Dan Duquette

NL East Notes: Dombrowski, Phillies, Duquette, Diaz, Mets, Ibanez

By Mark Polishuk | October 28, 2022 at 12:02pm CDT

Dave Dombrowski’s contract as the Phillies’ president of baseball operations runs through the 2024 season, and it contains a special clause that would allow him to leave if offered a job with an expansion team in Nashville. However, in the wake of the Phils’ run to the NL pennant, there is obvious interest in keeping him in Philadelphia for many years to come, and an extension looks to be in the works. “There’s not a chance that we’ll let him get away,” managing partner John Middleton told USA Today’s Bob Nightengale.

Before Dombrowski finally agreed to speak with the Phillies in the 2020-21 offseason, Nightengale reports that the team had narrowed it search for a new front office boss down to Twins GM Thad Levine and former Orioles/Red Sox GM Dan Duquette. Levine was known to be a top candidate at the time of the search, but Duquette wasn’t previously known to be on the Phillies’ radar at all. Since parting ways with the Orioles after the 2018 season, Duquette was linked to the Pirates’ GM search before Pittsburgh hired Ben Cherington.

Pirates’ GM Search Reportedly Down To Three Finalists

By Dylan A. Chase | November 10, 2019 at 7:01pm CDT

Since the exit of longtime GM Neal Huntington on Oct 28, the Pirates have been connected to a number of respected front office figures in their search for a new head of baseball operations. Two names, Blue Jays VP of baseball operations/former Red Sox general manager Ben Cherington and Brewers assistant GM Matt Arnold, have been identified as two of three finalists for the position in a report from Joel Sherman of the New York Post (link).

Pirates assistant GM and current acting general manager Kevan Graves was named as a candidate in a separate report from Thursday, but it is unclear if he represents the third finalist, as Sherman only names Cherington and Arnold in his report. Blue Jays senior VP of player personnel Tony LaCava and former Red Sox and Orioles GM Dan Duquette have previously been mentioned as potential hires, but it appears that Pittsburgh has begun to narrow its scope.

Arnold had been reported as a speculative fit, but this is the first time he has been definitively placed in the running. A former director of player personnel with the Rays, Arnold has been working alongside Brewers GM David Stearns in his current role since October of 2015. Both he, 40, and Cherington, 45, would represent relatively youthful-yet-experienced additions to the Pittsburgh front office, in keeping with industry-wide trends.

As noted in our Offseason Outlook piece on Pittsburgh’s club, one of these finalists will face a challenging winter when they ultimately assume control of operations. After a 69-93 season that saw the club wrought with internal tension, it remains to be seen if the new Pirates exec will opt toward a full-scale rebuild via trades involving players like Starling Marte and Chris Archer, or if a more moderate re-tooling will be attempted in search of a postseason return.

Latest On Pirates’ Trajectory, GM Search

By Anthony Franco | October 30, 2019 at 10:57am CDT

Pirates owner Bob Nutting and new team president Travis Williams met with the media this week to discuss the organization’s direction. The team has already undergone its fair share of tumult this offseason, having fired manager Clint Hurdle and, a month later, cutting ties with general manager Neal Huntington.

Nutting and Williams were noncommittal on where the organization goes from here. Asked about the possibility of embarking on a large-scale rebuild, Nutting told reporters (including Adam Berry of MLB.com) “I think that’s a discussion with the new general manager as we chart that path forward. It is challenging to have continued success and retool at the same time as you’re focused on the field. Given where we are, with some of the young talent in the organization, we’re not in a traditional point in time to blow it up. But I do think we need to have every option on the table. There’s no question we need to have more talent throughout the organization.” That’s hardly a definitive declaration of an oncoming rebuild, but it’s interesting to hear the club reevaluating its options after reportedly not planning to shop one of its most valuable trade pieces, Starling Marté, just last week.

As Nutting indicated, the organization’s outlook will be up to whomever he and Williams tab as GM. The team president indicated that he plans to be relatively hands-off with regards off to baseball operations, as Berry recaps. Williams said his role in the organization is to surround himself with quality baseball minds, while limiting himself to “oversight and some checks and balances.” Kevan Graves has taken over as GM on an interim basis, and while Berry notes that some in the industry consider Graves to be a potential GM someday, there’s no indication the organization plans to turn things over to him permanently just yet.

Who is in consideration to replace Huntington? That’s still largely up in the air, of course, given how recently the club moved on from their longtime GM, who was involved in the hiring process for manager up until his own dismissal. Myriad names have trickled out, with Berry (in a separate piece) and Rob Biertempfel of the Athletic identifying some early candidates. Interestingly, both name Blue Jays senior VP of player personnel Tony LaCava and Brewers assistant GM Matt Arnold as options, echoing earlier reports.

Meanwhile, Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (via Twitter) adds former Orioles GM Dan Duquette to the list of people whom the organization has looked into. Duquette shepherded Baltimore between 2011 and 2018, overseeing one of the most successful clubs of the first half of the decade before the organization hit the skids in 2017. While there, he worked with former Pirates senior director of player development Brian Graham, whose contract with the Orioles expires this week. Graham tells Biertempfel he’d be interested in returning to Pittsburgh in some capacity, perhaps even as GM. While the front office has completely been reshaped since Graham’s time in the Steel City, Nutting remains as owner and surely has final say on all hiring decisions.

The organization clearly remains very much in flux, with little certainty likely to emerge until they settle on a new baseball ops leader. Whomever they choose, he or she will their work cut out for them trying to regroup after a dismal 69-93 season, as MLBTR’s Steve Adams explored in his Pirates offseason outlook.

The Mets’ GM Search

By Steve Adams | October 20, 2018 at 2:48pm CDT

Not long after longtime general manager Sandy Alderson stepped down from his post with the Mets earlier this summer, it became clear that the organization would conduct an extensive search to tab a new head of baseball operations. Assistant GM John Ricco and special assistants J.P. Ricciardi and Omar Minaya have been overseeing the team’s baseball operations department on an interim basis, but the Mets are now formally in search of a new department leader.

There have been multiple reports that owner Fred Wilpon is eyeing a more traditional general manager with scouting-based acumen (an “old school” type of executive, to use a broad description), while his son, COO Jeff Wilpon, is more focused on hiring an analytically-inclined executive that more closely aligns with recent industry trends. Per Jon Heyman of Fancred, the Mets are leaving some candidates with the sense that the new hire won’t quite enjoy a full slate of baseball ops power. As he puts it, the impression is that Omar Minaya or one of the other existing assistant GMs could retain control over player development functions. Team sources that spoke with Heyman denied that was the case, however.

As we’ve done with some recent managerial searches, we’ll track the majority of the updates in the Mets’ GM search here as they navigate the early phases of the process.

Latest Update — 10/20

Doug Melvin and agent Brodie Van Wagenen are the favorites to land the job, per Mike Puma of the New York Post.
Ng and Bloom are still being considered for the position, per Puma.
Littlefield, if not already eliminated, is considered a “long shot” at this juncture.
Close and former Mets GM Omar Minaya can’t “completely be ruled out” at this time, per Puma and Joel Sherman.

Latest Update — 10/19

It seems that agent Casey Close is also still in the mix. Martino tweets that he, Van Wagenen, Bloom, Ng, and Melvin appear to make up the finalists.
LaRocque is no longer under consideration, Marc Carig of The Athletic reports (Twitter link).
Agent Brodie Van Wagenen is still in the picture after receiving an initial interview, per Carig (via Twitter). (Carig initially tweeted the opposite, but amended his report.)
The Mets only consider Littlefield a “fringe” contender to land the position, per Mike Puma of the New York Post.
DiComo now tweets that Watson did not receive a call for a second interview and is no longer in the running for the position.

Earlier Updates — 10/19

The Mets have interviewed six to eight candidates and will enter the second round of interviews next week, per MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo (Twitter link). Fred Wilpon will join the interview process in place of John Ricco for the second wave of sitdowns. DiComo notes that Littlefield, Bloom, LaRocque, Watson, Melvin and Ng are the six known candidates to date.
It’s not fully clear whether all six to eight candidates who’ve interviewed are ticketed for a followup session, though. Andy Martino f SNY.tv writes that the Mets have not yet determined which of the first round interviewees will be spoken with next week. Interestingly, Puma tweets that the Mets plan to make each finalist available to the media after his or her second interview is completed, so it seems as though there’ll be some transparency in the latter stages of the process.

Have Interviewed/Will Interview

The Mets have interviewed Dave Littlefield for their front office opening, according to Marc Carig of The Athletic (via Twitter). Currently the VP of player development with the Tigers, Littlefield once served as the GM of the Pirates. Of course, his seven-year run at the helm of the Pittsburgh roster was not terribly successful.
Rays senior vice president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom has interviewed with the Mets, reports Mike Puma of the New York Post (Twitter link). Bloom has been with the Rays since breaking in as a 21-year-old intern and has steadily risen through the ranks, ascending to his current role not long after the departure of Andrew Friedman (who left to become the president of baseball ops for the Dodgers). Bloom would represent a radical shift atop the baseball ops department, bringing a more data-driven approach to the organization. At 35 years old, he’s half the age of his would-be predecessor, Alderson, and has been a frequent target in previous GM searches.
Meanwhile, MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo tweets that the Mets have sat down with Cardinals director of player development Gary LaRocque as well. The 65-year-old LaRocque is a widely respected veteran executive who previously served as a scouting director, director of player development and assistant GM with the Mets in the late 90s and early 2000s. LaRocque has been reported as a likely candidate for weeks.
The same is true of former Brewers GM (and current special adviser) Doug Melvin, according to Puma. He’s slated to receive an interview and, like LaRocque, would bring a more “old school” background to the table as the new general manager in Queens. Fancred’s Jon Heyman linked the two sides back in August.
Recently, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reported that De Jon Watson, who previously served as the senior VP of baseball operations under D-backs GM Dave Stewart and as an assistant GM with the Dodgers, will receive an interview. He’s currently working as a special assistant to Nationals GM Mike Rizzo. Puma tweets that Watson’s interview took place today.
Puma has previously reported that Major League executive Kim Ng is also expected to receive an interview. She’s been floated as a potential GM candidate for more than a half decade and has interviewed with a number of clubs in the past (including the D-backs, Phillies and Angels) and would be the first female general manager in league history.

Other Possible Candidates

Gordon Wittemyer of the Chicago Sun-Times has previously suggested that Cubs senior vice president of player development and amateur scouting Jason McLeod could have his interest piqued by the possibility of landing a GM spot in a major market. McLeod, a longtime associate of Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer dating back to the trio’s days in the Red Sox organization, has been touted as a future general manager for years. It’s not yet clear if he’ll have a formal sit-down with the Mets, however.
There’s been a surprising amount of speculation that the Mets could go extremely out of the box and interview high-profile player agents Brodie Van Wagenen (head of CAA Baseball) and Casey Close (head of Excel Sports Management). Joel Sherman of the New York Post and Andy Martino of SNY.tv have both discussed the possibility of hiring a prominent agent, with Martino indicating that the Mets have talked about both Close and Van Wagenen internally. However, there’s yet to be any indication that either representative will sit down with the team.
In a recent podcast, SNY.tv’s Andy Martino noted that the Mets could still add some candidates to their list from teams that are still alive in the playoffs, with Brewers assistant GM Matt Arnold being one possibility. The first wave of interviews is expected to wrap up shortly, though certainly if the Mets have substantial interest in Arnold or any other exec whose team is still in the running for the World Series, that interview wouldn’t align with the rest of the field.

Not Under Consideration

Indians GM Mike Chernoff had been expected to interview, but that won’t happen, Mike Puma of the New York Post hears. Dodgers executive Josh Byrnes also will not interview, Joel Sherman of the Post tweets.
The Mets reached out to Twins general manager Thad Levine in hopes of interviewing him, per MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand (Twitter link), but Levine declined to pursue the opportunity. Depending on the title the Mets bestow on their new head of baseball ops, it’s possible that Levine wouldn’t have technically have received a promotion; he already holds the general manager title, though Derek Falvey holds the top title in the Minnesota front office (chief baseball officer). Regardless, Levine won’t be leaving Minnesota — at least not for the Mets.
Similarly, former Red Sox general manager Ben Cherington won’t be receiving an interview after removing his name from consideration, per Martino. Currently the Blue Jays vice president of baseball ops, Cherington is open to new GM possibilities but would prefer to build an organization from the ground up, The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal recently tweeted. A third veteran executive, former Padres and D-backs GM Josh Byrnes, is also “uninterested” in the position, according to Martino. Byrnes is currently the senior vice president of baseball operations with the Dodgers.
Though there were initial reports that the Mets would interview recently dismissed Orioles general manager Dan Duquette, both DiComo and Martino have both since reported that Duquette will not receive an interview and is not a candidate (Twitter links).
If there was any doubt that the Mets would make an outside hire at the GM post, the Wilpons have plainly told the media that none of Ricco, Minaya or Ricciardi are considered to be candidates for the vacancy (Twitter link via Puma).

Latest On The Mets’ General Manager Search

By Mark Polishuk | October 4, 2018 at 3:25pm CDT

3:25pm: MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo hears differently regarding Duquette, tweeting that the longtime Orioles GM is not a candidate for the Mets’ job and is not in line to receive an interview. Martino agrees, tweeting “definitively” that Duquette will not be interviewed.

2:34pm: The Mets haven’t yet contacted Dan Duquette, though he is expected to receive an interview with the team, Mike Puma of the New York Post writes. As a further detail about Cherington, The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reports (Twitter link) that he also removed himself from consideration for the Giants’ search. Cherington is open to GM opportunities but would prefer the opportunity to “build an organization from the ground up,” per Rosenthal.

9:12am: The Mets are beginning to compile names and line up interviews to determine the identity of their next general manager, though Blue Jays VP of baseball operations Ben Cherington won’t be interviewing for the position, SNY.tv’s Andy Martino reports. While neither Cherington or the Mets commented on the situation, Martino hears that Cherington is happy in his current job in Toronto.

Cherington won a World Series during his tenure as Boston’s general manager (covering the 2012 season to August 2015), and joined the Jays in September 2016. He was linked to previous front office vacancies with the Twins and Braves over the last two years, though declined offers to interview for those positions; the Giants are also reportedly interested in Cherington for their current GM opening.

Cherington recently stated that while he was open to the idea of becoming a general manager again, he was enjoying his work for the Jays. There doesn’t appear to be much urgency on Cherington’s part to leap back into the fray of running a front office, and there seems to be enough consistent interest in his services that he can afford to pick and choose from potential situations.

The Mets have reportedly had interest in speaking to Cherington for weeks, though even if he isn’t a candidate, the club still has roughly 10-12 people under serious consideration to be their next general manager. MLB executive Kim Ng, Braves assistant GM Perry Minasian, Royals assistant GM Scott Sharp, and former Orioles GM Dan Duquette are just a few of the names who have been rumored to be on the Mets’ radar, and it was reported yesterday that former Rangers and Brewers GM Doug Melvin would be receiving an interview.

Cardinals director of player development Gary LaRocque is also expected to be interviewed in the near future, Fancred Sports’ Jon Heyman tweets. LaRocque was initially mentioned as a candidate of interest back in August, owing to his past tenure with the Mets organization from 1998-2008 and his 40+ years of experience in a wide variety of different scouting, front office, and on-field roles in the Dodgers, Mets, and Cardinals organizations.

Dan Duquette Won’t Return To Orioles; Team Will Hire New GM From Outside Organization

By Steve Adams | October 3, 2018 at 7:10pm CDT

7:10pm: The Orioles have announced that neither Duquette nor Showalter will be retained for the 2019 season. Director of player development Brian Graham will oversee baseball operations while the team conducts a search for an outside hire. He’s been with the team since 2007 and previously served as an interim GM for the Pirates as well.

“The club will hire an executive from outside of the organization to lead the Baseball Operations department,” the Orioles said in tonight’s press release. “Once in place, this individual will have the final determination on all baseball matters that he or she believes will make the Orioles successful on the field, entertaining to fans, and impactful in the community.”

5:06pm: The Orioles have indeed moved on from Duquette, tweets Fancred’s Jon Heyman.

4:59pm: Not only will the Orioles reportedly part ways with manager Buck Showalter, they’re also “expected to let go” executive vice president/general manager Dan Duquette, reports Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Like Showalter, Duquette’s contract expires at the end of the 2018 season. However, while reports in recent weeks had largely indicated that Showalter was likely to depart, the general sense was that the organization would hang onto Duquette. Instead, it now seems that the Orioles will be looking for both a new field manager and a new head of baseball operations this offseason.

Duquette, 60, has been with the O’s since the 2011 season and helped to orchestrate three postseason appearances, including an AL East division title in 2014. That said, Duquette’s fingerprints are also on the 2018 season’s MLB-worst 47-115 team — the fewest wins in franchise history. Not all of that disappointment can be placed on Duquette alone, as owner Peter Angelos has had his own detrimental impact on the organization at times. While Angelos gave the front office plenty of payroll capacity with which to work, he also reportedly had little interest in investing on the international amateur free agent market and was also said to be instrumental in bringing back Chris Davis on what is perhaps baseball’s worst contract at this point.

Duquette’s tenure with the O’s featured some notable successes — e.g. signing Nelson Cruz when his market collapsed in the 2013-14 offseason, extending J.J. Hardy, the initial acquisition of Mark Trumbo for pennies on the dollar — but there were as many, if not more missteps along the way as well. Free-agent deals for Ubaldo Jimenez and Yovani Gallardo proved to be busts, and the trade sending Jake Arrieta to the Cubs will go down as one of the more lopsided swaps in recent history, even if Arrieta had plenty of chances in Baltimore and was considered to be a project at the time of the deal.

Whoever steps into the GM chair in Baltimore, be it vice president Brady Anderson or an outside hire, will take over a rebuild that Duquette kicked off in earnest this past summer with the trade of Manny Machado to the Dodgers. The Orioles netted five prospects in that trade and, not long after, had also shipped out Jonathan Schoop, Zach Britton, Brad Brach, Kevin Gausman and the remainder of the injured Darren O’Day’s contract — netting a combined 13 new prospects and some significant international funds to aid their reported pursuit of Cuban phenom Victor Victor Mesa.

The Orioles’ farm system has improved with those deals and with the success of some recent draft picks, but the organization still faces a long road back to contention in a stacked AL East division that features a pair of powerhouses in the Red Sox and Yankees, plus a surprising 90-win Rays team that has an impressive young core of stars around which to build.

AL East Notes: Yankees, Showalter, Duquette, O’s, Brasier

By Mark Polishuk | October 3, 2018 at 10:04am CDT

While many simply point to the Yankees’ payroll as the reason for their success, general manager Brian Cashman has spent over a decade quietly assembling an analytics department that rivals any in baseball, as Marc Carig and Eno Sarris detail in a fascinating piece for The Athletic (subscription required). Current assistant GM Michael Fishman was hired as the Yankees’ first full-time analyst in 2005, and today, New York has an estimated 20 employees on their analytics team. This ties them with the Dodgers as the largest such staff in baseball by Carig and Sarris’ count, though they note that teams are notoriously secretive in providing any details about their information-gathering practices. The increased focus on analytical data has impacted all levels of the baseball operations and scouting departments, with the results apparent in how the Yankees have built their outstanding bullpen, all their pitchers’ high velocity and spin rate on their four-seam fastballs, and in the sheer number of current Major League players that the Yankees originally signed or drafted.

Here’s more from around the AL East…

We could know more about Buck Showalter’s future with the Orioles today, as The Athletic’s Dan Connolly (Twitter link) reports that the manager is expected to meet with ownership and the “sense is” Showalter will be offered some type of job to remain with the franchise. It isn’t clear if that job would be a front office role or if Showalter could continue on as manager in the wake of Baltimore’s 115-loss season.
Questions also surround the job status of Orioles executive VP of baseball operations Dan Duquette, though Duquette didn’t give any hints about his situation, simply telling Dan Connolly (subscription-only piece) “that’s an appropriate question for ownership.” Though Duquette’s contract is up at the end of October, he is still proceeding as if he’ll still be with the organization in 2019. For instance, Duquette is considering joining at least five other Orioles talent evaluators in attending the showcase for top Cuban prospects Victor Victor Mesa, Victor Mesa Jr., and Sandy Gaston on Friday. The O’s have been heavily linked to these youngsters due to the space in the team’s international bonus pool, which Connolly estimates as roughly $6MM available to be spent.
Hard-throwing Ryan Brasier has become a key contributor to the Red Sox bullpen, posting a 1.60 ERA, 4.14 K/BB rate and 7.8 K/9 over 33 2/3 frames for the AL East champs. It has been quite the showing for the unheralded 31-year-old, who had just nine innings of MLB experience (with the Angels in 2013) prior to this season. As The Athletic’s Chad Jennings (subscription required) writes, it was less than a year ago that a homesick Brasier was pitching in Japan and intent on returning to North America for the 2018 campaign. He sent e-mails to all 30 MLB teams over the offseason in search of a job, finally landing a minor league deal with the Sox, and then excelling after his contract was selected in July.

Latest On Dan Duquette, Buck Showalter

By Steve Adams and Jeff Todd | September 21, 2018 at 5:03pm CDT

The Orioles are expected to move on from longtime manager Buck Showalter following the 2018 season, tweets Bob Nightengale of USA Today. That meshes with yesterday’s report from Fancred’s Jon Heyman, which called Showalter “likely” to be replaced.

Nightengale adds that general manager Dan Duquette is expected to receive an extension. It seems ownership was impressed by his handling of the team’s trade-deadline sell-off, which launched a full-blown rebuilding effort that had been contemplated — but not ultimately pursued — over the winter.

If the reports prove accurate, Showalter would be at least the second manager not asked back for the coming season; the Rangers announced earlier this afternoon that they’ve fired Jeff Banister and will be searching for a replacement following the season. Showalter has been the Orioles’ skipper since taking over partway through the 2010 season, helping the team to three postseason berths — including an AL East division title in 2014. Baltimore steamrolled the Tigers in a clean sweep of the ALDS that season before being knocked out of the ALCS by the Royals.

As for Duquette, he’s been with the O’s since the 2011 season and helped to orchestrate those postseason appearances, though his fingerprints are also on this season’s all-time franchise-worst record. To be fair to Duquette, he has seemingly been hamstrung by ownership at times, as Peter Angelos reportedly had little interest in investing on the international amateur free agent market and was also said to be instrumental in bringing back Chris Davis on what could now be considered the worst contract in the sport.

Duquette, if extended, will be tasked with helping to oversee a rebuild not only of the club’s roster but also the team’s entire baseball operations department. Baltimore has lagged behind other teams in terms of international scouting, the implementation of analytics, the use of technology in player evaluation and more. Following this summer’s trade of franchise icon Manny Machado, Duquette vowed that the organization would invest in those areas as it embarked on its rebuilding process.

It’s worth emphasizing, of course, that nothing is yet set in stone. As Dan Connolly wrote yesterday at The Athletic (subscription link), “decisiveness has never been the strong suit at the top of the Orioles’ food chain.” The only aspect of the future that’s all but certain at this point, he wrote, is that Orioles VP Brady Anderson will continue to “remain in a position of influence.” Connolly ran through the possible permutations of outcomes involving Showalter and Duquette, guessing that both of those long-time leaders would end up on the move but noting the ongoing uncertainty.

Beyond that, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic tweets that the O’s have made a pair of additions to the pro scouting department, hiring veteran evaluators Doug Witt and Rich Amaral. Witt, the brother of former big league pitcher Bobby Witt, is also the uncle of Bobby Witt Jr. — a potential top selection in the 2019 draft. Amaral, a former teammate of Anderson’s, will be a special assignment scout on both the pro and amateur side as well as a baserunning instructor, tweets Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com. If those hires offer any clues as to the broader organizational direction, it’s not strictly clear just what they suggest.

Managerial Notes: Showalter, Riggleman, Mattingly

By Steve Adams | September 20, 2018 at 4:56pm CDT

Earlier this afternoon it was reported that the Rangers are considering moving on from skipper Jeff Banister following the season. In the wake of that report, here’s some more chatter regarding managers whose futures have had some uncertainty surrounding them…

Fancred’s Jon Heyman reports in this week’s notes column that Orioles manager Buck Showalter is “very likely” to be replaced following this season, though the venerable veteran has yet to be definitively informed one way or another by team decision-makers. The decision on general manager Dan Duquette is more up in the air, per the report, and could yet go either way. Showalter has been managing the O’s since 2010 and guided the team to a 666-677 record that is largely skewed by the unmitigated disaster that has been the 2018 season. He’s among the game’s most respected managers, though there have been reports questioning his job security throughout the season.
In light of recent reports that interim Reds manager Jim Riggleman is a favorite of owner Bob Castellini, Heyman adds that Riggleman additionally has numerous fans in the Cincinnati front office. The 65-year-old Riggleman has a decent chance at being tabbed the team’s long-term skipper, though former Red Sox manager John Farrell will be among those considered to step into that role as well. The Reds hired Farrell to work for them in a scouting capacity last offseason.
Asked by Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald whether manager Don Mattingly will return for the 2019 season (Twitter link), Marlins CEO Derek Jeter suggested that to be the case, rhetorically replying, “He’s under contract, right?” Mattingly is indeed under contract, but only through the 2019 campaign. Beyond that, it’s not clear whether new Miami ownership has plans to bring in a manager of their own preference — Mattingly was inherited from the previous regime — or whether there’s interest in extending him beyond the ’19 season. Mattingly’s Marlins clubs haven’t had much success, and that’s truer than ever in 2018, though he wasn’t given much to work with heading into the current campaign following last offseason’s organizational tear-down.

Orioles Notes: Duquette, Ripken, Mesa, Jones

By Steve Adams | September 17, 2018 at 11:58am CDT

There’s little certainty regarding the future outlook among Orioles leadership, with both general manager Dan Duquette and manager Buck Showalter in the final few weeks of their contracts. Duquette said last night on 105.7 FM The Fan that he’s not sure what the future holds but expressed a desire to remain with the O’s throughout their rebuild and beyond (via Steve Melewski of MASNsports.com). “My heart’s here,” said Duquette. “And I’m happy to lead the rebuild and looking forward to it. But I don’t control those things.”

Meanwhile, The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal speculates in his latest notes column that team legend Cal Ripken could find a role with the team (subscription link). While Ripken has “no interest in managing,” per Rosenthal, the O’s did bring another club legend, Eddie Murray, on board as a special advisor to ownership. Rosenthal briefly explores a hypothetical but drastically more influential position more along the lines of Derek Jeter’s role with the Marlins, though he ultimately tabs the scenario is a “long shot.”

More out of Baltimore…

Melewski also quotes Duquette with regard to the team’s interest in top Cuban outfielder Victor Victor Mesa, who was recently declared a free agent by Major League Baseball. The GM declined to call his club any sort of favorite to sign Mesa, despite the fact that the Orioles have the top international bonus pool available, but he did reaffirm the Orioles’ philosophical shift on the international market and once again voice a strong commitment to continuing to add international amateurs, as the O’s have over the past six weeks. As for Mesa specifically, Duquette acknowledged some intrigue but added that the O’s still need to do some homework. “We don’t have that significant a scouting portfolio on him,” said Duquette. “We saw him in the (World Baseball Classic), so we’re going to have to get up to speed.”
Showalter is in something of a tough spot with venerable club leader Adam Jones, a free agent at season’s end whose future with the club is uncertain. The O’s recently benched Jones for an entire three-game series on the road, in favor of younger players with more control. Jones has played more for the Orioles at home as the season winds down, and Showalter discussed the difficulties and the varying factors that play into the decisions with Jon Meoli of the Baltimore Sun. Showalter said both he and the front office “have always wanted to play” Jones. The Orioles do need to get looks at younger players, though, and Showalter spoke broadly and somewhat vaguely about the need to balance his desire to play Jones with other factors, including what type of crowd will be on hand the day in question and whether the Orioles’ opponent is in a playoff race.

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