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Latest On The Astros’ Managerial Search

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The Astros are without a permanent manager at the moment, having dismissed Bo Porter after some philosophical disagreement with the club’s front office. Tom Lawless is filling in on an interim basis, and reports have indicated that former big league managers Manny Acta, A.J. Hinch and Don Wakamatsu could be candidates, as could Red Sox bench coach Torey Lovullo and Angels bench coach Dino Ebel, among many others.

Here’s the latest on the team’s search …

  • Another potential candidate could be Steve Buechele, the manager for the Rangers’ Triple-A affiliate in Round Rock, Evan Drellich of the Houston Chronicle tweets. Drellich notes that Buechele has spoken to the Astros about the job. Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star Telegram tweets that Buechele had a phone interview with the Astros.
  • Astros third base coach Pat Listach will interview today, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com tweets. Prior to joining the Astros, Listach had served as a bench coach and third base coach for the Cubs and a third base coach for the Nationals. He also has four seasons of experience managing in the high minors in the Cubs system.
  • The Astros have contacted Pirates bench coach Jeff Banister, FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal tweets. Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review tweets that the Astros have already interviewed Banister twice for the job. Banister has spent his entire 29-year career in affiliated baseball with the Pirates, briefly playing for them in 1991 and then working his way up through their minor league system as a coach and manager. He has also managed in the Arizona Fall League. As Fangraphs’ Kiley McDaniel points out (via Twitter), Banister had a cameo in Ben Lindbergh of Grantland’s recent article about the strong bond between the Pirates’ field staff and their statistical analysts. Banister’s ability to work in such a system would surely interest the Astros.

Earlier Updates

  • Nevin expressed keen interest in the position, saying that Houston is a special place for him as his first MLB organization, as MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart reports.
  • The Astros met with Lovullo face-to-face on Boston’s off-day this week (Monday), according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (Twitter link). This is the first report of an in-person meeting with a managerial candidate. Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe recently profiled Lovullo, breaking down his background and managerial philosophies
  • Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports that the Astros have spoken with five candidates via phone: Ebel, Hinch, Lovullo, Wakamatsu and Rays bench coach Dave Martinez (Twitter link). Martinez has previously stated that he would be very interested in the position after having a good experience when he interviewed the last time Houston was looking for a manager.
  • Ebel, however, tells MLB.com’s Alden Gonzalez that he has not spoken to the Astros about their managerial vacancy at this point (Twitter link).
  • Lawless will interview for the position on a permanent basis this Saturday, reports MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart. Lawless, who has 35 years of experience in baseball (10 as a minor league manager), has been received favorably by the current Astros’ players, McTaggart adds. Houston is 10-10 under Lawless, but McTaggart notes that the team’s September results won’t factor much into the equation. He’ll be asked the same questions as other candidates. Lawless looks forward to the opportunity, he says: “I’m just going to be myself and just talk honestly about what baseball means to me and the passion I have for baseball. [General manager Jeff Luhnow] has a tough decision, and the organization is going in the right direction. I think we can make this thing better.”
  • The Astros have receive permission to interview former big league slugger Phil Nevin, who is currently managing the Diamondbacks’ Triple-A affiliate, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale tweets. Nightengale adds that Nevin will also be a candidate for the D’Backs if they decide to part with manager Kirk Gibson.

Brewers To Conduct Review During Offseason

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Following an extremely disappointing ending to their season that saw them slip from first place to completely out of playoff contention, the Brewers will conduct an “extensive review” following the season, CBS Sports’ Jon Heyman writes. GM Doug Melvin is concerned about the team’s inability to stop losing streaks once they start, and about the team’s offense. That means that manager Ron Roenicke and hitting coach Johnny Narron could be under review, even though both are respected within the organization.

The Brewers had a 6 1/2 game lead on the rest of the NL Central in early July, but they went 9-16 in July and 13-14 in August, and they’re now 8-16 in September. Ryan Braun, Scooter Gennett, Mark Reynolds and Lyle Overbay have all struggled as the Brewers’ offense has sputtered in the second half. The Brewers were eliminated from the playoff race Thursday.

Rosenthal On Bogar, Astros, Brewers, Dodgers

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Here’s the latest from Ken Rosenthal, via a video on FOX Sports:

  • The Rangers’ strong finish might almost force them to hire interim manager Tim Bogar as the permanent replacement for Ron Washington, Rosenthal says. The Rangers have gone 13-7 since Bogar took over. Their late-season surge also means they won’t get the top overall draft pick next season.
  • The Astros have talked to Pirates bench coach Jeff Banister about their managerial job, but Rosenthal says that most within the industry feel the job will go to former Diamondbacks manager A.J. Hinch or Red Sox bench coach Torey Lovullo.
  • Many within the Brewers are frustrated with their team’s collapse, although Rosenthal notes that the feeling throughout baseball was that the Brewers overachieved throughout much of the early season anyway, and that GM Doug Melvin and manager Ron Roenicke should not be fired for the Brewers’ late-season troubles.
  • The Rockies could make some sort of change in their front office, and the Dodgers could even make front office moves if the team struggles in the playoffs, Rosenthal reports. That would leave the Giants as the only NL West team not to make a significant front office change this offseason.

Orioles Designate Preston Guilmet For Assignment

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The Orioles have announced that they’ve designated reliever Preston Guilmet for assignment. In a corresponding move, they’ve purchased the contract of infielder Alexi Casilla.

Guilmet, 27, pitched 10 1/3 innings for the Orioles this year, striking out 12 batters and walking just two but giving up two homers and six earned runs. Guilmet, a long-time closer in the Indians’ system, has always posted strong numbers in the minor leagues, but hasn’t gotten a clean shot at a big-league job, perhaps in part because of his underwhelming stuff — most of his fastballs don’t top 90MPH, and he doesn’t get many ground balls.

Casilla tells Eduardo A. Encina of the Baltimore Sun (via Twitter) that he thought his season was over, and that he had been getting ready to play winter ball in the Dominican. The 30-year-old Casilla hit .264/.315/.320 in 213 plate appearances for Triple-A Norfolk this year. He has not played since August 30 due to a hamstring injury. He is in the Orioles’ lineup today, playing third base.

East Notes: Blue Jays, Badenhop, Marlins

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The Blue Jays’ offseason agenda could include re-signing Melky Cabrera, acquiring a second or third baseman (for whichever position Brett Lawrie doesn’t play) and pursuing relief help, Brendan Kennedy of the Toronto Star writes. The Jays are likely to extend Cabrera a qualifying offer and be proactive in trying to sign him. They’ll also need to patch up a bullpen that struggled this year and is likely to lose Casey Janssen to free agency. Pursuing starting pitching probably will not be a top priority, Kennedy suggests. Here’s more from the East divisions.

  • Red Sox manager John Farrell says he would like his team to re-sign reliever Burke Badenhop, WEEI.com’s Alex Speier tweets. Badenhop posted a stellar 2.33 ERA in his first season with the Sox, albeit with less inspiring peripheral numbers (5.0 K/9, 2.5 BB/9). He pitched reasonably well in the Marlins, Rays and Brewers bullpens before joining the Red Sox via trade last November.
  • The Marlins have shown interest in Cuban outfielder Yasmany Tomas and second baseman Hector Olivera but are unlikely to seriously pursue either, MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro writes. Tomas will be expensive, and the Marlins already have a strong trio of outfield starters. Olivera is older and doesn’t have Tomas’ star power, so the Marlins could simply depend on Donovan Solano and Enrique Hernandez at second base instead.

Week In Review: 9/20/14 – 9/26/14

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Here’s a look back at this week at MLBTR.

Key Moves

  • The Braves fired GM Frank Wren and replaced him with John Hart on an interim basis.
  • The Diamondbacks hired Dave Stewart as their new GM and dismissed manager Kirk Gibson and bench coach Alan Trammell.
  • The Mets signed GM Sandy Alderson to an extension through 2017 and announced that they would retain manager Terry Collins.
  • The Reds extended GM Walt Jocketty.
  • Outfielder Bobby Abreu announced his retirement.

Claimed

Designated For Assignment

Outrighted

Reds Extend GM Walt Jocketty

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SATURDAY: The deal is now official, Sheldon tweets. It’s a two-year extension through 2016.

FRIDAY: The Reds have agreed to a contract extension with GM Walt Jocketty for multiple years, Jocketty tells reporters including MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon (Twitter link). As John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer reported yesterday, both Jocketty and manager Bryan Price were expected to be retained, though the front office man was working on an expiring contract.

Despite a rough 2014 season, the Reds have generally flourished since Jocketty took the reins early in the 2008 season. Under his watch, Cincinnati has compiled three 90-win campaigns and two division titles. The club has, however, yet to win a playoff series in that stretch.

More importantly, several of the long-term commitments made under Jocketty are beginning to look questionable. The remaining portion of the contracts of first baseman Joey Votto (nine years, $213MM), second baseman Brandon Phillips (three years, $39MM), and starter Homer Bailey (five years, $96MM) all seem problematic looking forward, for various reasons (including injury and performance issues).

Jocketty does have plenty of pieces to work with in re-establishing an upward trajectory, but also faces plenty of challenges. Cincinnati entered last year with a team-record $114MM payroll, and already has $71MM committed to just ten players in 2015 — before accounting for Johnny Cueto’s $10MM option, obligations to Raisel Iglesias, and some pretty significant arbitration raises. As MLBTR’s Mark Polishuk recently explained, given the possibility of increasing payroll constraints, Jocketty may need to deal from the team’s set of solid rotation pieces who have only one more year of control.

John Hart On Braves’ Offseason

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John Hart has taken over for Frank Wren as the Braves’ GM and is currently serving on an interim basis. The Braves have reportedly offered Hart the job on a permanent basis as well, although it’s not clear whether he’ll accept it. Jeff Schultz of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution has recent comments from Hart that offer insight into how his tenure might go, however long it lasts.

  • Don’t expect a complete rebuild, Hart says. “We don’t need an overhaul. It’s not a disaster. But there are certainly some things we need to take a look, although I’m not at liberty to discuss names right now.”
  • To the extent that the Braves do make high-impact moves, they will likely come through trades rather than the free agent market. “There are economic challenges,” Hart says. The Braves have significant commitments in place for 2015 for Dan Uggla, B.J. Upton, Justin Upton, Craig Kimbrel, Jason Heyward and Freddie Freeman.
  • Hart adds that the Braves lack speed and veteran leadership.
  • Schultz notes that since Hart is currently only working on an interim basis, the team’s first key orders of business will likely be to find a new GM and to decide whether Fredi Gonzalez will stay on at manager. Then, Schultz opines that the Braves should remove B.J. Upton from their roster and should trade Justin Upton and Evan Gattis.

West Notes: Angel Stadium, Carter, D’backs Front Office

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The Angels have cut off talks with the city of Anaheim regarding a new ballpark lease arrangement, as Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times reports. Owner Arte Moreno says that the club can afford to build a new ballpark, and indeed the team is exploring its options in other Los Angeles-area locations. After agreeing upon a “deal framework” a year ago, the parties have been unable to finalize a new contract.

Here’s more out of the west:

  • Astros slugger Chris Carter will be shopping for a new agent after losing former adviser Dave Stewart, MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart reports on Twitter. The decision is a particularly important one for Carter, 27, given that he will qualify for arbitration as a Super Two player in the coming offseason. His 37 home runs make for a nice arb case, of course, but his raise will be well-deserved. Carter’s bottom-line production over the last three years: .228/.322/.480 (121 OPS+) over 1,409 plate appearances with 82 long balls.
  • Stewart, of course, made the rounds today after being announced as the Diamondbacks’ new general manager. One burning question has been how Arizona will incorporate statistical analysis into its decisionmaking, and Stewart told Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic (Twitter link) that the organization must “get on board with it” after having not done so to present. That does not mean that the club will turn its back entirely on its scouting and culture-heavy focus; to the contrary, Stewart made clear that he hopes former GM Kevin Towers will stay on and discussed the importance of developing an organizational culture in several interviews.
  • One element of the D’backs decisionmaking structure that has become clear is that De Jon Watson will play an important role in developing and disseminating information. In an appearance on the team’s television broadcast, Watson said that he will have wide-ranging responsibilities in the arenas of amateur scouting, player development, and MLB roster construction. He indicated that he likes the idea of being able to have such a broad role. That being said, Watson said the club intends to keep scouting director Ray Montgomery and player development director Mike Bell in their present roles.
  • Turning to the actual ballclub, Stewart said in an appearance on 98.7’s Burns & Gambo show that Arizona has no intention of dealing away young talent. Calling the team’s farm system “pretty much depleted,” Stewart said that rebuilding depth — rotation candidates, especially — was a key focus. That being said, Stewart indicated that he hopes to put a winning club on the field quickly and will look to the free agent market for a “front end guy.”

East Notes: Gonzalez, Wolever, Mets, Kuroda

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Here’s the latest out of the game’s eastern divisions:

  • Phillies hurler Miguel Alfredo Gonzalez will have a chance to start next spring, reports Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com. “The plan for him is to try to get him to the point where he’s a starter again and to put him in the mix for us next year,” said GM Ruben Amaro Jr., who said it remains to be seen whether he’ll earn a role. “I don’t know, but we have starter deficiencies and we have holes there and we’d like to put him in a position where he can at least compete for a spot,” Amaro explained.
  • Meanwhile, the Phillies announced a significant front office change: assistant GM Marti Wolever, who ran the team’s amateur scouting efforts, will not be back next year. As MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki writes, Philadelphia has had some positives but also some notable negatives in converting drafted players into big league production. Of course, some of the young players that Wolever brought in were ultimately dealt away before they were able to contribute for the Phils. More front office turnover could well be coming, says Zolecki.
  • Mets assistant GM John Ricco says that the club has flexibility due to its array of young arms, as Matt Ehalt of the The Record reports. “We’ll look at it and decide if we feel we can move one or more starters in a deal to fill out other areas on the team that are not as deep,” said Ricco. “It’s not a bad situation to be in. As you look around the league and see the injuries to pitchers, it’s a reminder of how many guys you do need.” 
  • While he remains undecided on his future, Yankees starter Hiroki Kuroda left the impression that he could be leaning away from playing in the big leagues next year. As MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch reports, Kuroda spoke like someone who will need to be convinced to return: “Right now, I cannot imagine what the answer is going to be,” he said. “I’m just relieved I was able to finish the season without getting hurt. If — and this is a big if — there are such talks, then I’d have to ask myself and think deeply whether I’d be able to produce.” Soon to be 40, Kuroda has not been quite as excellent as he was over his first two years in New York, but has nevertheless been plenty productive with 199 frames of 3.71 ERA baseball.

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