Blue Jays Interested In Andrew Heaney
The Blue Jays enter the offseason in search of starting pitching, with a few names of note trickling out in the early going. Jon Morosi of MLB.com listed the Jays as a suitor for NPB star Kodai Senga earlier this week, and Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet reports that southpaw Andrew Heaney is also of interest (Twitter link).
That’s hardly a surprise, as the Jays were one of the teams known to have pursued Heaney when he was a free agent last winter. The former first-rounder instead jumped early to join the Dodgers, inking an $8.5MM deal a few days into the offseason. Heaney will handily beat that sum this time around, as he showed immense promise during what may be his lone season as a Dodger.
Heaney pitched to a 3.10 ERA this past season, striking out an eye-popping 35.5% of batters faced. He’s always blended solid swing-and-miss stuff with decent control, but this year’s strikeout rate was on another level. Heaney also got a swinging strike on an incredible 16.8% of his offerings, the highest rate of any major league pitcher to top 70 innings.
It’s fairly easy to identify reasons behind that success, as he overhauled his pitch mix on the heels of a 5.83 ERA showing in 2021. Heaney developed a slider that instantly became one of the best offerings of its kind, and he turned to that as his go-to secondary offering. He scrapped his curveball and scaled well back on the use of his changeup, and the results were excellent. Heaney did still give up a fair bit of hard contact — an issue that has plagued him throughout his career — but he missed so many bats he managed an ERA just above 3.00 despite serving up 1.73 home runs per nine innings.
Of course, the black mark on Heaney’s ledger was a pair of injured list stints related to discomfort in his throwing shoulder. Those kept him to 16 appearances (14 starts) and 72 2/3 innings, roughly half a season’s workload. Had Heaney stayed healthy the entire season, he’d quite likely have received a qualifying offer from L.A. The Dodgers were concerned enough with his lack of innings they opted against making a QO, even as they extended the offer to fellow offseason signee Tyler Anderson.
That decision does boost Heaney’s free agent stock for other clubs as he enters his age-32 campaign. Signing him won’t cost a team any draft choices and/or international signing bonus space. He’s already gotten hits from a few rotation-needy teams, with the Jays joining the Mets and Red Sox as clubs known to have checked in.
Certainly, Heaney will be one of a number of players under consideration for the Jays this offseason. General manager Ross Atkins told reporters at this week’s GM meetings the team was looking to add to both the starting rotation and the relief corps (link via Keegan Matheson of MLB.com). That could obviously come via free agency or trade, with the team’s catching surplus sure to be a topic of frequent discussion.
Meanwhile, Nicholson-Smith tweeted this week the team has been in touch with Ross Stripling’s camp to express interest in bringing the swingman back. Stripling, who turns 33 this month, bounced back from rough 2020-21 seasons to unexpectedly emerge as one of Toronto’s more reliable arms this year. He started 24 of 32 outings, working to a 3.01 ERA with a slightly below-average 20.7% strikeout rate but a sterling 3.7% walk percentage across 134 1/3 innings. The veteran right-hander is a first-time free agent and looks to have pitched his way to a multi-year deal.
Toronto’s rotation will be anchored by one of the league’s top 1-2 punches: Kevin Gausman and Alek Manoah. The final three spots are question marks to varying degrees. José Berríos will occupy a rotation spot but will look to bounce back from a surprising 5.23 ERA showing. The internal favorites for the fourth and fifth spots appear to be Yusei Kikuchi and Mitch White, but neither should be a rotation lock for a hopeful contender. White was battered in 10 outings after being acquired from the Dodgers at the trade deadline, while Kikuchi pitched himself out of the rotation in a dreadful first season of a three-year free agent deal.
Reds, Kevin Herget Agree To Minor League Deal
The Reds are in agreement with right-hander Kevin Herget on a minor league contract, according to the MLB.com transactions log. He’ll presumably get an opportunity in big league Spring Training to compete for a roster spot.
Originally a 39th-round pick of the Cardinals in 2013, Herget has spent parts of 10 seasons in the minors. He earned his long-awaited first MLB call after inking a minor league deal with the Rays going into the 2022 campaign. The 31-year-old came out of the bullpen three times for manager Kevin Cash, logging seven innings of six-run ball. Outrighted off the 40-man roster at the end of the year, he qualified for minor league free agency.
While he didn’t get much work against big league hitters, Herget had an excellent year for Triple-A Durham. Starting 17 of his 21 outings, he pitched to a 2.95 ERA across 97 2/3 innings. Herget punched out a solid 24.4% of batters faced and only walked 3.9% of opponents. He’s now pitched five years at the highest level of the minor leagues, posting a cumulative 4.14 ERA over 380 1/3 frames.
Herget has spent most of his career working out of the bullpen, but he’s gotten more rotation work over the past few seasons. He averaged 4.65 innings per appearance with the Bulls this year and could serve as either rotation or long relief depth in Cincinnati. The Reds presently have Hunter Greene, Nick Lodolo and Graham Ashcraft as their top three starters, while the bullpen finished 28th in the majors with a 4.72 ERA. They’re sure to add a few more immediate big league options this offseason, but the lack of defined roles in both the rotation and relief unit makes Cincinnati a solid landing spot for quality depth players of Herget’s ilk looking to snag an Opening Day job.
Braves Designate Rylan Bannon For Assignment
The Braves announced this evening they’ve designated infielder Rylan Bannon for assignment. The move opens a 40-man roster spot for Nick Anderson, who has been signed to a one-year contract as previously reported.
Bannon has moved around the league over the past couple months. A longtime Orioles farmhand, he was designated for assignment by Baltimore in early August. He moved to the Dodgers and Braves in rapid succession via waivers. He didn’t play in the majors with L.A. and only suited up once for Atlanta, appearing as a late-game defensive substitution. Bannon only has five games of big league experience overall, but he’s attracted interest from a number of teams as infield depth.
A Xavier University product, he put together a .249/.367/.421 line over 411 Triple-A plate appearances this year. Bannon connected on 13 home runs and walked in a stellar 14.4% of his trips to the plate at that level. He punched out at a slightly elevated 24.3% clip, but he blended a very patient approach with decent power. The 26-year-old can’t play shortstop, though he’s capable of suiting up at either second or third base.
The Braves will now have a week to trade Bannon or look to run him through waivers. He still has a minor league option year remaining, so he could occupy a similar depth role he played this past season if another team is willing to hand him a 40-man roster spot.
Marlins To Hire Luis Urueta As Bench Coach
The Marlins plan to hire Luis Urueta as their bench coach, as first reported by Enrique Rojas of ESPN (Twitter link). He’ll join the staff of first-year manager Skip Schumaker. It isn’t clear whether previous bench coach James Rowson will remain on the staff or in the organization.
Urueta, 41, has spent the past decade and a half in the Diamondbacks organization. After a lengthy run coaching and managing in the minors, he was bumped up to Torey Lovullo’s big league staff heading into 2018. He was promoted to bench coach in 2020, a year that also saw him attract some attention from the Red Sox during their managerial search. After two years as bench coach, he was reassigned to a minor league instructional role last offseason.
The Colombia native now gets back to the highest level, joining Schumaker’s first MLB coaching staff. That’s beginning to take shape. Miami retained Mel Stottlemyre Jr. as pitching coach and agreed to hire Jon Jay as first base coach this week. Meanwhile, Jon Heyman of the New York Post reported yesterday (Twitter links) that former big leaguers Jody Reed and Rod Barajas are joining the staff. Reed will be the new third base coach, reports Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald (on Twitter), while Heyman adds that Barajas is taking on a quality assurance role.
Hitting coach is now the biggest remaining vacancy, as Marcus Thames departed to take the same position with the Angels this week. Heyman reports that Dave Hansen, a former MLB infielder and now a minor league hitting instructor in the Reds system, is under consideration.
Cody Stashak Elects Free Agency
The Twins sent reliever Cody Stashak through outright waivers, according to the transactions log at MLB.com. The right-hander has elected minor league free agency, tweets Dan Hayes of the Athletic. That’s his right as a player with more than three years of major league service.
Stashak has been a decent lower-leverage option for manager Rocco Baldelli over the past few years. He’s appeared in each of the last four seasons, although he’s only managed between 15 and 25 frames in each. In three of the four years, Stashak put up a sub-4.00 ERA with an above-average strikeout rate. The 2021 campaign was a disaster, but he bounced back with 16 1/3 frames of 3.86 ERA ball this year. He’d punched out 15 and hadn’t issued a single walk through May 22, but an impingement in his throwing shoulder sent him to the injured list.
The Twins announced a few weeks later he’d need surgery to fix a labrum tear. That ended his season, and he spent the second half of the year on the 60-day injured list. With the IL officially going away at the start of the offseason, Minnesota had to reinstate him onto the 40-man roster to keep him around. They’ve opted against doing so, instead cutting him loose.
Stashak has between three and four years of service, so he’d have been eligible for arbitration for the first time. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projected him for an $800K salary that’s barely above the league minimum, but the Twins weren’t prepared to carry Stashak on the roster all winter after his surgery. His departure leaves Minnesota with 36 players on the roster heading into next week’s deadline to add prospects to the 40-man in order to keep them from Rule 5 draft eligibility.
If Stashak’s healthy, he’ll be a solid strike-throwing arm for clubs looking to bolster their bullpen depth. He’s likely to land a minor league deal with a Spring Training invitation.
Rangers Interested In Top Free Agent Starting Pitchers
At the GM Meetings in Las Vegas, Rangers general manager Chris Young recently spoke with the media, including Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News, and said the club is going to explore all areas of the starting pitching market. Jon Heyman of the New York Post mentions some discussions between the Rangers and Jacob deGrom, while Jon Morosi of MLB Network also mentions deGrom, in addition to Carlos Rodon and Kodai Senga.
It’s hardly a surprise that the rotation will be a focus going forward, given that it was an obvious weakness in 2022. Texas starters posted a collective 4.63 ERA this year, placing them 25th in the majors in that regard. They got some decent work from Jon Gray and a career year from veteran Martin Perez, though Perez has now reached free agency and deprived the already-weak rotation of its strongest performer. There’s reportedly mutual interest in a reunion, with he and the club reportedly discussing multi-year pacts. But nothing has been finalized and he has now officially received a $19.65MM qualifying offer.
The club has already made one move to fortify the starting corps, acquiring Jake Odorizzi from Atlanta yesterday. Odorizzi hasn’t been great over the past three years, but he seems plenty capable of taking the ball and providing some decent innings. He had a 4.21 ERA in 2021 and a 4.40 mark in 2022 but got over 100 innings in each of those seasons and 143 in each year from 2014 to 2019.
If the Rangers and Perez can come to an agreement, he would form a solid three-headed veteran core with Gray and Odorizzi. The rotation would have a solid base but would be lacking a true ace. Perez posted a 2.89 ERA in 2022 but was at 4.38 or above in each of the previous eight seasons. Even if he has unlocked a pitch mix that leads to better results, maintaining a 6.5% HR/FB rate will be tough to do and some regression could still be in the cards. Gray dealt with some injuries this year but still made 24 starts and posted a 3.96 ERA with rate stats fairly close to his career marks. Dane Dunning could also be a factor at the back end of the rotation after he put up a 4.46 ERA over 29 starts this year. His health is a bit uncertain after his season was ended by arthroscopic hip surgery, but he can be an option if he’s healthy.
It seems the Rangers are willing to consider another bold strike to complement that group of serviceable pitchers. Last year, they showed they’re not afraid of such moves, giving Corey Seager $325MM over ten years and Marcus Semien $175MM over seven years. This year, it’s possible the big strike comes for an ace to lead the starting staff. That could come in the form a deal for Rodon, whom the club has already been connected to, with deGrom and Senga also being considered.
deGrom, 35 in June, certainly fits the bill of an ace, as he’s arguably the best pitcher alive when healthy. That health hasn’t always been present, especially lately, with deGrom missing over a year from July of 2021 to August of 2022. However, after his return, he showed that he can still be his dominant self, making 11 starts and throwing 64 1/3 innings. His 3.08 ERA was two full runs above what he did prior to his injury shutdown in 2021, but the peripherals were still very similar. His 42.7% strikeout rate and 3.3% walk rate were both still absurdly good and point to more elite results going forward. Given his health concerns and age, it’s possible he will be looking at short-term offers with his annual salaries. MLBTR’s Top 50 Free Agents list dropped yesterday with a prediction of $135MM over three years, which is $45MM per year.
That would certainly be one way for the club to go. Another would be a more traditional contract of greater length but less money per year. MLBTR projected a higher guarantee for Rodon at $140MM, though over a five-year term that would be significantly less on an annual basis, $28MM per year. Senga will likely require even less, predicted for $75 over five years, or $15MM per season. Of course, that would also come with its own kind of risk, given that Senga’s unproven against MLB hitters and not all NPB aces have found similar success after crossing the Pacific.
When talking about such figures, it’s worth taking a look at the club’s payroll situation. Roster Resource currently pegs the Rangers’ 2023 outlay at $122MM. Last year’s Opening Day figure was $142MM, per Cot’s Baseball Contracts, meaning they’re only about $20MM away. If Perez eventually accepts the QO, they’re suddenly even. However, Young has already spoken about how payroll is going to go up and they have been as high as $165MM in previous seasons. Ultimately, exactly how much they have to spend will play a factor in how they address the rotation. If they have, say, $45MM to work with, putting all those eggs into the deGrom basket would be a huge upgrade but wouldn’t leave anything left to address the outfield or bullpen. Regardless of the final number, it will be interesting to see how it plays out as the club looks to gain some serious ground in a competitive AL West.
Braves To Sign Nick Anderson
The Braves are signing right-hander Nick Anderson, according to Jeff Passan of ESPN. It’s a split deal where Anderson will earn $875K in the big leagues and $180K in the minors.
Anderson, 32, was one of the best relievers in the league over 2019 and 2020. Splitting his time between the Marlins and Rays, he pitched 81 1/3 innings over those two campaigns. In that time, he had a combined 2.77 ERA, along with absurd rate stats, striking out 42.2% of batters faced while walking just 6.5% of them.
Anderson has faced his share of struggles over the past two years, however. He was diagnosed with a partial UCL tear during Spring Training in 2021. He made just six appearances before going on the IL and never returned. He underwent a UCL brace procedure in October of that year and didn’t return until August of 2022. Upon his return, the Rays kept him in the minors until plantar fasciitis ended his season.
Anderson was eligible for arbitration this year, with MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projecting a contract of $845K, just a smidge above next year’s $720K league minimum. Despite that modest price point, the Rays were facing a roster crunch and decided to move on from Anderson. He was placed on waivers this week and cleared. Since he has over three years of MLB service time, he was eligible to elect free agency and did so.
For Atlanta, this is a low-risk, high-reward play. Anderson isn’t costing much, and would be huge value if he can rediscover his previous form. It’s possible that the injuries prevent him from reaching his previous heights, but in that scenario, they will have lost a small amount of money in MLB terms. If the gamble pays off, there will be long-term benefits, since Anderson could be retained for two more seasons via arbitration.
It’s possible Atlanta is facing an offseason of tight spending, despite five straight NL East titles. The club has never paid the competitive balance tax before, but their slew of contract extensions have pushed them close to the brink. The lowest CBT threshold for 2023 is $233MM, and the club is currently at $228MM, in the estimation of Roster Resource. It’s possible that the club is willing to pay the tax for the first time in order to retain Dansby Swanson at shortstop or else replace him. In the meantime, they’ve found a low-cost flier that could potentially help their bullpen.
Big Hype Prospects: Sheehan, Perez Jr., Kjerstad, Walker, Mervis
Our Arizona Fall League prospect coverage is coming to a close. The league wraps up its postseason this weekend. We’ll use this opportunity for one last peek at game action before affiliated baseball closes down for the year.
Five Big Hype Prospects
Emmet Sheehan, 22, SP, LAD (AA)
AFL: 20.1 IP, 8 BB, 24 K, 3.54 ERA
Arguably the top pitching prospect in the AFL, Sheehan had a shaky start to his fall season. He ended with a masterpiece: a five-inning, 10-strikeout gem. He allowed one hit and one walk in the outing. A right-handed changeup specialist, command is the main bugaboo when it comes to Sheehan’s development. His repertoire plays together in a way that should flummox hitters at all levels. As a Dodger, there is increased pressure to refine his command if he wants to stick in the rotation. Most clubs would comfortably view him as a future starter – one who might fumble a few games in the early innings but make up for it by dominating in others. The Dodgers could yet opt to turn him into a swing-man or reliever as they have with several able pitching prospects in recent years.
Robert Perez Jr., 22, 1B, SEA (A+)
AFL: 77 PA, 3 HR, .231/.338/.415
A slow-burn prospect whose calling card is power, Perez neither seized nor fumbled his opportunity in the AFL. The Rule 5-eligible first baseman has impressive power which he put on display by winning the first Fall Stars Home Run Derby. He performed well during the regular season – mostly at Low-A where he was a tad old for the level. His potent regular season and passable AFL campaign should lead to a promotion to Double-A early in the season. Whether or not the Mariners opt to add him to their 40-man, the right-handed slugger probably isn’t ready for a straight jump to the Majors via the Rule 5 Draft. Even in the AFL, he struck out 22 times in 77 plate appearances (28 percent).
Heston Kjerstad, 23, OF, BAL (A+)
AFL: 104 PA, 5 HR, .357/.385/.622
Few players had more to prove this fall than Kjerstad. Now that the smoke has cleared, he answered some questions and raised others. The left-handed hitting outfielder led the league in plate appearances and at bats. He recorded five walks and 31 strikeouts. Given the modest quality of pitching in the AFL, it’s fair to wonder about his combination of aggression and swing-and-miss tendencies. This is a long-standing issue dating back to pre-draft reports. He worked on it during the regular season – possibly to the detriment of his power. On-site observers raved about the quality of Kjerstad’s contact… whenever he connected. Between premium exit velocities, plenty of fly balls, and all those at bats, it’s no surprise he led the league in extra-base hits.
Such prospects succeed when they’re adept at making adjustments. Kjerstad should get his first taste of the upper minors at some point next season.
Jordan Walker, 20, OF/3B, STL (AA)
AFL: 90 PA, 5 HR, 3 SB, .286/.367/.558
While others had flashier showings, Walker was the talk of the AFL. He handled himself with poise while flashing a superstar ceiling – both by the traditional eye-test and via Statcast measurables. He likely could hold his own in the Majors as soon as next season. The Cardinals have been working on shifting him to the outfield in deference to Nolan Arenado. The main element lacking in Walker’s development is the easiest to supply – experience. He needs more opportunities to face and adjust to star-caliber pitching. Along the way, he’ll likely develop into a regular All-Star candidate.
Matt Mervis, 24, 1B, CHC (AAA)
AFL: 68 PA, 6 HR, 2 SB, .262/.324/.590
Of AFL participants (excluding Joey Wentz), Mervis probably has the best chance to open 2023 in the Majors. Including the regular season, he hit 42 home runs in 646 plate appearances this year. Remarkably, especially for the AFL home run leader, he fanned just eight times (11.8% K%) this fall. He also improved his strikeout rate continuously throughout the regular season. He began in High-A, where he recorded a 24.1 percent strikeout rate. That dropped to just 20.0 percent in Double-A and 14.6 percent in Triple-A. The low rate at his final stop coincided with an 8.7 percent swinging strike rate – far better than the league average. If Mervis can continue to avoid strikeouts while tapping into his power, he’ll have a bright future as a mid-lineup left-handed slugger.
Five More
Edouard Julien (23): Julien has been covered ad nauseum in this column. No prospect did more to further their claim to a future Major League role this fall. He’ll almost certainly be protected from the upcoming Rule 5 Draft. Julien’s combination of discipline, contact, sneaky pop, and sneakier baserunning are the traits of a regular. He still needs to settle into a position defensively – an issue that has arisen a few times in the Twins recent past (Luis Arraez, Jose Miranda, Nick Gordon).
Evan Reifert, TBR (23): Reifert allowed a hit in his final inning of work, closing out the season with 11.2 innings, 40 batters faced, one hit allowed, four walks, and 25 strikeouts. Despite a relatively low inning total, he had the second-most strikeouts. The showing will help put him in consideration for a Major League role next season. The Rays have a crammed 40-man roster, and Reifert isn’t Rule 5-eligible until next offseason.
Tyler Hardman, NYY (23): A developing slugger with potent pop, Hardman is coming off Player of the Week honors. Overall, he posted a .325/.373/.662 line in 83 plate appearances. Of qualified hitters, he had the fourth-best OPS. Contact and inconsistent defense at the hot corner hold him back from appearing on prospect lists.
Nick Gonzales, PIT (23): Gonzales dropped from the spotlight due to injury and flawed performance. His AFL stint allowed him to build on a solid first showing in Double-A. In both settings, he succeeded without truly impressing. Whiffs remain an issue for a second baseman who is heavily dependent on his offensive output.
Francisco Morales, PHI (23): Morales is an interesting AFL participant because the Phillies have already burned two of his option years. They’re likely assessing if he should remain on the roster at all. He was one of four pitchers to throw 10 or more AFL innings without allowing an earned run. He recorded 17 strikeouts with only four hits allowed in 10.2 innings. He also issued seven free passes. Those walk issues have haunted him on a regular basis.
Rays Hire Jon Daniels As Senior Advisor For Baseball Operations
The Rays announced to reporters, including Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post, that they have hired Jon Daniels as senior advisor for baseball operations. Daniels had spent many years with the Rangers until he was recently fired as president of baseball operations.
Daniels, 45, spent 17 years running the baseball operations in Texas, getting hired as general manager in 2005 and promoted to the POBO role in 2013. The Rangers had their best run of success with Daniels at the helm, as they made the playoffs in five out of seven seasons from 2010 to 2016, including trips to the World Series in the first two of those years. Since that time, however, the club has entered a rebuilding period that has continued to linger. They fell to 78-84 in 2017 and just endured their sixth straight losing season in 2022, with Daniels getting fired in August.
Despite the poor results in recent seasons, the Rays will bring Daniels into their front office mix. Said front office is headed by Erik Neander, president of baseball operations, followed by Peter Bendix, senior vice president baseball operations and general manager. The exact level of involvement they expect from Daniels is unclear, though Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times relays that Daniels will focus on “supporting baseball ops senior leadership while utilizing his extensive experience in the industry to help further inform decision-making.”
In addition to the hiring of Daniels, the Rays also announced several promotions and/or title changes, with Topkin giving a rundown on Twitter (link one, two and three).
Astros Fire Assistant General Manager Scott Powers
The Houston Astros have fired assistant general manager Scott Powers, reports Jeff Passan of ESPN. This comes on the heels of the firing of general manager James Click from earlier today. As noted by Passan, Click hired Powers away from the Dodgers back in January.
The Astros parting ways with Click was the first domino to fall in a surprising sequence of events following the Astros winning the 2022 World Series. Despite reports of friction between Click and owner Jim Crane, it had been speculated by many that a World Series victory would nonetheless be enough to overcome those tensions and keep the gravy train rolling. Instead, it seems that the hurdles have been too high to mount, despite the Astros emerging triumphant in 2022. After Click was removed from the picture, it had been hypothesized that some of his hires would also be let go, and that has indeed come to pass with Powers getting sent out the door behind Click.
Powers was the Dodgers director of quantitative analysis up until he was hired by the Astros in January of 2022. Also hired as an AGM at that time was Andrew Ball, who had worked with Click in the Rays’ system. No word has been released about his status but it’s fair to wonder at this point if Crane is determined at this point to dismiss anyone he deems to be a Click guy. It’s worth reiterating that Click was hired after the Astros’ sign-stealing efforts in 2017 came to light after the 2019 season. President of baseball operations Jeff Luhnow was fired and Click hired shortly thereafter. Although the team has continued performing well, it seems that things haven’t been as rosy behind the scenes. Despite the firings, Click and Powers and anyone else who ends up leaving will surely get plenty of interest from other teams around the league based on their track record of results on the field.
The Astros are now facing a large amount of front office turnover. In addition to Click and Powers, and whatever other moves may or may not be coming, a few executives have already departed for jobs with other organizations. A month ago, the Giants hired Pete Putila, another Houston AGM, to be their general manager. Oz Ocampo, a long-time scout and executive with the Astros, was recently hired to be an AGM with the Marlins.
This puts the Astros in a strange and perhaps unprecedented position. On the one hand, they are reigning world champions, having just hoisted the trophy less than a week ago. That’s just the latest success marker in a long run of results, as they have qualified for the ALCS in each of the last six seasons. On the other hand, they will have to quickly scramble to fill out a front office that is hemorrhaging members while making plans for their title defense in 2023.
Many have wondered if David Stearns could be a candidate due to a couple of factors. He recently stepped down from his role as the Brewers’ president of baseball operations and into a more advisory position, and also was an AGM with the Astros before going to Milwaukee. However, he is still under contract for one more year and has said he’s not going anywhere, reiterating that position today to Adam McCalvy of MLB.com. “I’m just going to reiterate what I said previously: I’m not going anywhere,” Stearns said “I’m committed to advising Mark [Attanasio, Milwaukee’s principal owner] and [general manager Matt Arnold] in any way I can. And that’s that.”