a 283-365 record as the Rockies’ manager from 2013-16, and he just completed his fourth season as Atlanta’s bench coach.  A 14-year Major League veteran best known for his time with the great Athletics teams of the late 80’s and early 90’s, Weiss spent a season with the Marlins in 1993, playing on the team’s inaugural roster.

OCTOBER 20: Astros bench coach Joe Espada and Rays bench coach Matt Quatraro have landed a second interview for the vacant Marlins managerial post, according to Craig Mish of SportsGrid. It was reported last week that Espada was interviewing for the position for the first time, but it’s the first reporting of the Marlins interest in Quatraro. Royals bench coach Pedro Grifol is the other known interviewee, although it’s unclear if he was asked back for a second time. Mish notes that a number of additional interviews have not been reported, so while there may well be a number of other candidates in play, the fact that Espada and Quatraro are interviewing a second time indicates they are starting to narrow down their search.

Both Espada and Quatraro have long been viewed as managers-in-waiting, and Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times suggests Quatraro could also be in the mix for the vacant Royals, White Sox and Rangers jobs. Espada, meanwhile, has already interviewed for the White Sox position.

It’s not the first season that Espada, 47, has drawn managerial interest. The Puerto Rico native has been a respected member of the Astros coaching staff since 2017, and has had interest from the Mets, Cubs, A’s, Twins and Giants in recent years.

Similarly, Quatraro, 48, is heading into yet another off-season where his name is heavily linked with managerial posts. The A’s, Giants and Pirates were linked with Quatraro in recent years, while it was reported he was a finalist for the Mets position last year before they opted for Buck Showalter.

Braves Dismiss Pitching Coach Chuck Hernandez

By | at

The Braves announced to reporters this morning that pitching coach Chuck Hernandez will not return in that role for the 2019 season (Twitter links via Gabe Burns of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution). The rest of the coaching staff is returning on new two-year contracts, which match the length of the extension inked by manager Brian Snitker earlier this morning. MLB.com’s Mark Bowman had previously tweeted that Hernandez’s spot on the coaching staff could be in jeopardy.

Though the Braves surprised with a 90-win season and a National League East division title in 2018, the team’s pitching staff was an obvious question mark down the stretch and proved to play a significant factor in the team’s early exit from the postseason. Atlanta pitchers walked an MLB-worst 10.31 percent of the hitters they faced during the regular season, and the Braves’ staff issued 27 walks in a 3-1 series loss to the Dodgers in the NLDS.

Hernandez, 57, will unsurprisingly take the fall for the staff’s inability to locate the strike zone, even if the blame can’t be solely placed on his shoulders. He spent three seasons in the Braves organization, serving as a minor league pitching coordinator in 2016 before taking the reins as the Major League pitching coach in 2o17. A baseball lifer, Hernandez began his career as a coach 33 years ago in the White Sox’ minor league system and has served on Major League staffs with the Braves, Marlins, Indians, Tigers, Rays and Angels (where he was named pitching coach at the age of 31 in 1992).

Burns notes that GM Alex Anthopoulos indicated an openness to retaining Hernandez in a different capacity (Twitter link), though it’s not clear whether Hernandez himself wants to return in a new role. Given his vast experience, he’d certainly be a candidate to land a coaching job elsewhere even after being cut loose in Atlanta, and he may simply prefer the opportunity to embark on a new challenge in another organization.

The rest of the Atlanta staff includes bench coach Walt Weiss, hitting coach Kevin Seitzer, assistant hitting coach Jose Castro, first base coach Eric Young, third base coach Ron Washington, bullpen coach Marty Reed and catching coach Sal Fasano. The Braves will presumably go outside the organization to find a new pitching coach in the coming weeks.

Braves Finalize Coaching Staff; Walt Weiss Named Bench Coach

By | at

The Braves announced a slew of changes to their coaching staff on Friday, led by the hiring of former Rockies manager Walt Weiss as the club’s new bench coach. Atlanta has also hired Eric Young Sr. as its new first base coach/outfield instructor and Sal Fasano as its new catching coach. Former bench coach Terry Pendleton and first base coach Eddie Perez have been offered new positions within the organization, according to the team’s release.

Weiss, 53, managed the Rockies from 2013-16 before Bud Black took over the club for the 2017 season. In his four years at the helm of the Rockies, the team posted an unsightly 283-365 record, though Weiss managed some clubs that had exceptionally thin pitching staffs. Weiss, the 1988 AL Rookie of the Year with the Athletics, spent the final three seasons of a 14-year Major League career with the Braves. He’s yet to serve as a coach in the Majors, but he’ll bring prior managerial experience and more than a half decade as a special adviser in the Rockies’ front office to his new post with the Braves.

Young, 50, spent parts of 15 seasons playing in the Majors and has spent five prior seasons as a first base coach with the D-backs and Rockies (in addition to his on-air work with ESPN’s Baseball Tonight). Young swiped 465 bases in his career and averaged 47 steals per season from 1995-2000 and has previously worked as a baserunning instructor with the Astros.

The 46-year-old Fasano has worked in a variety of capacities in the Blue Jays organization, serving as a minor league manager as well as a minor league pitching coordinator and a minor league catching coordinator. He spent parts of 11 seasons as a Major League catcher — mostly as a backup — and long carried a reputation as a quality defender and receiver behind the dish.

Per the Braves, hitting coach Kevin Seitzer, assistant hitting coach Jose Castro, third base coach Ron Washington, pitching coach Chuck Hernandez and bullpen coach Marty Reed will all return to the organization in 2018.

NL East Notes: Braves, Hart, Weiss, Marlins, Frazier

By | at

Major League Baseball will interview Braves president of baseball operations John Hart as part of its investigations into the club’s international dealings, tweets MLB.com’s Mark Bowman. To this point, it’s unclear whether Hart is at risk of discipline, though the very fact that he remains with the club after former GM John Coppolella has been forced to resign could be telling. The Macon Telegraph reported over the weekend that Hart was by no means an innocent bystander in the scandal, though it’s unlikely that the league will announce anything definitive in the near future. Braves CEO Terry McGuirk said this morning that MLB’s investigation is near its conclusion, per Tim Tucker of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, but McGuirk also stressed that the league isn’t likely to reveal its findings until the World Series has concluded. McGuirk sidestepped making any telling comments about the investigation but did say: “I don’t think there will be any questions (unanswered) when we are able to discuss it.”

More on the Braves and their division…

  • Bowman also reports (on Twitter) that former Rockies manager and Braves infielder Walt Weiss is among the candidates to join the Braves’ coaching staff in 2018. Weiss could slot in as the bench coach under manager Brian Snitker, replacing Terry Pendleton in that role.
  • The Marlins are likely to retain Stan Meek to oversee the June amateur draft even after bringing Gary Denbo over from the Yankees, reports MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro. While Denbo was tabbed as the team’s VP of player development and scouting, it’d be a tall task to head up the team’s player development efforts and also dedicate the time and energy needed to oversee the team’s draft process. Manager Don Mattingly and most of his coaching staff are expected to be retained, though Frisaro notes that there could be some changes depending on other teams’ managerial pursuits. Third base coach Fredi Gonzalez, for instance, has already interviewed to serve as the Tigers’ next skipper.
  • Joel Sherman of the New York Post makes a case for the Mets to bring Todd Frazier on board as a free agent this offseason. Frazier’s penchant for drawing walks and slugging homers are appealing to GM Sandy Alderson, Sherman writes, and he could help the team in the likely event that David Wright again misses significant time due to injury or should Dominic Smith prove to need further minor league refinement. Frazier’s clubhouse persona would also be a boost for a team that is trying to alter its clubhouse culture for the better. It’s possible that clubs in more dire need of a third baseman would offer more than the Mets, though Sherman also points out that the New Jersey native could be particularly intrigued by playing close to his home.

Heyman’s Latest: ChiSox, Santana, Cozart, Rockies, Davis, Brewers, Smith

By | at

Jon Heyman of Fan Rag gives his odds on the postseason and provides a host of interesting information in his latest notes column. Here are a few highlights:

  • While there’s been some turnover in the White Sox’ dugout, as bench coach Rick Renteria has moved up to manager as a replacement for the departing Robin Ventura, changes to the field staff don’t figure to impact pitching coach Don Cooper, per Heyman. In fact, the South Siders have actually made an extension offer to their well-respected pitching coach, who is on the brink of entering his 16th season at that post.
  • While it’s hardly a surprise, Heyman notes that the Indians will exercise their $12MM option on Carlos Santana. For a player with a .259/.366/.498 with a career-high 34 homers, that decision was a no-brainer, even for a typically cost-conscious club like Cleveland.
  • The Rockies quietly made a run at Cincinnati’s Zack Cozart prior to the non-waiver trade deadline, knowing that Trevor Story, whose last game came on July 30, was ailing and could miss the remainder of the season. Talks continued into August, per Heyman, but Cozart’s own injury issues arose and made a deal more difficult. It’d have been interesting to see the Rox land Cozart, as he’d have once again become a trade chip for them in the offseason with Story expected to be ready to go for the 2017 season. While talks don’t seem likely to be revisited this winter, the note is another reminder that Cozart is a desirable trade chip for the Reds, who also had a near-swap that would’ve sent Cozart to the Mariners on Aug. 1. Heyman also reminds that longtime GM/president Walt Jocketty will step into an adviser role this winter, leaving GM Dick Williams as the top decision-maker in Cincinnati’s baseball ops department.
  • Sticking with the Rockies, Heyman chronicles the rift that grew and eventually became irreconcilable between now-former manager Walt Weiss and GM Jeff Bridich. Per the report, there was a near-total breakdown of communications between the two. Weiss expressed concern with owner Dick Monfort — who was seemingly preparing to give Weiss a two-year extension and tried to convince him to stay. But the skipper didn’t believe that the two leaders could co-exist, and Monfort ultimately stuck with his GM.
  • Tigers owner Mike Ilitch was serious about pursuing slugger Chris Davis in free agency last winter — so much so that he was willing to guarantee something approaching $200MM, says Heyman. Newly-installed GM Al Avila, however, recommended that the team take another course. Though Davis has been reasonably productive, he hasn’t produced at the levels that earned him his ultimate contract — a $161MM deal with the Orioles.
  • As the Brewers’ brass has suggested, Heyman says that the team is not inclined to utilize Jonathan Villar at third base. With Orlando Arcia seemingly set for his first full season at short, that may well mean that Villar is destined to shift over to second base. If that’s the case, it’s not clear just what role Scooter Gennett will have. The 26-year-old is entering his first season of arbitration eligibility after a posting a below-average .263/.317/.412 batting line in his 542 plate appearances in 2016.
  • Meanwhile, the Brewers may not be sold on the idea of tendering Chris Carter a contract. While the team has suggested he’s expected back, Carter’s 41 homers also make him a good bet to earn a rather significant arbitration raise.
  • The Mariners appear to be “leaning toward” picking up a $7MM option over outfielder Seth Smith. Smith, 34, isn’t quite an everyday player, but has received over 400 plate appearances in each of his two campaigns in Seattle. This year, he hit .249/.342/.415 with 16 home runs, just under his overall career marks. At $7MM, the M’s would be getting Smith for something like the going annual rate for a fourth outfielder, while limiting its commitment to a single season.

Walt Weiss Resigns As Rockies Manager

By | at

Walt Weiss has resigned his post as manager of the Rockies, the team has announced. Weiss’ three-year contract expired at the end of the season. Glenallen Hill, the Rockies’ Triple-A manager, could be a candidate to replace him, MLB.com’s Tracy Ringolsby tweets.

Walt WeissWeiss and GM Jeff Bridich have not always had a strong working relationship, leading to reporting yesterday from Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post that Weiss was not long for his job as manager. Notably, Saunders reported, Weiss was not a part of the decision-making that led to the acquisitions of Jake McGee, Chad Qualls, Jason Motte and Gerardo Parra, all of whom have struggled this year.

“The working relationship is evolving and continues to evolve,” said Bridich. “There has been mostly good communication, some great communication and some periods where he’s busy and I’m busy and we haven’t communicated as well as we could have. That’s a natural thing for the job that he has and the job that I have.”

Weiss, for his part, says his relationship with Bridich “wasn’t healthy, wasn’t productive,” according to FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal (Twitter links). He spoke to Rockies owner Dick Monfort yesterday and tried to find compromises that would allow him to stay on the job, but ultimately elected to step aside instead.

Weiss was not Bridich’s hire — Weiss replaced Jim Tracy prior to the 2013 season, when Dan O’Dowd helmed the Rockies’ front office and Bridich was their senior director of player development. Weiss has posted a 283-365 record in four years in Denver. This year’s 75-87 record was his best.

The Rockies’ failures during that period, however, surely are not entirely Weiss’ fault, as the team did not figure to be a serious contender heading into any of his four seasons. With some exceptions (particularly Nolan Arenado, Trevor Story, Jon Gray and David Dahl), the team has struggled to assemble a young core in which to build, and it seemingly stalled in choosing a direction once it became clear that the team it had built around Troy Tulowitzki and Carlos Gonzalez wasn’t a winner. This season, the Rockies were dragged down by poor performances from Parra, Cristhian Adames, Ryan Raburn and much of their bullpen.

“I think Walt has done everything he can do, with what he’s had to work with,” said infielder DJ LeMahieu, via Saunders. “I think he’s done a good job, but I don’t know what’s going to happen. In my opinion, things have improved a lot over past years and I think we are going to be very good next year.”

Before becoming manager, the 52-year-old Weiss had worked as a special instructor and adviser in the Rockies organization. He played for 14 seasons in the big leagues, suiting up with the Athletics, Marlins, Rockies and Braves.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Rockies Likely To Move On From Walt Weiss

By | at

Discord between Rockies GM Jeff Bridich and manager Walt Weiss will likely lead to the end of the latter’s tenure in Colorado, reports Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post. That should make the Rockies’ regular-season finale against the Brewers on Sunday the last game of Weiss’ four-year stint, one in which the club has gone just 283-364. All told, Weiss’ .438 winning percentage is the lowest in franchise history. However, Colorado’s results alone won’t determine whether the franchise re-signs the 52-year-old Weiss, whose contract is set to expire.

“In a decision-making process like this, it’s not totally or fully dependent on some sort of win-loss record or this or that,” Bridich told Saunders. “There are a lot of factors that go into it. That’s how it should be. It’s not that simplistic.”

Bridich has been a member of the Rockies’ front office since 2004, but he wasn’t the GM when the team hired Weiss. That was Bridich’s predecessor, Dan O’Dowd, who appointed Weiss in 2012. Bridich took over in 2014 and now wants a manager who’s more in line with his own philosophies, relays Saunders.

On his relationship with Weiss, Bridich said, “There has been mostly good communication, some great communication and some periods where he’s busy and I’m busy and we haven’t communicated as well as we could have. That’s a natural thing for the job that he has and the job that I have.”

Notably, Bridich has left Weiss out of key decisions the Rockies have made since last offseason, per Saunders. For instance, Weiss had no input in the free agent signings of relievers Jason Motte and Chad Qualls or Gerardo Parra. All three of those players, especially Parra, have bombed this season.

Bridich denies that he has kept Weiss out of the loop, however.

“I’m not going to respond to rumor mongering,” Bridich said.

According to Bridich, he and owner Dick Monfort will meet with Weiss during the upcoming week to discuss the 2016 campaign and future plans. Monfort will help Bridich determine whether the team will bring back Weiss.

“We will go through the same process as we did last year,” Bridich revealed. “That is, sitting down after the season is done and having conversations and talking about how the season went and talking about the future.”

While it seems the Rockies and Weiss are primed to go their separate ways, Bridich did praise the embattled skipper for what he has done in Colorado.

“The environment in the clubhouse, it’s moved in the right direction,” said Bridich. “It’s a positive for us. The time that Walt’s been involved with the team, if you’re looking to dole out credit, absolutely he deserves credit. It’s a good thing. It’s a good thing for the organization.”

NL Notes: Rockies, Pirates, Cardinals

By | at

Mark Kiszla of the Denver Post doubts the Rockies will bring back manager Walt Weiss, whose contract expires after the season, but he argues that it would be hypocritical of loyalty-preaching owner Dick Monfort to let Weiss go. “It’s a bottom-line business,” said Weiss, with whom the Rockies have gone 279-355 since 2013. At 71-77, the Rockies are currently on track to post their best record under Weiss, who deserves a two-year deal, opines Kiszla. Colorado’s talent has clearly increased lately, as evidenced by 24-year-old right-hander Jon Gray’s complete game, 16-strikeout performance in an 8-0 win over San Diego on Saturday. Weiss agrees, telling Kiszla, “There’s more talent in the stable than in the past. With the horses in this stable, there are more thoroughbreds.

More from Colorado and two other National League cities:

  • The recent emergence of another talented Rockies player in his early 20s, Raimel Tapia, has added to an already crowded outfield, writes the Denver Post’s Nick Kosmider, who adds that the team will have some interesting offseason decisions to make because of it. Kosmider wonders if the Rockies will once again deal an outfielder to upgrade their weak bullpen during the offseason. Colorado tried that last winter, sending Corey Dickerson to the Rays for Jake McGee, but the left-hander has been part of the problem for the Rockies’ beleaguered relief corps this year. Among the Rockies’ outfielders is offseason signing Gerardo Parra, who inked a three-year, $27.5MM deal in free agency. Parra, like McGee, has been a major disappointment in his initial season with the Rockies, but the club does like that he has shown an ability to play first base. “How much time he gets over there in the future, I don’t know. But it’s nice to be able to have that,” general manager Jeff Bridich told Kosmider.
  • At 74-74 and five games out of a wild-card spot, the Pirates have gone backward this year after three straight playoff seasons. There are a slew of reasons for the team’s decline, as Travis Sawchuk of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review details. One cause has been the starting rotation, where low-ceiling offseason acquisitions Jon Niese and Ryan Vogelsong have contributed little this year. The Pirates traded second baseman Neil Walker to the Mets last offseason for Niese, who pitched to a 4.91 ERA in 110 innings with Pittsburgh before it sent him back to New York for reliever Antonio Bastardo on Aug. 1. Vogelsong, a buy-low signing in free agency, has recorded a 4.87 ERA in 68 1/3 innings. In previous years, the Bucs gambled on high-upside starters like A.J. Burnett, Francisco Liriano and Edinson Volquez, all of whom panned out and helped lead them to the playoffs.
  • Like NL Central rival Pittsburgh, the Cardinals have also endured a less-than-ideal season. The 77-71 Redbirds are two games behind the Mets for the NL’s second wild-card spot and are in danger of missing the playoffs for the first time since 2010. That’s thanks in part to team-wide baserunning issues, writes Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. The Cardinals are the majors’ fifth-worst baserunning team, per FanGraphs, after ranking a more respectable 15th last season. GM John Mozeliak is now formulating a plan to improve baserunning throughout the organization, having already spoken with special assistant Willie McGee, scout Kerry Robinson and farm director Gary LaRocque, according to Goold. “You get so much performance training that maybe there are times you forget about the need to strengthen the baseball skills,” Mozeliak said. “Baseball skills are hitting, defense, and baserunning. What do we need to do to make sure focusing on doesn’t detract from the others?”

Rockies Notes: Parra, Bullpen, Weiss

By | at

Here’s the latest out of the Mile High City…

  • Gerardo Parra has been getting time at first base for the Rockies, and manager Walt Weiss hinted to reporters (including MLB.com’s Ben Weinrib) that Parra could remain at the position for the rest of the season.  Parra had never played first base at the professional level prior to August 24, though if the Rox are comfortable with him as a first base option going forward, it could solve their outfield logjam.  Trade rumors have long swirled around Carlos Gonzalez and Charlie Blackmon, given the presence of both Parra (who is signed through the 2018 season) and promising rookie David Dahl.
  • The bullpen has to be GM Jeff Bridich’s “top offseason priority” given how the relief corps has struggled in 2016, Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post writes.  Colorado ranks near the bottom of the league in blown saves, bullpen K/9 and bullpen ERA, though some misfortune has been involved, as the advanced metrics indicate (4.20 FIP, 4.29 xFIP, 4.02 SIERA) that the Rockies’ relievers should have better results than their actual 5.03 ERA indicates.  Of course, the bullpen was a major focus last winter for Colorado, but acquisitions like Jake McGee, Chad Qualls and Jason Motte simply haven’t panned out.
  • In another piece from Saunders, he thinks Walt Weiss will keep his job through the rest of the season “but then the decision could come quickly.”  The Rockies are 65-71 this year, which actually represents their best winning percentage (.478) in their four seasons under Weiss.  The skipper is in the last year of his contract, and his future in Denver could hinge on “how much [Bridich] wants to clean house.”  FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal also recently suggested that Weiss could be a managerial candidate with the Diamondbacks, given Weiss’ shared history with Tony La Russa and Dave Stewart.  (Assuming, of course, that La Russa and Stewart still have their own jobs in Arizona.)

Rosenthal’s Latest: Dodgers, Brewers, Braun, Puig, D-backs

By | at

Before the Aug. 1 non-waiver trade deadline, the Dodgers discussed a deal with the Brewers that would have sent outfielder Ryan Braun to Los Angeles, reports FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal (video link). While Braun has since cleared waivers, meaning the Dodgers (or another team) could make a trade for him this month, that would require overcoming potential complications. For instance, any team acquiring Braun would likely want the Brewers to eat a significant portion of the $76MM left on his contract, says Rosenthal, who adds that Milwaukee might be hesitant to assist a high-revenue club like the Dodgers in paying the 32-year-old. If the Dodgers and Brewers aren’t able to swing a trade in August, they could revisit talks during the offseason.

Here’s more from Rosenthal:

  • As of now, the Dodgers have not placed outfielder Yasiel Puig on revocable waivers this month, making him ineligible for a trade, notes Rosenthal (video link). Even if Puig does end up on waivers in the month’s final days, the Dodgers are likelier to move him during the offseason when they can negotiate with the rest of the league instead of just one team. LA demoted Puig to Triple-A Oklahoma City on Aug. 2 and is not currently planning to recall him when rosters expand Sept. 1. The right-handed hitter has slashed .386/.435/.667 in 62 minor league plate appearances, though, and could still factor into the Dodgers’ plans before the year is out.
  • Mets manager Terry Collins’ heavy reliance on closer Jeurys Familia could help lead to his ouster, according to Rosenthal. Familia is tied for the major league lead with the Indians’ Bryan Shaw, who’s not a closer, in relief appearances since the start of the 2014 season. Familia is on track to eclipse the 75-appearance mark for the third straight year – which, in Rosenthal’s opinion, points to overuse – but he has continued as one of the league’s most effective relievers this season.
  • If the Diamondbacks fire manager Chip Hale after the season, they could target the Rockies’ Walt Weiss, per Rosenthal, who notes that Weiss has connections to both D-backs chief baseball officer Tony La Russa and general manager Dave Stewart (they’re also on the hot seat). Weiss, whom Rockies GM Jeff Bridich inherited upon taking over after the 2014 season, is in the last year of his contract. In terms of wins and losses, the Weiss-led Rockies have shown progress this year, though they’ve faded lately and have only compiled a a 268-346 record under him since 2013.
  • The Dodgers’ clubhouse was “like a cemetery” after the team traded backup catcher A.J. Ellis to Philadelphia for fellow reserve backstop Carlos Ruiz on Thursday, one LA player told Rosenthal. A rival executive added, “You never want to give players an excuse for failure,” implying that the loss of a beloved teammate like Ellis could sap the Dodgers of morale. Rosenthal is skeptical of Ellis’ departure sinking the likely playoff-bound club, though, considering he didn’t contribute much on the field.
Show all

MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

hide arrowsFOX Sports Engage Network scroll to top