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Guardians Expected To Hire Chris Valaika As Hitting Coach

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The Guardians are expected to hire Chris Valaika as their new hitting coach, reports the MLB Network’s Jon Heyman. Valaika had been serving as the assistant hitting coach for the Cubs.

A former infielder, Valaika appeared in the big leagues with the Reds, Marlins and Cubs from 2010-14. (His younger brother Pat Valaika still plays in the majors and spent the 2020-21 seasons with the Orioles). Chris Valaika wrapped up his playing career after 2015 and moved into an administrative role with the Cubs not long after. He spent a few seasons as the team’s minor league hitting coordinator before becoming Chicago’s assistant hitting coach over the 2020-21 offseason.

After just one season on a big league staff, Valaika looks set to land the Guardians’ hitting coach position. Should a deal ultimately come to fruition, he’d replace Ty Van Burkleo, who served as Cleveland hitting coach from 2013-21 but was let go last month.

No Progress Yet On Extension Between Jose Ramirez, Guardians

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“There has been no movement to date” on a contract extension between Jose Ramirez and the Guardians, Paul Hoynes of The Cleveland Plain Dealer writes.  Ramirez is controlled via club option for both the 2022 and 2023 seasons, and the Guardians are sure to be exercising the 2022 option (worth $11MM) on the star third baseman in a matter of days.  While extension talks usually take place later in the offseason, Ramirez’s long-term future has been a topic of conversation, considering how Cleveland’s penchant for trading star players before they become too expensive for the team’s limited payroll.

Previous negotiations between the player and the team didn’t go anywhere last spring, though Ramirez has said on multiple occasions that he would like to remain in Cleveland.  Since the Guardians technically don’t have any salary committed for the 2022 season and beyond, there would appear to be payroll space to afford a Ramirez extension, even if a salary that would likely fall in the $25-$30MM average annual value range would take up a big chunk of the budget.  As to whether or not Ramirez could be a trade candidate this winter, the Guardians have tended to deal players when they’ve been a bit closer to free agency than two years, plus Cleveland does plan to contend next year.

Guardians Unlikely To Exercise Perez's Option

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Catcher Roberto Perez’s $7MM option for the 2022 season isn’t likely to be exercised by the Guardians, Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer writes in his latest mailbag column. Set to turn 33 in December, Perez has long rated as one of the game’s premium defenders behind the dish and looked to have turned a corner at the plate in 2019, when he hit .239/.321/.452 with a career-high 24 home runs. However, he’s limped to a .155/.253/.277 slash with eight homers in 276 trips to the plate since. Perez has missed significant time over the past two seasons due to a pair of shoulder injuries and, earlier this year, a fractured ring finger. It’s certainly plausible that the shoulder and hand injuries contributed to his decline at the plate, but a budget-conscious Cleveland club doesn’t seem likely to bet $7MM on a rebound — particularly when the buyout is a relatively light $450K. Cleveland has a more affordable, similarly defensive-minded backstop already on the roster in arbitration-eligible Austin Hedges. He’s projected by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz to earn a $3.8MM salary next season.

Padres To Hire Ruben Niebla As Pitching Coach

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OCTOBER 27: The Friars have finalized an agreement with Niebla, reports Dennis Lin of the Athletic (Twitter link). As expected, he’ll be the club’s pitching coach in 2022.

OCTOBER 24: The Padres “are locking in on” Indians assistant pitching coach Ruben Niebla as their next pitching coach, ESPN.com’s Buster Olney tweets.  The hiring isn’t yet official, though Kevin Acee of The San Diego Union-Tribune reports (via Twitter) that Niebla “is considered all but a done deal” to change teams.

Ben Fritz had been serving as the Padres’ interim pitching coach since Larry Rothschild was fired in late August.  According to Acee, the Padres are hoping Fritz remains with the team — Fritz had been working as the bullpen coach before his in-season promotion.  It remains to be seen how the rest of the coaching staff will shake out, as bench coach/third base coach Bobby Dickerson has already left the team to join the Phillies, and there could be a wider coaching shakeup once the new San Diego manager is hired (as presumably that new skipper would get some say in assembling the staff).

Niebla will already be in place, however, as the SoCal native will now be moving closer to home for his first official gig as a Major League pitching coach.  Niebla briefly served as Cleveland’s interim pitching coach in 2012, his highest rank in 21 seasons with the organization.  Much of that first decade was spent as a minor league coach before Niebla joined the MLB staff as a coaching assistant in 2010, and then following his interim gig in 2012, he worked seven seasons as a minor league pitching coordinator.  Niebla has been in his current role on the Major League coaching staff for the last two seasons.

At least one familiar face will already be there in San Diego to welcome Niebla, as former Indians hurler Mike Clevinger is expected to be back next season after missing 2021 due to Tommy John surgery.  On paper, San Diego has plenty of solid rotation options in place with Joe Musgrove, Yu Darvish, Blake Snell, Chris Paddack, Clevinger, Ryan Weathers, and (around midseason) Adrian Morejon, except injuries and general under-performance ravaged this group last year.

In the bigger picture, the Padres will also surely be looking to pick Niebla’s brain about some of the secrets of Cleveland’s success at drafting and developing pitchers in recent years.  While the Padres have had no shortage of promising young pitching prospects, they’ve had issues in converting that potential into success at the big league level.  (To wit, all of Musgrove, Darvish, Snell, Paddack, and Clevinger were acquired in trades.)

Guardians Expected To Hire Hitting Coach From Outside Organization

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  • The Guardians are on the hunt for a new hitting coach after parting ways with Ty Van Burkleo a few weeks ago. Paul Hoynes of cleveland.com reports that his replacement is expected to come from outside the organization. Searching for a hitting instructor is unfamiliar territory for the Guardians’ front office and manager Terry Francona. Van Burkleo had served in that role for the entirety of Francona’s tenure as Cleveland’s manager, joining the staff leading into the 2013 season.

Cubs Name Carter Hawkins General Manager

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Eleven months after Jed Hoyer was promoted from general manager to Cubs president of baseball operations in the wake of Theo Epstein’s decision to step down, the team has settled on a new general manager. The Cubs announced Friday that they’ve hired Indians assistant general manager Carter Hawkins as the 16th general manager in franchise history. Hoyer will still lead the team’s baseball operations department, but Hawkins will work closely alongside him and serve as the No. 2 executive in the team’s baseball operations hierarchy.

“I am thrilled to bring Carter into our organization,” Hoyer said in today’s press release. “He has earned a fantastic reputation as a leader through hard work, open-mindedness, humility and intelligence. I enjoyed getting to know him throughout the interview process, and it quickly became clear that we share the same passion for team building. I look forward to partnering with him to build the next great Cubs team.”

Though Hawkins is only 37 years old, he already has 14 years of experience working in Cleveland’s front office, working his way up the ranks from an internship to being the team’s player development director in 2014, and then a promotion to assistant GM in 2016.  He’ll now join a Cubs organization that has made no secret of its desire to upgrade its farm system and player development operations.

To that end, it perhaps isn’t surprising that both Hawkins and Indians VP of player development James Harris were each on Chicago’s reported short list of GM candidates.  Rays VP of player development/international scouting Carlos Rodriguez and Twins assistant general manager Jeremy Zoll were the other names known to be on the Cubs’ radar.  Hoyer said last winter that the team would wait to fill the GM role, since the circumstances of the pandemic made a proper interview process more difficult at the time.

Hawkins will now step in as Hoyer’s chief lieutenant as the Cubs begin what could be a fascinating offseason.  After a fire sale of veterans at the trade deadline, Chicago now has a younger and less expensive roster, though it isn’t yet known if the Cubs plan to use this available future payroll space to make an immediate splash for 2022.  Hoyer has stated that the team intends to “spend money intelligently” this winter, but the Cubs will also be “really active in free agency.”

Measured offseason spending is nothing new for Hawkins, as the Indians have a longstanding model of building through trades and homegrown prospects rather than major free agent signings.  Of course, the Cubs have a much larger revenue base than Cleveland, and a drastic cut in spending doesn’t (or shouldn’t) seem feasible considering that the Cubs have been regularly approached or surpassed the $200MM payroll mark in recent years.  This isn’t to say that the Cubs will immediately zoom back up to the $200MM threshold this offseason, but the plan seems to be for Hoyer, Hawkins and company to remodel the team’s minor league pipeline to the point that Chicago will have a steady run of young talent ready to augment whatever higher-priced veterans are on hand.

Britt Ghiroli, Patrick Mooney and Sahadev Sharma of The Athletic first broke the news that the Cubs planned to hire Hawkins and were finalizing a contract.

Ray Fosse Passes Away

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Longtime Athletics broadcaster and former All-Star catcher Ray Fosse passed away today at age 74, as announced by his wife Carol.  Fosse stepped away from the broadcasting booth back in August in order to deal with cancer, as Fosse revealed that he had been fighting with the disease for the last 16 years.

The official statement from the Athletics…

“The Oakland A’s are heartbroken to learn of the passing of Ray Fosse.  Few people epitomize what it means to be an Athletic more than Ray. He was the type of franchise icon who always made sure every player, coach, colleague, and fan knew that they were part of the Oakland A’s family. We send our deepest condolences to Carol, Nikki and Lindsey, his family and friends during this difficult time. We’ll miss you, Ray.”

A veteran of 12 MLB seasons from 1967-79, Fosse played for four different teams during his career, but is best known for his eight seasons with the Indians and three years with the A’s.  Fosse was a two-time Gold Glove winner and two-time All-Star during his time in Cleveland, with that first ASG appearance resulting in an infamous collision at the plate with Pete Rose on the final play of the 1970 Midsummer Classic.  The apocryphal version of the incident is that the collision allegedly ruined Fosse’s career, and though he did suffer lingering shoulder problems for years after the fact, Fosse did go on to play eight more seasons in the bigs.

Fosse’s three seasons in Oakland included World Series victories in both 1973 and 1974, and it led to a long post-retirement association with the A’s after his retirement.  Fosse called A’s games on TV and radio from 1986 until this past summer, becoming the voice of Athletics baseball for an entire generation of Bay Area fans.

Many social media tributes have already poured in from friends, fans, players, and colleagues paying homage to Fosse’s legacy in the sport, and to his personal friendships with so many in the game.  We at MLB Trade Rumors pass on our condolences to Fosse’s family and loved ones.

AL Notes: Mariners, Blue Jays, Hernandez, Indians

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The offseason has already begun for 13 American League teams, with plenty of speculation about what some contenders and would-be contenders might have planned for winter moves.  The latest buzz from the AL…

  • The Mariners seemed poised for their most aggressive offseason in years, and The Athletic’s Corey Brock and MLBTR’s own Steve Adams took a look at the potential shape of Seattle’s next additions.  The proposal is a major signing (i.e. Marcus Semien) and then a few other prominent but somewhat lower-level free agents (such as Anthony DeSclafani, Jonathan Villar, Alex Wood), augmented with some trades to help bench depth and left-handed bullpen depth.  It remains to be seen whether or not the M’s will target any of these specific players, yet an offseason like this would certainly make Seattle a better team in 2022, and still leave payroll room for any other upgrades at the trade deadline.
  • Semien’s future was also one of several Blue Jays-related topics covered by The Toronto Star’s Gregor Chisholm in his latest reader mailbag, with Chisholm opining that both Semien and Robbie Ray will be playing elsewhere in 2022.  Should Semien leave, the Jays could address the hole at second base simply by moving their third base candidates (Cavan Biggio and Santiago Espinal) over to the keystone, and then acquiring a new third baseman.  In response to another question, Chisholm believes the Jays will probably hold off on extension talks with Teoscar Hernandez simply because the team is prioritizing more near-term moves, like adding more salary this winter and exploring a long-term deal with Jose Berrios.  Hernandez is still controlled through the 2023 season, and the Blue Jays could be content to just go year-to-year with Hernandez since outfield replacements are comparatively easy to find, even if few hitters at any position have equaled Hernandez’s production over the last two-plus seasons.
  • Speaking of finding outfielders, the Indians have long been looking for some stability on the grass, and the Tribe seemed to solidify at least one position when they acquired Myles Straw from the Astros at the trade deadline.  That leaves the corner outfield spots still to be addressed, and “since the summer months, the front office has fixated on consolidating its prospect capital in an attempt to land an established outfielder in a trade,” The Athletic’s Zack Meisel writes.  Cleveland would likely prefer to work out that trade sooner rather than later, as November 19 is the deadline for teams to set their 40-man rosters in advance of the Rule 5 Draft, and the Tribe have a surplus of players who might require 40-man placement.  Whether or not an early trade can be found, however, isn’t clear, as Meisel notes that some around baseball feel teams will generally hold back on any major moves until there is more clarity about the next collective bargaining agreement.

Blue Jays Tried To Acquire Jose Ramirez, Robbie Grossman At Deadline

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In an article about the Blue Jays’ upcoming offseason, Shi Davidi of Sportsnet says that the club tried to acquire Cleveland infielder Jose Ramirez and Detroit outfielder Robbie Grossman at the trade deadline.

This comment came within the context of a discussion he had with general manager Ross Atkins about the lack of diversity in the Blue Jays’ lineup this season. Atkins stated that the righty-heavy lineup was better when left-handed hitters Cavan Biggio and Corey Dickerson were present. “It’s not just that they’re left-handed, but how we are attacked and potentially the pitchers that are used is different,” Atkins said. “Secondarily, we feel it’s important to have balance and not just the same type of hitters up and down your lineup. So some players that are more batting average driven and some players that are more on-base driven with plate discipline. Having both is exceptionally powerful.”

In the end, the Blue Jays only added pitching at the deadline, with Jose Berrios being the headline move. In the season’s final months, the club finished strong and ended up 91-71, just one game away behind the eventual Wild Card participants, the Red Sox and Yankees.

Ramirez and Grossman are both excellent hitters, making it hardly surprising that Toronto, or any club, would be interested in their services. Both certainly would have helped with the righty-heavy situation, as they are both switch hitters. Grossman is usually better as a righty but still above-average from the left side. For his career, his slash line as a righty is .273/.367/.409, wRC+ of 116, whereas the lefty line is .241/.346/.378, wRC+ of 102. This year, his production as a lefty was slightly better, coming in at 105 in terms of wRC+. But his production as a righty was significantly better, coming in at 135 by the same measure. Ramirez, however, is equally excellent from both sides. His career line as a righty is .292/.351/.500 for a wRC+ of 125. As a lefty in his career, he’s hit .272/.356/.502 for a wRC+ of 127. This year, his wRC+ was 139 as a lefty and 135 as a righty.

It is perhaps worth nothing that both players are still controlled by their respective clubs, making it possible that whatever trade scenarios were discussed could be revisited in the offseason, especially considering that the Jays are losing the aforementioned Dickerson to free agency, weakening their already-thin pool of lefty bats. Grossman and the Tigers agreed to a two-year deal before this season, leaving one year remaining at a salary of $5MM. The Tigers have been rebuilding in recent years, making it somewhat logical that they would consider parting with a veteran player who is approaching free agency. But on the other hand, after an awful showing in April, they went 69-66 over the season’s final months and could be looking to add rather than subtract this offseason. And the Jays aren’t especially desperate for outfield help, given they have George Springer, Teoscar Hernandez, Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and Randal Grichuk on hand.

Ramirez, for his part, is controlled through for two more seasons via a pair of club options as part of the extension he signed prior to the 2017 season. The $11MM and $13MM salaries for 2022 and 2023 are both absolute bargains for a player of his caliber, meaning they’re guaranteed to be picked up. However, that also means it will be difficult to pry him loose from Cleveland, even if it’s unclear how aggressive the team plans to be this winter. They finished the season with a lackluster 80-82 record, meaning there could be an argument for selling. But on the other hand, they suffered a large number of injuries to key players, especially in their rotation, and could expect better results in 2022. According to Cot’s Baseball Contracts, they also had an opening day payroll of under $50MM this season, lower than it’s been in a decade, meaning there shouldn’t be too much desire to strip it down even further. As much as he would slot nicely into a Toronto lineup that has Cavan Biggio and Santiago Espinal as its best third base options, it should take a tremendous trade package to make it happen.

The Blue Jays, for their part, should be able to take on some salary. When asked if the payroll could increase from this year’s $140MM range, Atkins tells Davidi, “That is our desire and that is our understanding.” That wouldn’t be unprecedented for the Toronto club, as their budget was over $160MM in both 2017 and 2018, before dipping as their recent rebuild picked up steam. Now that they’ve returned to contention over the past two seasons, it stands to reason that they would return to that level, if not surpass it. They only have about $65MM committed to next year, according to Jason Martinez of Roster Resource, though that’s before accounting for arbitration raises for players like Berrios, Hernández and Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

Atkins tells Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet that the Jays are looking to add to the infield and rotation, which makes sense given they are losing Robbie Ray and Marcus Semien to free agency in a few weeks. As to whether they have the cash to pull it off, Atkins told Davidi that the Jays could give out a “very significant deal with a lot of term to it, maybe more than one,” but also tried to tamp down expectations by saying that teams “need to have that five- and six-year understanding for what that means for the team and the organization.”

Indians Part Ways With Hitting Coach Ty Van Burkleo

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The Indians are parting ways with hitting coach Ty Van Burkleo, reports Zack Meisel of the Athletic (Twitter link). Meisel notes he’d been the longest-tenured active hitting coach in MLB. Assistant hitting coaches Victor Rodriguez and Justin Toole are expected to remain on staff, Meisel adds, but the club will pursue a new hitting coach from outside the organization.

The 57-year-old Van Burkleo appeared in the majors from 1993-94. Since retiring as a player, he’d worked in a series of coaching and player development roles, including stints as a hitting coach with the A’s and Astros and a season as the Mariners’ bench coach. Van Burkleo joined Cleveland entering the 2013 campaign, Terry Francona’s first year as Indians manager.

Francona has missed the end of each of the past two seasons because of health issues. He’s expected to return to the dugout in 2022, although he’ll do so without Van Burkleo alongside him for the first time in his Cleveland tenure. Francona and company have had plenty of success in recent years, including a 2016 American League pennant that saw Cleveland come within a game of their first World Series title since 1948.

The Indians had a disappointing 2021 campaign, though, tailing off after a solid start to the year. Cleveland had a below-average offensive unit, slashing just .238/.304/.408 (excluding pitchers). That mark ranked 22nd out of the league’s 30 clubs by measure of wRC+. Of course, some struggles at the plate were to be expected for a team that saw the departures of Francisco Lindor and Carlos Santana last offseason.

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