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Ryan Flaherty, Mike Shildt Receive Interviews For Padres’ Managerial Vacancy

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The Padres recently gave manager Bob Melvin permission to pursue a job with the Giants, which quickly resulted in Melvin making the switch and signing a three-year deal. Now the Padres have their own managerial vacancy to deal with.

It was immediately speculated that bench coach Ryan Flaherty and senior advisor Mike Shildt were the top internal options and that seems to have been borne out this week. Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune reports that Shildt was interviewed Wednesday, with Flaherty scheduled to have his own interview on Friday. But it won’t be just those two getting consideration, as Acee says it’s likely pitching coach Ruben Niebla will be in the mix, in addition to external candidates.

“I think we’ll sit down with some internal candidates the next few days, but we’re going to make sure we exhaust all the different possibilities to get the right choice. There’s no real timeframe,” president of A.J. Preller tells Acee. “It’s a big offseason for us. We’ve got a lot of decisions to make. This is the first one. We want to try to get it right.”

Flaherty, 37, joined the Padres in November of 2019 as quality control coach. In January of 2022, the Mets were interested in him for their vacant bench coach position, but the Padres denied that club permission to interview him. That perhaps indicates the Padres are quite fond of Flaherty and they made him bench coach in San Diego a year later. He doesn’t have managerial experience but is clearly well respected around the game, having garnered plenty of interest since retiring as a player.

Shildt, 55, managed the Cardinals from 2018 to 2021 but was surprisingly dismissed after clashing with the front office. He then joined the Padres in a player development role but has expressed an interest in returning to the dugout at some point.

Niebla, 51, has been around the game for some time, having served as a coach in the minor leagues for many years. He was hired by the Padres to be their pitching coach after the 2021 season. It’s unknown if the club is interested in interviewing him but Acee relays that Niebla has previously expressed an interesting in managing.

It’s unknown which external candidates will be considered or how long the Padres plan to take to make a hire, but it seems they don’t have a strict timeline based on Preller’s comments. It’s a key offseason for the club, who will be looking to bounce back from a disappointing 2023 season. The club had a run differential of +104, which was actually third best in the National League and miles better than the -15 of the pennant-winning Diamondbacks. But the Padres went 9-23 in one-run games and 2-12 in extra innings, causing them to fall just shy of the playoffs.

Reports emerged after the season of discord between Preller and Melvin. While they initially planned to work together again in 2024, the Giants came calling and it seems the Padres did little to stand in the way of Melvin jumping to the Giants. They received no compensation for Melvin’s departure, apparently content to get his $4MM salary off the books and start fresh with a new skipper. The Friars have a number of high-priced veterans and will surely be motivated to win while those players are still in/near their primes. It’s also their final season before Juan Soto departs via free agency, though other teams figure to call and talk trades, especially with the Padres looking to cut some costs.

Reds Claim Bubba Thompson From Royals

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The Royals announced that outfielder Bubba Thompson has been claimed off waivers by the Reds and that left-hander Taylor Hearn cleared waivers and elected free agency.

The Royals have been trying to trim down their roster before the offseason. Players on the 60-day injured list don’t take up a spot on the 40-man, but the IL goes away between the World Series and Spring Training, which can lead to a squeeze. Yesterday, they outrighted catcher Tyler Cropley and lost left-hander Tucker Davidson off waivers to the Orioles. Today’s moves clear a couple more spots but they are still slated to be at 41 once the offseason begins.

Thompson, 25, just came over to the Royals via a waiver claim in August, having previously spent his entire career with the Rangers. He’s a speed-and-defense specialist but his work at the plate isn’t quite as strong. He received 241 plate appearances with the Rangers over the past two seasons but hit just .242/.286/.305 in those. Between the Rangers and Royals organizations, he hit .259/.338/.395 in 302 Triple-A plate appearances this year, a line that translates to a wRC+ of 82. He has had some better results in past minor league seasons, but often with high strikeouts and few walks.

His speed does seem to be elite, however. He racks up double-digits steals with ease, including 31 last year between the majors and minors. On Statcast’s Sprint Speed leaderboard, he trailed only Elly De La Cruz and Bobby Witt Jr. in 2023. At worst, it seems like Thompson can serve as a speedy fourth outfielder, while any step forward at the plate would only increase his value. He is still optionable, meaning he can be sent to the minors to get regular reps if the Reds so choose.

Hearn, 29, also spent most of his career with the Rangers prior to 2023. He served as a solid swingman in Texas over 2021 and 2022 as the club wasn’t competitive. He tossed a combined 204 1/3 innings over those two campaigns with a 4.89 earned run average. He struggled in 2023, eventually going to Atlanta in a cash deal, then to Kansas City in exchange for infielder Nicky Lopez. He tossed 15 innings on the year between those three clubs with an ERA of 11.40 in that small sample.

The lefty has more than three years of service time, giving him the right to elect free agency rather than accept an outright assignment. His rough 2023 results in the majors obviously limit his appeal, but he was much better in Triple-A. Between the Rangers and Royals, he tossed 54 innings at that level in 2023 with a 3.33 ERA and 30.9% strikeout rate, though the 13.4% walk rate is concerning.

Cardinals Reportedly Interested In Yuki Matsui

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The Cardinals are interested in left-hander Yuki Matsui, per a report from Natsuki Une of Yahoo! Japan.

Matsui, 28 next week, is a left-handed reliever who has been pitching in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball for the past 10 years. He’s appeared in 501 games in that time, posting an earned run average of 2.40 while recording 236 saves. Here in 2023, he’s been even more impressive, with a 1.57 ERA in 59 appearances while recording 39 saves. He struck out 32.4% of batters faced this year while walking just 5.9%. In addition to his excellent results, Matsui is notable for his size, listed at just 5’8″ and 167 pounds.

Though his frame may be atypical, it’s hard to argue with the results. It was reported a couple of weeks back that Matsui would explore signing with major league clubs and it seems like he is already garnering interest. Due to debuting at a young age, he is going to be a full free agent this winter and any signing club wouldn’t be required to pay a posting fee to the Rakuten Golden Eagles, the club he has played with for his entire career thus far.

Matsui has been a mainstay of MLBTR’s NPB Players to Watch series this year, with Dai Takegami Podziewski highlighting Matsui’s four-pitch arsenal, featuring a fastball, splitter, slider and curveball. The lefty reportedly had some trouble adapting to the ball in the World Baseball Classic, which is closer to the ball used in MLB. There’s always some uncertainty with foreign players since they are unproven in North America. Matsui’s size and issues with the WBC ball perhaps add to that, but clubs are often intrigued by the possibility of unearthing a hidden gem.

It seems the Cardinals are one such club, based on this report. That isn’t terribly surprising, since pitching was a notable weak spot for the 2023 club. The bullpen as a whole posted an ERA of 4.47 on the year, putting them 23rd in the league. They also traded impending free agents Jordan Hicks and Chris Stratton at the deadline. In terms of left-handers specifically, they have JoJo Romero, John King and Andrew Suárez on the roster. Romero finished the season strong but still has just 67 career games at the major league level. King has posted good results by keeping the ball on the ground but doesn’t get many strikeouts. Suarez had an ERA of 7.16 in the majors this year.

The Cardinals have plenty of work to do this winter, looking to add three starters to their rotation, but adding another lefty to their bullpen would be a sensible upgrade as well. They will reportedly make Matsui a formal offer after the Japan Series, the NPB equivalent of the World Series, which is scheduled for October 28 to November 5. Like the World Series, it’s a best-of-seven, meaning it could end earlier if it doesn’t go the full seven. But given Matsui’s excellent season in Japan, the Cardinals surely won’t be the only club interested. The Yankees, Red Sox, Cubs and Padres have also been scouting him, per the report. Matsui also reportedly has a four-year offer to stay with the Golden Eagles.

Offseason Outlook: Miami Marlins

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The Marlins made the postseason in 2023, their first time in the playoffs of a full season since 2003. But the good news stopped there. They were quickly swept by the Phillies, then their ace announced that he underwent Tommy John surgery. This was followed by general manager Kim Ng stepping aside after disagreements with chairman Bruce Sherman.

Guaranteed Contracts

Option Decisions

  • 1B Josh Bell can opt out of $16.5MM salary
  • OF/DH Jorge Soler can opt out of $13MM salary
  • Club holds $10.5MM club option on RHP Johnny Cueto with $2.5MM buyout
  • Clubs holds $9MM club option on RHP Matt Barnes with $2.25MM buyout ($8MM option increased to $9MM when Barnes was traded, per Associated Press)
  • Club holds $3.625MM club option on IF/OF Jon Berti with $25K buyout (Berti can be retained via arbitration even if option is declined)

2024 financial commitments (assuming Berti’s option is the only one exercised): $24.625MM
Total future commitments: $107.625MM*

* Includes $30MM owed to Yankees as part of Giancarlo Stanton deal, to be paid from 2026-2028

Arbitration-Eligible Players (projections via MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz)

Non-tender candidates: Stallings, Hampson, Davis

Free Agents

The Marlins went 84-78 in 2023, just enough to squeeze into the Wild Card picture during the final weekend of the season. It would be fair to wonder whether the club was actually as good as that record would indicate. Their run differential was -57, which would be more in line with a 75-win club. Despite allowing more runs than they scored by a significant margin, they succeeded by going 33-14 in one-run games, a difficult tightrope to walk for an extended period of time.

Whether you think the club deserved their record or not, they will be challenged just to stay at that level. Sandy Alcantara required Tommy John surgery at the end of the season and will now miss the entire 2024 campaign. He wasn’t quite in his previous Cy Young-winning form in 2023, but the Marlins are nonetheless worse off without him.

There will likely be losses in the lineup as well. Each of Jorge Soler and Josh Bell have upcoming opt-outs that allow them to return to free agency. Soler’s deal originally had a $9MM salary for 2024 but he upped that to $13MM via plate appearance escalators. He hit 36 home runs this year and walked in 11.4% of his plate appearances, leading to a wRC+ of 126. Even though he’s not a strong defender, he should be able to parlay that platform into a strong multi-year deal. Whoever is in charge of the Miami front office will then have to decide whether to extend a qualifying offer to Soler, with this year’s QO likely to be around $20.5MM. If they decide to make that offer, he would be a borderline candidate to accept, but it may not be possible with the club’s financials. More on that later.

As for Bell, his season wasn’t quite as potent as Soler’s, but he finished strong. He hit .233/.318/.383 for the Guardians but then .270/.338/.480 after being traded to the Marlins. He is ineligible to receive a qualifying offer because of that trade. Given that, and the weak market for impact bats, he may be able to leave that $16.5MM on the table and find a multi-year deal of some kind.

Chairman Bruce Sherman will first have to find someone to navigate this, with general manager Kim Ng deciding not to trigger her end of a mutual option. It was reported that she did so because Sherman planned to hire a president of baseball operations to work above her, in addition to reported disagreements about some other staff decisions. Given that reporting, it’s possible he has someone in mind, but few details have been leaked about the front office search.

That makes it somewhat difficult to project what the winter plans are, but there will be some early decisions to be made, whether someone has been hired or not. The Soler QO decision is the only challenging one, however, as the others are fairly straightforward. Both Johnny Cueto and Matt Barnes had injury problems and poor results when on the field, so their options will be bought out. Jon Berti just had his second straight season of managing to produce more than 2 WAR in a utility role, so his option should be picked up. He can be retained via arbitration even if it’s not.

But after that, there will be bigger choices to be made about the club’s path forward. In terms of the financials, the 2023 Opening Day payroll of $93MM was the highest of the Sherman era, according to data at Cot’s Baseball Contracts. They are currently projected for a budget of $103MM next year, per Roster Resource. If Soler and Bell opt out and a couple members of the arb class are non-tendered, that number will drop down to around $70MM.

That will give the club some money to spend, but they will have to replace two key bats from the lineup. The Marlins scored 666 runs in 2023, better than just four clubs, while their wRC+ of 94 was better than just 10. With Soler and Bell perhaps set to become free agents, the Fish will need to find ways to add offense just to break even. Giving a qualifying offer to Soler risks tying up $20.5MM in one player when they have multiple needs to address.

In recent years, the focus has been on the Miami pitching staff and how it could be parlayed into an offensive upgrade. That may be a little trickier now that the club already made a significant move, flipping Pablo López and prospects to the Twins for Luis Arraez prior to 2023. With Alcantara’s surgery and trade of prospect Jake Eder, the rotation surplus doesn’t seem quite as robust as it did a year ago.

There is still a strong foundation there, with Jesús Luzardo, Eury Pérez and Braxton Garrett giving the club a strong front three, but it gets shaky after that. Trevor Rogers was excellent in 2021 but struggled in 2022 and then missed most of 2023 due to injury. Edward Cabrera has flashed a tantalizing strikeout-groundout combo at times but the walks have become a serious concern. Former first-round pick Max Meyer underwent Tommy John surgery in August of 2022 and missed all of 2023. Ryan Weathers, a former first-round pick of the Padres, has a 5.88 ERA in his major league career thus far. Sixto Sánchez was once a highly-touted prospect but has been limited to just one inning of minor league work in the past three seasons and is now out of options.

After the López trade in the last offseason, the Marlins pivoted to grab Cueto from free agency. Perhaps they find someone to trade in this group and try a similar path this winter. Cabrera is now out of options and could be plausibly flipped to a rebuilding club with the ability to be patient with his development, but that would likely leave the Marlins looking for at least one free agent starter, as well as relying on Rogers or Meyer to be healthy and effective.

If the Marlins look to add offense via free agency, catcher would be one obvious target. Jacob Stallings hit .210/.287/.290 over the past two seasons after coming over from the Pirates in a trade. Nick Fortes took over as the primary backstop in 2023. He didn’t hit much either but his defensive grades were generally strong. With Stallings about to turn 34 and set for an arbitration raise, it seems fair to expect the club to move on. Fortes is still is in his pre-arbitration years and can act as a cheap glove-first part of a catching tandem.

The free agent options aren’t amazing, but they are certainly more enticing than Stallings. Gary Sánchez had a strong second half with the Padres, hitting 19 home runs in 75 games, but should still be affordable. In 2023, he had to settle for minor league deals with the Giants and Mets. The latter selected his contract but designated him for assignment less than a week later. A waiver claim by the Padres gave him the chance to launch those 19 home runs and raise his free agent stock, but his season was ended by a wrist fracture in September, which could give some clubs pause.

Mitch Garver would be an excellent fit as a bat-first catcher, combining with Fortes behind the plate. But he hit well enough in 2023, including for the Rangers in the playoffs, that they may give him the qualifying offer. For an oft-injured catcher going into his age-33 season, it would be tough for him to walk away from over $20MM.

A player with a similar profile is Tom Murphy. He’s only been able to play 315 games dating back to the 2015 season due to various injuries, but he generally hits well when he’s in there. In 2023, he served as backup to Cal Raleigh of the Mariners, hitting eight home runs in just 47 games before a thumb sprain ended his season in August.

The Marlins could also look for an upgrade at first base, with Bell maybe opting out, Garrett Cooper having been traded and Yuli Gurriel now a free agent. Giving Bell a new contract would be one option, but the free agent market also features Rhys Hoskins, Brandon Belt, Carlos Santana and others. The club almost signed Justin Turner last winter and he is likely to end up triggering his own opt-out. But many of the available options are veterans best suited to a part-time role, also spending significant time at designated hitter. Hoskins is one of the younger ones in the group but he missed all of 2023 after tearing his ACL in the spring. Players like Rowdy Tellez and Dominic Smith could wind up non-tendered by their current clubs. Pete Alonso is the crown jewel of theoretical trade candidates but it’s hard to imagine him going to a division rival.

At the other infield positions, Luis Arraez should be back at second base and Jake Burger at third. Neither is an excellent defender but they both had strong seasons at the plate and the Marlins need their bats in the lineup. Shortstop is wide open at the moment, with Joey Wendle having struggled and now a free agent anyway. Berti and Garrett Hampson are still on the roster but better suited to utility roles than a full-time shortstop gig. Jacob Amaya struggled in his major league debut and had a subpar season in Triple-A.

Finding an everyday shortstop this winter won’t be easy. The free agent market doesn’t really have a viable option unless the White Sox turn down their option on Tim Anderson. But even then, he’s coming off a horrible season in 2023 where he had a .286 on-base percentage and just one home run. The trade market could theoretically feature names like Willy Adames, Ha-Seong Kim or Tommy Edman, but their respective clubs will undoubtedly set high asking prices given the weak free agent class.

The outfield picture looks a bit better, with Jazz Chisholm Jr. in center, flanked by Bryan De La Cruz and Jesús Sánchez. With Soler opting out, there would be room to add someone and perhaps push De La Cruz into a fourth outfielder/designated hitter role, but the club also has Avisaíl García still on the roster. His past two seasons have been disasters, with injuries and poor performance making him a sub-replacement contributor. But if the club thinks it can fit another outfielder into the mix, they could perhaps make sense for Adam Duvall, Tommy Pham or Jason Heyward.

The bullpen is losing David Robertson and Matt Moore to free agency, but they were midseason pickups anyway. Overall, the group is still strong, with four viable left-handers in the bullpen. Left-handed relief tends to always be in demand, so it wouldn’t be a surprise to see the Marlins call around to see if they can exchange one of Tanner Scott, Andrew Nardi, A.J. Puk or Steven Okert for offensive help.

Whoever is eventually hired to make the baseball decisions in Miami will have quite a to-do list. The club’s offense was fairly tepid in 2023 and could see Bell and Soler depart in the coming weeks. The Fish could use upgrades at catcher, first base, shortstop and perhaps an outfield corner, and likely won’t have a ton of money available for those pursuits. Amid all of that, the National League East is in strong shape, as Atlanta and Philadelphia are two of the best clubs in the league. The Mets had a down year in 2023 but have the resources to bounce back quickly and the Nationals will be emerging from their rebuild eventually. Although the Marlins are fresh off a postseason berth, there are plenty of questions and we don’t currently know who will be providing the answers.

In conjunction with this post, Darragh McDonald held a Marlins-centric chat on 10-26-23. Click here to read the transcript.

Rob Gardner Passes Away

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Former major leaguer Rob Gardner has passed away, per an obituary from the Press & Sun-Bulletin out of Binghamton, New York. He was 78 years old.

Gardner was a left-hander pitcher who played in the majors from 1965 to 1973, bouncing around the league as a frequently-traded journeyman. His career began as a starter with the Mets in 1965. He created a memorable piece of baseball trivia in his final start of that season, taking the ball for the Mets’ game against the Phillies in October 2. Gardner tossed 15 shutout innings, an unfathomable accomplishment in today’s game, as both clubs failed to score. It was eventually declared a 0-0 draw after 18 innings.

The southpaw served a swingman role for the Mets in 1966, tossing 133 2/3 innings with a 5.12 ERA, the largest major league workload of his career. He was traded to the Cubs for the 1967 season and then to Cleveland for the campaign after that, playing a limited role with both clubs. He was stuck in the minors for all of the 1969 campaign but was traded to the Yankees before the following season.

That set the stage for Gardner to create another memorable piece of trivia in the coming years, though not for anything he did on the field. He and Ron Klimkowski were traded to the Athletics for Felipe Alou in April of 1971. Gardner was traded back to the Yankees in May and stayed with them through the 1972 season. Then he was traded to the A’s yet again, this time with Felipe’s brother Matty Alou going to the Yankees, giving Gardner the distinction of having twice been traded from the Yankees to the A’s with one of the Alou brothers going the other way.

Gardner also spent some time with the Brewers in 1973, then spent a couple more years in the minors before hanging up his cleats. He finished his career with a 4.35 ERA in 331 innings, having struck out 193 opponents. After retiring from baseball, he spent time as a firefighter and paramedic in Binghamton. MLBTR sends our condolences to all his family, friends and loved ones.

The Opener: Baker, World Series Media Day, Marlins Outlook

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Here are three things to watch around the baseball world today…

1. Dusty to retire:

The Astros have a press conference scheduled for today where manager Dusty Baker will announce his retirement. Baker’s managerial career has seen him at the helm of five different clubs, starting with the Giants back in 1993. Most recently, he’s spent the past four years with the Astros, finally winning the elusive championship with them last year. Houston will now join the list of clubs looking for a new manager, alongside the Mets, Angels, Guardians and Padres. The Brewers may join that list if Craig Counsell ends up departing. He’s still under contract for a few more days but has been given permission to interview with the Mets while the Guardians are looking to get that permission as well.

2. World Series Media Day:

The 2023 World Series doesn’t begin until tomorrow, but there’s plenty to talk about. Today is World Series Media Day, with all the players and managers available to speak with the media ahead of the big event. Zac Gallen will take the ball in Game 1 for the Diamondbacks with Nathan Eovaldi on the bump for the Rangers. The D’Backs won it all in 2001, just their fourth season in existence, but this is their first time back since then. The Rangers have been to the Fall Classic twice before, in 2010 and 2011, but are still looking for their first title.

3. Marlins Offseason Outlook:

MLBTR’s Offseason Outlook series is almost complete, with the Marlins up next. That outlook will drop today, with the corresponding team-specific chat scheduled for 3:15 pm Central. You can click here to ask a question in advance, join the chat in progress or read the transcript after.

Cardinals Claim Buddy Kennedy From Athletics

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October 26: Right-hander Adam Wainwright has officially retired, per the transactions tracker at MLB.com. That appears to have opened up the 40-man roster spot to make this claim possible. Wainwright announced coming into the 2023 season that it would be his last.

October 25: The Cardinals announced that they have claimed infielder Buddy Kennedy off waivers from the Athletics.

Kennedy, 25, has a small amount of major league experience, getting into 40 games over the past two seasons with the Diamondbacks. He hit .206/.293/.299 in his 123 plate appearances while playing second and third base. He was claimed off waivers by the A’s in September, though they kept him in the minors on optional assignment.

The infielder has fared far better in the minors, including in 2023. He hit .318/.444/.481 in 417 Triple-A plate appearances while with the D’Backs, walking more than he struck out and producing a 133 wRC+. He slumped after getting claimed by the A’s, though in a small sample size of just 46 trips to the plate. In addition to playing second and third base, he also saw some time at first base and left field in the minors.

The Cardinals have plenty of multi-positional players on the roster but never seem to have enough, with players like Taylor Motter, José Fermín and Juniel Querecuto getting playing time in 2023. It is speculated that the Cards will put some of their position players on the trading block this winter, since they are in dire need of starting pitching upgrades. If that indeed comes to pass, adding Kennedy to the roster gives them an extra layer of depth to call upon when the time comes. Kennedy still has one option season remaining.

MLBTR Podcast: Adolis García, the Tyler Glasnow Decision and Bob Melvin

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The latest episode of the MLB Trade Rumors Podcast is now live on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts! Make sure you subscribe as well! You can also use the player at this link to listen, if you don’t use Spotify or Apple for podcasts.

This week, host Darragh McDonald is joined by Anthony Franco of MLB Trade Rumors to discuss…

  • The Rangers are in the World Series for the first time since 2011 (0:55)
  • Looking back on the journey of Adolis García (5:00)
  • What’s next for the Astros after dropping the ALCS? (7:40)
  • Bob Melvin reportedly moving from the Padres to the Giants (10:15)
  • Is Tyler Glasnow a trade candidate or not? (14:45)
  • The Offseason Outlook of the Dodgers (21:45)

Plus, we answer your questions, including…

Check out our past episodes!

  • Boston Searches for a Boss, Kim Ng and Surgery for Brandon Woodruff – listen here
  • The Mets’ Front Office, TJ for Alcantara and the D-Backs Extend Their GM – listen here
  • Mariners To Spend? Tigers To Contend? And Managerial Vacancies – listen here​

Guardians Interview Andy Green, Seeking Permission To Speak With Craig Counsell

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The Guardians have interviewed Cubs bench coach Andy Green as they continue their managerial search, reports Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic (X link). He joins Dodgers first base coach Clayton McCullough, Giants bullpen/catching coach Craig Albernaz and Yankees bench coach Carlos Mendoza among those who have met with Cleveland brass.

Cleveland could add a big name to that list. Will Sammon of the Athletic reports that the Guardians have requested permission from the Brewers to meet with the current Milwaukee manager. Craig Counsell’s contract with the Brew Crew runs through the end of the month, meaning the Brewers have to sign off on any such meeting. Considering they’ve already granted him permission to interview for the Mets job, they could well do the same with Cleveland.

This is the first time Green has been publicly reported as a managerial candidate since he joined David Ross’ coaching staff during the 2019-20 offseason. The 46-year-old has spent four seasons in the #2 job in Chicago after three and a half years leading the charge in San Diego. The Padres tabbed Green as manager entering the 2016 season.

A mostly-rebuilding San Diego team lost 90+ games in his three full campaigns. With the club en route to a fourth-place finish in 2019, the Padres fired Green in September. That led him to Chicago. In addition to his three-plus years managing in the big leagues, the former MLB infielder had managed in the Diamondbacks’ farm system early in the 2010s.

Counsell’s MLB résumé is far more robust, as he has led the Brewers to a 53.1% win percentage and five playoff appearances in parts of nine seasons. Even if he meets with Cleveland, they’ll face competition from perhaps the Mets and a Milwaukee organization that has made clear it hopes to retain its longtime skipper.

A belief that New York would be willing to offer Counsell a notable raise relative to his reported $3.5MM salary is among the reasons some observers believe he could wind up in Queens (as is the oft-noted connection to new president of baseball operations David Stearns). Sammon writes that the Guardians could be prepared to make a competitive financial proposal to Counsell after making Terry Francona one of the league’s higher-paid managers during his 11 years there.

MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

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