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Hitting Coach Tim Hyers Leaving Red Sox

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Hitting coach Tim Hyers has declined the Red Sox’ offer to return in 2022 and will not return to the staff, reports Alex Speier of the Boston Globe. He’s instead exploring opportunities with other clubs. In his place, the Red Sox are set to promote assistant hitting coach Peter Fatse to the lead hitting coach role, per Steve Hewitt of the Boston Herald.

The 50-year-old Hyers has spent the past four seasons as hitting coach in Boston and spent the two prior seasons as the Dodgers’ assistant hitting coach. The Sox have been one of the game’s best offensive clubs during that time, and Speier notes that Hyers worked with both Mookie Betts and Xander Bogaerts to overhaul their approaches at the plate prior to the 2018 campaign. Hyers is the second coach to depart the Red Sox organization this offseason, as chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom already announced during his end-of-season press conference that first base coach Tom Goodwin wouldn’t return to the organization.

Fatse, 34, was a 2009 draft pick of the Brewers (24th round) after playing his college ball at the University of Connecticut. He spent two years in the Brewers’ system and another two years playing on the independent circuit before retiring as a player. He previously served as the Twins’ minor league hitting coordinator before being tabbed as the assistant hitting coach to Hyers heading into the 2020 season.

The Sox still need to replace Goodwin on the staff, and while they’ll handle the departure of Hyers with an internal promotion, they’ll still need to fill the assistant hitting coach role as well. There’s no indication yet as to how they’ll proceed. The team has not formally announced the shakeup to the hitting coach mix but figures to do so before long.

Rangers To Name Donnie Ecker Bench Coach

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The Rangers are hiring Donnie Ecker away from the Giants to serve as the new bench coach and offensive coordinator in Texas, reports ESPN’s Jeff Passan (via Twitter). Ecker has spent the past two seasons as the hitting coach in San Francisco.

Ecker, 35, was a 22nd-round draft pick by the Rangers back in 2007 and spent a couple seasons as a second baseman in their system before moving onto a two-year stint on the independent circuit. Since calling it quits as a player, he’s coached in the college ranks, worked on the Cardinals’ player development staff and spent a couple of seasons in the Reds organization. With Cincinnati, Ecker was an assistant hitting coach on the Major League staff and the organization’s overall director of hitting.

As bench coach, Ecker will be stepping in to replace the recently dismissed Don Wakamatsu, who’d spent the past four seasons as bench coach in Texas. The Rangers also parted with hitting coach Luis Ortiz at the that same time, and while Ecker won’t be the team’s new hitting coach, his previous work in that role and the newly created title of offensive coordinator indicate that he’ll play a vital role in developing offensive philosophies and methodologies throughout the organization.

The Rangers still have not named a new hitting coach to replace Ortiz, but to this point it seems that both assistant hitting coach Callix Crabbe and minor league hitting coordinator Cody Atkinson are remaining in the organization. The addition of Ecker is one of multiple organizational changes the Rangers are set to make this winter. They’re also reportedly hiring Josh Bonifay away from the Phillies to serve as their new farm director.

Mariners To Decline Club Option On Kyle Seager

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The Mariners have informed Kyle Seager that they won’t be exercising their $20MM club option on the third baseman’s services for the 2022 season, The Seattle Times’ Ryan Divish reports.  Seager will instead receive a $2MM buyout and enter the free agent market.

The team has yet to announce the move, but the front office informed Seager and his representatives at Jet Sports of the decision earlier this week. That notification followed the typical process for moves of this sort; after trying but failing to reach Seager personally over the phone, president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto contacted Jet Sports. Assistant general manager Justin Hollander then formally notified Seager of the buyout via email, as is standard procedure.

It brings an end to the longtime relationship between Seager and the Mariners, as he played 11 seasons for the M’s after being selected in the third round of the 2009 draft.  This long tenure has placed Seager among the likes of Edgar Martinez, Ichiro Suzuki, and Ken Griffey Jr. near the top of many of the franchise’s all-time statistical lists, as Seager has hit .251/.321/.442 with 242 home runs over 6204 plate appearances in a Mariners uniform.

Seager’s time in Seattle didn’t include any postseason appearances, however, and his performance did naturally dip as he got older.  Seager generated 13.8 fWAR over his first three-plus seasons, and then after signing a seven-year, $100MM extension in the 2014-15 offseason, has compiled 21 fWAR over the life of that contract.  (By Fangraphs’ valuations, Seager has been worth $267.5MM over his 11 seasons.)  Among the many inflammatory comments made by former Mariners CEO Kevin Mather in his infamous rotary club speech back in February, Mather praised Seager for being a good clubhouse leader but also referred to the third baseman as “probably overpaid.”

It seems like Mather’s opinion might have extended throughout upper management, given by Dipoto’s rather odd avoidance of the team’s longest-tenured player.  As Dipoto revamped the Mariners’ roster over the last few years, Seager was the last veteran remaining, in large due to a provision in his contract that would have turned the 2022 club option into a player option in the event of a trade.  In short, there didn’t seem to be much of a chance that the Mariners would exercise Seager’s option, and they will now move on to looking for a new third baseman (if Abraham Toro isn’t given a clear crack at the everyday job).

Seager turns 34 this week, and he’ll now make his first trip into the open market after a mixed bag of platform year.  Seager slashed only .212/.285/.438, with a career-high 24% strikeout rate and 29.6% whiff rate — disturbing numbers for a player who has been a pretty solid contact hitter for much of his career.  Seager’s hard-hit ball rate was also below average, though on the plus side, he did hit a career-best 35 home runs.  His third base glove has also remained strong in the eyes of the Outs Above Average (+4) and UZR/150 (+3.9) metrics, though Defensive Runs Saved (-3) wasn’t as impressed.

Editor’s note: This post has been updated to reflect that the Mariners’ front office followed the standard procedure for informing Seager his club option was being bought out, as Divish expressed in a follow-up thread.

Option Notes: Perez, Vazquez, Chafin

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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.

Some more notes on various contract options around the league…

  • The Red Sox hold a $7MM club option on catcher Christian Vazquez, but the price to retain their backstop was nearly a bit steeper. MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo points out that Vazquez’s contract called for that option to rise to $8MM upon reaching 502 plate appearances, but he fell just four trips to the plate shy of that mark. Chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom spoke highly of Vazquez in his end-of-season press conference, telling reporters: “It’s a hard position to check all the boxes and you don’t take for granted when you have someone who has shown that he can do it.” The 31-year-old Vazquez hit .258/.308/.352 with plus defense behind the dish this season, and based on Bloom’s comments imply there’s a good chance he’ll be back in the fold next season as well.
  • Andrew Chafin’s one-year, $2.75MM deal with the Cubs was structured to include a $2.25MM salary plus a $500K buyout on a $5.25MM mutual option. The contract, however, also allowed Chafin to pick up a $125K bonus for reaching 50, 55, 60 and 65 games in 2021. Chafin was heavily used both by the Cubs and then by the Athletics following a trade, and he ultimately reached all four of those milestones while wearing an A’s jersey. As such, he’s now sitting on a $5.75MM option for next season. Chafin will have first say of whether to exercise his half of the option and could very well decline in search of a multi-year deal, which would render it a moot point. (He’d get the $500K buyout even if he declines.) If not, the fact that the option is now $500K more expensive makes it even tougher for the cost-conscious A’s pick up their end in what could be an offseason filled with tough financial decisions. Oakland also holds a $4MM club option on fellow southpaw Jake Diekman, which is effectively a net $3.25MM decision for the A’s, given its $750K buyout.

Dodgers Plan To Decline Option On Joe Kelly

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The Dodgers hold a $12MM club option with a $4MM buyout on right-hander Joe Kelly, but Jorge Castillo of the L.A. Times reports that the team is planning to pay him the buyout rather than pick up the net $8MM option. Part of the reasoning, according to Castillo, is that the biceps strain which caused Kelly to be removed from the NLCS roster is significant enough that he won’t be ready for the start of the 2022 season.

If that indeed proves to be the case, it’ll be an obvious detriment to Kelly’s free-agent stock this offseason. The 33-year-old could’ve been in position to command another multi-year deal were he at full strength, and the Dodgers would have had to give some consideration to a net $8MM decision for next year. Kelly’s first season in L.A. (2019) didn’t go as smoothly as he or the team hoped, but he’s pitched to a 2.67 ERA with a 26.3% strikeout rate and a 9.8% walk rate over the past two seasons. He averaged 98.1 mph on his heater this year — his best mark since 2018 — and also notched a career-best 11.6% swinging-strike rate.

The possible departure of Kelly is just one layer of what looks like a large amount of turnover among the Los Angeles relief corps. The Dodgers also have each of Kenley Jansen, Corey Knebel and Jimmy Nelson up for free agency this winter, and it’s unlikely that they’ll retain all of those pending free agents.

Depending on how strong an effort the Dodgers make to retain that group, the late-inning picture will look quite different for Dave Roberts & Co. Blake Treinen could step into the closer’s role for the first time since departing Oakland a few years back, while flamethrowing Brusdar Graterol would likely be in line for a higher-leverage role. The Dodgers will also hope to have former Yankees setup man Tommy Kahnle play a prominent role in 2022. He inked a two-year pact with Los Angeles last offseason, and the Dodgers knew at the time that he’d miss the 2021 season while rehabbing from Tommy John surgery.

Turning back to Kelly, it remains to be seen just when he’ll be ready to go next season. If his outlook ultimately is strong enough that he can make it back to the mound relatively early in the season, he should still generate strong interest in free agency. Beyond the fact that he’s one of the hardest throwers on the free-agent market, Kelly has a lengthy track record of missing bats at a strong clip and limiting home runs at a far better level than the average reliever. Kelly has allowed just 0.63 HR/9 over the past five seasons; the league-average relief pitcher has yielded 1.20 HR/9 in that time.

Justin Miller Elects Free Agency

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Oct. 31: Miller has elected free agency, per the MLB.com transactions log. That was a foregone conclusion once he cleared waivers, as players with three-plus years of MLB service who are outrighted off the 40-man roster can become free agents at season’s end.

Oct. 28: The Cardinals have assigned Miller outright to Triple-A Memphis after he went unclaimed on waivers.

Oct. 25: The Cardinals are designating reliever Justin Miller for assignment, relays Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (Twitter link). The move was necessary to create space on the 40-man roster for Jordan Hicks, who is being reinstated from the 60-day injured list in a procedural move. Players must be activated off the 60-day IL before the start of the offseason.

St. Louis added Miller off waivers from the Nationals in early July. The 34-year-old tossed 16 innings of 4.50 ERA ball with the Cards down the stretch. Miller threw strikes at a solid rate but only struck out 13.2% of opposing hitters with a meager 9.3% swinging strike rate. A fly-ball pitcher, Miller allowed five homers in 19 innings split between Washington and St. Louis, although only two of those came in a Cardinal uniform.

Miller didn’t pitch in the big leagues in 2020, but he appeared at the highest level in five of the six seasons from 2014-19. The right-hander posted big strikeout numbers with the 2015 Rockies and 2018 Nats, but he hasn’t been able to lock down a long-term bullpen role over the past few seasons due to inconsistent performance and injuries.

The Cardinals will place Miller on outright or release waivers in the coming days. Should he pass through unclaimed, he’d have the right to elect minor league free agency as a player who has previously been outrighted in his career.

Albert Pujols Planning To Play In 2022

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Oct. 31: Pujols himself recently declared his intent to continue his playing career (link via ESPN). He notes that the decision to play in the Dominican Winter League for the first time is a matter of fulfilling a longstanding promise that he’d play there before retirement. However, Pujols emphasized that the timing of his DWL debut doesn’t mean his retirement is nigh.

“My time to retire hasn’t arrived yet,” said Pujols. “Why do I have to retire because someone tells me to? I’m going to do it on my terms and when I feel I can’t play anymore.”

Oct. 28: After 21 seasons in the majors, Albert Pujols isn’t quite done yet, as a source close to the veteran slugger tells Jeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register that Pujols “for sure” wants to play in 2022.  Pujols is already planning to suit up in the Dominican Winter League for the first time, to further show his readiness for any interested big league clubs.

Pujols will be a free agent this offseason, as the ten-year, $240MM deal he signed with the Angels in his last trip to the open market is now up.  The Angels paid handsomely for the superstar production of Pujols’ 11 seasons with the Cardinals, though his time in Anaheim was much less successful, as he batted only .256/.311/.447 over his 5053 plate appearances in a Halos uniform.

As his numbers declined, it seemed increasingly likely that Pujols would simply retire after his deal was up, though he found some level of a revival after joining the Dodgers.  After the Angels surprisingly released Pujols back in May, the Dodgers signed him shortly thereafter, and he carved out a new niche for himself in a platoon role.  While Pujols had only a .500 OPS against right-handed pitching in 2021, he was still very dangerous against southpaws, hitting lefties to the tune of a .294/.336/.603 slash line over 146 PA, with 13 home runs.

While 146 PA isn’t the largest of sample sizes, teams in need of some first base/DH depth could have interest in seeing what Pujols has left in the tank.  Though Pujols was able to land with the Dodgers even without the benefit of an available designated hitter spot, soon the entire National League might have need for an extra bat, should the universal DH become part of the next collective bargaining agreement.  For a relatively inexpensive one-year contract, teams could have a lefty-mashing veteran whose could also draw some extra fan attention, considering how Pujols continues to inch up the all-time lists in multiple categories.  Pujols has 679 career home runs, and after he hit 17 in 2021, Fletcher suggests Pujols might be motivated to see if he can crack the 700-homer threshold.

The first base market is fungible enough that trying to predict a landing spot for Pujols is difficult, though the Cardinals stand out as the obvious sentimental choice.  Paul Goldschmidt has first base now covered in St. Louis and the Cards’ lineup is already pretty right-handed as it is, but if there’s a DH spot to work with, more than nostalgia could be involved in bringing Pujols back for Yadier Molina’s last season (and could possibly also be Adam Wainwright’s last season).

Framber Valdez, Tucker Davidson To Start Game 5 Of World Series

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The Astros will turn to Framber Valdez to stave off elimination in tonight’s fifth game of the World Series, while the Braves will kick off a bullpen game with another rookie pitcher.  The Braves announced this afternoon that left-hander Tucker Davidson will get the start (or, more accurately, serve as the opener) in what will be Davidson’s first career postseason appearance, and only his sixth career games at the Major League level.  Davidson was added to the Braves’ World Series roster as an injury replacement after Charlie Morton suffered a fractured fibula during Game 1.

Davidson made one start for Atlanta in 2020 and then posted a 3.60 ERA over four starts and 20 innings this season, with his most recent MLB outing coming back on June 15 due to a forearm injury.  In fact, Davidson has only pitched one game total since that June 15 start, tossing three innings for Triple-A Gwinnett on the final day of the minor league season (October 3).

Though Davidson is one of the better pitching prospects in Atlanta’s farm system, obviously it’s anyone’s guess as to what he’ll be able to deliver on the mound, even in what might amount to just an inning of work.  That said, given how the rest of the Braves bullpen has stifled Houston’s lineup throughout the World Series, Davidson’s task is just to avoid disaster and then turn things over to his veteran teammates.

The Braves followed this same script in Game 4, as rookie Dylan Lee worked as the opener and pitched to four batters, recording one out and allowing a run on a hit and two walks.  Kyle Wright then entered the game to bail Lee out, and Wright proceeded to toss 4 2/3 innings of one-run ball.  A scoreless inning each from Chris Martin, Tyler Matzek, Luke Jackson, and Will Smith later, and Atlanta sealed a 3-2 victory and a commanding 3-1 lead in the Series.

Astros hitters have combined for a meager .206/.291/.298 slash line over the four games against the Braves, with only Michael Brantley and Kyle Tucker showing any consistency at the plate.  Starting the southpaw Davidson in Game 5 could be a preventative measure on Atlanta’s part against Houston moving the left-handed hitting Tucker up in the batting order, though the Braves have plenty of other left-handed options on their roster.

The lack of production from the usually-reliable lineup is the biggest issue facing the Astros, as their own pitchers have done a solid job of limiting Atlanta’s offense over the last three games, with only one victory to show for it.  In Game 1, however, the Braves hit Valdez hard for five runs over two innings, setting up a 6-2 Atlanta win in the Series opener.

It has been a roller-coaster of a playoffs for Valdez, who has been very shaky outside of his eight-inning/one-run gem against the Red Sox in Game 5 of the ALCS.  In Valdez’s other three starts this postseason, he has been torched for 11 runs over nine innings of work.  With the season on the line for the Astros, manager Dusty Baker may have a relatively quick hook for Valdez at the first sign of trouble, as Houston will have every available arm at the ready to try and get the Series to a sixth game.

East Notes: Mancini, Rojas, Bendix

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With Trey Mancini entering his final year of arbitration eligibility, there has been much discussion over whether the first baseman will remain with the Orioles or head elsewhere, either via trade or as a free agent next winter.  It isn’t clear if the O’s are willing to sign any veteran player (even the beloved Mancini) to a long-term extension as they continue their rebuilding process, though MASNsports.com’s Steve Melewski suggests that the team could split the difference by pursuing a shorter-term extension with Mancini.  Inking Mancini to a deal of two or three years would be especially beneficial if the Orioles became competitive earlier than expected, and an extension wouldn’t necessarily mean that the team couldn’t still trade Mancini down the road.  Indeed, teams might be more interested in acquiring Mancini if they knew they’d have him for more than just the 2022 season.

Of course, it isn’t known if Mancini himself would be open to such a shorter-term arrangement, though he has often said that he loves playing in Baltimore.  Mancini turns 30 years old in March, so in the event of a short-term extension, he would be delaying his free agency until at least the start of his age-32 season.  While a short-term deal would lock in some more money immediately, Mancini might prefer to bet on himself in 2022 and wait for a more lucrative, longer-term contract next winter.  Mancini has earned $4.75MM in each of the last two seasons and is projected to earn $7.9MM in his final arb year, so he already banked some financial security throughout his career.

More from the AL and NL East…

  • Speaking of short-term extensions, Miguel Rojas agreed to such a deal with the Marlins earlier this week, and now looks to make it nine seasons in South Beach.  While Rojas is a strong defensive shortstop, however, he noted to The Miami Herald’s Jordan McPherson and other reporters that “I’ll do whatever it takes for this team to be a winner,” even if that means a position change.  “I didn’t sign to be the shortstop or the third baseman or the second baseman,” Rojas said.  “I signed to be part of the team and to be of course a leader in that clubhouse, to help others that come here for the first time to be comfortable and to fit right in to what we’re doing here in Miami.”  The Marlins are hoping that Jazz Chisholm has second base covered for the foreseeable future, though Rojas’ flexibility gives the team a wider berth to consider other infield additions this winter and down the road.
  • Rays VP of baseball development Peter Bendix is staying in Tampa rather than pursue any other job opportunities with other teams, Marc Topkin of The Tampa Bay Times writes.  Rays executives have been popular hires around baseball, and Bendix had been mentioned as a possible candidate of interest for the Mets as their search for a new GM or president of baseball operations.  Bendix has been in his current role for the last two seasons, and part of the Rays organization since 2009.

Jerry Remy Passes Away

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Longtime Red Sox broadcaster and former player Jerry Remy passed away yesterday at age 68, as first reported by WCVB-TV Boston.  Remy had been battling lung cancer for over a decade, and in August stepped away from his announcing duties for further treatment.  Even during his most recent health issues, Remy made it to Fenway Park to throw out the first pitch prior to this year’s AL wild card game, a 6-2 Red Sox victory over the Yankees.

Remy has been the voice of Red Sox games on NESN since 1988, becoming a beloved figure in New England (in fact, fans even voted Remy as the ceremonial president of Red Sox Nation back in 2007).  In addition to his broadcasting work, Remy has also authored several books on baseball, as well as five children’s books starring Red Sox mascot Wally the Green Monster as the main character.

A native of Fall River, Massachusetts, Remy broke into baseball as a player, spending his first three seasons with the Angels before the Red Sox acquired him in a December 1977 trade.  Now playing for his local team, Remy reached the AL All-Star team in 1978, and went on to play seven seasons in Boston, becoming a fan favorite that extended into his work in the NESN booth.  Remy played 1154 games during his 10 years in the big leagues, with knee injuries hampering his ability to stay on the field in the last half of his career.

We at MLBTR pass our condolences onto Remy’s family, loved ones, and many fans around the baseball world.

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