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Market Notes: Matsuda, Maeda, O’Day, Aoki, Shark, Santana

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There may be another name to watch on the free agent market, as Japanese infielder Nobuhiro Matsuda has declared free agency and is looking for a deal with a major league club, according to Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com (via Twitter). The 32-year-old has spent the vast majority of his time at third base while playing for the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball league. Matsuda has delivered consistent power numbers over the years, but showed a significant increase in his home run output last year, when he swatted a career-best 35 long balls. However, as Patrick Newman of NPB Tracker notes on Twitter, that tally was likely boosted by a favorable change in his home park’s dimensions. Over 603 plate appearances on the year, Matsuda slashed a robust .287/.357/.533. While his age (and lack of MLB experience) limits his value, the veteran does have the benefit of entering a market that lacks much in the way of hot corner options. And because he was eligible to become a free agent, he won’t need to go through the posting process (or have any part of his potential earnings reduced by a release fee).

Here are more notes from around the game as the free agent market kicks into gear:

  • Japanese righty Kenta Maeda likely won’t be posted until after the “Super 12” tournament is completed in late November, Jon Morosi of FOX Sports reports. His team, the Hiroshima Toyo Carp, is still expected to make the intriguing starter available. MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes took an early look at Maeda as a part of his annual top fifty free agent list, explaining that the Diamondbacks could be a strong contender for his services.
  • Reliever Darren O’Day is drawing a lot of attention early in the offseason, Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports. While a variety of large-budget clubs — including the Tigers, Nationals, Mets, and Yankees — are expected to have interest, Sherman says the Orioles will have a chance to match any offers.
  • Lefty Mark Buehrle still has not told his agents whether or not he’ll pitch next year, Sherman adds. But he’ll draw plenty of interest if he does, as about ten clubs have already reached out to see whether he would be pitching or retiring.
  • Free agent outfielder Nori Aoki is completely healthy after dealing with concussion issues late in the season, agent Nez Balelo tells Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com. The Giants’ decision to decline a seemingly affordable option on the veteran was motivated by a desire for flexibility, Balelo indicated, rather than Aoki’s ability to return at full speed. Aoki remains an often-underappreciated player, and he’ll be an interesting target for teams looking for value in the corner outfield.
  • It’s shaping up as a strong market for righty Jeff Samardzija, Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times writes. He struggled mightily in the run prevention department last year, but many executives remain big fans of his stuff and makeup.
  • Southpaw Johan Santana still wants to return in 2016, agent Peter Greenberg tells Jon Morosi of FOX Sports (via Twitter). The 36-year-old’s most recent comeback attempts have been derailed by an array of ailments, but the two-time Cy Young winner is evidently still committed. He last threw in the big leagues in 2012.
  • If you’re interested in reading up on what this winter may have in store, here are a few pieces looking at the market from a broader perspective. In an interesting and well-researched piece, Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca explains that the addition of the second Wild Card has made deadline additions more difficult — which, in turn, makes it all the more important to build a team over the winter. The active period of front office turnover that we just experienced may lead to increased activity on the trade market, Sherman suggests.
  • Likewise, a variety of outlets have recently taken different approaches to looking at individual players. ESPN.com’s Buster Olney provides a list of free agents who he thinks could be under-valued on the market. And ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick surveyed executives around the league on a variety of subjects, providing extensive quotes and analysis on different segments of the market.

Bullpen Notes: Miller, O’Day, Soria, Madson

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The Yankees are reportedly open to nearly any scenario this winter, and according to Jon Heyman of CBS Sports, that includes trading Andrew Miller. While Heyman is careful to note that the scenario isn’t likely and the Yankees aren’t actively shopping their excellent closer, other clubs have said that Miller’s name is “out there a bit,” as Heyman puts it. Andy Martino of the New York Daily News applauds GM Brian Cashman’s open-mindedness (Twitter link). He speculates that the Yankees could flip Miller for immediate help and then trade prospects to acquire Craig Kimbrel from the Padres, leaving the 2016 club improved overall. The Yankees already have a dominant late-inning arm that could step into the ninth inning in place of Miller, of course, in Dellin Betances, though there’s certainly something to be said for having a pair of shutdown arms to handle the final two-plus innings of a game.

A few more notes from the relief market as the GM Meetings get underway…

  • Preliminary interest in Darren O’Day is “steep,” tweets Heyman, who adds that the Tigers, Cubs, Nationals, Red Sox, Royals and Dodgers are all in at this stage. The 32-year-old O’Day is probably the top relief arm on the market, as he’s coming off a dominant stretch in which he posted a 1.92 ERA in 263 innings over a four-year stretch spanning 2012-15. O’Day landed 33rd on MLBTR’s Top 50 Free Agent list, with Tim Dierkes projecting a three-year deal worth about $22.5MM.
  • The Tigers will meet with the representatives for right-hander Joakim Soria at the GM Meetings this week, according to Tony Paul of the Detroit News (links to Twitter). The Tigers traded Soria to the Pirates at this summer’s non-waiver deadline, but that move was carried out by the since-departed Dave Dombrowski, and it stands to reason that new GM Al Avila, who is known to be seeking bullpen upgrades, could want Soria back in the ninth inning in Detroit. Paul adds that the Tigers’ preference between O’Day and Soria could come down to who is more willing to sign first, as the team will want to move onto other needs/targets relatively quickly.
  • Andy McCullough of the Kansas City Star tweets that Ryan Madson, who picked up a World Series ring and emphatically re-established himself as a quality big league setup man with the Royals this season, is seeking a multi-year deal on the free agent market. That’s not a huge surprise given the lack of elite relief arms on the free agent market this season and the strong results he delivered in 2015. Madson tallied a 2.13 ERA with 8.2 K/9 against 2.0 BB/9 in 63 1/3 innings with Kansas City this season. He struggled in the ALDS and ALCS before turning in three very strong World Series innings. Tim pegged Madson for a three-year deal in the $15MM range in the aforementioned Top 50 list.

Latest On Byung-ho Park

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8:52am: Yahoo’s Jeff Passan tweets that the White Sox aren’t the winner, either. That leaves the Brewers and Twins in addition to the Cubs and Reds, though the latter duo doesn’t have much of a spot for Park to play (unless Cincinnati feels he can handle left field). Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN reported last week that the Twins have scouted Park quite a bit, though the Brewers seem to be a better fit from a roster standpoint, in my eyes.

8:37am: Heyman also eliminates the Rockies and the Phillies from the mix (via Twitter). That leaves the Brewers, Reds, Cubs, White Sox and Twins as the remaining options. As I noted before, the presence of Joey Votto in Cincinnati and Anthony Rizzo on the Cubs’ roster makes that pair of NL teams seem like long shots, to say the least. The White Sox and Twins each have long-term first base options in Jose Abreu and Joe Mauer, though Park could certainly split time at first and DH with either player.

8:22am: The Astros didn’t submit the winning bid for Park, either, tweets Jon Heyman of CBS Sports.

NOV. 9, 7:29am: We’re down to seven possibilities on the mystery team for Park, as ESPN’s Buster Olney (Twitter link) and the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review’s Rob Biertempfel (Twitter link) report that the Pirates have not won the bidding.

There have been reports eliminating all but seven teams from the Park bidding, leaving the Phillies, Brewers, Reds, Cubs, White Sox, Twins and Astros as possibilities. And while the Reds and Cubs are technically possibilities, it’d be surprising to see either NL club post the winning bid on a first baseman, given the stars that each has entrenched at that position. The Rockies haven’t been completely ruled out, though the report below seems to indicate they’re more of a long shot than anything else at this point.

Alan Nero, Park’s agent at Octagon, tells Travis Sawchik of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review that even he does not yet know which club won the bidding, adding that both league offices were closed over the weekend (Twitter link).

NOV. 8, 9:51pm: The winning bid wasn’t posted by the Royals or Braves, Yahoo Sports’ Jeff Passan reports (Twitter links).  “It’s safe to assume” the Rays didn’t have the winning bid either, the Tampa Bay Times’ Marc Topkin tweets.

9:10pm: The Athletics and Marlins also didn’t have the top bid, Heyman tweets.

7:24pm: The Mariners and Diamondbacks didn’t place bids on Park, as per tweets from CBS Sports’ Jon Heyman and Zach Buchanan of AZCentral.com.  Also, the Giants can be eliminated from contention, according to Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle.  The Rockies might also be out, as MLB.com’s Thomas Harding doesn’t “think anything is happening there.”

2:39pm: Italian artist Michelangelo is famously misquoted as saying that he sculpted the historic David statue by chipping away the parts that did not look like David.  Perhaps that is how we will whittle down the field of suitors for first baseman Byung-Ho Park until we unravel the mystery team that submitted the winning bid to negotiate with the Korean star.  Failing that, we might just have to wait until Monday, when the announcement is formally made.

On Friday, Korea’s Nexen Heroes accepted a $12.85MM bid on the rights to negotiate a big league contract with Park.  As of today, we still don’t know which MLB club won the posting process, but one team out there now has a thirty day window with which to hammer out a deal with one of the winter’s most intriguing and mysterious free agents.

The Blue Jays are not the winning team, according to Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com (on Twitter), and the winning bid was not submitted by the Mets, Yankees, Dodgers, or Angels, either (link),  The Cardinals, who are looking at various first base options, tendered an unsuccessful bid for the 29-year-old, according to Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.  James Wagner of the Washington Post (on Twitter) heard that the Nats did not have interest.  Late last week, the Indians, Tigers, Rangers, Orioles, Padres, and Red Sox were also crossed off the list by various reporters.

If Park and his new club do not reach agreement on a contract, Nexen will lose out on the posting fee and the winning team will have to move on to a Plan B at first base.  The reported $12.85MM fell shy of the $25MM+ posting amount commanded by lefty Hyun-Jin Ryu, but it easily tops what the Pirates paid Nexen last year (~$5MM) for the rights to reach a deal with infielder Jung-Ho Kang. After the team-to-team transfer was arrived at, Kang and the Bucs agreed to a four-year, $11MM guarantee.

In the recently-released list of MLBTR’s top fifty free agents, Tim Dierkes predicted that Park would command a $10MM posting fee and a five-year, $40MM contract from the winning team. The first part of that was close, but it remains to be seen how negotiations will proceed.

Heyman’s Latest: Free Agents, O’Day, Gordon, Hunter

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CBS Sports’ Jon Heyman shares his predictions about where this offseason’s top 50 free agents will earn in their next contracts.  Be sure to check out MLBTR’s own top 50 free agents list, as Heyman and Tim Dierkes have a few interesting differences over some contract values and where some players are ranked within the top 50.  In other news from Heyman, his latest Inside Baseball column recaps several items that he and others have reported over the last few weeks, as well as some fresh hot stove tidbits…

  • The Dodgers, Nationals, Red Sox and Tigers are among the many teams who have already shown interest in Darren O’Day.  It’s no surprise that quartet has been particularly eager to check in with O’Day given how all four teams are known to be hunting for bullpen upgrades this winter.  The Orioles, the righty reliever’s former team, “are trailing at present.”
  • The Royals will look to re-sign Alex Gordon but are hoping to do so on a three- or four-year contract.  Given how Gordon’s well-rounded game makes him a fit on several teams, he’ll easily top the three-year plateau and even four might be a pipe dream for Kansas City unless the Royals inflate his average annual value.  MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes predicts Gordon will land a five-year contract worth $105MM.
  • We’ve already heard that the Twins were disappointed by Torii Hunter’s retirement, and beyond the loss of his clubhouse leadership, Heyman adds that the team will miss him from an on-field standpoint as well.  Hunter would’ve been an insurance policy since the Twins aren’t sure if former top prospect Byron Buxton is ready for an everyday job.  Buxton’s rookie season was a forgettable one, as he hit .209/.250/.326 over 138 plate appearances and also spent about seven weeks on the DL with a sprained thumb.

NL East Notes: Baker, Nats, Marlins, Gordon

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The Nationals reportedly agreed to hire Bud Black as their manager before going with Dusty Baker, but GM Mike Rizzo has a slightly different version of events.  “We definitely had financial parameters discussed with (both), at the same time,” Rizzo said at a press conference, according to The Associated Press.

“We felt that was the best track to go by,” Rizzo said, “because sometimes the negotiating process also tells you a lot about the people that you’re negotiating with. As we discussed baseball in the interview process, and parameters in the financial process, we came to the conclusion that Dusty Baker was the perfect guy for us.”

Here’s more from the NL East..

  • The Marlins will explore making an extension offer to second baseman Dee Gordon, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald writes.  For his part, Gordon says that he would be receptive to such an offer.  The NL batting and stolen base champ is under team control for a few more years and will not be eligible to hit the open market until after the 2019 season.   Recently, team president David Samson remarked that the organization has “three of the top ten players in baseball” — referring to Giancarlo Stanton, Jose Fernandez, and Gordon.
  • The Marlins are less optimistic about signing shortstop Adeiny Hechavarria, however. Miami is under the impression that the 26-year-old (27 in April) will seek a deal in the neighborhood of Elvis Andrus’ eight-year, $120MM pact. Hechavarria, under team control through 2018, slashed a career-best .281/.315/.374 in 2015.  Of course, he is valued more for his glove, which resulted in a stellar 17.7 UZR/150 this past season.
  • Catcher Jeff Mathis remains a possibility to return to the Marlins because of his defense and the way he handles the pitching staff, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald writes.  Mathis, 33 in March, slashed just .161/.214/.290 in 103 plate appearances last season.  For his career, he owns a slash line of .194/.254/.306 over the course of eleven big league campaigns.  While he won’t be winning any battling titles soon, Mathis is valued for plenty of other things outside of his bat.

Denard Span, Doug Fister Will Not Receive Qualifying Offers

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The Nationals announced that the club has made qualifying offers to righty Jordan Zimmermann and shortstop Ian Desmond, but did not issue an offer to center fielder Denard Span or to righty Doug Fister. (Via James Wagner of the Washington Post, on Twitter.) At one time, all four players had seemed like strong candidates to receive QOs, though only Span was on the bubble as the decision neared.

As things stand, then, the Nats will only pick up two extra draft picks this winter — assuming, as is expected, that Zimmermann and Desmond reject the offer and sign elsewhere. It’s too soon to rule out a return for either with any degree of certainty, but all signs have pointed toward new destinations. Washington reportedly attempted to work out extensions with both players a few winters back, but talks never progressed.

It is at least marginally surprising to hear that the club won’t issue an offer to Span, who has been a key cog at the top of the Nats lineup since coming to D.C. via trade three years ago. But he’s entering his age-32 season after missing both the start and the end of the season due to separate core muscle surgeries.

Washington could have chosen to roll the dice with the offer, making it with expectations that Span would decline. After all, returning on a one-year deal — possibly with reduced playing time, given the presence of Michael Taylor in center — might not have held much appeal to the veteran. And the downside wouldn’t have been terrible, given that Span would make a nice fit and wouldn’t be overwhelmingly expensive. But the front office apparently decided that some combination of the team’s needs, Span’s health, and the cost were not worth the risk.

As for Fister, who’s also headed for his age-32 campaign, 2015 was a season to forget. He did end up with a palatable-enough 4.19 ERA over 103 innings, but he lost his rotation spot and only ended up making 15 starts. Fister figures to be a popular bounceback option on this year’s free agent market.

NL East Notes: Toscano, Granderson, Molina, Alvarez, Marlins, Klentak

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Braves outfielder Dian Toscano has finally been cleared to join the organization, David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports on Twitter. The Cuban had yet to receive full clearance from the government since signing last winter. (It’s never been entirely clear what the reason was for the hold-up.) Atlanta committed $6MM to Toscano over four years in hopes that he could develop into a reserve/platoon-type outfielder. He might see some winter ball action as he looks to get up to speed, O’Brien notes.

Here’s more from the NL East:

  • Mets outfielder Curtis Granderson required surgery on his left thumb for a torn ligament, as Rubin reports. That may come as a surprise to those who watched Granderson perform well in the NLCS and World Series. He reportedly suffered the injury during the third game of the championship round. The 34-year-old had a highly productive all-around season, serving as a somewhat underappreciated element in the team’s successful campaign.
  • In less promising Mets injury news, right-handed pitching prospect Marcos Molina underwent Tommy John surgery after the season, Matt Eddy of Baseball America reports on Twitter. Both Baseball America and MLB.com rate Molina the club’s sixth-best overall prospect at present, though he’ll obviously have some work to do to regain his standing now that he’ll miss all of 2016.
  • Marlins righty Henderson Alvarez is expected to begin a throwing program on the first of December, Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports reports on Twitter. If he can maintain the timeline that the organization has charted, Alvarez could return to action within the first month of the season, according to Passan.  Alvarez had shoulder surgery this summer and is projected by MLBTR to earn $4MM in his second-to-last season of arbitration eligibility.
  • As they wait to see how Alvarez progresses, the Marlins will work to increase the organization’s financial flexibility, MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro reports. On the revenue side, Miami is hoping to find a corporate sponsor to put its name on the side of Marlins Park and also to get a new TV deal in place.
  • The Marlins acknowledge that they haven’t done the best job of putting their payroll to use in building around their young core in recent years, as Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald writes. Pitching is the major need, according to president David Samson, who says he feels the organization has “three of the top ten players in baseball” — referring to Giancarlo Stanton, Jose Fernandez, and Dee Gordon. Per Jackson, Miami would go up to $15MM a year on the right starting pitcher, though the team is more likely to spend in the $12MM to $15MM range. (He calls Yovani Gallardo an “interesting option in the high end of that range.”) Of course, trades are also possible, and Marcell Ozuna appears to represent a big chip with the organization seemingly unconvinced that he’s a piece worth keeping. Miami is chasing two pitchers, says Jackson, one of whom could come from a deal involving Ozuna.
  • New Phillies GM Matt Klentak said that he’s getting acclimated with the organization’s still-new information system, “PHIL,” as Matt Breen of the Philadelphia Inquirer writes. That system is a key part of the club’s efforts to advance its modern analytical capabilities. “Basically it’s a place to house all of our information and synthesize it and try to manage it and pool it and bring all together,” Klentak said. “That’s what PHIL will provide. I’m new to it. I was not involved in the design of it, but I’m getting more and more familiar with it. We’re making some tweaks to it to make sure it suits what we’re looking to do and what we’re hoping to achieve. It’s close to its official launch.”
  • Klentak is still settling into his new digs, but says he’s gotten a lot done already as he prepares for the upcoming GM Meetings, as MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki reports. Generally, he says, the club will be looking to continue building its talent base over the winter. “We really want to raise the floor and add some depth,” Klentak said. “Kind of at every turn, that’s what we’re going to be focused on. And in the pitching department, I think we really need to work on just — again, I say raise the floor — but kind of establish sort of a firm foundation of pitching. That’s not going to end when we break camp at the end of Spring Training. That’s something we’re going to be committed to for a long time.” He continued to reiterate that he views free agency as a way to “augment or supplement” a contending team more than a means to building a core.
  • Be sure to check out MLBTR’s offseason outlook for the Phils for more on the opportunities and challenges facing Klentak and co. (I’ve also written a Braves outlook and am working my way through the rest of the NL East.)

Nationals Notes: Baker, Papelbon, Manager Hiring, Rizzo

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The Nationals introduced Dusty Baker as the club’s new manager today, bringing a close to a surprising hiring saga. As James Wagner of the Washington Post writes, the veteran baseball man brought plenty of pizzazz to his press conference. The club also announced the hiring of Mike Maddux as its new pitching coach and Davey Lopes as the first base coach.

It was a busy week in D.C., with the Nats also losing an important court battle relating to TV revenue. Here’s more:

  • Despite starting a nearly-unthinkable dugout brawl with star Bryce Harper, closer Jonathan Papelbon is nevertheless expected to stay with the club and handle late-inning duties alongside Drew Storen, team sources tell Tom Boswell of the Washington Post. Harper has reached out to Papelbon in an effort to improve their relationship, says Boswell, with the team indicating that they don’t expect any issues regarding the clubhouse interactions of any of the above players. Of course, as he notes, there may be some pre-winter posturing in the expression of those views.
  • There were lots of negative reactions to the Nationals’ unconsummated dalliance with Bud Black prior to agreeing with Baker. We’ve already covered that episode in some detail, but here are some more sources to consider if you want to read further: Boswell writes that the club’s ownership (the Lerner family) has yet to fully adapt to conducting business in the world of baseball. Though the organization eventually offered Black three years at a strong annual rate, says Boswell, it had already botched the negotiations (which were, seemingly, largely conducted by ownership). Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com provides a detailed timeline of what went down with Black and Baker. In his account, the maximum offer only “may have gotten up to two guaranteed years at some point.” Talks failed, then were re-started, before Washington finally told Black late Monday night that the club was going in another direction.
  • The Post’s Barry Svrluga adds that the botched Black negotiations are not the first time the ownership group has ruffled feathers. “Internal morale … is low,” sources tell him, with one explaining that GM Mike Rizzo is “handcuffed in so many ways” by the organization’s top leadership. And their colleague Adam Kilgore says that Rizzo’s “situation can be considered tenuous.”
  • The Nationals, of course, are among the many clubs facing difficult qualifying offer decisions tomorrow at 4pm CST. We’ve yet to hear whether D.C. will make the one-year, $15.8MM offer to outgoing free agents such as Jordan Zimmermann, Ian Desmond, Denard Span, and Doug Fister. Only Span, perhaps, presents a difficult decision, though, as the first two of those names seem like virtual locks to receive the offer while Fister’s rough season makes him an unlikely candidate.

Coaching Notes: Maddux, Yankees, Gardenhire, Angels

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The Nationals announced yesterday that they’ve hired recently departed Rangers pitching coach Mike Maddux to fill the same role in their organization under new manager Dusty Baker. (MLB.com’s Bill Ladson first tweeted that the hire was likely.) In luring Maddux to D.C., the Nationals landed one of the game’s more respected coaches of any discipline, and they paid accordingly. Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports that Maddux will become the highest-paid pitching coach in baseball with the Nationals, adding that the team’s pursuit of Maddux began as soon as the Rangers provided him the opportunity to listen to offers from other teams. Washington’s pursuit lasted more than two weeks, and Nightengale hears that the Nationals’ plan was to hire Maddux as pitching coach regardless of who was eventually named manager.

A few more coaching notes from around the league…

  • The Yankees announced this week that 2015 assistant hitting coach Alan Cockrell has been promoted to hitting coach. Cockrell has previously served as Mariners’ hitting coach and was also the Rockies’ hitting coach during their 2007 World Series run. Meanwhile, recently retired Marcus Thames, who had a productive 2010 season as a part-time outfielder for the Yankees, has been named assistant hitting coach. Thames, still just 38, has spent the past three seasons as a hitting coach with three different Yankees’ minor league affiliates (Tampa, Trenton and Scranton/Wilkes-Barre).
  • Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune reports that the Padres have offered the bench coach position to former Twins manager Ron Gardenhire, who finished runner up to Andy Green in the team’s managerial search. Multiple sources told Lin of the offer, he notes, while another source said the Padres also offered the position to Dodgers bench coach Tim Wallach. All of this seems to indicate that current bench coach Dave Roberts could indeed depart in 2016, though Lin hears that the organization isn’t shutting the door on keeping Roberts. Rather, they’d assign him a new coaching position if he were to return. Roberts has been interviewing for managerial gigs and is believed to be the favorite to land the Dodgers’ managerial position at this time. Gardenhire, for his part, was diplomatic and wouldn’t confirm the offer in a recent MLB Network Radio appearance, but he spoke highly of GM A.J. Preller (links to Twitter). “A.J. is a brilliant young man,” said Gardenhire. “He’s pretty cool, a baseball junkie, loves to go out and scout. I like those things.” Gardenhire called the San Diego group as a whole “unbelievable.”
  • The Rangers will hire the Astros’ Doug Brocail as their new pitching coach, reports Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News. Brocail, a former big league right-hander, has served as Houston’s pitching coach previously and more recently been working in the team’s front office. As Grant notes, he’ll bring an analytic point of view to Texas, which will mesh with second-year manager Jeff Banister’s philosophies. Grant also reports that Triple-A pitching coach Brad Holman will be the Rangers’ bullpen coach in 2016.
  • The Angels announced this week that former D-Backs pitching coach Charles Nagy has been hired as the club’s new pitching coach. The 48-year-old Nagy enjoyed a 14-year Major League career spent almost entirely in Cleveland, and he served as a special assistant in the Cleveland front office this past season. He was Arizona’s pitching coach from 2011-13.
  • Additionally, the Angels announced that they’ve promoted Dave Hansen from assistant hitting coach to hitting coach and named Paul Sorrento assistant hitting coach. Each hitting instructor spent more than 10 years in the Majors. Hansen has previously been hitting coach for the Mariners and Dodgers, and he’s held his assistant role in Anaheim since 2014. Sorrento has been working in the Angels’ minor league system.
  • The Brewers this week formally announced the previously reported hires of Derek Johnson as pitching coach and Pat Murphy as bench coach. Murphy, of course, was the Padres’ interim manager from June through season’s end and has a close relationship with Milwaukee skipper Craig Counsell, whom he coached in college.

Nationals Hire Dusty Baker As Manager

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NOV. 4: Baker’s contract is a two-year, $4MM contract that comes along with $3MM worth of incentives, Nightengale now reports (via Twitter).

NOV. 3, 9:48am: Baker will be paid “less than half” of his old salary (reportedly around $3.5MM) with the Reds, Bob Nightengale of USA Today tweets. His contract does, however, contain “substantial incentives.”

7:05am: The Nationals have officially announced the hiring of Dusty Baker to “a multi-year contract.” It will reportedly guarantee two seasons of salary.

While Baker had been considered one of two finalists to take over the Nats dugout, the club was reportedly set to go instead with Bud Black. Indeed, Black and the Nats are said to have agreed to move forward with a relationship before contract negotiations stalled. Black was reportedly shocked at Washington’s first offer, which was for one year and $1.6MM.  Washington then increased its offer to two years at a “lowball” salary, but talks never gained traction.

In Baker, 66, the Nationals are getting an amply experienced skipper — as they said they hoped to do in undertaking the search. Baker has previously been in charge of the field operations of the Giants (1993 to 2002), Cubs (2003 to 2006), and Reds (2008 to 2013). With three National League manager of the year awards already in his trophy case, Baker will look to guide D.C. to his first-ever World Series crown as a skipper.

Oct 1, 2013; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Cincinnati Reds manager Dusty Baker before the National League wild card playoff baseball game against the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

Baker has piloted his teams to an overall record of 1,671 wins against 1,504 losses. He secured division championships at each stop, five in total, and led teams into the post-season seven times. Baker was at the helm of the Giants for their 2002 run to the World Series, which the club dropped in seven games.

Long before he became one of the league’s higher-profile skippers, Baker was an accomplished outfielder in the majors. He played 19 total seasons, spending time with the Braves, Dodgers, Giants, and Athletics while compiling a lifetime .278/.347/.432 batting line with 242 home runs. Baker compiled just under forty wins above replacement in his playing career and appeared in the World Series three times.

“We were looking for a manager to help us achieve our ultimate goal of competing for a World Series championship,” managing owner Ted Lerner said in a prepared statement. “During our broad search process we met with many qualified candidates, and ultimately it was clear that Dusty’s deep experience was the best fit for our ballclub.”

President and GM Mike Rizzo also put his name to a statement in the release. “In getting to know Dusty and identifying what we wanted in the next on-field leader of our team,” he said, “we are excited to have him on board. Dusty’s experience, as a winning player, coach, and manager, is vast and varied. We are excited to bring him to Washington and put his steady demeanor, knowledge and many years in the game to work in our favor. I think I speak for the entire organization when I say I am very much looking forward to working with him.”

While the organization was said to have been impressed with Baker from the start, the very public breakdown with Black marks an ugly start to the offseason. Rizzo and the Nats have had some issues in the dugout in recent years. Jim Rigglemen resigned in the middle of the 2011 season in protest over his lack of an extension. The club had a fairly smooth run with Davey Johnson, though even in his case there was a long delay in reaching a new deal after the breakout 2012 season. And the team’s most recent skipper, Matt Williams, was roundly criticized before being fired at the end of 2015.

The Nats can be hopeful that Baker will help to stabilize things after the organization endured a messy 2015. He is, after all, deeply experienced and comes with a reputation as a first-class players’ manager. Motivating players and managing clubhouse personalities is a key part of the job, of course, and arguably one where Williams failed.

On the other hand, Baker has long been a prime analytical example of in-game decisionmaking problems. As Neil Weinberg wrote near the end of Baker’s tenure in Cincinnati, his lineup construction, bullpen management, and proclivity to bunt all can and have been questioned. And Baker was blamed in many quarters for over-using young arms with the Cubs, though it’s hard to imagine that becoming an issue in D.C., which drew fire for its late-season shutdown of Stephen Strasburg.

It’s not clear yet whether Baker’s approach has evolved as he takes up his fourth big league managerial position. There have been suggestions that he’s worked to learn more about modern analytical thinking, though we’ll need to await his comments and actions to know more. Rizzo has never hired a sabermetric darling as his club’s skipper, though it’s worth wondering whether he and Baker will work to correct some of the late-inning pen usage issues that cropped up this year under Williams.

Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com reported that Baker would be offered the job last night, and said early this morning that agreement appeared imminent. Nightengale tweeted that it was a two-year deal. The TalkNats.com blog first reported issues in the contract negotiations. Heyman reported that Baker was back in the mix. Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post (via Twitter), Bob Nightengale of USA Today (on Twitter and in this post), and Scott Miller of Bleacher Report (in a tweet) all reported on the details of talks with Black.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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