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Padres To Hire Matt Stairs As Hitting Coach

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The Padres are hiring Matt Stairs as the team’s new hitting coach, FanRag Sports’ Jon Heyman reports (via Twitter).  Earlier today, FanRag’s Robert Murray reported that Stairs was the “strong favorite” for the job.

Stairs made his pro coaching debut in 2017, working as the Phillies’ hitting coach and drawing praise for his role in helping the team’s many young hitters.  Still, with Philadelphia’s coaching staff in limbo after Pete Mackanin was removed from the manager’s job, there was already speculation that Stairs could depart for a more stable position elsewhere.  Stairs will now move into another rebuilding situation with another collection of young players in San Diego, plus the added challenge of generating offense in traditionally pitcher-friendly Petco Park.

Stairs spent the 18th of his 19 big league seasons with the Padres in 2010, hitting .232/.306/.475 with six homers over 111 plate appearances.  The Canadian slugger played for 12 different teams over his career, hitting 265 homers and posting a very solid .262/.356/.477 career slash line, while also setting a new MLB record with 23 career pinch-hit home runs.

Jonathan Lucroy Switches Agents

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Jonathan Lucroy has switched agencies and is now being represented by Excel Sports Management, ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick reports (Twitter link).  The timing of the switch is particularly noteworthy as Lucroy is about to test free agency for the first time in his pro career.

Lucroy heads into the winter as the most accomplished catcher on the open market, though as MLBTR’s Jeff Todd recently analyzed in a Free Agent Stock Watch piece, 2017 wasn’t the best of platform years for the veteran backstop.  Lucroy suffered through a brutal first half of the season while still a member of the Rangers, though he picked up his offense considerably (.310/.429/.437 over 175 PA as a Rockie) after a deadline trade to Colorado, helping the Rox to an NL wild card berth.  Questions remain about Lucroy’s decline in power and his framing numbers, though since he is just 31 and has such a solid track record, he should be in line to score a solid multi-year deal.

Both Lucroy and the Rockies had a mutual interest in a reunion, and today’s news doesn’t necessarily have any impact one way or the other on Lucroy’s chances of remaining in Denver.  Notable Rockies DJ LeMahieu, Trevor Story, and top prospect Brendan Rodgers are all Excel clients.

This agency news is now reflected in MLBTR’s Agency Database, which contains representation info on more than 2,500 Major League and Minor League players.  If you see any errors or omissions within the database, please let us know via email: mlbtrdatabase@gmail.com.

NL East Notes: Braves, Baker, Asdrubal, Marlins

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Major League Baseball is expected to render a decision on its investigation into the Braves’ front office practices soon after the World Series concludes, FanRag Sports’ Jon Heyman reports.  “Just about every member” of the team’s baseball ops department has been interviewed by the league, including vice chairman John Schuerholz and president of baseball operations John Hart, the latter of whom has been interviewed on multiple occasions.  Owing to the uncertainty about Hart’s own future with the team, Heyman reports that Hart and the club have yet to begin interviewing candidates to replace John Coppolella as the new general manager.  Names such as Ben Cherington, Dan Jennings and Doug Harris have been linked to the Braves job, though it isn’t clear if any would still be candidates should Hart no longer continue with the organization.

Here’s more from around the NL East…

  • The way the Nationals went about not re-hiring Dusty Baker as manager is viewed by some around the team as a “train wreck,” FanRag Sports’ Jon Heyman reports in an in-depth look at the Nats’ decision.  Heyman dispels several rumors about why Baker was fired, as it simply seemed that it came down to the Nats again failing to advance past the first round of the playoffs.  GM Mike Rizzo “fought for” Baker to be given a new contract, according to one source, though Rizzo lost influence on managerial decisions due to his failed hire of Matt Williams.  Nationals players are “generally upset” both that Baker isn’t returning, and also at the controversy that continues to surround the team’s managerial decisions.
  • Asdrubal Cabrera wants to return to the Mets and is hopeful that the team exercises its $8.5MM club option on his services for next season, Kristie Ackert of the New York Daily News reports.  Though recent reports indicate that the Mets are likely to pick up Cabrera’s option, there hasn’t been any official word on between the team and Cabrera’s representatives, though the Mets said they would be back in touch after team meetings concluded.  Notably, agent Scott Pucino said his client has “accepted playing third base,” which is key to Cabrera’s future given that he was initially displeased over being moved off shortstop to accommodate top prospect Amed Rosario.  Cabrera would provide New York with depth at both second and third base as the team figures out its uncertain infield mix.
  • Jeff Conine won’t be returning to the Marlins front office, according to Clark Spencer and Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald.  A longtime fixture as both a player and special assistant in Miami, Conine and fellow assistants Andre Dawson, Jack McKeon, and Tony Perez were all fired by the team’s new ownership group but then, somewhat confusingly, were all approached by Derek Jeter about new roles with the club.  Conine said he turned down a position that offered half of his old $100K salary and less responsibility than his old job.  It isn’t clear if Conine will continue in his other role calling Marlins games for Fox Sports Florida, as he described that as a “totally separate deal” than his job with the organization.

Kapler, Wathan Among Finalists For Phillies Manager

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The Phillies have an opening in the dugout after surprisingly removing Pete Mackanin from that role and transitioning him to a front office role. Philadelphia had extended Mackanin just four months earlier, making the decision all the more unexpected. We’ll track the majority of the managerial chatter pertaining to the Phils here over the course of the search and update accordingly as the hunt progresses…

Finalists

  • If the Phillies opt for a manager with Major League experience, ESPN.com’s Buster Olney tweets that the “industry expectation” is that John Farrell will get the job.
  • MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki reports that Dodgers director of player development Gabe Kapler is also a finalist for the position, along with Wathan. Both impressed the Phils with their first interviews, and it sounds as if the Philadelphia brass will conduct one more round of interviews with this pair (and any other yet-unknown finalists) before making a final decision.
  • The Phillies are “zeroing in” on Triple-A skipper Dusty Wathan for the job, per Nightengale (via Twitter). He’ll join Kapler, at the least, in a second wave of interviews. Wathan only briefly cracked the majors as a player, but has once again climbed the minor-league ladder since moving to the coaching ranks with the Phillies back in 2008.

Will Interview/Have Interviewed (Still Under Consideration)

  • Recently fired Red Sox manager John Farrell interviewed for the position on Oct. 25, reports Zolecki. It’s not yet clear whether Farrell’s sitdown with the Phils will result in another interview.
  • Dodgers director of player development Gabe Kapler is also slated for an interview, as Zolecki reports. Kapler took his position with Los Angeles after missing on the team’s managerial opening, but has continued to be cited as a possible candidate elsewhere ever since.
  • The Phillies already have one strong internal candidate in Jorge Velandia, reports Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com. Currently a special assistant to GM Matt Klentak, Velandia interviewed for the opening on Wednesday and is a “strong candidate,” according to Salisbury, though other interviews are sure to be conducted with external candidates. Nonetheless, Salisbury writes that the 42-year-old Velandia is well versed in player development and has embraced the analytical side of the game. His work with Klentak and the rest of the front office should bode well for communication. He’s spent time on the Phillies’ big league coaching staff in the past and has also spent six seasons as a manager in the Venezuelan Winter League.
  • Current Phillies third base coach Juan Samuel has also interviewed for the opening, as Bob Brookover of the Philadelphia Daily News recently reported. Samuel, 56, has been on the Phillies’ coaching staff since 2011 after coming over from the Orioles, where he worked with Andy MacPhail, who was then the Orioles’ president and now holds that same role with the Phillies. Samuel spoke to Brookover about his own openness to incorporating more data-driven decisions into on-field decisions. “If you have something available to you that gives you an advantage over other clubs, you should definitely use it,” he said.
  • Both Salisbury and Brookover list Triple-A manager Dusty Wathan as another internal candidate that is expected to interview. It’s not known yet whether the 44-year-old has interviewed, but he’s spent the past 10 seasons managing at various levels throughout the Phillies’ system, so he obviously has plenty of familiarity with the Phillies’ homegrown players and a number of the front office execs that have been with the club for an extended period of time.

Preliminary Candidates (Interview Status Unknown)

  • The Phillies have spoken with Mariners third base coach Manny Acta, Jon Heyman of FanRag writes (and clarifies on Twitter). Acta, who managed the Nationals from 2007-09 and the Indians from 2010-12, was in the running for the Mets’ job before it went to Mickey Callaway.
  • In addition to a few of the other names already covered here, Heyman hears that the Phils have some level of interested in Red Sox bench coach Gary DiSarcina and possibly former Tigers manager Brad Ausmus. Boston is in the midst of its own managerial hiring process, with the club leaving coaches like DiSarcina free to explore their options with other organizations.
  • The Phillies are interested in speaking to Rockies bench coach Mike Redmond, per Heyman. There’s been no definitive word of an interview, but the former Marlins manager has been building his dugout resume since calling it quits as a player back in 2010. At 46, he’d give the Phillies a considerably younger voice than they’ve had under recent skippers like Mackanin, Ryne Sandberg and Charlie Manuel.

Not in the Mix/No Longer in Consideration

  • Ryan Lawrence of PhillyVoice.com reported recently that the Phillies won’t consider bench coach Larry Bowa or former GM Ruben Amaro Jr. for the post. Klentak has stated a desire for a “new voice” and a “new style” in the dugout, Lawrence notes, which wouldn’t be accomplished with the 71-year-old Bowa. As for Amaro, while he’d been previously connected to the role and is reportedly on the Tigers’ radar, Lawrence definitively characterized the chances of Amaro being on the team’s radar as nonexistent.
  • USA Today’s Bob Nightengale tweets that Phil Nevin is no longer in the running after interviewing recently. FanRag’s Jon Heyman tweets that Athletics third base coach Chip Hale, who also interviewed for the Philadelphia vacancy, has been eliminated from the running as well.
  • Indians pitching coach Mickey Callaway interviewed for the post but has since been hired as the new manager of the Mets.

West Notes: Taylor, Joc, Rangers, QO, A’s

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Mariners GM Jerry Dipoto understandably regrets the deal that sent Chris Taylor to the Dodgers,telling Matt Calkins of the Seattle Times that “it’s clearly the worst deal I’ve ever made.” The veteran baseball executive surely had little reason to expect Taylor to break through as he has, but he still says he “whiffed” by parting with such a controllable player for a pitcher (Zach Lee) that has not worked out.

More from out west:

  • He is playing for the Dodgers in the World Series, but Joc Pederson might conceivably not remain in Los Angeles beyond the present season, Joel Sherman of the New York Post writes. There are alternatives on hand, particularly in light of Taylor’s emergence, and the Dodgers could also look to add other pieces. Of course, the Los Angeles front office has thrived on ensuring plenty of depth and surely won’t just give Pederson away despite his struggles in 2017, though surely there’d be quite a few teams intrigued at the idea of buying low on Pederson’s powerful bat. Sherman also notes that the Dodgers were in on Yulieski Gurriel before he landed with the Astros, though Dodgers president of baseball ops Andrew Friedman says his team never formally bid on the Cuban star.
  • MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan looks at some recent Rangers players currently slated to hit the open market. As he notes, veteran knuckler R.A. Dickey could conceivably be a consideration for a reunion, though it’s not clear that the team will suit Dickey’s geographical preferences. More intriguingly, perhaps, Sullivan adds that Miles Mikolas — who excelled in Japan after leaving Texas — has left the Rangers “highly intrigued.” Elsewhere, Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News analyzes the team’s options at first base. Ronald Guzman could be an option alongside Joey Gallo, notes Grant, perhaps leaving the team interested in acquiring a part-time, right-handed-hitting option to join the mix.
  • First, the Rangers will have to decide upon a qualifying offer for righty Andrew Cashner. Despite some prior indications that the team might issue one, Jon Heyman of Fan Rag reports that’s not likely at this point. Similarly, says Heyman, the Reds are “leaning against” a QO for shortstop Zack Cozart — though the team is said to be willing to pursue a multi-year deal in free agency.
  • The Athletics may be looking into some intriguing extension possibilities, Heyman further reports. Young standouts Matt Olson and Matt Chapman appear to be in the team’s sights. While neither is really even approaching arbitration, let alone free agency, perhaps Oakland will look to find value by making an early-career guarantee or two over the winter to come. Otherwise, says Heyman, the A’s are focused on adding some pieces to the bullpen and perhaps getting a righty outfield bat over the offseason.

Tommy Milone Elects Free Agency

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Lefty Tommy Milone is now officially a free agent after electing free agency from the Mets, as Anthony DiComo of MLB.com reports on Twitter. With over five years of MLB service but no 40-man spot, Milone had the right to test the open market.

In search of innings, New York had claimed Milone in early May from the Brewers. He ended up missing a good bit of the season and struggling when available. Milone fared about as poorly at each stop, finishing the year with 48 1/3 innings of 7.63 ERA pitching and 38 strikeouts against 14 walks.

That said, Milone has had success in the past and ought to draw interest from teams seeking depth and swingman options. Prior to stumbling over the past two campaigns, the now-30-year-old southpaw had posted 619 frames of sub-4.00 ERA ball.

Diamondbacks Promote Jerry Narron To Bench Coach

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The Diamondbacks have announced their coaching staff under manager Torey Lovullo for the upcoming season. Most notably, Jerry Narron will take the open bench coach position.

Arizona needed to find a replacement for Ron Gardenhire, who departed recently to become the Tigers’ manager. The organization turned to Narron, who had subbed in for Gardenhire earlier in the 2017 season when the latter was sidelined by cancer treatment.

Narron had initially been tabbed to manage the Snakes’ top affiliate, but ended up staying with the MLB club during its Wild Card run even after Gardenhire returned. He has previously spent five seasons as a manager and eight as a bench coach, so this is familiar territory.

There’s only one other change in the D-Backs staff after a successful 2017 season. Ariel Prieto, who had served as a coach and interpreter, will be replaced by Luis “Pipé” Urueta. You may recall that Prieto was investigated for wearing an Apple Watch during the Wild Card game, though no wrongdoing was found in an investigation.

Cubs Hire Chili Davis, Brian Butterfield, Jim Hickey

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6:10pm: Hickey has evidently put pen to paper, as Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times tweets that the agreement is “official.”

5:30pm: Chicago is nearing agreement on a deal to bring Jim Hickey aboard as the new pitching coach, Patrick Mooney of NBC Sports Chicago tweets. Hickey long served as the Rays’ pitching coach, including a long run with Maddon. He had reportedly drawn interest from quite a few other organizations as well.

12:22pm: The Cubs announced today that they’ve hired former Red Sox coaches Chili Davis and Brian Butterfield to their staff. Davis will take over for hitting coach John Mallee, who will not return to the organization. Butterfield will be the team’s third base coach, replacing Gary Jones. Additionally, the Cubs announced that minor league hitting coordinator Andy Haines will be the team’s new assistant hitting coach, replacing Eric Hinske, who took a job as the Angels’ hitting coach earlier this week.

Davis and Butterfield were both a part of John Farrell’s coaching staff in Boston through the end of the 2017 season, but the Red Sox gave permission to Farrell’s staff to explore other opportunities. Their hiring in Chicago makes them the second and third members of the Red Sox 2017 coaching staff to take new jobs today alone; Carl Willis was named pitching coach of the Indians earlier this morning.

The 57-year-old Davis enjoyed a highly productive 19-year playing career as an outfielder and DH with the Angels, Giants, Yankees, Twins and Royals. He hit .274/.360/.451 with 350 career homers in just under 10,000 MLB plate appearances and won three World Series rings as a player (’91 Twins, ’98-’99 Yankees).

Since hanging up the spikes, Davis has also emerged as a well-regarded hitting coach, first taking the position with the Athletics (2012-14) before joining the Red Sox (2015-17). He drew interest from the Padres in the same role and has also been listed as a speculative managerial candidate at times. While there are many in the Boston organization that deserve some degree of credit, Davis was the primary voice guiding Boston’s rising crop of young bats, including Mookie Betts, Andrew Benintendi and Xander Bogaerts.

The 59-year-old Butterfield will bring more than two decades of coaching experience to the Cubs. He’s previously held various positions with the Yankees, Blue Jays and D-backs, serving as a first base coach, third base coach and bench coach at the Major League level.

Giants Announce Coaching Staff Changes

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The Giants have announced a broad shake-up of their coaching staff, which will remain under the charge of skipper Bruce Bochy. Most notably, perhaps, the team will shift long-time bench coach Ron Wotus to third-base duties while filling the resulting opening with Hensley Meulens, who had been the hitting coach.

Wotus has been on the San Francisco staff for two decades, most of it as the bench coach. He has filled that job under three different managers, in fact, and has often been cited as a managerial candidate himself. Now, though, he’ll cede the job to Meulens, who (per the announcement) will “take over the day-to-day administration and participate more directly with Bruce Bochy’s in-game strategy.”

In other moves, the Giants have added Matt Herges as bullpen coach and decided to keep Jose Alguacil (first base coach) and Shawon Dunston (replay/on-field instructor) in their current roles. The club bid adieu to Phil Nevin, who had functioned as the third base coach.

Additionally, the Giants have reassigned the rest of the pitching and hitting staff members. Long-time pitching coach Dave Righetti will move into the front office as a special assistant to GM Bobby Evans, with last year’s bullpen coach Mark Gardner taking on a “special assignment” role. Assistant hitting coach Steve Decker will become a baseball ops “special assistant,” per the club.

Evans explained the moves, which are fairly notable but perhaps aren’t all that surprising after a miserable 2017 campaign, as driven by a need to maintain the team’s “edge” in a highly competitive industry. It’s necessary, he says, “to constantly infuse new ideas and energy at every level of the organization, on the field and in the front office.”

There will be a few new voices in the dugout, too, though their identities remain undetermined at this point. In the wake of today’s announcement, the Giants still need to hire a pitching coach, hitting coach, and assistant hitting coach. The club says it is still conducting interviews for those jobs.

Agency Notes: Fernando Tatis Jr., Andrew Toles

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A couple of recent agency switches over in the NL West…

  • Padres top prospect Fernando Tatis Jr. is represented by MVP Sports, as ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick tweets. There had been indication that Tatis was changing representation, but it seems that is not the case. The 18-year-old wunderkind raked at a .281/.390/.520 pace as one of the youngest regulars in the Class-A Midwest League before receiving a late-season bump to Double-A. Tatis ranks as one of the game’s top overall prospects (No. 15 on Keith Law’s midseason top 50; No. 51 on MLB.com’s top 100; No. 101, per Baseball America). While Tatis has yet to make his MLB debut, it’s not inconceivable that the highly touted second-generation talent could do so late in the 2018 campaign. He figures to open next year in Double-A, so a midseason move to Triple-A or even a jump directly to the Majors from Double-A is plausible.
  • Dodgers outfielder Andrew Toles, who missed the majority of the season with a torn ACL, is now a client of Marc Anthony’s Magnus Sports, tweets ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick. Toles burst onto the scene with the 2016 Dodgers, hitting .314/.365/.505 in 115 plate appearances down the stretch before shining with an .878 OPS in 11 postseason contests. He was off to a slower but still-solid start in 2017, batting .271/.314/.458 with five homers in 102 PAs when he suffered the ligament tear while trying to preserve Julio Urias’ no-hit bid with a running grab in the left-field corner. Toles spent the remainder of the season on the 60-day disabled list, accruing big league service time after undergoing surgery to repair the ligament. He’ll finish out the year with a year and 87 days of MLB service time, meaning he’d be eligible for arbitration (at the earliest) following the 2019 season and eligible for free agency following the 2022 campaign.

This agency news is now reflected in MLBTR’s Agency Database, which contains representation info on more than 2,500 Major League and Minor League players. If you see any errors or omissions within the database, please let us know via email: mlbtrdatabase@gmail.com.

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