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Max Scherzer Scratched From Game 5 Start

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5:54 pm: At a pregame media session, Scherzer told reporters (including Mark Zuckerman of MASN) that he is also dealing with nerve irritation in his neck. The ace added that he underwent a cortisone shot that will take approximately 48 hours to kick in, seemingly putting to rest any hope he could return in Tuesday’s Game 6. He remains on the Nationals’ World Series roster, but those in attendance at this evening’s media session (including Todd Dybas of NBC Sports) seemed less than optimistic about his chances of returning by Wednesday’s potential Game 7.

3:36 pm: Nationals starter Max Scherzer, who was slated to start Sunday’s World Series game five, has been scratched from his start, according to Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle. In his place, Joe Ross will take the mound for the Nationals. Per Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post, Scherzer has been dealing with spasms in his neck and right trapezius.

Manager Dave Martinez told reporters that Scherzer began experiencing spasms last night, and woke up this morning in worse condition, rendering him unable to go tonight. Martinez also said that the Nationals will keep Scherzer on the roster in hopes that he shows enough improvement in the next couple of days to pitch in either game six or seven (if necessary). As of now, the Nats plan to start Stephen Strasburg in game six on Tuesday, with the possibility that Scherzer could be available in relief, or as the starter for a potential seventh game.

Martinez noted that Scherzer’s injury influenced his bullpen management in last night’s loss: he refrained from using Joe Ross, bracing for the possibility that Scherzer may not be able to start Sunday’s game. It’s also notable that neither Sean Doolittle nor Daniel Hudson, the Nats’ two most reliable relievers, has pitched since game one last Tuesday, meaning that Martinez might be able to stretch them out if he can’t get sufficient length from Ross.

Scherzer’s injury is a crucial development in a virtual must-win fifth game. With Gerrit Cole on the hill for the Astros, it was already going to be a tough game, but without their ace on the mound, the Nationals will have to count on Joe Ross, who found his stride in August and September. The freshness of the bullpen will help the Nats’ cause, with the possibility that both Doolittle and Hudson could be asked to get six outs each.

Pat Murphy In Consideration For Mets’ Managerial Opening

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With the Mets casting a wide net in the search for their next manager, another name has come to light as the rumored “mystery candidate.” Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports that Brewers bench coach Pat Murphy has already had multiple interviews with the team and is in the mix for the job.

Whether the talk of a “mystery candidate” elicits an eye-roll or curiosity, prepare to hear more of the same: Andy Martino of SNY reports that there are more unnamed candidates in the running, and that Murphy is not the “bombshell” candidate that has attracted so much speculation.

Murphy, 60, has worked as Craig Counsell’s right-hand man since the 2016 seaosn, a job he earned after a six-year tenure managing in the Padres’ minor-league system and serving as the interim Major League manager for 96 games in 2015. He has extensive experience coaching in the college ranks, serving as the head coach of the Notre Dame baseball program from 1988-1994 and coaching at Arizona State from 1995-2009.

Murphy will join a narrowing pool of candidates for the Mets job, though that pool is certainly being narrowed down. Eduardo Perez has been rumored as a “front runner” while Tim Bogar, Carlos Beltran, Luis Rojas, and Derek Shelton have all been brough back for second interviews. If that group indeed comprises the finalists, it appears the Mets will once again turn to a manager with no prior Major League managerial experience—depending on how one counts Murphy’s interim stint with the Padres. The team has considered candidates from a wide range of backgrounds, and after missing out on Joe Girardi, it’s a bit of an unusual group. However, the search seems to be nearing its conclusion, though a third round of interviews likely remains.

Quick Hits: JDM, White Sox, Rays, d’Arnaud, 2011 Draft

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As we all look forward to Game 5 of the World Series, let’s run through some noteworthy items from around the baseball world…

  • Should Red Sox slugger J.D. Martinez elect to opt out of the three years and $62.5MM remaining on his deal, the White Sox look like the “consensus” top suitor for the 32-year-old’s services, Rob Bradford of WEEI relays. At this juncture, it seems unlikely that NL teams would enter the Martinez sweepstakes given his shortcomings as a defensive outfielder. Of course, the lack of an NL market severely restricts the potential market for Martinez, a factor that he’ll surely consider as he weighs whether to enter free agency. What’s more: if he does, he’ll come with a qualifying offer attached, meaning that a signing team would have to surrender a draft pick to sign him. All those things make it markedly more difficult to identify realistic landing spots for the hitting virtuoso, though the White Sox may stand above the rest.
  • As the Rays prepare to embark on the offseason, they’ll have to evaluate Travis d’Arnaud’s role in their 2020 catching situation, writes Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. The ex-Met emerged as a surprising offensive contributor after he was acquired in a nondescript May trade, ending the season with a .782 OPS for the Rays. Fellow catcher Mike Zunino’s fate might depend on what happens with d’Arnaud, who has a chance to earn a two-year deal at a $6MM or $7MM AAV. If the Rays choose to keep him around at that price, Zunino may become expendable after a disappointing offensive season. Meanwhile, letting d’Arnaud walk would put pressure on Zunino to improve on the dreadful .544 OPS he posted in his first season with the Rays. Otherwise, the team could once again turn to external options.
  • When it’s all said and done, the 2011 first-year player draft may go down as one of the best in baseball history, writes Dan Connolly of The Athletic. It’s a timely retrospective, with the stars of the class on full display in this year’s World Series: the Astros’ George Springer and Gerrit Cole, as well as the Nationals’ Anthony Rendon, all came from the 2011 first round (Cole and Rendon, it’s worth noting, will also be the offseason’s two most sought-after free agents). Trea Turner, meanwhile, was a 20th-round choice the same year. And that’s not to mention the bevy of stars that play elsewhere in the Majors: Mookie Betts, Trevor Bauer, Francisco Lindor, and Javier Báez all come from the ranks of the 2011 draft, which also featured “what-if” stories like Dylan Bundy and the late José Fernández. Connolly also considers the pivotal selection of Danny Hultzen by the Mariners, which could have had a profound effect on the rest of the draft had they instead opted for Rendon, their second choice. The 2011 draft has already earned its place among the all-time great draft classes, which is doubly impressive considering that it’s collectively still in its prime years.

Angels To Hire Mickey Callaway As Pitching Coach

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9:30 pm: Though the club is still yet to announce the deal, Joel Sherman of the New York Post characterizes Callaway’s hiring as “official” (link). Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com also confirms the hire (link).

2:22 pm: The Angels have hired former Mets manager Mickey Callaway to be the new pitching coach, per Jon Heyman of MLB Network. He’ll join newly-minted manager Joe Maddon’s staff in Los Angeles. USA Today’s Bob Nightengale first mentioned that the two sides were close to an agreement. Per Nightengale, Callaway is stilled owed $1.05MM for the 2020 season by the Mets, who terminated his contract early.

Fired by the Mets just more than three weeks ago, It didn’t take long for Callaway to attract interest as a pitching coach, the role in which he made a name for himself. Though he’s drawn his fair share of criticism for his work leading the Mets over the last two seasons, he earned that position on the back of a half-decade of stellar work with the Indians’ pitching staff, which garnered him a reputation as one of the finest pitching coaches in the game.

Although Callaway and Maddon have never coached on the same staff, Callaway pitched for the Angels in parts of the 2002 and 2003 seasons, when Maddon served as the team’s bench coach. He also coached in the Indians’ dugout during the 2016 World Series, when his Indians were opposed by Maddon’s Cubs.

Between 2013-2017, the five years that Callaway served as the Indians’ pitching coach, no American League team managed a lower overall ERA than the Indians’ 3.65 mark. By all measures, Callaway’s Cleveland teams consistently ranked among the best pitching staffs in baseball. Of course, no small amount of that performance is owed to the superlative talents he had at his disposal: Corey Kluber, Andrew Miller, Carlos Carrasco, and others certainly put Callaway in an enviable position. Still, much of the development of Kluber, Carrasco, Danny Salazar, and Trevor Bauer came with Callaway at the helm; when he took over in 2013, Kluber was virtually anonymous, while Carrasco was a 26-year-old who had posted a 4.93 ERA in just 33 career games.

Red Sox Speak To Bryan Price About Pitching Coach Opening

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The Red Sox have made contact with former Reds manager Bryan Price about their vacant pitching coach position, according to Tim Brown of Yahoo Sports.

With Dana LeVangie transitioning to a role in the Boston scouting department, the next pitching coach will mark the fourth person to hold the post in the last six seasons. Certainly, the organization would like some stability in the position; we’ll see if Price is the man to do just that.

While Price’s track record as a manager is not especially inspiring, he’s generally well-regarded as a pitching coach. Prior to being hired by the Reds, he served as the pitching coach for the Mariners and Diamondbacks. All told, he has 13 years of experience as a pitching coach, so he seems to fit the qualifications for the Red Sox job. He was rumored to have attracted interest last offseason, but if hired, it would be his first MLB coaching job since the Reds fired him in April 2018.

Interestingly, the Red Sox are proceeding with the search for their next pitching coach while the organization’s general manager chair remains unfilled after the deposition of Dave Dombrowski. However, recent news from Boston indicates that the team may be leaning towards an internal candidate to succeed Dombrowski, so the front office may be in sync despite the lack a nominal GM.

Whoever the new pitching coach is, he will certainly have a number of intriguing weapons at his disposal. He’ll be tasked with getting Chris Sale, David Price, and Nathan Eovaldi back on track; all three have demonstrated their sky-high potential but stumbled through 2019, failing to live up to the hefty price tags to which they are attached. Of course, those costly starters aren’t going anywhere, and they’re undeniably instrumental to Boston’s future success, so Price’s approach to solving their issues will likely be a topic of discussion during the interview process.

Beyond that trio, Eduardo Rodriguez was perhaps the most dependable starter in the Red Sox 2019 rotation; at just 26, E-Rod may yet have his best years ahead of him. Much has been made of the barren bullpen mix, and it’s true that there’s considerable ground to be made up in that department; still, relief aces Matt Barnes and Brandon Workman comprise a fine pair of foundational relievers.

Mariners Shut Down Top Prospect Julio Rodriguez

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Mariners outfield prospect Julio Rodriguez has been shut down for the final week of the Arizona Fall League season due to a minor lower back strain, according to Greg Johns of MLB.com.

Evidently, the organization is handling Rodriguez much in the same way as it did Jarred Kelenic, who was likewise shut down after playing just three games in the Arizona Fall League. Johns also notes that another Mariners representative, right-handed pitcher Sam Delaplane, will also have his season end owing to triceps tendinitis.

Delaplane and Rodriguez were selected to participate in the league’s Fall Stars Game last weekend after impressive showings competing against other top prospects. Rodriguez, 18, has turned heads as the youngest player in the league. He has steadily climbed prospect lists after a stellar season in which he reached High-A ball—Rodriguez is now touted by MLB Pipeline as the Mariners’ No. 2 prospect—behind only Kelenic—and the 25th-best prospect in all of baseball. In 84 games across two levels of the lower minors, Rodriguez slashed .326/.390/.540 with 12 home runs.

Meanwhile, 24-year-old Delaplane has enjoyed a breakout season and had been enjoying increased exposure for his performance in the Fall League. He reached Double-A, where he threw 37 innings and struck out 58 batters with a minuscule 0.43 ERA. He’s followed that up with a strong AFL showing, having struck out 15 batters in eight innings of work.

Marlins Return Rule 5 Pick Julian Fernandez To Rockies

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The Miami Marlins have returned right-handed pitcher Julian Fernandez, who was selected in the Rule 5 Draft, to the Colorado Rockies, according to the Rockies’ official Twitter account. The move leaves 36 players on the Marlins’ 40-man roster.

Fernandez was originally selected by the Giants in the 2017 Rule 5 Draft, but was unable to pitch in the following season after suffering an elbow injury that required Tommy John surgery. In the 2018-2019 offseason, he was claimed off waivers by the Marlins. After suffering a setback in his recovery from surgery, he was again unable to pitch for the entire year.

Since he hasn’t spent any time on a Major League roster in the two years since he was selected in 2017, he will be returned to the Colorado organization.

Fernandez’s career has certainly followed a curious, if unfortunate, path. He’s now accrued two years of Major League service time despite not having thrown a pitch in the big leagues. And with Fernandez returning to Colorado, the Rockies have stumbled into an interesting arm. At 6’6″, Fernandez is a physical specimen who attracted interest for his ability to touch triple digits with his fastball prior to surgery. He’s still just 23 years old, though he’s now lost two critical years of development and hasn’t thrown a pitch above Class-A ball.

In his most recent season, 2017, Fernandez threw 58 quality innings for the Rockies’ Class-A affiliate, striking out 57 batters and notching a 3.26 ERA. His high-octane fastball led many to believe that he had potential as a high-leverage reliever, though of course that potential had to be put on hold. Still, he’ll be an interesting case to monitor moving forward: when he’s at full health, will he retain his electric fastball velocity? Where will the Rockies assign him in his return to action? It’ll be fun to see if he can carve out a role with his new/old organization, which first signed him when he was 16.

Athletics Announce Changes To Player Development Department

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The Athletics announced on Thursday that Keith Lieppman will step down from his post as director of player development and transition to a role as a special adviser to the front office. He’ll be succeeded by Ed Sprague, who has been promoted after serving as Lieppman’s assistant director for the last year.

Lieppman, 70, has become something of a legend within the Athletics organization, which he has served for nearly five decades dating to the early 1970s when the team drafted him in the second round. Between his years as a player, minor league manager, and executive, Lieppman has had his hand in decades of great Athletics baseball. He requested to step away from his position in order to spend more time with his family, recommending Sprague to replace him.

Sprague has served in the player development department for the last four seasons, first as an instruction coordinator before earning the title of assistant director for the 2019 season. He has also worked as the organization’s coordinator of on-field analytics, integrating the team’s analytic systems into the player development process. A former Major League All-Star, Sprague also served as the head coach for the University of Pacific prior to joining the Athletics.

Organizational figures like Sprague and Lieppman, who operate largely behind the scenes, often go unnoticed and under-appreciated since it’s awfully hard to quantify their contributions. Still, it seems that the Athletics’ player development department has enjoyed quite a bit of success with Lieppman at the helm. The current roster boasts a wealth of homegrown talent, including stars Matt Olson and Matt Chapman, with A.J. Puk and others on the way. Sean Manaea and Jesus Luzardo, though they were drafted by other clubs, have spent the majority of their careers with Oakland. Of course, that’s only recently: the organization has also drafted and developed stars like Barry Zito, Eric Chavez, Nick Swisher, and more.

NL Notes: Arenado, Cano, Mets, Nats

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When Rockies megastar Nolan Arenado inked a franchise-record $260MM contract extension in February, it was of course assumed that the opt-out clause in his contract was one of Arenado’s demands to increase his leverage. However, it’s since been revealed that it was Rockies GM Jeff Bridich, not Arenado, who pushed for the inclusion of an opt-out clause. At first blush, that’s a questionable negotiating tactic at best. If a team wanted to lock up its star player for the long-run, why would it give him the option to jump ship three years into the contract? The Athletic’s Nick Groke, who spoke to Bridich himself, can provide some insight into the GM’s thinking. It’s left to Rockies fans to decide if they’re satisfied with his justification, which draws on the organization’s history with big contracts for the likes of Troy Tulowitzki and Todd Helton. While Rockies brass aren’t yet concerning themselves with Arenado’s decision, they will have to if the next couple of years play out anything like 2019. With Arenado intent on winning and the franchise preparing for another uninspiring offseason, the outlook for 2020 and beyond may be hampered by apparent financial restrictions. For the time being, though, the possibility of an Arenado opt-out looms as the club embarks on the winter with hopes of returning to the postseason.

Here are the latest notes from the Senior Circuit…

  • It was a forgettable first season in Flushing for Mets second baseman Robinson Canó, one of the team’s crown jewels from last winter. Anthony DiComo of MLB.com reflects on the disappointing year for Canó while looking ahead to the future, which includes four more years of Canó, who turns 37 on Tuesday. While he seemed to find his stroke after the All-Star break, the overall numbers were still a far cry from the slugger that New Yorkers have come to know and love. Injuries no doubt played a considerable part in those struggles, with Canó landing on the injured list on three separate occasions, leading him to enter the offseason aiming to strengthen his legs. Still, the outlook for 37-year-old position players is not an especially promising one—and Canó won’t be given any breaks, given his hefty paycheck.
  • With the Nationals having punched their ticket to the World Series, they have some decisions to make regarding the roster and strategy for the Fall Classic. And they’ve been given plenty of time to ruminate on their options. Mark Zuckerman of MASN has a thorough roundup on the questions the Nats will have to answer in the coming days. Of course, their AL opponent will have some influence on the particular choices, but general manager Mike Rizzo and company are preparing plans for either scenario. A couple of bullpen spots could be up in the air, though the starting rotation’s dominance has thus far rendered those choices seemingly unimportant. But with the year’s most important games on the horizon, those decisions will not be taken lightly.

Phillies To Interview Buck Showalter, Joe Girardi, Dusty Baker

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Oct. 14: Showalter and Girardi are set to interview with the Phillies today, Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadelphia reports. Baker’s interview will take place later this week.

Oct. 13: With the Phillies beginning the interview process for their next manager, the team is set to interview Dusty Baker for the vacant position later this week, per Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune. Baker is currently serving as a special adviser to the Giants, who have granted Philadelphia permission to meet with Baker.

If the Phillies are seeking a manager with big-league experience, Baker surely fits the bill. At age 70, he comes with plenty of history to his name, having managed for 22 years and compiling a 1863-1636 overall record. If the Phillies were frustrated with Kapler’s approach to the game, Baker essentially represents his exact opposite.

He fits the trend of the names that have surfaced in the Phillies’ search for Kapler’s replacement. Between Buck Showalter, Joe Girardi, and now Baker, there’s a distinct pattern of traits that the organization seems to prioritize; namely, someone who can bridge the gap between “analytics and tradition.” That’s a reversal of the prevailing trend in Major League Baseball towards young, cheap, and inexperienced managers. And for a Phillies team that finds itself firmly in win-now mode, the list of candidates sends a clear message that owner John Middleton believes a seasoned managerial veteran can help his club secure a World Series win in the very near future.

For Baker, his Phillies interview will mark his first connection to an MLB managing job since the Nationals fired him after the 2017 season.

He’s previously managed the Giants, Cubs, Reds, and Nationals, winning an NL pennant in San Francisco, where he was thrice named Manager of the Year. He’s guided his teams to the postseason nine times throughout his career. The one thing missing from his timeless managerial career: a World Series title. With that in mind, there’s no doubt that Baker and the Phillies will be united in that goal.

Even so, it’s fair to question just how much interest Baker himself has in returning to an MLB dugout. He’s spent the last two seasons working as a special adviser in the Giants front office, and doesn’t seem to particularly miss the stress of handling a club’s day-to-day operations. And after more than 40 years spent as a player and manager, it would certainly be understandable if Baker was content to stay out of the business for good.

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