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Offseason Outlook: Milwaukee Brewers

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The Brewers have often been competitive without being big spenders. They fell off of that fine line in 2022, trading away their closer and stumbling out of the postseason picture down the stretch. Unless there’s a payroll boost coming, some more tough financial decisions might be over the horizon.

Guaranteed Contracts

  • Christian Yelich, OF: $162.5MM through 2028 (including $6.5MM buyout of 2029 mutual option)
  • Aaron Ashby, LHP: $18.5MM through 2027 (including $1MM buyout of 2028 club option)
  • Freddy Peralta, RHP: $10.5MM through 2024 (including $1.5MM buyout of 2025 club option)

Total 2023 commitments: $30.5MM
Total future commitments: $191.5MM

Option Decisions

Arbitration-Eligible Players (projected 2023 salaries via MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz)

Free Agents

For much of 2022, it seemed that the Brewers were cruising to a fifth straight postseason appearance. As July was winding down and the trade deadline was drawing near, they were sitting atop the NL Central, four games clear of the Cardinals. A team in that position would normally lean into the “buyer” category, but Milwaukee tried to have it both ways. They traded their star closer Josh Hader, and his increasingly-expensive salary, to the Padres. They added some young players to their farm system and surely hoped that the bullpen would be fine without him, with the plan being that Devin Williams would step into the closer’s role, supported by deadline acquisitions Taylor Rogers, Matt Bush and Trevor Rosenthal.

Unfortunately, rumors quickly began swirling that the move had a deleterious effect on the morale in the clubhouse. While that can’t be definitively quantified, what is certainly true is that the move didn’t pan out on the field. Rogers and Bush both struggled after the move while an injury kept Rosenthal from ever joining the club. The Brewers went 29-31 from the start of August until the end of the schedule, yielding the Central to the Cardinals and finishing one game behind the Phillies for the final NL Wild Card spot.

President of baseball operations David Stearns is under contract for 2023, though there was reportedly some type of opt-out in his contract that could have allowed him to pursue other opportunities. It was unclear if the Brewers had to reach the NLCS or the World Series to put him in position to trigger that opt-out, although it’s now a moot point since the club missed the playoffs entirely. Stearns is a New York native and has been frequently mentioned in rumors connecting him to the Mets, but the Brewers have denied him the opportunity to explore jobs with other organizations. It seems that he will be staying in Milwaukee for at least one more season.

It doesn’t seem like it will be an easy offseason for him to navigate, as the Hader trade didn’t solve the payroll situation for the Brewers. Never huge spenders, the club ran out an Opening Day payroll of $132MM this year, according to Cot’s Baseball Contracts. That represented a franchise record but was still in the bottom half of the league, coming in 19th out of the 30 MLB teams. For 2023, Roster Resource estimates they’re already pretty close to that number, currently pegged at $118MM. They have a huge 18-player arbitration class and could improve their financial situation with a few non-tenders, though that would also create more holes on a roster that already proved insufficient. Next year, the more balanced schedule means they will have fewer games within their weak division, which will only increase the challenge of competing in 2023. Unless another bump is coming for the budget, it’s possible Stearns will have to continue walking fine lines.

The starting rotation is currently in a strong position, as the club has six starters with varying levels of strength. Corbin Burnes and Brandon Woodruff are clearly at the front end, with both showing ace potential at times. Freddy Peralta has some durability concerns but has shown himself capable of being almost as good as Burnes and Woodruff when healthy. That’s an extremely good front three, and it’s bolstered by Eric Lauer, Aaron Ashby and Adrian Houser as serviceable back-end guys. However, all six of them are in line for raises in 2023. Peralta’s extension will lead to his salary going from $2.25MM up to $3.5MM next year, while Ashby’s will go from $700K to $1MM as part of his own extension. The other four starters will all be eligible for raises via arbitration. Back in September, Burnes discussed his status with Adam McCalvy of MLB.com, very much aware of the fact he’s a candidate to follow the same path as Hader. It might be difficult for the Brewers to consider trading another star hurler after the Hader deal went so poorly, but taking that off the table will likely lead to difficult decisions elsewhere.

The bullpen is probably the least-impressive it’s been in some time, now that Hader is no longer atop the chart. However, Devin Williams still gives them an excellent starting point. He’s now thrown 155 1/3 innings in the big leagues with a 2.03 ERA, 48.8% ground ball rate and 39.5% strikeout rate. His 11.5% walk rate is certainly on the high side, though he’s still been very effective. He racked up 26 holds and 15 saves in 2022 and seems ticketed for permanent closer duties going forward. He’ll qualify for arbitration for the first time this winter but should still be well worth the salary bump.

The rest of the bullpen is a bit more murky. Rosenthal and Rogers are free agents. Matt Bush struggled after the trade but still finished the season with a 3.47 ERA on the season as a whole. He’ll be due a raise via arbitration but not a huge one. Brad Boxberger had another strong season for Milwaukee and can be retained via a $3MM club option. That might seem to be a fairly easy trigger at first glance, but his strikeout rate took a downturn this year and he’s turning 35 in May. Is the payroll tight enough for the Brewers to simply walk away and dedicate those resources elsewhere? Peter Strzelecki had a nice debut and hasn’t yet reached arbitration. However, pitchers like Trevor Gott, Luis Perdomo, Jandel Gustave and Brent Suter are all part of that huge arbitration class and none of them were outstanding in 2022. A few non-tenders would save the club a few bucks but would also weaken the overall depth. Either way, they will probably look to find some low-cost additions, either through free agency or waiver claims.

Behind the plate, the Brewers are facing the departure of Omar Narváez. His bat took a step back in 2022 but he still provided value with his glove. Without him, the primary catcher is Victor Caratini, who was having a strong season but finished quite poorly. Through the end of July, he was hitting .231/.355/.413 for a wRC+ of 121, but then slashed just .163/.234/.264 the rest of the way for a wRC+ of 39. Adding another backstop would make some sense, but they could also start the year with Alex Jackson and Mario Feliciano battling Caratini for playing time if the budget is tight.

Rowdy Tellez should have first base spoken for after a solid season at the plate. He hit 35 home runs and produced a batting line of .219/.306/.461 for a wRC+ of 110. However, it’s possible the club will consider trading Tellez and giving first base to Keston Hiura, a possibility recently explored by MLBTR’s Maury Ahram. Hiura struck out in 41.7% of his plate appearances but still hit 14 home runs in 80 games and produced a 115 wRC+. He can play other positions at times but doesn’t get great marks for his work at second base or in left field. A trade could clear up some money but it also wouldn’t break the bank to keep Tellez and Hiura in some sort of platoon rotation.

Up the middle, Willy Adames has shortstop locked down but second base is a little less clear. The club has a $10MM club option over Kolten Wong’s services for 2023, which comes with a $2MM buyout. That net $8MM decision would normally be a very clear decision, with exercising it the obvious choice. However, given the potential payroll constraints and Wong’s unusually weak defensive year, it’s possible that the Brewers look to move on. Wong himself seemed to acknowledge all of this recently, realizing that it’s possible that he is replaced by prospect Brice Turang, who had a nice year in Triple-A. There’s also a couple of utility guys present, with Luis Urías and Mike Brosseau on the roster. They’re both coming off solid seasons, though at least one of them will likely need to cover third base due to the free agency of Jace Peterson. Though Peterson has never been an above-average hitter by measure of wRC+, except in the shortened 2020 campaign, he got excellent marks for his work at the hot corner this year while also occasionally moving to first base, second base and the outfield corners.

In the outfield, Christian Yelich will continue manning one spot. He’s not quite living up to his salary, as he’s getting paid to be the MVP-level player he was in 2018 and 2019. He’s fallen short of that in each of the past three seasons but has still been a solid above-average regular. Hunter Renfroe could be in another corner, though he also could be a non-tender candidate based on his one-dimensional output. He hit 29 home runs in 2022 but was below-average at drawing walks and isn’t especially strong on defense. He’s certainly still a valuable player, but with a projected salary of $11.2MM, the Brewers could look to trade him and find a comparable player for less money on the free agent market.

In center field, 2023 will be the first full season of the post-Lorenzo Cain era. Jackson Chourio is considered by many to be one of the best prospects in the sport and the center fielder of the future in Milwaukee. However, he’s not yet reached his 19th birthday and will surely need some more time. Rookie Garrett Mitchell got some big league playing time down the stretch and fared well, though in a small sample of just 28 games. Sal Frelick and Joey Wiemer each finished strong in Triple-A and could be ready for a jump to the majors quite soon. Esteury Ruiz, acquired from the Padres in the Hader deal, has already gotten a taste of the majors. However, the Brewers played him in left field more than center after trading for him.

The Brewers have some interesting decisions ahead of them this winter, as they look to bounce back from a disappointing 2022 campaign. They have some question marks in the outfield, especially if they let Renfroe go. They have some holes on the infield, especially if they don’t retain Wong. The bullpen certainly has room for some upgrades, as does their catching corps. To address those areas, there might not be a ton of money to work with, meaning it could be one more year on the tightrope.

In conjunction with this post, Darragh McDonald held a Brewers-centric chat on 10-26-22. Click here to read the transcript.

Diamondbacks Claim Tyler Zuber From Royals

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The Royals announced that right-hander Tyler Zuber has been claimed off waivers by the Diamondbacks. Zuber has been on the 60-day injured list all season and won’t require a 40-man roster spot for the time being. Additionally, the Royals also announced that right-hander Ryan Weiss has cleared waivers and been outrighted to Triple-A Omaha.

Zuber, 28 in June, missed the entirety of the 2022 due to a shoulder impingement, though he was recently able to resume throwing. He appeared in the majors in 2020 and 2021, though without much success. In 49 1/3 career innings, he has a 5.29 ERA, with a strong 24.8% strikeout rate but a ghastly 16.7% walk rate.

He still has one option year remaining and has yet to reach arbitration eligibility, but the Royals are evidently doing some roster cleanup at the moment. Most teams have roster crunches upcoming since there’s no injured list between the World Series and Spring Training. That means players on the 60-day IL, who don’t count against a club’s 40-man count, will soon be returning to their respective rosters. In anticipation of that, the Royals have cut Zuber, Weiss and Luke Weaver from their roster, with Weaver having been lost to the Mariners on a separate waiver claim.

For the D-Backs, they don’t need a roster spot for Zuber just yet but will soon. They are likely looking past his major league results and focusing on his work in the minors thus far. Last year, Zuber threw 28 2/3 Triple-A innings with a 2.83 ERA while striking out 37.1% of batters faced. The control problems were still there, however, as Zuber walked 13.8% of those who stepped to the plate. If he can hang onto his 40-man roster spot through the winter, he could serve as optionable depth for Arizona in 2023 while they try to iron out that command.

As for Weiss, 26 in December, he’s yet to make his MLB debut. He was drafted by the Diamondbacks and was added to their 40-man roster in November of last year, eventually going to the Royals on a midseason waiver claim. Between the two organizations, he registered a 6.93 ERA over 62 1/3 innings in 2022. This is his first career outright and he doesn’t have the three years of MLB service time or seven years of minor league experience necessary to have the right to reject it. He’ll stick with the Royals as depth but without occupying a 40-man roster spot.

Mariners Claim Luke Weaver, Designate Derek Hill

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The Mariners announced that they have claimed right-hander Luke Weaver off waivers from the Royals. Outfielder Derek Hill was designated for assignment in a corresponding move.

Weaver, 29, was a highly-touted prospect as he made his way through the system of the Cardinals, who drafted him in 2014. He showed some potential in his first tastes of the big leagues and eventually became a key piece of the trade that sent Paul Goldschmidt from Arizona to St. Louis. Weaver made 12 good starts in the desert in 2019 but has since been held back by injuries and underperformance.

He was able to make 12 starts in the shortened 2020 season but put up an ERA of 6.58 that year. He was better in 2021 but a shoulder injury limited him to just 13 starts over that full season. This year, the D-Backs tried moving him to the bullpen, which didn’t really work. He registered a 7.71 ERA before getting flipped to the Royals at the deadline. He was slightly better in KC, but still had a 5.59 ERA after the deal.

There wasn’t any public indication the Royals had placed Weaver on waivers, though it appears they had been quietly performing some roster maintenance. Many teams are facing roster crunches soon, as there’s no injured list between the World Series and Spring Training. Since most teams have at least a few players on the 60-day IL, those players will soon have to retake roster spots or else be cut. Weaver is arbitration-eligible and has been projected for a salary of $3MM by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz. Instead, it seems the Royals have cut him loose and will use his roster spot for other players.

For the Mariners, they are evidently more enamored of Weaver than the Royals. It’s not outlandish to think that Weaver could find better results than what he saw in 2022. His .429 batting average on balls in play and 58.6% strand rate are both much worse than league averages. As such, all advanced metrics thought him deserving of much better than his 6.56 combined ERA between the D-Backs and Royals. Weaver’s 3.64 SIERA, 2.69 FIP and 3.82 xFIP all suggest he was better than he might have seemed, though xERA is a bit more skeptical with a 5.45.

In order to take a chance on Weaver, the M’s are risking losing Hill. The 26-year-old was just claimed off waivers from the Tigers in August, having served as a depth piece for both clubs. However, he is now out of options and unable to be easily sent down to the farm going forward. He got into 31 MLB games this year, all with Detroit, and hit .229/.270/.289 for a wRC+ of 60. In 68 minor league games, he slashed .220/.294/.386, 73 wRC+. Despite that tepid offensive output, Hill might find interest from other clubs given his speed and defensive skills. If he clears waivers, he would be eligible to elect free agency based on having spent parts of seven seasons in the minors.

Adam Wainwright Planning To Retire After 2023 Season

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Cardinals right-hander Adam Wainwright spoke with the media today, including Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat, on the heels of the announcement that he and the club had agreed to a contract for 2023. In discussing the deal, Wainwright admitted that 2023 will be his final season.

“I could tell you yes, but then there’s a whole lot of hoopla you’ve gotta go through,” Wainwright said in response to a question about whether this would be his final run. “Long story short: yes, this’ll be the last one. Just everybody relax, don’t freak out about it.”

Prior to 2022, fellow Cardinal legends Yadier Molina and Albert Pujols announced that they were entering their final respective seasons. There was plenty of speculation that Wainwright might eventually decide to ride into the sunset with them, but he has instead decided to mount up for another campaign, which will evidently be his last. Wainwright turned 41 years old in August and will therefore be set to retire shortly after his 42nd birthday.

Wainwright is currently sitting on 195 career wins and will certainly crack the 200 plateau as long as he’s able to stay healthy. He is setting his sights higher than that, however. “The number I’m looking at is not 200, the number is 210,” Wainwright said, per Jones. Getting to 210 would allow Wainwright to tie Jesse Haines for second place on the all-time Cardinals list, behind only Bob Gibson’s 251. Wainwright also added that he would like to catch John Smoltz, who logged 213 career victories.

Regardless of how the 2023 campaign ultimately goes, Wainwright will finish with a fine career résumé. Making his debut back in 2005, he’s already appeared in 457 games, starting 390 of those and logging 2,567 1/3 innings. He has a career ERA of 3.38 over that time while notching 2,147 strikeouts. He’s made three All-Star teams, won a couple of Gold Gloves and was a World Series champion in 2006 and 2011 (though he missed the entirety of the latter championship season due to Tommy John surgery). That’s already a tremendous career, though he will have one more season to try to add to his personal accomplishments and grab one last World Series ring before hanging up his spikes.

Aaron Boone To Return As Yankees Manager In 2023

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The Yankees are planning to keep Aaron Boone in the manager’s chair for 2023. That’s according to owner Hal Steinbrenner, who spoke to Mark Didtler of the Associated Press today. “As far as Boone’s concerned, we just signed him and for all the same reasons I listed a year ago, I believe he is a very good manager,” Steinbrenner said. “I don’t see a change there.”

Boone, 49, first took over as the skipper in the Bronx prior to the 2018 season and the club has qualified for the postseason in each of his campaigns at the helm. As the 2021 season was winding down, he and the Yanks agreed to a three-year extension that covered the 2022-2024 seasons plus a club option for 2025.

Boone has been successful in the regular season thus far, earning three Wild Card berths and AL East division titles in both 2019 and 2022. However, the postseason track record isn’t as strong, with the club failing to reach the World Series in any of those campaigns. On the heels of a four-game ALCS sweep at the hands of the Houston Astros here in 2022, some frustrated Yankee fans might have been hoping for a shakeup. But the disappointing conclusion to the season evidently isn’t going to lead to any rash decisions in the dugout. If the club had any thought of moving on from Boone, they would have to fire him with two years remaining on his deal.

Boone will go into 2023 with a managerial record of 427-281, looking to add another winning season to that total. The offseason will determine what kind of roster he will be in charge of, with the major unanswered question being what happens with impending free agent Aaron Judge.

Cardinals Recently Met With Nolan Arenado; Team Also Planning To Pursue Catching Help

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It’s been a Cardinals-heavy day in the news, with the team agreeing to re-sign Adam Wainwright for what will be his 18th Major League season. St. Louis also announced that a trio of coaches will not return for the 2023 season — one day after losing bench coach Skip Schumaker, who’ll become the new Marlins manager. Beyond that pair of headlines, president of baseball operations John Mozeliak held court with the Cardinals beat, revealing in an extensive press conference that he recently met in person with Nolan Arenado about the third baseman’s looming opt-out (link via Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat). Beyond that, Mozeliak pledged that the Cardinals’ payroll will increase and unsurprisingly acknowledged he’ll be on the lookout for a successor to Yadier Molina this offseason.

Chief among those details is the team’s recent meeting with Arenado, who can opt out of the remaining five years and $144MM on his contract this winter. Mozeliak indicated there’s a sense of optimism regarding a resolution on that front, though there’s nothing official between the two parties just yet.

A year ago, that opt-out provision was far from a lock to come into play. Arenado chose to forego an opt-out clause last winter, when he could’ve returned to the market and sought a larger guarantee than the six years and $179MM he had remaining on the contract. Arenado was coming off a strong season but far from his best year, having batted .255/.312/.494 in his first season following a trade from the Rockies.

One year can make quite a difference, however. A sensational 2022 campaign has Arenado among the front-runners for National League MVP honors (alongside teammate Paul Goldschmidt), and with $144MM remaining on the deal, an opt-out now looks far likelier. The nine-time Gold Glove winner and five-time Platinum Glover turned in a sensational .293/.358/.533 batting line with 30 home runs, 42 doubles, a triple, a career-low 11.6% strikeout rate and his typical brand of elite defense at the hot corner. Despite the fact that he’ll turn 32 next April, Arenado suddenly has an easy case to eclipse the remaining money on his contract.

Granted, it’s rare for players of this age to secure contracts of more than five years in length, although exceptions are often made for the game’s top stars. One need only look to this past March, when Freddie Freeman inked a six-year deal with the Dodgers — one that, as will be the case with Arenado, begins in his age-32 season. Even if the market were to draw a hard line at five years for Arenado, there’d surely be a greater annual value than his current $28.8MM waiting for him in free agency. Annual salaries in excess of $30MM have become increasingly common, and Arenado himself at one point held the record for position player AAV ($32.5MM). That AAV took a hit when the Cardinals tacked on an additional year and $15MM at the time of the trade — but also granted Arenado a second opt-out opportunity.

Since Arenado signed his extension, Anthony Rendon ($35MM), Mike Trout ($36MM), Carlos Correa ($35.1MM), Corey Seager ($32.5MM) Francisco Lindor ($34.1MM) have all inked deals with annual salaries equal to or in excess of Arenado’s original AAV (to say nothing of Gerrit Cole’s $36MM annual value with the Yankees and Max Scherzer’s $43.33MM with the Mets). On the heels of such a brilliant season, Arenado could well find an AAV in the mid-30s over a five- or six-year term.

Understandably, the Cardinals appear to have little interest in allowing things to reach that point. Arenado’s opt-out decision is due five days after the World Series draws to a close, but the Cardinals can spend the interim trying to persuade him to stay. Tacking on an additional year or perhaps restructuring the deal to pay him at an annual rate more commensurate with the sport’s top hitters could well be in play over the next couple weeks.

All of that dovetails with Mozeliak’s comments about a forthcoming payroll hike. The Cardinals already have $105MM in guaranteed salary between Arenado, Goldschmidt, Miles Mikolas, Steven Matz, Giovanny Gallegos, Paul DeJong and Drew VerHagen (though the Rockies are reportedly covering $21MM of Arenado’s 2023 salary under the terms of the trade). Whatever salary Wainwright agreed to will add to that figure, and MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projects just shy of $40MM in salary for the team’s 11 arbitration-eligible players. There are some non-tender candidates within — Mozeliak mentioned Alex Reyes’ name when discussing looming 40-man roster decisions, per Jones — but the majority of that arbitration class is a lock to return.

That gives the Cardinals more than $150MM on the books before even factoring in a slate of pre-arbitration players to round out the payroll. Jones notes that last year’s payroll, following trade deadline acquisitions, clocked in around $170MM. Extending or restructuring Arenado’s contract won’t necessarily impact the 2023 payroll on its own — he’s owed $35MM and the Rockies are paying that $21MM to the Cardinals even if Arenado were to opt out —  but there are clearly other needs to consider.

Catching help, as Mozeliak acknowledged, figures to be among the most critical needs. Molina, a franchise icon, has played the final game of his Major League career, but the win-now Cardinals unsurprisingly aren’t content to merely hand the reins over to Andrew Knizner or prospect Ivan Herrera. Jones notes that the team will likely be looking for a starting-caliber option and not a part-time player.

The free-agent market has a handful of starting options, headlined by longtime division rival Willson Contreras but also including Christian Vazquez and Omar Narvaez. On the trade market, Oakland’s Sean Murphy will be available as the A’s continue their rebuild, and the Blue Jays have a surplus at backstop with Danny Jansen, Alejandro Kirk and Gabriel Moreno all on the 40-man roster and capable of shouldering a starter’s workload at the MLB level. Other options, of course, will emerge.

With Wainwright back, the rotation doesn’t figure to be a dire need, though depth could be pursued. The Cards will have Wainwright, Mikolas, Matz, Jack Flaherty and Jordan Montgomery as the likely top five, with Dakota Hudson, Matthew Liberatore, Zack Thompson and Jake Woodford serving as depth. Mozeliak and his staff will still likely be on the hunt for upgrades at some combination of shortstop, outfield and designated hitter, however, as the Cardinals look to inject more force into the lineup. Bullpen help is a near-annual need for every contending club.

For the time being, now that Wainwright’s status has been resolved, all roads will point to Arenado. Whether he and the Cardinals are able to reach a middle ground will not only shape the long-term outlook of the organization as we know it but also the very fabric of the 2022-23 offseason. If Arenado were to reach free agency, he’d join the likes of Aaron Judge, Trea Turner and Correa atop another star-studded open market.

Cardinals Make Changes To Coaching Staff

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The Cardinals will have a new look coaching staff in 2023, after president of baseball operations John Mozeliak announced at his end-of-season press conference that pitching coach Mike Maddux was stepping down and hitting coach Jeff Albert had elected not to return in 2023. Mozeliak also announced that bullpen coach Bryan Eversgerd has been reassigned as a special assistant with the organization (Links via Derrick Goold of the St Louis Post-Dispatch and Katie Woo of The Athletic).

Mozeliak said he was willing to offer both Maddux and Albert new contracts, per Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat. He adds that Maddux is stepping away after a long career, but does not say that the veteran pitching coach is retiring. On Albert, Mozeliak says the hitting coach grew “frustrated” by the frequency with which he “took blame”, particularly among social media comments, for the team’s hitting struggles.

Maddux, 61, joined the Cardinals ahead of the 2018 season after previously spending two seasons as the Nationals pitching coach. The older brother of Hall of Fame pitcher Greg Maddux, Mike enjoyed a 14-year playing career before retiring in 2000. He began his coaching career in the Astros organization, before landing his first big league coaching gig with the Brewers. He stayed there until 2008 before joining the Rangers and then Nationals.

Albert, 41, initially began as a hitting coach in the Cardinals’ minor league system. He was signed by the Astros to be their minor league hitting coordinator before they promoted him to assistant hitting coach on the major league club in 2018. He lasted there a year before the Cardinals brought him back ahead of the 2019 season to serve as hitting coach.

Eversgerd, 53, has been in the Cardinals organization since 2001, and served as their bullpen coach since 2018.

The Cardinals now have four open positions on their coaching staff, after bench coach Skip Schumaker landed the Marlins manager job.

Clayton McCullough Among Finalists For Royals Managerial Post

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Dodgers first base coach Clayton McCullough has interviewed for the vacant Royals managerial post, and is considered a finalist for the job, according to Jon Morosi of MLB Network. It’s been previously reported that the Royals have interviewed Phillies third base coach Dusty Wathan and Rays bench coach Matt Quatraro. They’ve also looked in-house as well, interviewing current bench coach Pedro Grifol, third base coach Vance Wilson and Triple-A skipper Scott Thorman. It’s not clear if any of those names are considered finalists.

McCullough was a 22nd round draft pick for Cleveland in 2002, but spent just three seasons as a catcher in the minor leagues before retiring from playing at 25. He quickly moved into coaching, and worked as a manager within the Toronto Blue Jays minor league system between 2007 and 2014. The Dodgers hired him as their minor league field coordinator after his time in Toronto, and he was promoted to first base coach for the major league team in 2021.

It’s not the first time McCullough has been linked to a big league managerial post, as he earned an interview from the Mets for their vacant position in 2021 before they ultimately went with Buck Showalter. The 42-year-old also interviewed for the Giants position prior to the team hiring Gabe Kapler.

While the list of known candidates to interview for the position continues to grow, the fact that the Royals appear to be narrowing it down to finalists does suggest that the process is getting closer to reaching a conclusion. The Royals parted ways with Mike Matheny at the end of the season after a 65-97 record in 2022.

Jose Rojas Signs With KBO’s Doosan Bears

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Oct 26: Rojas’ deal with Doosan has been made official, per Yoo Jee-ho of Yonhap News. It’s a one year deal that will pay Rojas $1MM, including a $50k signing bonus.

Yoo also notes that Rojas will replace Jose Miguel Fernandez in the Bears’ lineup. Fernandez, 34, has long been a strong contact hitter, and he led the KBO in hits in 2019 and 2020. He saw a drop in power last season, hitting just six home runs after slugging 21 in 2020, but he still maintained an average north of the .300 mark. Overall, Fernandez’ four seasons in the KBO produced a very respectable .329/.392/.458 line.

It’s unclear yet whether Fernandez intends to latch on with another team in Korea, or seek a return to the US. Fernandez previously had a brief stint in the majors with the Angels, hitting .267/.309/.388 across 123 plate appearances in 2018. After four highly productive seasons in the KBO, MLB teams will surely have some interest in giving the Cuban second baseman another look, although a minor league deal seems more likely.

Oct 21: Infielder/outfielder Jose Rojas has been getting attention from multiple Korea Baseball Organization teams, and Rojas looks to be nearing a deal with the Doosan Bears, according to a Naver Sports report (Korean language link).  Rojas elected free agency after than accept an outright assignment to the Giants’ Triple-A affiliate in September, after clearing DFA waivers.

That stint on San Francisco’s roster was brief, as the Giants had only just claimed Rojas off waivers from the Angels two weeks prior.  Rojas didn’t see any time in the majors during his short run as Giant, and he was changing organizations for the first time in his pro career, after being a 36th-round pick for Anaheim in the 2016 draft.

Rojas now looks to be making a much bigger change of scenery in joining the KBO League.  Entering his age-30 season, Rojas made his Major League debut in 2021 and appeared in 61 games with the Angels, before playing in only 22 MLB contests this past season.  The versatile Rojas saw time at five different positions with the Halos — both corner outfield positions, second base, third base, and two appearances at first base.

Over 241 career plate appearances in the Show, Rojas has hit .188/.245/.339 with six home runs.  Rojas has swung a much mightier bat in the minors, with a .286/.347/.503 slash line and 92 homers over 2327 career PA down on the farm.  There seems a decent chance Rojas can carry this production over to the KBO League, hence the number of teams interested in his services.  KBO clubs have three roster spots open to non-Korean players, and players new to the KBO League are limited to one-year contracts.

Marlins Hire Skip Schumaker As Manager

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The Marlins have settled on their next manager, announcing Tuesday evening they’ve tabbed Cardinals bench coach Skip Schumaker. He replaces Don Mattingly, who spent seven years in the role before he and the Marlins mutually agreed to part ways. Schumaker’s contract runs through the 2024 season, and the Marlins hold a club option on his services for 2025.

“After an extensive process, it is with great pride and excitement that we announced Skip Schumaker as manager of the Miami Marlins,” chairman and principal owner Bruce Sherman said in the statement announcing the news. Schumaker made a statement of his own. “I’m very excited and grateful that Bruce, (general manager Kim Ng), and the Marlins organization have given me an opportunity to manage a very talented team. Delivering a winning, sustainable culture with the expectation of getting into the postseason is the next step for this organization and South Florida – and I can’t wait to get started.”

As another disappointing season was winding down in Miami, it was reported that Mattingly and the club would go their separate ways. Over the past few weeks, recent reporting indicated that the final four candidates were Schumaker, Rays’ bench coach Matt Quatraro, Astros’ bench coach Joe Espada and Yankees’ third base coach Luis Rojas.

Schumaker, 43 in February, played in the big leagues from 2005 to 2015, spending time with the Cardinals, Dodgers and Reds. He signed a minor league deal with the Padres for 2016 but announced his retirement in March. It didn’t take long for him to get involved in post-playing roles, as he was hired by the Padres to be their first base coach for 2018. Prior to the 2020 season, the Friars gave him the title of “associate manager.”

One year ago, the Cardinals surprisingly parted ways with manager Mike Shildt despite a solid run in the dugout. Once they promoted Oli Marmol to take over, they suddenly had a vacancy at the bench coach position and hired Schumaker to take that over. The Marmol-Schumaker pairing seemed to work well, as the Cards went 93-69 in 2022 and recaptured the Central division. However, the club will now be looking for a new bench coach for a second year in a row.

For the Marlins, they are looking to take a turn after years of frustration. Outside of the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, they haven’t made the playoffs since way back in 2003. There have been many frustrating stops and starts for the fans in that time, with 2022 once seeming like it could have been the year that the Marlins made a serious jump into contention. They had a strong pitching staff and supplemented their position player mix by bringing in outside additions like Jorge Soler, Avisaíl García, Jacob Stallings and Joey Wendle. Unfortunately, all four of those players dealt with injury or underperformance or both. When combined with injuries and disappointing results elsewhere on the roster, Miami fell well out of contention again and ended up with a 69-93 record.

Ng and the rest of the front office will surely be hoping that Schumaker will be instrumental in turning things around. The impacts of coaches can be difficult to quantify, but there’s no doubting Schumaker has made a quick rise through the ranks. It was just a few years ago that he was still playing, and he quickly joined the big leagues as a coach without first requiring a stint in the minors. From there, he got a promotion in San Diego and then has been quickly poached by two different organizations, highlighting the respect he has around the game. If that’s not enough, Marlins players are quickly showcasing their approval, with Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Sandy Alcantara both taking to social media to share their enthusiasm (Twitter links).

Of course, a manager alone can not turn a poor team into a champion. There is still a lot of work for the Marlins to do this winter in upgrading their roster. But for now, they can cross one item off their to-do list, adding a young up-and-coming manager who seems to have tremendous respect throughout the game.

Craig Mish of SportsGrid and the Miami Herald was first to report the Marlins were hiring Schumaker, and to report Schumaker’s contract details.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

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