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Checking In On Baseball’s New Managers

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There was an incredible amount of managerial turnover last year. Bobby Cox, Lou Piniella, Joe Torre and Cito Gaston walked away from the role on their own terms and other skippers were simply fired. Here’s a midseason look at all 12 MLB managers in their first full seasons with their current clubs:

American League

Buck Showalter’s Orioles are 36-46 and John Farrell’s Blue Jays are 42-44. The AL East is arguably baseball’s toughest division, but the O’s entered the season with high hopes after finishing strong in 2010 and signing a number of free agents.

Ned Yost has led the Royals to a 34-50 record and overseen the big league debuts for top prospects like Eric Hosmer and Mike Moustakas. Former Indians manager Eric Wedge has the Mariners on the fringes of contention, 2.5 games out of the AL West with a 42-43 record.

National League

Clint Hurdle

The Braves have the second-best record in the NL (50-36) under new manager Fredi Gonzalez and Terry Collins has the 43-42 Mets above .500 in his first season in New York. Another NL East skipper, Edwin Rodriguez, was fired after the Marlins' record slipped to 32-39.

Ron Roenicke has the Brewers in contention with a 45-41 record, but Mike Quade of the Cubs checks in at 35-51 in his first full season in Chicago. Clint Hurdle of the Pirates (pictured) is probably the favorite to win NL Manager of the Year, since Pittsburgh is finally above .500 at 44-41.

Kirk Gibson of the Diamondbacks has Arizona in contention with a 46-40 record and has emerged as an NL Manager of the Year candidate himself. Another former big league star, Don Mattingly, has led the Dodgers to a 37-49 record.

Listing these managers’ records is an admittedly simplistic way of checking in on them. Their records are a reflection of the players on their rosters, the injuries they've dealt with and the opponents they've faced, not just their work as skippers. Photo Courtesy Icon SMI.

Update On This Year’s Rule 5 Picks

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Many Rule 5 picks ultimately return to their original organizations, because it's not easy to keep inexperienced players in the Major Leagues all season long. Only five of the 19 players selected in the Major League phase of last offseason's Rule 5 draft remain on active MLB rosters midway through the season. Here’s another update on the draftees:

On Active Rosters (5)

  • Pedro Beato of the Mets may be the most impressive Rule 5 pick of 2011. The former first rounder has a 3.52 ERA with 5.4 K/9, 2.8 BB/9 and a 53.6% ground ball rate in 38 1/3 innings of relief for the Mets. 
  • Aneury Rodriguez of the Astros has a 5.43 ERA with 6.4 K/9 and 2.9 BB/9 in 58 innings for the Astros. The 23-year-old right-hander recently returned to the bullpen after a stint in Houston's rotation.
  • Nathan Adcock of the Royals hasn't had a scoreless outing since May 21st, but that's largely because manager Ned Yost barely used the right-hander in June. Adcock appeared in just three games last month and has a 4.91 ERA with 5.9 K/9 and 3.7 BB/9 36 2/3 innings into his big league career.
  • Joe Paterson of the D'Backs has succeeded as a lefty specialist (53 plate appearances vs. left-handed hitters, 28 plate appearances vs. right-handed hitters). He has a 2.89 ERA with 8.7 K/9 and 4.3 BB/9 in 18 2/3 innings this year.
  • Michael Martinez of the Phillies hasn't hit, but he has played left field, center field, second base and shortstop. He has a .188/.221/.234 line in 70 plate appearances off of the bench.

Traded (4)

The Mets returned Brad Emaus to the Blue Jays, who traded the infielder to Colorado; the Twins retained Scott Diamond in a trade with the Braves; the Red Sox sent Daniel Turpen to the Rockies; the Indians recently sent Josh Rodriguez to the Pirates.  Rule 5 restrictions no longer apply to these four players.

Injured (2)

Elvin Ramirez (Nationals) and Mason Tobin (Rangers) have been on the 60-day DL for over two months. They have to spend 90 non-September days on the active roster to become official property of their new teams. Otherwise, their Rule 5 status carries forward until the players spend 90 non-September days on the active roster.

Back Where They Started (8)

Brian Broderick, Jose Flores, Adrian Rosario, Pat Egan, Lance Pendleton, George Kontos, Robert Fish and Cesar Cabral are back with their original organizations.

July 2nd Signings Roundup

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The Rangers made a huge splash early on today when they reached agreement on a deal with Nomar Mazara for more than $5MM.   Hours later, we learned that Texas inked fellow Dominican outfielder Ronald Guzman to a deal with a healthy $3.5MM signing bonus.  General Manager Jon Daniels & Co. spent some serious coin on the international free agent market today, but they weren't the only ones..

  • Rangers: Approximately $8.5MM.  Nomar Mazara (approx. $5MM), Ronald Guzman ($3.5MM).
  • Royals: $3.05MM.  Elier Hernandez ($3.05MM).
  • Mariners: $2MM.  Helsin Martinez ($2MM).
  • Cubs: $1.1MM.  Enrique Acosta ($1.1MM).
  • Padres: $1.1MM.  Jose Ruiz ($1.1MM).
  • Pirates: $1.05MM.  Harold Ramirez  ($1.05MM).
  • Mets: Approximately $1MM.  Jose Garcia (less than $1MM).
  • Tigers: $750K.  Adelin Santa ($750K).
  • Cardinals: $650K.  Dewin Perez ($450K), Jose Godoy ($200K).
  • Twins: $650K.  Miguel Gonzalez ($650K).
  • Braves: $230K.  Iosif Bernal ($230K).
  • Astros: $220K.  Arturo Michelena ($220K).
  • Indians: $200K.  Francisco Miguel ($200K).

By the way, tell your Spanish-speaking friends to check out our sister site Rumores de Béisbol, where you can catch all the latest rumors with a Latin American focus.

Contenders In Need Of A Center Field Upgrade

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As many as five contenders might be seeking a center fielder by the trade deadline:

  • White Sox:  Alex Rios, who is signed through 2014, is hitting .221/.272/.329 on the season after a fine bounceback 2010.  He was pulled from last night's game because manager Ozzie Guillen didn't like the way Rios was running the bases.  His replacement Brent Lillibridge could start taking away at-bats, though Lillibridge's own negligence might have cost Chicago that particular game.  The Sox have Jordan Danks (.259/.335/.461) at Triple-A.
  • Rangers:  Their games played leader Julio Borbon is in Triple-A, leaving Endy Chavez, Craig Gentry, and occasionally Josh Hamilton or David Murphy.  Chavez has played well in a small sample, and Leonys Martin could be a factor in September.
  • Mariners:  They're committed to Franklin Gutierrez, but the well-regarded defender is having a very rough year with the bat.  If the lack of production continues for, say, four weeks, the Ms could think about renting a center fielder.
  • Braves:  Jordan Schafer earned the center field job, pushing Nate McLouth to left.  Schafer hasn't done much with the bat though, so the Braves could look to upgrade.
  • Nationals:  The Nats have reportedly been looking for a long-term center fielder for a while now, with B.J. Upton's name coming up often.  Roger Bernadina's recent play may give them pause, however. 

The Braves and Nationals seem most likely to make a move, though the Nats probably won't seek a rental.  The market may include Borbon, Michael Bourn, Coco Crisp, Dexter Fowler, Chris Coghlan, Reed Johnson, Mitch Maier, Marlon Byrd, Melky Cabrera, Aaron Rowand, Rajai Davis, and Corey Patterson in my estimation.  Kosuke Fukudome could play center for someone, while Carlos Beltran played there last year.  I have a hard time seeing the Rays move Upton in the middle of a pennant race, but stranger things have happened.

iPhone App Beta Test Full

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10:11am: The beta test is full, thanks for your interest.

9:39am: Our Baseball Trade Rumors iPhone app allows you to get push notifications for every new rumor for all of your favorite players and teams.  The second version of the app is coming out soon, with new features such as team and transaction filters on the news page and an improved refresh button.

We are looking for 25 people to test the new version of the app thoroughly for about a week. 

Beta testing on our new Android app will begin soon.

Managing While Old

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With the hirings of Jack McKeon, 80, and Davey Johnson, 68, it appears a new trend may be afoot: old managers are the new market inefficiency. Much is likely to come from this, with teams using Willard Scott's birthday greetings as their own shortlists, and a spirited bidding war to hire The Oldest Living Confederate Widow.

But as many of the recent hires can tell you – having lived through it – hiring more experienced managers is nothing new. In fact, 15 of the 30 teams have employed managers 65 or older at some point in franchise history. How successful have these managers been, considering that their pep talks were littered with stories from the Great Depression? Unsurprisingly, their success varies, much as it does for their younger counterparts, based largely on the on-field talent.

The only manager in baseball history older than McKeon was Connie Mack. Interestingly, Mack was also one of the youngest-ever managers, getting his first gig as a player/manager with the Pittsburgh Pirates back in 1894, at the tender age of 31. His tenure with the Athletics lasted from 1901-1950, and had two high points. The first came from 1910-1914, when Mack's A's won four pennants and three World Series titles. Mack did this from age 47-51. But he was back around two decades later, as skipper for three pennants and two World Series titles from 1929-1931. Mack was age 66-68 for that success, and clearly had no trouble communicating with his younger players.  Even in 1932, at age 69, he managed to motivate 24-year-old Jimmie Foxx to hit 58 home runs.

A pair of 70-somethings also managed in the big leagues, one just recently, the other decades ago. Felipe Alou, who had managed the Montreal Expos well into his sixties, took over the San Francisco Giants at age 68 in 2003 and led them to 100 victories, then 91 the following season. His age 70 and 71 seasons were far less successful, but his talent eroded quite a bit as well. In 2003, his entire lineup featured hitters at OPS+ levels of 90 or above, with five of them above 104. In 2006, just two of his regular hitters topped an OPS+ of 93, and four found themselves at 84 or lower.

The other 70-something manager was Casey Stengel, of course, and it is hard to argue against his later-life success. Taking over the New York Yankees at age 58, he won a pennant each season, save two, until he was 69 years old. The Yankees lost the 1960 World Series to Pittsburgh, and decided to part ways with their manager. Stengel then delivered the immortal line about age and managing: "I'll never make the mistake of being 70 again."

Stengel did manage the New York Mets from ages 71-74 before a broken hip forced him out in 1965. Those Mets teams lost far more often than they won, but even a cursory look at the talent Stengel possessed would suggest that if anything, they overachieved.

One final note on aging managers: fully ten percent of all Major League teams have employed Jack McKeon as their oldest manager ever. McKeon's age-59 stint with the San Diego Padres back in 1990, and his age-69 tenure with the Cincinnati Reds ten years later make him the oldest manager in each franchise's history. With the Padres, he won 89 games in his penultimate season, 1989; with the Reds, he won 97 games and earned a one-game playoff for the wild card against the New York Mets in his age-68 season.

And of course, he'd already held the record for oldest manager in Florida history prior to this year's hiring, winning a World Series at age 72. In other words, it's probably time that somebody gave Earl Weaver – now just 80 himself – a call as well.

When Teams Prefer Type Bs

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What do Kevin Correia, Octavio Dotel, Brad Hawpe, Orlando Hudson, Chad Qualls, and Javier Vazquez have in common?  They were all Type B free agents who were surprisingly offered arbitration by their former clubs and then turned it down.  The offers surprised me because I assumed the risk of the players accepting was too great.  However, I couldn't account for the possibility of handshake deals – these players probably agreed beforehand to turn down arbitration offers, helping their former employers without hurting their own free agent stock. 

If supplemental round picks Jace Peterson (Padres), Trevor Story (Rockies), Grayson Garvin (Rays), Hudson Boyd (Twins), James Harris (Rays), and Dante Bichette Jr. (Yankees) make Major League impacts, their respective teams may want to thank the above-named Type B free agents who were willing to agree to turn down arbitration offers.  It's not a given - for example, the Rays didn't offer arbitration to Type B Carlos Pena, and the Yankees didn't offer to Lance Berkman or Kerry Wood.  In total, 17 Type Bs were not offered arbitration last offseason. 

Had players such as Hudson and Vazquez been rated as Type As, they would not have been so willing to turn down arbitration, since doing so would have required a new team to surrender a draft pick to sign them.  The Twins and Yankees would have realized this and never made arbitration offers in the first place.

My point: star players aside, many teams would prefer their own free agents to be rated as Type Bs rather than Type As.  So keep an eye on those currently on the borderline: Jason Kubel, Vladimir Guerrero, Aaron Hill, Carlos Guillen, Jason Frasor, and Chris Snyder.

Contenders In Need Of A Third Base Upgrade

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Today let's take a look at contenders lacking at third base.

  • Indians:  They've used Jack Hannahan at the hot corner, and he hasn't hit outside of April.  Top prospect Lonnie Chisenhall is the team's third baseman of the future, so any acquisition would probably be for the short-term.
  • Tigers:  The Tigers committed to Brandon Inge's defensive-minded contributions in the offseason.  Inge's bat was worse than expected in April and May, but he'll be returning soon from a bout with mononucleosis.
  • White Sox:  Rookie Brent Morel has gotten the bulk of the playing time.  His defense draws praise, but it's hard to make up for a .251/.263/.317 line.
  • Twins:  Danny Valencia has struggled.  Winners of eight straight, the Twins are now 6.5 games out and could think about buying if the next few weeks go well.
  • Mariners:  Chone Figgins hasn't shown any signs of life, though Adam Kennedy (.283/.320/.435) might start stealing more playing time at third.
  • Brewers:  Casey McGehee fell off a cliff this year, and he hasn't been better lately.
  • Cardinals:  Daniel Descalso has been holding down the fort as David Freese aims to return from a broken hand this month.  Plus, Matt Carpenter has a .427 OBP at Triple-A.  Assuming there are no ill effects for Freese, the Cards should be fine at third base.
  • Pirates:  Josh Harrison and Brandon Wood haven't done much in 172 plate appearances.  Pedro Alvarez was having a rough year before he went down with a quad injury in May.  Still, the Pirates have options and it's tough to see them acquiring a third baseman.

The trade market is fairly bleak.  Speculative trade candidates include Mark Reynolds, Wilson Betemit, Casey Blake, Kevin Kouzmanoff, Ian Stewart, Edwin Encarnacion, Mark Teahen, Figgins, Mike Aviles, Brian Barden, Cody Ransom, and Josh Fields.  Aramis Ramirez said earlier this month he would not accept a trade.

Team Facebook/Twitter/RSS

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If you prefer your MLBTR fix limited to only your favorite team, we've got you covered.  Below are links to our team Facebook, Twitter, and RSS pages and feeds.

AL East

AL Central

AL West

NL East

NL Central

NL West

Transactions only: Twitter / RSS

Potentially Available Left-Handed Relievers

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On Thursday I identified a big group of potentially available right-handed relievers.  Today let's check out the left-handed group.

  • Athletics: Brian Fuentes, Craig Breslow, Jerry Blevins.  Blevins, designated for assignment in May, cleared waivers and is enjoying a strong June after a rough start at Triple-A.  Fuentes and Breslow are less likely to be dealt, as they might be penciled into future Oakland bullpens.
  • Cubs: John Grabow.  The real prize is Sean Marshall, though I don't see why the Cubs would move him.  Grabow would be a salary dump, as he hasn't done much to earn his $4.8MM.
  • Orioles: Mike Gonzalez, Mark Hendrickson.  It's been a rough year for Gonzalez, who has allowed 30 hits and seven home runs in 24 innings.  However, he remains very tough on lefties.  Hendrickson was outrighted to Triple-A in March and has been solid as expected against lefties.
  • Marlins: Randy Choate.  Choate, who is signed for 2012, has been nasty on lefties but should not face righties.
  • Red Sox: Hideki Okajima.  Earlier this month he said he's hoping for a trade, but he hasn't drawn much interest to date.
  • Dodgers: Hong-Chih Kuo.  Just activated from the DL for anxiety disorder, Kuo is nasty when healthy.  He's under team control through 2012 and would have a strong market if the Dodgers are willing to move him.  But even at seven games out they might just prefer to add stability to their own bullpen.
  • J.C. Romero of the Phillies, Dustin Richardson of the Marlins: Both southpaws are currently in DFA limbo, so they won't require much to acquire.
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