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Phillies Hire Bobby Dickerson As Infield Coach

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Oct. 25: The Phillies have formally announced the hiring of Dickerson as the Major League infield coach for the 2022 season.

Oct. 22: Turnover continues in the Philadelphia and San Diego dugouts, as the Phillies are set to hire Bobby Dickerson away from the Padres to serve as their infield coach reports USA Today’s Bob Nightengale. Dickerson pulled double duty during the 2021 season for the Padres, serving as the team’s official bench coach and third base coach following the front office promotion of previous third base coach Glenn Hoffman.

The hiring serves as a reunion between coach and organization, as Dickerson served in the same infield coach capacity for the Phils during the 2019 season. This followed an eight year stint with the Orioles, who boasted a few Gold Glove-winning infielders during Dickerson’s tenure.

As was the case with the team’s recent hiring of Kevin Long, Phillies manager Joe Girardi adds a veteran coaching presence to cajole some new talent out of the existing roster.  Dickerson will look to help Girardi in the latter’s third year with the team and boost an organization that has been stuck in a near .500 rut for four years in a row.

Philadelphia’s move to rehire a respected defensive coach comes on the heels of what the front office surely recognizes was an organizational weakness this past season. By measure of Defensive Runs Saved the Phillies ranked last in all of baseball in 2021, with the Jean Segura-manned second base the only position on the team to score plus marks in the metric.

As for the Padres, the departure of Dickerson comes as no surprise in the wake of recent firings to pitching coach Larry Rothschild and manager Jayce Tingler. It remains to be seen what other changes await a San Diego dugout that is quickly growing accustomed to making them.

Padres Close To Hiring Ruben Niebla As Pitching Coach

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The Padres “are locking in on” Indians assistant pitching coach Ruben Niebla as their next pitching coach, ESPN.com’s Buster Olney tweets.  The hiring isn’t yet official, though Kevin Acee of The San Diego Union-Tribune reports (via Twitter) that Niebla “is considered all but a done deal” to change teams.

Ben Fritz had been serving as the Padres’ interim pitching coach since Larry Rothschild was fired in late August.  According to Acee, the Padres are hoping Fritz remains with the team — Fritz had been working as the bullpen coach before his in-season promotion.  It remains to be seen how the rest of the coaching staff will shake out, as bench coach/third base coach Bobby Dickerson has already left the team to join the Phillies, and there could be a wider coaching shakeup once the new San Diego manager is hired (as presumably that new skipper would get some say in assembling the staff).

Niebla will already be in place, however, as the SoCal native will now be moving closer to home for his first official gig as a Major League pitching coach.  Niebla briefly served as Cleveland’s interim pitching coach in 2012, his highest rank in 21 seasons with the organization.  Much of that first decade was spent as a minor league coach before Niebla joined the MLB staff as a coaching assistant in 2010, and then following his interim gig in 2012, he worked seven seasons as a minor league pitching coordinator.  Niebla has been in his current role on the Major League coaching staff for the last two seasons.

At least one familiar face will already be there in San Diego to welcome Niebla, as former Indians hurler Mike Clevinger is expected to be back next season after missing 2021 due to Tommy John surgery.  On paper, San Diego has plenty of solid rotation options in place with Joe Musgrove, Yu Darvish, Blake Snell, Chris Paddack, Clevinger, Ryan Weathers, and (around midseason) Adrian Morejon, except injuries and general under-performance ravaged this group last year.

In the bigger picture, the Padres will also surely be looking to pick Niebla’s brain about some of the secrets of Cleveland’s success at drafting and developing pitchers in recent years.  While the Padres have had no shortage of promising young pitching prospects, they’ve had issues in converting that potential into success at the big league level.  (To wit, all of Musgrove, Darvish, Snell, Paddack, and Clevinger were acquired in trades.)

Latest On Padres' Managerial Search

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  • While many experienced former managers have been connected to the Padres’ search for a new skipper, Kevin Acee of The San Diego Union-Tribune writes that the team has “at least inquired about the interest of at least one former player working as a college coach, multiple former players currently on major league staffs and at least one longtime player working in television.”  There was some sense that the Padres might hire a seasoned manager after GM A.J. Preller’s first two hires (Jayce Tingler and Andy Green) were running a big league club for the first time, yet team chairman Peter Seidler has said that experience is again not a prerequisite for the job this time around.

Padres To Interview Mike Shildt This Weekend

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10:15pm: Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune reports that there’s another former manager on the list: Brad Ausmus. Ausmus managed the Tigers from 2014 to 2017 and the Angels in 2019.

7:39pm: The Padres are going to interview Mike Shildt this weekend for their open managerial position, according to Dennis Lin of The Athletic. It was recently reported that the Padres were considering Shildt but were still looking into what happened to conclude his tenure with the St. Louis Cardinals. It would appear that they didn’t find anything distressing enough to cross him off of their list of candidates, based on the fact that the interview seems to be going ahead.

It was just over a week ago that Shildt was surprisingly fired by the Cardinals, on the heels of a 90-win season that ended when they lost the wild card game to the Dodgers. Since then, he’s been repeatedly connected to the Padres position that’s been vacant since Jayce Tingler was fired the previous week.

For his part, Shildt is trying his best to stay tight-lipped about things. On Tuesday, he appeared on SiriusXM’s MLB Network Radio and, when asked about whether he’d been contacted about open positions, said, “There’s been some back channeling.  I don’t want to say anything.  You know, I’m really unclear how to handle it.  I’ve never really been fired from a manager job and been on the open market so I’m not sure how this exactly works, guys.  There’s been some informal conversations but nothing beyond that. Like I said, the good news is the phone has rung, I think there’s going to be opportunities to explore which is exciting.”

Shildt won’t be the only one considered for the job, of course, and Lin reports that there is a belief in the industry that Mike Scioscia “will emerge as a candidate.” Scioscia’s entire MLB managerial history has been with one club thus far, as he managed the Angels from 2000 to 2018. That tenure included a 2002 World Series victory, as well as Manager of the Year honors in both 2002 and 2009. He recently returned to bench boss duties with the United States men’s national team for the Tokyo Olympics, where the club took home silver medals.

Lin also reports that Bruce Bochy is not getting strong interest from his former club. Bochy managed the Friars from 1995 to 2006, before moving up to San Francisco and managing the Giants from 2007 to 2019, a run that included three World Series championships.

Lin adds that Ron Washington and Buck Showalter are “not believed” to be in consideration for the position. It had been reported in recent weeks that Washington was in contention, though that may no longer be the case, if it ever was. Atlanta’s third base coach, Washington can’t interview for any jobs while the club is still alive in the postseason. Showalter, for his part, said he has not been contacted about a managerial job, though that was over a week go.

Regardless of who gets the job, it appears that the decision may come down quickly, as Lin also quotes Padres’ president of baseball operations A.J. Preller as saying that it’s “realistic” to think the hiring process will be done by the general managers’ meetings, which begin in just over two weeks, on November 8th.

Fernando Tatis Jr. Will Not Undergo Shoulder Surgery

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Padres star Fernando Tatís Jr. has elected to forego surgery on his left shoulder, reports Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune. There’d been some speculation both inside and outside the organization he’d need to go under the knife this winter to correct the issue that plagued him a few times throughout the season, but that apparently won’t be the case. He’ll instead pursue non-surgical means of strengthening the area over the winter in an effort to stay healthy moving forward.

Tatís had two separate IL stints for shoulder issues this past season, missing the minimal ten days in April and another couple of weeks in August. In both instances, he suffered the injury on basic baseball activities — his first occurring on a swing, his second sliding into a base. Both injuries initially seemed to have the potential for extended absences, but Tatís returned in relatively short order each time.

When Tatís was healthy enough to play, he didn’t seem any worse for wear at the plate. Over 546 plate appearances, the 22-year-old hit a massive .282/.364/.611 with 42 home runs. By measure of wRC+, his offensive output was 56 percentage points above league average, a mark topped only by Bryce Harper, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Juan Soto among those with 500+ trips to the plate.

The shoulder problems did have a significant impact defensively, as the Padres slid Tatís off shortstop into the outfield for a good portion of the stretch run. The move was made primarily to reduce the potential that he’d reaggravate the injury, but Tatís mostly returned to shortstop for the season’s final three weeks. There’s no doubt about his position moving forward, as the All-Star has already gone on record about his adamance at staying at shortstop in 2022 and beyond.

Padres Expected To Interview Mike Shildt; Not Planning To Interview Ron Washington

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10:16PM: The Padres do intend to speak with Shildt “are still investigating exactly why he was let go in St. Louis,” Kevin Acee of The San Diego Union-Tribune tweets.  Acee also adds that San Diego isn’t planning to interview Braves third base coach Ron Washington, who was rumored to be on the Padres’ radar last week.

9:59PM: Mike Shildt might not be out of a job for long, as The Athletic’s Dennis Lin and Brittany Ghiroli (Twitter link) report that the Padres are looking to interview Shildt for their managerial vacancy.  After being fired by the Cardinals just three days ago, Shildt enters a market thin on dugout openings, as the Mets and Padres are currently the only other big league clubs looking for a new manager.

However, Shildt does fit the mold of what the Padres have reportedly been focusing on, as all of the names linked to the search thus far have been experienced Major League managers.  While team chairman Peter Seidler said the Padres wouldn’t necessarily only be looking at former managers, this seems to be the initial direction in what might still be the early days of their search.

Keeping an open mind about candidates is always a good idea since a team never knows what new candidates might suddenly emerge…including Shildt, who seemed as safe as any manager in baseball after leading the Cardinals to a 90-win season.  Since taking over from Mike Matheny in July 2018, Shildt posted a 252-199 record in his tenure in St. Louis, taking the Cards to the postseason in each of the last three years.  After reaching the NLCS in 2019, the Cardinals haven’t made it beyond the initial playoff round, falling to the Dodgers in the wild card game and losing to (ironically) the Padres in the expanded 2020 postseason’s 2020 wild card series.

Details still aren’t exactly clear on the “philosophical differences” (in the words of St. Louis president of baseball operations John Mozeliak) that led to Shildt’s dismissal, though it isn’t surprising that the Padres would want to speak with a manager with Shildt’s recent track record.  Since all of Shildt’s experience in pro baseball has come with the Cardinals, he doesn’t have any past connection with Padres president of baseball ops A.J. Preller, thought that also might not be a prerequisite for any hiring.  Considering how Preller’s close friendship with former manager Jayce Tingler may have played a role in San Diego’s reported clubhouse tension over the season’s final weeks, it could benefit the Padres to hire a manager perceived by the players as having some distance from the front office.

Yankees Have Options With Joey Gallo

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Joey Gallo has long been one of the most inconsistent stars in baseball. If you see him on the right day, he’s a surefire MVP, a towering power hitter with surprising range in the outfield. He looks like a designated hitter, but he can passably cover centerfield.

See him on the wrong day, however, and you’ll be surprised to hear that he ever makes contact (36.9 percent career strikeout rate). He can seem passive at the plate, and when you see his sub-Mendoza-line batting average come across your TV screen, you may wonder why he’s even in the lineup.

For 58 games, the Yankees got a much heavier dose of Gallo version two as he slashed .160/.303/.404 in 228 plate appearances with a 38.6 percent strikeout rate. He did hit 13 home runs with a .245 ISO, but Yankees fans might be wondering if he’s worth the $10.2MM he’s projected to make in his final season before free agency. Joel Sherman of the New York Post explores some trade possibilities for Gallo, should the Yankees look that way this winter.

It would be a tough turnaround to flip Gallo, as they almost certainly wouldn’t be able to get as much as they gave up to get him. Besides, the short porch in Yankee Stadium still offers a tantalizing advantage for Gallo over a full season. Had he played the entire year in New York, public sentiment might be different. For the year, Gallo posted 3.5 fWAR with a .199/.351/.458 line with 38 home runs and 90 RBIs. Though you might not love the shape of it, those are solid bottom-line numbers.

In all likelihood, the Yankees hold onto Gallo for the final season of his contract. Despite their relative health this season, Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton still come with a lengthy injury history, and Gallo provides significant power/patience insurance for a lineup that faltered at times.

If they do want to move him, however, they could start with the clubs that explored a trade for him at the deadline. Sherman provides that list: the Rays, White Sox, Braves, Brewers, Giants, Padres, and Phillies. The list of teams would almost certainly grow if the Yankees put him out there this winter. There’s a deal out there for the Yankees if they want it, but Gallo version one might still be the guy the Yankees want and need in the middle of their order.

Latest On Cardinals’ Managerial Opening

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9:56 PM: The Cardinals plan to have their next manager in place by mid-November, per The Athletic’s Katie Woo. With the rest of the coaching staff remaining intact, it makes sense that the Cards could be relatively quick with their manager hire.

7:06 PM: The speculation has already begun on who might replace Mike Shildt as the next manager of the St. Louis Cardinals. The popular internal candidates appear to be Oliver Marmol and Stubby Clapp, per Jon Morosi of the MLB Network (via Twitter).

St. Louis usually likes to promote from within, and both Marmol and Clapp have surfaced before as candidates for managerial openings. Neither, then, would be a shocking choice, though given the surprising nature of Shildt’s release, anything could be on the table. Without knowing the real nature of the disconnect between Shildt and Cardinals’ president of baseball ops John Mozeliak, it’s tough to speculate on potential targets.

Players in San Diego, however, are hearing that former Cardinal fan favorite Skip Schumaker might be a candidate for the role, per Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune (via Twitter). There would be support from Padres’ players were Schumaker considered as the Padres’ next manager, notes Acee, though it’s not clear yet what direction President of Baseball Ops A.J. Preller will lean.

Quick Hits: Hess, Washington, Padres, Black, Strom

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Rays reliever David Hess announced today (via his Twitter feed) that he will be undergoing chemotherapy after doctors discovered a cancerous germ cell tumor in his chest.  “As we’ve started on this journey we’ve had people circle around us and shower love, prayers, and support in ways that have been so amazing I don’t think we can even put into words how grateful my family and I are,” Hess wrote.  “As we get ready to go into this treatment time, we are confident this will all be gone from my body and I’ll be back doing what I love on a baseball field soon and be healthy while doing it.”  We at MLBTR wish all the best to Hess in his treatment and we’re hoping for a full and quick recovery.

More from around the league…

  • Braves third base coach Ron Washington can’t interview with other teams about managerial openings until Atlanta’s postseason run is over, so Washington told reporters (including The Athletic’s David O’Brien) that he has yet to hear from the Padres or Mets.  Washington is happy in his current position but admitted he would like to “get back in the room” for a second stint managing a big league club.  It’s possible Atlanta’s playoff run could interfere with Washington’s job prospects, as if the Braves were to advance deep into the World Series, the Padres and Mets might potentially hire new managers before Washington becomes available to talk.
  • If not Washington, could the Padres turn to another veteran skipper in Rockies manager Bud Black?  The Denver Post’s Patrick Saunders is doubtful, writing that “realistically…I don’t think the Rockies would let go of Black and I don’t know if [Padres president of baseball operations A.J.] Preller would even consider him as a candidate.”  After all, Preller did fire Black back in 2015, ending Black’s previous nine-year run as the Padres’ manager.  Black is under contract to the Rockies through the 2022 season, though team president Greg Feasel recently stated that the Rox had yet to speak to Black about a contract extension.  The Padres’ search for a new manager has thus far connected them to several experienced former bench bosses, and Black would certainly fit the description after 14 seasons managing in San Diego and Colorado.
  • Longtime Astros pitching coach Brent Strom told FOX 26’s Mark Berman that this could be his final year, though he and his wife will discuss the situation once the Astros season is over.  “I’ve been doing it a long time.  I’m going to be 73 years old…and so there’s a lot of life out there besides baseball that I might want to experience, but I haven’t made any decisions as of yet,” Strom said.  Strom has been the Astros’ pitching coach since the 2013-14 offseason, the latest stop in almost 40 years’ worth of work in baseball as a coach and as a minor pitching instructor and coordinator for six different organizations.

Padres Looked Into Anthony Rizzo Trade At Deadline

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The Padres’ trade deadline explorations included some talks with the Cubs about first baseman Anthony Rizzo, The Athletic’s Dennis Lin writes as part of a reader mailbag.  It isn’t known how far negotiations might have developed between the two sides, and the Cubs eventually ended up moving Rizzo to the Yankees in another deal.

With Rizzo now set to enter the free agent market, it stands to reason that the Padres might still have interest in the veteran, especially since the power is a continued need for the team.  While Rizzo’s slugging percentage over the last two seasons is a modest .432 (a significant dropoff from his .513 SLG with the Cubs from 2014-19), the first baseman did hit 22 home runs last year.  Rizzo’s power numbers were also markedly better than those of Eric Hosmer, the Padres’ incumbent first baseman.

It’s probably safe to assume that the Padres’ inability to move Hosmer at the deadline contributed to the lack of movement on a potential Rizzo trade.  San Diego was reportedly looking into ways to move Hosmer earlier this year, and Lin figures the team will again try to unload Hosmer and/or Wil Myers to alleviate their payroll and luxury tax burdens.  Hosmer is still owed $59MM from 2022-25, with a luxury tax number of $18MM based on the annual average value of Hosmer’s original eight-year, $144MM contract.

Even if National League teams have the DH as an extra lineup spot to work with in 2022, Hosmer stands as the largest obstacle to Rizzo or any other first base addition, barring a trade.  Since Hosmer has provided barely more than replacement-level production (0.5 total fWAR) over the last four seasons, Rizzo would provide an upgrade, even if Rizzo’s own production has taken a step back over the last two seasons.

Rizzo hit .240/.343/.432 with 33 homers in 819 PA since the start of the 2020 season, good for an above-average but unspectacular 109 wRC+.  His hard-hit ball numbers have also been on the decline over the last two seasons, and his nine percent walk rate in 2021 was his lowest since 2012.  On the plus side, Rizzo has continued to be one of the game’s tougher hitters to strike out, which would naturally appeal to a Padres team that prizes contact — San Diego has the fourth-lowest strikeout rate of any team in baseball over the last two years.

There’s certainly still enough in Rizzo’s recent track record to merit a multi-year contract in free agency, and the 32-year-old is likely to land a healthy eight-figure salary.  While Rizzo wouldn’t necessarily represent huge savings in terms of pure dollars over Hosmer’s deal, the luxury tax savings may make it particularly worthwhile for the Padres.  Rizzo also isn’t attached to any draft pick compensation, since his midseason trade makes him ineligible for the qualifying offer.

If Rizzo did happen to wind up back in San Diego, it would represent something of a full circle move after he began his MLB career with the Padres back in 2011.  Initially a Red Sox draft pick, Rizzo was dealt to the Padres as part of the Adrian Gonzalez blockbuster in December 2010, and played only one season in San Diego before the Friars shipped him to the Cubs in January 2012.  From there, Rizzo ended up becoming a Wrigleyville icon, hitting .272/.372/.489 over parts of 10 seasons in Chicago and playing a major role in the team’s 2016 World Series title.

With power bats standing out as such a need for the Padres, Rizzo might not be the only former trade target who could again emerge on the team’s radar.  San Diego also had interest in acquiring Nelson Cruz and Joey Gallo before the two sluggers were respectively dealt to the Rays and Yankees, and Lin believes the Friars might look into either signing Cruz as a free agent (probably again depending on the status of the universal DH) or perhaps working out a Gallo trade with New York.

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