The Angels announced last night that they’ve fired pitching coach Mike Butcher and hitting coach Don Baylor. Via MLB.com’s Alden Gonzalez (links to Twitter), new GM Billy Eppler had this to say of Butcher: “I got to know Mike once I took this spot here. We had a very good and constructive conversation. He’s articulate, he’s got passion, he’s got presence, he’s got vision. Ultimately, we arrived at the conclusion that we would mutually part ways after our discussions.” Eppler offered a similar take on Baylor, explaining to the media: “It was an organizational decision that, through discussions, we felt like it was the proper course of action for what we wanted to do. I’ve spoken with Don at length, and I’ve asked him to stay on in an advisory role within our baseball operations group and our efforts moving forward.” Despite the fact that Butcher is parting ways with the organization, he offered nothing but praise for Eppler when speaking to Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register. Butcher said he likes Eppler and considers him a leader with a plan.
A bit more on the Angels and the rest of their division…
- Mike DiGiovanna of the L.A. Times tweets that Dave Hansen is a strong candidate to become the Angels’ new hitting coach. Bud Black is a candidate to become the club’s pitching coach if he doesn’t land a managerial job elsewhere, DiGiovanna adds. Hansen is currently the team’s assistant hitting coach — a role he’s filled over the past two seasons. Black, of course, managed the Padres from 2007-15 and was on Scioscia’s coaching staff from 2000-06 prior to that.
- There’s been some turnover in the Mariners’ front office since Jerry Dipoto took over as general manager, but as MLB.com’s Greg Johns writes, Dipoto isn’t cleaning house. The Mariners will retain assistant GM Jeff Kingston, amateur scouting director Tom McNamara and pro scouting director Tom Allison. Special assistants Roger Hansen and Ken Madeja will be retained, too, as will international operations director Tim Kissner.
- Athletics GM David Forst told SportsTalk Live host Jim Kozimor that the team had some chemistry issues early this year (CSN Bay Area’s Joe Stiglich has multiple highlights from the interview). “We brought in a bunch of new guys, no doubt, and I thought (manager) Bob (Melvin) did a fantastic job during the spring of preparing these guys and getting them together as a group,” said Forst. “What we couldn’t plan for was getting off to the start we did, and anytime you don’t play well, particularly early in the season in April, guys are going to start questioning their role, what other guys are doing, and over the course of the season, it snowballed a little bit.” Forst also addressed the difficulty of making the trades of Josh Donaldson and Yoenis Cespedes over the past 15 months. He also hinted that there could be more tough decisions this winter: “…at the time we made those, and when we make deals this offseason, we feel like it’s in the best interests of the club.”
- Sticking with the A’s, John Hickey of the Oakland Tribune reports that the team has fired first base coach Tye Waller. A member of the team’s coaching staff since 2007, Waller was the longest-tenured member of the Oakland coaching staff. MLB.com’s Jane Lee reports that the A’s are expected to retain the rest of their coaching staff for the 2016 season.
- Billy Witz of the New York Times profiles Astros outfielder Colby Rasmus, who enjoyed a monstrous postseason performance and will soon return to the free agenct market. Witz notes that Rasmus, whom he describes as a “free spirit,” struggled to adapt to life in a veteran-filled Cardinals clubhouse as a rookie and had difficulty adjusting to the culture in Toronto. The Georgia-born Rasmus, though, has thrived in a return to the South and in a lower-key Astros clubhouse. “I’d say this has been the best place for me,” said Rasmus. “The environment’s been good — a lot of young guys with a lot of life to them, and not a lot of big egos in the room. I just like to play baseball. I don’t like having too many people put their pressure down on me. I just like to play. That’s helped me.” Witz notes that Houston GM Jeff Luhnow drafted Rasmus when he was the scouting director in St. Louis. Luhnow explained that he always thought Rasmus would be able to thrive in the right environment,
dx4life
I would rather the Angels get Chilli Davis to be the new hitting coach. If they can’t get Bud Black to come back, what about Mark Langsten as pitching coach?
start_wearing_purple
I don’t think the Sox will fire Chili Davis.
Astros44
I didnt see a point to resign Rasmus for most of the season bc of their depth going into next year until the last week of the season in September when he caught fire. What are the chances they resign him?
A'sfaninUK
“I was told the team was going cutting edge when I asked why I was being let go,’’ Waller said. “I know they are making changes, but other than this, I don’t know what else they want to do.’’
I wonder what this means?
A'sfaninUK
Colby Rasmus would also be a fine fit in Oakland’s LF with fellow Georgia boys Billy Burns & Josh Reddick.
Rally Weimaraner
Getting Bud Black back as a pitching coach would be a steal for the Angels.
Melvin McMurf
Angels still need to fire the owner
lwayne
The A’s need to move to San Antonio …………………..
thecoffinnail
Yeah.. San Antonio would be a perfect fit.. They have almost 1.5 million people in their market.. 3 times the size of Oakland.. The A’s or the Rays could do much worse than a move to San Antonio.. Las Vegas should be getting close to bringing in some sports teams as well..
A'sfaninUK
No chance, plus San Jose has twice as many people and ten times the money as Oakland and is only 20 minutes away. But the Giants have blocked the A’s from moving further away from them, so the Rays should move to San Jose! The new Commish is dedicated to keeping the A’s in Oakland so the A’s should build a new park on the other side of the Bay facing the Giants park. The Rays go to SJ which isn’t connected to BART so casual fans won’t be able to go there by public transportation like many SF residents do with the A’s and East Bay-ers with the Giants.
The Bay Area has infinitely more money than anywhere in Texas due to it being the technology capital of America. San Antonio has one pro sports team, and Texas has zero MLB titles. San Jose has more money, people and fantastic fans of the Sharks – they deserve a MLB team, not just the pathetic single-A SJ Giants. Try again.
Diablo 2
I really hope Black comes back to Anaheim.