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Orioles Didn't Permit Red Sox To Interview Sig Mejdal

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The front office search was marked by several notable executives who declined to interview with the Red Sox, though McAdam writes that Boston had interest in a candidate that seemingly wasn’t given permission for an interview.  The Sox wanted to speak with Orioles assistant GM Sig Mejdal, yet the O’s “dragged their feet on the process and never provided the Sox with the go-ahead to speak with Mejdal,” according to McAdam.

The 57-year-old Mejdal has been with Baltimore since November 2018, and was one of Mike Elias’ first hires when Elias took over the Orioles’ front office as general manager.  Mejdal has been one of the key figures of baseball’s analytics movement over the last two decades, as his work with the Orioles, Astros, and Cardinals has led those clubs to tremendous results in maximizing talent and finding and developing young players.  As McAdam observes, it probably isn’t surprising that the Orioles wanted to keep Mejdal in the fold, even if most organizations generally allow employees to interview for promotions on other teams.  It isn’t known if Mejdal would’ve been open to an interview anyway, as there has been some past speculation that Mejdal is happy in a behind-the-scenes role rather than running a front office himself.

AL Notes: Astros, Angels, White Sox, Tigers, Orioles

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Dusty Baker might be finished as a manager, but the baseball lifer has a job in the Astros front office anytime he wants it. Owner Jim Crane told reporters (including Brian McTaggart of MLB.com) that Baker is “always welcome” in the Astros organization. Meanwhile, the long-time skipper said he is “retiring from the field” but hasn’t made up his mind about what comes next (per Chandler Rome of The Athletic).

As for hiring a new manager to replace Baker, the Astros are just beginning their search. Bob Nightengale of USA Today suggests that bench coach Joe Espada and former Tigers and Angels manager Brad Ausmus are “strong candidates.” Ausmus was a contender for the Astros GM position last offseason and the managerial opening back in 2020. Espada was another candidate in the team’s last managerial search, and he has interviewed for numerous other managing jobs in the years since. McTaggart also identified several contenders for the gig, including Ausmus, Espada, and Diamondbacks bench coach Jeff Banister.

More news from around the American League…

  • After four years on the Angels’ coaching staff (three as pitching coach), Matt Wise has accepted a new job as the bullpen coach for the White Sox, as first reported by Ken Rosenthal and Sam Blum of The Athletic. While going from pitching coach to bullpen coach might seem like a step backward, Wise was something of a sitting duck in the Angels organization. Los Angeles is looking to hire a new manager after parting ways with Phil Nevin, and that new manager will presumably want to hire a coaching staff of his own.
  • The Tigers, meanwhile, need a new first base coach. According to Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press, Alfredo Amézaga will not return to A.J. Hinch’s coaching staff next season. He joined the staff ahead of the 2023 campaign after previously working as a minor league coach in the Braves organization. Amézaga is also a manager in the Mexican Winter League.
  • Finally, over in the AL East, the Orioles made some changes in their scouting and player development departments. A dozen front office staffers were promoted to new roles, including Matt Blood, the new vice president of player development and domestic scouting; Koby Perez, the new vice president of international scouting and operations; and Anthony Villa, the new director of player development (per Roch Kubatko of MASN). Blood was the previous director of player development, while Perez served as director of international scouting. Villa was the minor league hitting coordinator in 2023.

Chris Holt Not Continuing As Orioles’ Pitching Coach, Remains Director Of Pitching

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Chris Holt will not return to the Orioles’ MLB staff as pitching coach, reports Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com. He will remain in the organization as its director of pitching, a position he has held concurrently with the pitching coach title for a few seasons. Assistant pitching coach Darren Holmes is departing the organization entirely, Kubatko adds. The rest of Brandon Hyde’s staff is expected to return for what’ll be the manager’s sixth season.

Holt, 44, has been with Baltimore since 2019. He had previously worked with the Astros, following former Houston executive Mike Elias to Baltimore when the latter was hired as general manager. Holt was named to the MLB staff going into 2021. The O’s apparently prefer to allow him to focus more consistently on the overhead role that allows him to work with MLB and minor league arms alike.

Holmes joined Baltimore going into the 2020 season as bullpen coach. He was bumped to assistant pitching coach a year later. The 57-year-old had a 13-year big league playing career and had previously spent a half-decade as bullpen coach of the Rockies.

The O’s are likely to add two new coaches to fill the vacancies on the pitching side. Otherwise, they seem set to run with the same group they had in 2023. Fredi González is the bench coach, while Matt Borgschulte and Ryan Fuller serve as co-hitting coaches.

Orioles Claim Tucker Davidson From Royals

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The Orioles announced that they have claimed left-hander Tucker Davidson off waivers from the Royals. The O’s already had an open roster spot and won’t need to make a corresponding move.

Davidson, 28 in March, was once a notable prospect in Atlanta’s system but hasn’t quite delivered on that hype just yet. That has led to a fairly nomadic couple of years, starting with a trade to the Angels as part of the Raisel Iglesias deal in 2022. But he was designated for assignment by that club a year later and was flipped to the Royals for cash. Now it appears the Royals tried to pass him through waivers but the O’s have swooped in and grabbed him.

The lefty was a starter as a prospect but worked primarily in relief in 2023, likely due to the fact that he was out of options and couldn’t be easily sent to the minors. The results in the bullpen were mixed. On the negative side, he finished the year with an ERA of 5.96 between the Angels and Royals, with a subpar 19.5% strikeout rate.

On the positive side, his 8.1% walk rate and 44.2% ground ball rate were both close to league average and he was in the 81st percentile in terms of limiting hard contact. His FIP and SIERA both came in at 4.27, suggesting his .358 batting average on balls in play and 63.1% strand rate both made his ERA look worse than he perhaps deserved.

The Orioles have a few left-handed options for their bullpen already, with Cionel Pérez, DL Hall, Danny Coulombe, Nick Vespi and Keegan Akin on the roster. But some of those guys have options or could perhaps still be considered for starting gigs. Adding Davidson gives them another option to add into the mix, though the O’s have also been known to claim players and then attempt to pass them through waivers later.

Bruce Zimmermann Undergoes Core Muscle Surgery

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The Orioles announced to reporters, including Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com, that left-hander Bruce Zimmermann underwent core muscle surgery today. He is expected to be ready for Spring Training.

Zimmermann, 29 in February, has pitched for the O’s in each of the past four seasons, tossing 158 1/3 innings with a 5.57 earned run average. In 2023, he spent most of the season on optional assignment. He made just seven appearances for the big league club, with an ERA of 4.73 in those.

He made 21 starts at the Triple-A level with a 4.42 ERA in 99 2/3 innings. He struck out 24.6% of opponents at that level, walked 8.7% of them and got grounders at a 45% rate. If not for a .377 batting average on balls in play and 67.1% strand rate, his results likely would have been better, which is why his FIP was over a run better than his ERA at 3.25.

The O’s had an excellent season in 2023 but starting pitching still stands out as a target area. Kyle Gibson and Jack Flaherty are both set to become free agents in a couple of weeks, leaving the O’s with Kyle Bradish, Grayson Rodriguez and Dean Kremer in three rotation spots. John Means finished the season with an elbow injury but would be in there if healthy next year. Candidates for rounding out the group include Tyler Wells, DL Hall and Cole Irvin, though Irvin will be out of options next year. Assuming Zimmermann is recovered by the spring as expected, he would be in that mix as well.

AL East Notes: Ryu, Wells, Yankees

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Hyun Jin Ryu isn’t ready to say goodbye to Major League Baseball. Speaking with Jeeho Yoo of Yonhap News, the 36-year-old pitcher didn’t offer much insight about his impending free agency, saying, “I don’t know what to tell you at this point. I think we’ll have to wait and see. Only time will tell.” However, while his comments weren’t very revealing, they make it sound like he isn’t planning to retire, at least without testing the waters of free agency first.

To that end, Ryu reconfirmed that when he is ready to leave MLB, he will return to the KBO to finish his career with the Hanwha Eagles. He played for the Eagles from ages 19 to 25. “I haven’t changed my mind on that,” he said. “I will absolutely make that happen.” Once again, his response implies that retirement isn’t on his mind quite yet.

Ryu signed a four-year, $80MM contract with the Blue Jays ahead of the 2020 season. The southpaw excelled during the first year of the deal, pitching to a 2.69 ERA and finishing third in voting for the AL Cy Young. He was solid but hardly ace-like the following season, posting a 4.37 ERA in 31 starts. Unfortunately, his next two campaigns were marred by injury. Ryu needed Tommy John surgery last summer, and he made just 17 starts from 2022-23. He was serviceable upon his return, rejoining the Blue Jays rotation for August and September, but his underlying numbers were worrisome (17% strikeout rate, 4.70 SIERA), and he failed to make the roster for the AL Wild Card Series.

Ryu will be 37 next season, but given his long track record of success and his dominant run from 2018-20, he should draw some interest this winter. If he doesn’t receive any offers to his liking, perhaps he’ll consider heading back to the KBO, but at least for now, it seems like he’s planning to pitch another MLB season in 2024.

In other news from the AL East…

  • Tyler Wells lost his job in the Orioles’ rotation this summer. He was optioned just ahead of the trade deadline, and he transitioned to a relief role at Triple-A. About eight weeks later, the towering right-hander earned a call-up back to the big leagues, where he made four scoreless appearances out of the Orioles’ bullpen. He made three more scoreless appearances in the playoffs, taking the mound in all three of Baltimore’s ALDS games. Yet in spite of his success out of the ’pen, the Orioles are expecting Wells to rejoin the starting rotation in 2024, according to Rich Dubroff of BaltimoreBaseball.com. In 20 starts last year, the 29-year-old pitched to a 3.98 ERA and a 4.28 SIERA. However, he looked much stronger over the first three months of the season before he ran out of gas in July. With another year of big league experience under his belt, the Orioles will hope he can stick around for a full season in the rotation.
  • In the latest edition of his Yankees Beat newsletter, Bryan Hoch of MLB.com touched on the team’s surplus of options in the middle infield. He suggests the Yankees could look to trade Gleyber Torres, but the possibility of dealing Oswald Peraza is not up for discussion. Torres is a talented second baseman, but he’s a known quantity at this point, whereas Peraza has untapped potential at the plate and in the field. What’s more, the Yankees only have one year of team control remaining over Torres, while Peraza won’t even be eligible for arbitration for at least three more seasons.

Orioles Sign Nate Webb To Two-Year Minor League Deal

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The Orioles have inked right-hander Nate Webb to a two-year minor league contract, per Robert Murray of FanSided. The deal reportedly includes an invite to Spring Training.

A 34th-round pick by the Royals back in 2016, Webb last pitched competitively in 2022, struggling to a 9.99 ERA in 33 1/3 innings split primarily between the Double-A and Triple-A levels with a worrisome 15.2% walk rate against a strikeout rate of 21.9%. Webb fared better in the Arizona Fall League that offseason, striking out six across 5 2/3 scoreless innings of work.

Webb was non-tendered by the Royals in November but signed on with the Pirates on a minor league deal shortly thereafter. Unfortunately for Webb, his entire 2023 campaign was wiped out after he underwent Tommy John surgery during Spring Training. Prior to his difficult 2022 season and subsequent surgery, he made his full-season pro debut in 2021 and had a solid season with a 3.94 ERA in 59 1/3 innings of work between the Single-A and High-A levels. He sported strong peripherals that year, including a 37.7% strikeout rate and a walk rate of just 8.9%.

Looking ahead, Webb will have the chance to prove his health with the Orioles this spring and headed into the season. When he’s healthy, the 26-year-old figures give the Orioles a depth option for their bullpen at the Triple-A level next season. Righties Joey Krehbiel and Mike Baumann and lefty Nick Vespi make up the club’s relief depth currently on the 40-man roster.

21 Players Elect Free Agency

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With the offseason quickly approaching, a number of players elect minor league free agency on a regular basis. Separate from MLB free agents, who reach free agency five days after the World Series by accumulating six years of service time in the big leagues, eligible minor league players can begin electing free agency as soon as the regular season comes to a close. Each of these players were outrighted off of their organization’s 40-man roster at some point during the season and either have been outrighted previously in their career or have the service time necessary to reach free agency since they were not added back to their former club’s rosters. For these players, reaching free agency is the expected outcome, and there will surely be more in the coming weeks. Here at MLBTR, we’ll provide occasional updates as players continue to elect minor league free agency.

Here is the next batch, courtesy of the transaction tracker at MiLB.com:

Catchers

Infielders

Outfielders

Pitchers

Nationals Hire Brad Ciolek As Sr. Director Of Amateur Scouting

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The Nationals have hired Brad Ciolek as their new senior director of amateur scouting, as initially reported by The Athletic’s Keith Law (X link).  Andrew Golden of the Washington Post was the first to report Ciolek’s specific new title, and he’ll work under another new hire in scouting director Danny Haas.  Both Hass and Ciolek worked together in the Orioles’ front office from 2012-19, with Ciolek only just leaving Baltimore after acting as the director of draft operations.

The Talk Nats blog also reported that amateur scout Reed Dunn is close to joining the organization, and Ciolek and Dunn are just two of several new hires within a significantly reshaped player development system.  President of baseball operations Mike Rizzo has been looking to upgrade how the Nationals identify and develop young talent, as the latest step in the team’s rebuilding process.  D.C. made some progress with the big league roster in 2023, but with contention still probably at least one more years away, figuring out how to add more quality prospects to the pipeline is of major importance.  Ciolek has plenty of experience on this front, as he contributed to the Orioles’ own rebuild, and the deep core of prospects that now has the O’s in great shape to contend for the next decade.

Anthony Santander Could Be Available This Offseason

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  • Orioles outfielder Anthony Santander has been a frequent target of trade speculation throughout his career as a reliable, quality outfield bat throughout the club’s rebuild. Though Baltimore broke through this season with a 101-win campaign that took them to the postseason for the first time since 2016, it appears rumors surrounding Santander will persist into his final offseason of arbitration eligibility. MASN’s Roch Kubatko suggests that given Santander’s hefty expected salary in 2024 (MLBTR’s Matt Swartz projects him to earn $12.7MM in his final trip through arbitration), Santander could be a topic of trade talks again this offseason. Kubatko goes on to note the Marlins as a team that’s had particular interest in his services in the past. The Marlins figure to once again have an opening in their outfield/DH mix this offseason, assuming Jorge Soler declines his player option for 2024.
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