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AL East Notes: Machado, Gardner, Nunez, Red Sox

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The Yankees baseball operations and scouting departments are “lukewarm” on free agent Manny Machado, per Andy Martino of SNY.tv. Brian Cashman has not been shy about his pursuit of Machado in the past, but the third-baseman-turned-shortstop’s antics during this postseason may have slowed what otherwise could have been a more aggressive pursuit of the infielder in free agency. This isn’t to say the Yankees won’t end up signing Machado, but the questioning of Machado’s hustle and baseball ethic certainly allow the Yankees, as well as other teams, to take a more understandably patient approach in regards to his free agency. Martino adds (via Twitter) that the biggest variable still in play is the Steinbrenner family and whether or not Boston’s World Series win will prompt an aggressive mandate in regards to either Machado or fellow free agent stud Bryce Harper.

But that’s not all that’s happening in the AL East…

  • The Yankees have a $12.5MM option on Brett Gardner with a $2MM buyout for next season. Gardner, the longest-tenured Yankee, expressed an interest in coming back, but it remains to be seen if there will be a room in a crowded Yankee outfield that includes holdovers Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton and Aaron Hicks. MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch writes that Brian Cashman and his lieutenants have held three days of scouting meetings to craft their strategy heading into the offseason, with  starting pitching figuring to be the priority. Regarding Gardner, the team could buyout his contract and look to bring him back at a discounted rate, but whether the 35-year-old outfielder would be amenable to such an arrangement is unclear. In 2018, Gardner appeared in 140 games, slashing .236/.322/.368 (2.8 rWAR).
  • Not that this would be a surprise, but Boston’s Eduardo Nunez is likely to pick up his $5MM option for next season, per Fancred’s Jon Heyman (via Twitter). Despite his occasional postseason heroics, it was a tough season for Nunez, who slashed only .256/.289/.388 during the regular season. The .321/.353/.539 Nunez hit in 38 games in 2017 after being acquired midseason feels like a distant memory, but he can still provide some value off the bench as a versatile infielder and right-handed compliment to young stud Rafael Devers.
  • As you ready yourself to dive into baseball’s transaction season, take a minute to read this piece from the Athletic’s Tim Britton about the Red Sox staffer charged with ushering the young players of Boston’s minor league system through each step of their development. Raquel Ferreira is one of the highest ranking women in Major League Baseball and one of the unsung heroes of Boston’s stellar development team. Her title is vice president of major-league and minor-league operations, but that hardly describes the impact she’s had in the twenty years since she joined the Red Sox as an administrative assistant. Ferreira handles everything from managing the logistics of player family travel to walking new players through the basics of minor-league orientation, as she did with Xander Bogaerts when he first signed out of Aruba and thought he had to spend an entire year at each minor-league level. 

Athletics Announce Contract Extensions For Billy Beane, David Forst, Bob Melvin

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The Oakland A’s announced new long-term deals today for Executive VP of Baseball Ops Billy Beane, General Manager David Forst, and Manager Bob Melvin, per a team report.

Melvin’s deal will take him through 2021 at about $3.5MM per season, which puts him in the upper echelon of managers in terms of yearly salary, per Susan Slusser of the San Francisco chronicle, who provides some of the contract details. Forst is now signed through 2023, giving him another four years as the Oakland GM. The length of Beane’s extension is as of yet unknown, though the expectation is that he will be in Oakland for the foreseeable future.

Extensions were expected for the Oakland trio after a surprising 97-65 record took the team to the Wild Card game versus the Yankees despite fielding a team with the lowest opening day payroll in the league. Faced with those limited resources and a host of injuries, Beane, Forst and Melvin frankensteined together a pitching staff from veteran castoffs and reclamation projects like Edwin Jackson, Trevor Cahill and Brett Anderson. Together with an offense powered by a defensive third basemen and the most consistent hitter in baseball history, Oakland stormed past the Mariners to place themselves in the elite class of American League contenders. With their braintrust locked in, Oakland has achieved its primary goal of the offseason and can now turn the trio’s attention toward building on their 2018 success and staying atop a crowded AL West.

Beane was the GM of the A’s for 18 years before the promotion to his current title in 2015. He has been named Executive of the Year twice by Baseball America, twice by The Sporting News, as well as MLB.com’s Greatness in Baseball Yearly (GIBBY) award as the 2012 MLB Executive of the Year. He is most famous, of course, for launching the moneyball era of baseball sabermetrics, but he continues to hunt for and find market inefficiencies that help his Oakland A’s overcome the payroll disparity they face year in and year out. He holds an ownership stake in the A’s, so it seems he is secure in his role running the baseball ops department ad infinitum. Beane signs this new deal as he wraps up the five-year deal he signed back in 2012.

Melvin is a two-time manager of the year recipient, most recently in 2012 with Oakland. He is third in franchise history with 634 wins, and it’s certainly conceivable that he’ll pass Tony La Russa (798) for second on that list before this new deal is done. Before the extension, Melvin had inked a series of short-term arrangements, including when he and the club agreed to tack on the 2019 season as the 2017 campaign drew to a close. Amazingly, this season’s 22-win improvement is the third time Melvin has led a team to a 20-game improvement. He has been with the A’s since 2011, making the playoffs four times in that span (2012, 2013, 2014, 2018).

It’s not entirely clear how Forst’s contract situation has been handled in the past, but he has been with the Oakland organization for twenty years. He served for twelve years as the assistant general manager before his promotion to GM four years ago. He may not have as much name recognition as Billy Beane, but Forst has long been a part of the braintrust in Oakland and seems to be, like Beane, an Oakland lifer.

NL Notes: Kershaw, Roberts, Cardinals

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After a second straight year of coming tantalizingly close to winning his first ring, Clayton Kershaw has a decision looming. MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand tweets some of his conversation with Kershaw (Twitter links), who has until end of day Wednesday to decide whether to opt out of his current contract. Said Kershaw, “I know the future questions are obviously coming for myself…. I’ve got three days now to think about all of that stuff before anything happens. And so it will be an eventful three days for me, and I’ll try to figure it out.” MLBTR readers voted on Kershaw’s future here, but it’s up to him now, and he has until midnight ET Thursday morning to decide. Now, some coaching notes around the NL…

  • Dave Roberts’ future resides in contract limbo as well, as his contract situation with the Dodgers remains unresolved, per the Athletic’s Pedro Moura. Roberts made some questionable tactical choices this postseason, mostly regarding bullpen use, but winning back-to-back pennants is no small feat, and it would be surprising to see the Dodgers move in a different direction so soon. Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe notes that the Dodgers could simply pick up their $1.1MM option for 2019, but going into a lame duck season might not be the path either side is most interested in pursuing. 
  • The Cardinals have named Jeff Albert as their new hitting coach, per Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle. Albert started his coaching career in the Cardinals organization, but moved to the Houston Astros in 2013, spending four seasons from 2013-2017 as their minor-league hitting coordinator. Last season, Albert joined A.J. Hinch’s staff in Houston as an assistant hitting coach. Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch adds that Triple-A manager Stubby Clapp will become the team’s new first base coach. Clapp received some consideration for managerial openings this October, but he’ll instead move to the big-league club in St. Louis.

David Robertson: Why I’m Representing Myself In Free Agency

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David Robertson just finished another successful season in the Yankees’ bullpen.  That’s been a regular occurrence in his 11-year MLB career, with a stop in Chicago as well.  Robertson, 34 in April, owns a 2.88 career ERA and a 12.0 K/9.  Several years ago, David and his wife Erin founded High Socks For Hope, a non-profit organization focused on disaster relief as well as helping homeless, disabled or destitute veterans.  We urge MLBTR readers to consider a donation.

Earlier this month, MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand reported Robertson was choosing to represent himself in free agency.  MLBTR reached out to Robertson and asked for his thought process behind this unique decision.  His guest post follows.

At this point in my life and career, no one else understands my wants and needs more than myself. After recognizing this, I made the decision to forgo using an agent since I no longer feel as though I need a middle man. I know what I want in a contract, I’m aware of what I can offer to teams, and teams are aware of my abilities.

I’m sure there is a lot of speculation regarding my choice. One thing I want to address is that this decision has nothing to do with my former agent. He is a great guy and has become a close friend of mine. He did a great job representing me for over a decade and I will always appreciate that. But I believe all players need to pay close attention to what they do and their own career path. I wouldn’t recommend self representation to just anyone – heck I wouldn’t recommend it to the majority of players. However, being a guy that’s hung around long enough to know what I can offer a team and what I would like in return, I feel I’m best suited to have all the discussions necessary to figure out my next contract.

A lot of people have and will question my decision. It’s not common to see a player take this path and I’m aware of that and the potential obstacles I may face by doing so. But in the end, I made this decision for myself and my family and for now I’m going to stick with it. I believe I have a lot to offer a team on and off the field and I know I will end up in the right place.

The MLB Offseason Begins

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The 2018 season came to a satisfying close last night as Steve Pearce and David Price delivered the knockout punches to Clayton Kershaw and the NL Champion Dodgers. The 2018 Red Sox add to a remarkable run of champions from this century of baseball: from Bob Brenly’s Diamondbacks toppling the Yankee dynasty on Luis Gonzalez’s floater (2001), to the every-other-year dominance of Buster Posey’s Giants (2010, 2012, 2014), to the improbably-long World Series droughts ended by the Boston Red Sox (2004), Chicago White Sox (2005) and Chicago Cubs (2016); the losingest franchise in history won a title (Phillies, 2008), and we even saw a small-market cinderella sneak one past the powerhouses (Royals, 2015). But the most impressive feat of the 21st century might be the remarkable turnaround in Boston since John Henry’s ownership group took over in 2002. The perennially-underdog Red Sox have morphed into a certified juggernaut with World Series victories in 2004, 2007, 2013, and now: 2018.

Dave Dombrowski and the Red Sox deserve a ton of credit for using every avenue of team building available to them in putting together this World Series roster. They formed an incredible nucleus of homegrown offensive talent, namely: 7th overall selection in the 2015 draft Andrew Benintendi, 40th overall selection in the 2011 draft Jackie Bradley Jr., and likely AL MVP Mookie Betts, who was a 5th round selection in 2011. Postseason stalwart Rafael Devers was signed as an amateur free agent out of the Dominican Republic, as was Xander Bogaerts, who signed out of Aruba. David Price was their big free agent signing of the 2015 season, while Chris Sale came to Boston from Chicago for a quartet of minor leaguers. Even this season, en route to a franchise-record 108 wins, Boston never rested on its laurels, bolstering its roster with the mid-season acquisitions of Nathan Eovaldi and World Series MVP Steve Pearce. 

Amazingly, Bogaerts was the only active player on both the 2013 and 2018 World Series rosters, so while congratulations are in store for the Boston Red Sox, Dombrowski and company won’t have long to relish in their newest conquest. Baseball’s other 29 teams won’t allow it. Campaigns to thwart a repeat in Boston launch around baseball today as the focus turns to 2019 and dreams of future champions. As the offseason kicks off, here are a few key dates to keep in mind…

  • Oct. 29: Commencement of a five-day, exclusive negotiation window that teams have with their own free agents
  • Oct. 31: Deadline for players with opt-out clauses (most notably, Clayton Kershaw) to exercise those provisions.
  • Nov. 2*: The deadline for MLB clubs to formally issue one-year qualifying offers (valued at $17.9MM this offseason) to free agents is 5:00pm ET. Those players will have 10 days to weigh the offers and can negotiate with other clubs during that 10-day window. After that 5pm deadline, all free agents are eligible to begin negotiating with other teams.
  • Nov. 6-8: General Managers’ meetings in Carlsbad, CA
  • Nov. 12: Deadline for players to accept or reject qualifying offers.
  • Nov. 20: Deadline for teams to set their 40-man rosters in advance of the Rule 5 Draft.
  • Nov. 30: Deadline to tender contracts to arbitration-eligible players.
  • Dec. 9-13: Winter Meetings in Las Vegas.
  • Dec. 13: Rule 5 draft takes place on the final day of the Winter Meetings.
  • Jan. 11: Arbitration exchange day — the date on which teams and players must exchange filing numbers for arbitration. Hearings, if necessary, typically begin in early February.
  • March 28, 2019: Opening Day! Baseball is back.

Names like Bryce Harper, Manny Machado, Patrick Corbin, Josh Donaldson, Dallas Keuchel and Andrew Miller headline the 2018-19 class of MLB free agents. We’ll be running our Top 50 Free Agent rankings, which will include contract projections and predictions as to where each of the 50 will sign. For now, get yourself acquainted with the free agent possibilities by following our 2018-19 Market Snapshot Series.

Keep an eye out for the remainder of MLBTR’s Offseason Outlook series as we preview the decisions that each of the league’s 30 teams will face over the winter and some of the routes they could take to Opening Day 2019. No matter who or how you follow, we at MLBTR will be here every step of the way to walk you through another exciting hot stove season, so stick with us as we prepare for a frenetic few months of offseason activity!

*The original version of this post mistakenly stated the qualifying offer issue/decision dates as November 3rd and 13th.

Free Agency Notes: Harper, McCutchen, Yanks, D. Holland, Giants

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Agent Scott Boras told Michael Kay and Don La Greca of 98.7 FM ESPN New York earlier this week that Nationals outfielder and pending free agent Bryce Harper has already picked his team for 2019, which drew plenty of attention on social media Sunday. “We know who the team is. It’s already completed and done, but Bryce has told me that he wanted to tell you personally,” Boras said (video via the YES Network). However, if you’re of the belief Boras was being facetious, you’re correct. Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post reports (Twitter links) that Boras was indeed joking. Anything else would’ve been a major surprise, as the 26-year-old Harper won’t even be allowed to discuss money with anyone but the Nationals until five days after the end of the World Series. Whether Harper ultimately re-signs with the Nats or heads elsewhere during the coming months, there’s no doubt he’ll land one of the richest contracts in baseball history.

Here’s more on a couple other players who are on the brink of reaching the open market:

  • Outfielder Andrew McCutchen was highly productive for the Yankees after they acquired him from San Francisco in August, but it doesn’t appear he’ll return to the Bronx next season. The Yankees aren’t expected to re-sign McCutchen, per George A. King III of the New York Post. Even without McCutchen, New York would still have several other high-profile outfielders in Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, Aaron Hicks, Clint Frazier and Jacoby Ellsbury. The Bombers could also pursue Harper, and they’ll have to make a decision on Brett Gardner’s $12.5MM club option.
  • With left-hander Derek Holland hoping to return to the Giants in 2019, it “could make a lot of sense” for the club to offer him a two-year contract, Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports California writes. Holland was unable to secure a guaranteed contract last winter, when the Giants inked him to a minors deal in a move that worked out beautifully for the team. The 32-year-old Holland ended up pitching to a 3.57 ERA/3.87 FIP across a San Francisco-leading 171 1/3 innings, likely setting himself up for a better payday than the $2MM he raked in this season.

Reactions To Mets’ GM Decision

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The Mets have found their new general manager, soon-to-be former player agent Brodie Van Wagenen, whom no one would have expected them to hire at the outset of their search. Here are a few reactions to the decision:

  • New York made a mistake selecting Van Wagenen, who’s no more qualified to be the team’s GM than to serve as its first baseman, Buster Olney of ESPN opines (subscription required). Because of Van Wagenen’s tenure as an agent, there are conflict-of-interest concerns from Major League Baseball, the MLBPA and club management – all of which regard the hiring as “bizarre and inevitably problematic,” Olney writes. For instance, considering Van Wagenen has acted as the agent for the Mets’ two aces – Jacob deGrom and Noah Syndergaard – Olney wonders if he’ll be able to represent the team’s interests instead of his ex-clients’. Further, Olney cites one club exec who’s wary of Van Wagenen because of the strong comments he made during last winter’s free-agent freeze, when he suggested teams were colluding against the players. Beyond that, one talent evaluator tells Olney the Mets made a “very strange” choice, in part because Van Wagenen won’t get the necessary time to adjust to being a GM, and that banking on this move to work is “like expecting the impossible.” The Mets should have made a safer selection and gone with one of the many qualified front office execs in the majors, Olney argues, pointing out that Van Wagenen now has to learn on the job while dealing with the Mets’ much-maligned ownership.
  • Joel Sherman of the New York Post echoes Olney in reporting that league officials and the union have issues with Van Wagenen’s hiring. Interestingly, both sides agree Van Wagenen should not be involved in arbitration cases for deGrom or Syndergaard during the upcoming winter, according to Sherman.
  • While there are clearly strong opinions regarding the Mets’ pick, it’s anyone’s guess how it’ll actually work out. Van Wagenen’s not the first agent to take over as a major league GM – both Joe Garagiola Jr. and Dave Stewart did so in the past (each with the Diamondbacks), and Sherman discussed the transition with the two earlier this weekend. Garagiola admitted his background as an agent led to “skepticism” from his GM colleagues, saying: “Those first few GM meetings I went to, I was not greeted with open arms.” Stewart offered a similar sentiment regarding GMs, saying, “They look at agents as the dark side and agents look at them as the dark side.” Of course, as Sherman notes, both Garagiola and Stewart did have previous front office experience when they became GMs. That’s not the case for Van Wagenen, which could make his new career all the more difficult. On the other hand, Garagiola did name an advantage to going from a player representative to a GM: “Without question the biggest asset [brought to the GM job] is in dealing with agents in terms of contracts and negotiating for free agents. Many of the agents were contemporaries. My awareness of what the job entails gave me credibility with them.” For more from Garagiola and Stewart, check out Sherman’s full piece.

Poll: Clayton Kershaw’s Future

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With Los Angeles staring at a 3-1 deficit against Boston in the World Series, not only will the Dodgers’ season end if they lose Game 5 on Sunday, but it could also mark left-hander Clayton Kershaw’s final outing with the club. The three-time National League Cy Young Award winner will take the ball hoping to keep the Dodgers’ season alive, but if the team loses, he’ll face questions about his future immediately after the game.

While Kershaw’s contract – the franchise-record seven-year, $215MM extension he signed in 2014 – includes another two guaranteed seasons and $65MM, it also features an opt-out clause he could trigger in the coming days. Should he take advantage of that, the 30-year-old would easily become the most accomplished pitcher without a deal for 2019.

However, in the event Kershaw reaches free agency, he would be doing so off three straight injury-shortened seasons, during which he averaged 162 innings per year. That’s a far cry from the 215-inning mean he established from 2010-15. This past regular season, Kershaw spun 161 1/3 frames of high-quality work, logging a 2.73 ERA/3.19 FIP, though there were some alarming signs along the way.

Although just about every starter would be thrilled with the production Kershaw has offered this year, his regular-season ERA was his highest since 2010, while he has only managed a worse FIP once (as a rookie in 2008). Moreover, Kershaw has battled through a decline in velocity, perhaps thanks in part to injuries. Kershaw went to the disabled list one time each for back problems – which have been a significant issue for him in recent seasons – and biceps tendinitis.

Even though we know Kershaw is in fact mortal, he’s still in position to forgo the remaining $65MM on his contract. Expectations are that Kershaw will indeed vacate what’s left of the pact, at which point it would be up to the Dodgers and the seven-time All-Star’s reps at Excel Sports Management to find common ground. For what it’s worth, both Kershaw and the Dodgers have publicly expressed a reverence for one another.

“[Kershaw] should be a Dodger for life,” owner Mark Walter said in March.

There’s certainly a chance that will come to fruition. But it’s worth keeping in mind that, in spite of their deep pockets, the Dodgers haven’t handed out a single nine-figure guarantee since president Andrew Friedman and general manager Farhan Zaidi took the reins in October 2014. They may need to fork over that rich of a contract to keep Kershaw in the fold. As great as Kershaw has been, and as iconic as he is, that would mean splurging on a 30-something pitcher with upward of 2,200 major league innings under his belt (playoffs included) and a growing injury history.

While Kershaw is currently focused on helping spur a World Series comeback for the Dodgers, it’s clear he’ll end up as one of the game’s most fascinating storylines after the Fall Classic concludes. Either Kershaw will continue his remarkable career with the only franchise he has ever known, or the the future Hall of Famer will stun the baseball world by leaving the Dodgers behind in free agency. What do you expect to happen?

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

NPB/KBO Notes: Uehara, Kelly

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Things are quiet in the majors as we await Game 5 of the World Series, so here’s the latest from a pair of Asian leagues…

  • Reliever Koji Uehara saw his major league career end after the 2017 season, when he headed back to his native Japan to pitch for the Yomiuri Giants of Nippon Professional Baseball. Now, after a season in which Uehara pitched to a 3.63 ERA with 6.2 K/9 and 1.3 BB/9 over 34 2/3 innings, the Giants are considering releasing the 43-year-old, according to the Japan Times. Uehara underwent left knee surgery on Tuesday, and if he’s able to bounce back from that, the Giants could re-sign him, per the report. Otherwise, considering his age, it’s possible the eight-time NPB All-Star has thrown his last pitch as a professional – even though the report indicates he’d like to continue playing. Uehara enjoyed an excellent major league career from 2009-17 as a member of a few teams – including the Red Sox, with whom he won a World Series in 2013 – posting a 2.66 ERA with 10.71 K/9, 1.46 BB/9, 95 saves and 81 holds in 480 2/3 frames. Those numbers are actually better than the stats Uehara has compiled with Yomiuri, the only Japanese team for which he has pitched. Across 11 seasons and 1,583 2/3 frames with the Giants, Uehara has notched a 3.02 ERA with 8.0 K/9 against 1.2 BB/9.
  • Merrill Kelly, a righty for SK Wyverns of the Korea Baseball Organization, has “been talked about as a possible MLB arm” for 2019, Sung Min Kim of The Athletic and River Ave Blues tweets. Kelly has been pitching in the KBO since 2015, but he did garner some minor league experience from 2010-14 as a member of the Rays, who chose him in the eighth round of the 2010 draft. At the time of Kelly’s selection, Baseball America (subscription required) wrote that he gets by “with a lot of funk and deception,” adding that he “profiles better as a reliever in pro ball.” Now 30, Kelly has parlayed his fastball-changeup-curveball repertoire into a solid career as a starter in the hitter-friendly KBO, where he has amassed at least 180 frames in three seasons and combined for a 3.86 ERA with 7.9 K/9 and 2.5 BB/9.

Reds Part Ways With Jim Riggleman

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4:07pm: Pat Kelly, who was Cincinnati’s interim bench coach under Riggleman, is likely to return to the team’s minor league system, a source tells Nightengale. Kelly was the Reds’ Triple-A manager before joining Riggleman’s staff. He was among those who interviewed for the Reds’ managerial opening prior to Bell’s hiring.

2:22pm: The Reds won’t be keeping Jim Riggleman in the organization in 2019, Bobby Nightengale of the Cincinnati Enquirer reports (Twitter link).  The interim manager for much of the 2018 season, Riggleman interviewed for the full-time job before the Reds hired David Bell as their next skipper earlier this week.

Riggleman has spent the last seven years within the Reds organization, managing at the Double-A and Triple-A levels, and then working as a third base coach and bench coach for the Major League team.  He took the managerial reins on April 19 when Bryan Price was fired in the wake of a brutal 3-15 start to the season, and Riggleman did right the ship to some extent, leading Cincinnati to an even 45-45 record over the next 90 games.  As the team faded down the stretch, however, Riggleman was left with a 64-80 record as skipper.  Nonetheless, there still appeared to be a solid chance that Riggleman would lose the interim tag, as his performance reportedly impressed owner Robert Castellini and many in the Reds’ front office.

There was some speculation that Riggleman could remain with the Reds in some capacity, possibly as a minor league manager again or potentially even his old bench coach role (if the team had stayed in-house and hired John Farrell to manage).  Instead, the 65-year-old will now look elsewhere to continue a coaching and managing career that has lasted since 1983.  Riggleman is one of a select group who have managed five different Major League teams, with different stints running the dugouts for the Reds, Nationals, Mariners, Cubs, and Padres.

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