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NL East Notes: Marlins, Jennings, Mets

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In a must win situation tonight, Mets manager Terry Collins is pretty much sticking with the same lineup he used in Games 3 and 4, as Joey Nowak of MLB.com writes.  The Mets have been down 3-1 twice in their postseason history and neither series saw a comeback win, but they’re hoping things will be different this time around.

Here’s a look at the NL East:

  • A “source aligned with” recently fired ex-Marlins GM Dan Jennings told Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald that Jennings’ relationship with owner Jeffrey Loria deteriorated because they didn’t see agree on some lineup decisions. The key disagreement, it turns out, had to do with outfielder Marcell Ozuna. While Jennings was “more than eager” to play the 24-year-old (25 in November), Loria was losing confidence in him. The owner also pushed for Ozuna to play in right field rather than center at times because he was out of shape, but Jennings refused and did as he pleased in at least one instance, according to the source.
  • Former Mets GM Omar Minaya has his fingerprints all over the current roster and Joel Sherman of the New York Post sat down with him to discuss his impact on the World Series team.  When asked about which players have surprised him by making a big impact, the current league exec named Juan Lagares.  “We signed [Juan] Lagares as a shortstop [where he mainly played in the low minors from 2006-08] and he was just making too many errors,” said Minaya. “The glove started to impact his bat. He had great athleticism and we had to get him off of shortstop, but you never know if that is going to work. We thought he had the athleticism for center field. His defense was clearly getting to him. He took to center right away, which on one level wasn’t a surprise because we did athletic testing and he was with Jose Reyes and Carlos Gomez as the best. But you really never know how this stuff will go. Obviously, it went well.”  Minaya also mentioned right-hander Jacob deGrom, who was mainly a shortstop in college.
  • With the Nationals reportedly set to hire Bud Black, Thom Loverro of The Washington Times wonders why Dusty Baker is without a managerial job.  While Washington had its reasons to choose Black, Loverro notes that Baker owns an elite managing record while Black is a career losing manager.

Cafardo On Kapstein, Amaro, Mattingly, Zobrist, Kapler

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In his latest column, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe discussed the role of former Red Sox advisor Jeremy Kapstein. Newly installed club president Dave Dombrowski did not extend Kapstein’s contract. The former player agent had worked with the Red Sox for 14 years as a senior advisor of baseball projects. Kapstein once represented a number of top players and was among the first to use statistics in arbitration cases. He’ll seek a new role elsewhere.

Here’s more from the column:

  • Freshly minted first base and outfield coach Ruben Amaro Jr. is already familiar with many of Boston’s outfielders. While with the Phillies, he pursued Mookie Betts, Jackie Bradley Jr., and prospect Manuel Margot in trade negotiations for Cole Hamels. Former Phillies closer Brad Lidge noted that Amaro was comfortable spending time in the clubhouse with players, so he should adjust well to his new role.
  • Don Mattingly is the Marlins eighth manager in the last six seasons. The last manager, Dan Jennings, was recently let go after he was told he would return to his former job as GM. The club owes him about $2MM. Mattingly is said to have agreed to a four-year deal although financial details have yet to be disclosed. Marlins fans may recall the four-year, $10MM contract signed by Ozzie Guillen prior to 2012. It serves as a warning to Mattingly that a long term of contract or high AAV will not ensure job security in Miami.
  • As reported earlier this week, Ben Cherington has joined the sports management program at Columbia University. That hasn’t stopped the Pirates from pursuing him for a front office role. Cafardo wonders if Blue Jays president Mark Shapiro might show interest too. In my opinion, the Blue Jays job might not be a fit since Cherington walked away from a similar situation in Boston.
  • One AL executive worries about Ben Zobrist’s age. “Ben is 35 years old. He keeps in great shape and does the job, but he’s not someone you’re going to devote big dollars to over a long-term deal.” Of course, his agent, Alan Nero, believes a three or four-year deal should be well within reach. Nero and the Royals have not discussed an extension.
  • The Orioles will bring back pitching coach Dave Wallace. According to a source, manager Buck Showalter asked him to stay. The Orioles pitching staff had a rough season after outperforming their peripherals for a few years. Free agent Wei-Yin Chen will be difficult to replace if he signs elsewhere. The club also has to carefully manage top prospect Dylan Bundy. He’s missed most of the last three seasons after making a couple relief appearances as a 19-year-old in 2012. He’ll be out of options.
  • Team sources label Gabe Kapler has the leading candidate for the Dodgers managerial job. Kapler “speaks the same language” as president Andrew Friedman and they have an established working relationship. While Kapler has not managed in the majors, he “drew rave reviews” while managing with the Red Sox Single-A affiliate.

East Notes: Jennings, Olivera, Jays GM, Red Sox

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As he departs the Marlins, Dan Jennings issued a statement thanking the team (via MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro). He indicated that the club called him yesterday to tell him he “was being relieved” from his general manager duties, calling that move “sad and regrettable” but expressing that he respected the decision and would look back on his time in Miami with fondness. Jennings is said to be receiving strong interest from other clubs around baseball now that he’s a free agent.

Here’s more form the east:

  • Recent Braves acquisition Hector Olivera is expected to spend time at both third base and left field in the Puerto Rican winter league, MLB.com’s Mark Bowman reports. The organization hopes to add to Olivera’s defensive capabilities while getting an idea of “what their needs might be over the next few years,” says Bowman. Atlanta would surely prefer to feel comfortable putting Olivera in either spot, as it would open up ample flexibility in the club’s developmental and acquisition plans.
  • It’s still a bit early to get a read on what the Blue Jays will do to replace Alex Anthopoulos in their general manager’s role, but Jon Morosi of FOX Sports reports that president Mark Shapiro does intend to hire a day-to-day GM while holding onto final decisionmaking authority. He will also be able to hire away at least one or two front office members from the Indians if he wishes, so long as the hirings are promotions. Morosi tosses out a few hypothetical matches. Brendan Kennedy of the Toronto Star did the same last night.
  • Clubs around baseball are gearing up to talk trades with new Red Sox president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski, writes Alex Speier of the Boston Globe. Dombrowski has shown a willingness both to promote young players aggressively and to ship them out in trades, and that makes for a fascinating pairing with the organization’s highly-regarded talent base.

Marlins Dismiss Dan Jennings

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5:44pm: The Marlins have announced that Jennings has been relieved of his duties. Miami won’t hire a replacement, but will instead shift his former responsibilities over to Hill while also increasing Berger’s role.

Jackson also provides more detail on the split, writing that Jennings wanted to stay on as manager but was told he’d instead be offered a return to the GM role. The then-skipper and owner Jeffrey Loria had butted heads over how he was running the club, says Jackson, “including whether to play Marcell Ozuna.”

Per the report, Jennings was preparing to report back to the organization on October 19 when he was told instead to stay home. Club president David Samson advised Jennings that he’d first need to talk things over with Loria — a conversation which seemingly never occurred.

Samson issued the following statement in a team press release:

“We want to thank Dan for his dedication and loyal service to the Marlins organization over the last 13 years. This is the continuation of the restructuring of our baseball operations department and we look forward to moving in a unified direction to reach our goal of becoming a championship-caliber ballclub that our fans richly deserve.”

5:06pm: The Marlins have decided to “dismiss” now-former general manager and manager Dan Jennings, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald reports on Twitter. Jennings, of course, was still under contract for three more seasons, meaning that Miami will likely remain on the hook for the $5.6MM left on his contract (though it could be offset when he’s hired elsewhere).

Jennings, 55, has been with the Miami organization since 2002. He served as the club’s general manager — working alongside president of baseball operations Michael Hill — from 2013 through the middle of 2015. After the team fired manager Mike Redmond in May, Jennings moved into the skipper’s seat in an eyebrow-raising move that didn’t pan out.

Though Jennings wasn’t able to turn around a disappointing club that he had a major hand in compiling, he is said to have managed to earn the trust of his players in spite of the odd situation. And while the Fish weren’t able to match their (arguably unreasonable) expectations, Jennings remains a highly-respected executive. Indeed, Bob Nightengale of USA Today notes on Twitter that Jennings has already drawn interest from other teams looking for assistant general managers.

While the move is somewhat surprising, given Jennings’s deep ties to the Miami organization and owner Jeffrey Loria, Nightengale adds that Jennings was hoping to be released from his obligations to pursue new opportunities. It appeared that his front office standing may have been marginalized while he was in the dugout, with the club having handed off some of his duties to VP and assistant GM Mike Berger. Club president David Samson said just weeks ago that Jennings was still the general manager, but it seemed even at that time that there was a lot to be worked out for the relationship to continue.

During his time in the GM chair, Jennings played a key role in a number of big moves. Most notably, perhaps, the club extended outfielders Giancarlo Stanton and Christian Yelich, with the former receiving a record $325MM guarantee.

List Of 2016 Super Two Qualifiers

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Presented below is the list of players who have qualified for Super Two status for arbitration purposes this year. (Service time in parentheses.) As MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes recently tweeted, the service time cutoff is 2.130. You can find arbitration salary projections for these players right here.

Click here to read more about how the Super Two concept works. Note that, as the link shows, the originally projected service time cutoff moved down as things played out over the course of the season. That brought some notable names into early arbitration qualification — namely, Calhoun and Rendon — which could have a big impact on their earning power in potential extension scenarios.

It’s also important to bear in mind that several of the players listed above have already agreed to long-term extensions: Gyorko, Lagares, and Archer. Notably, the size of the guarantee provided by Archer’s contract is dependent upon his Super Two status. By reaching it (as had been expected), he keeps a $25.5MM overall guarantee. That total would have been reduced to $20MM otherwise.

That contract structure reflects the importance of reaching Super Two status. Doing so not only bumps a player’s salary a year early, but sets a higher floor for future paydays.

Front Office Notes: Jennings, Anthopoulos, Klentak, Cherington, Chavez

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The Marlins’ front office arrangement remains unresolved, according to Jon Morosi of FOX Sports. Dan Jennings isn’t listed on the team’s official website and hasn’t been working as the team’s general manager, per the report. It’s not yet clear where things are headed, but as Morosi notes, Jennings is under contract for the next three years in Miami.

Here’s more from the NL East:

  • Meanwhile, the Blue Jays now face an increasingly interesting situation with their own general manager, Alex Anthopoulos, as Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca reports. The crux of the matter isn’t money, says Davidi, who writes that Anthopoulos “is believed to have a strong extension offer on the table.” Instead, it’s a matter of resolving the authority structure between Anthopoulos and new president Mark Shapiro. Per Davidi, working that out is the key; if that can’t be done, a departure is “a real possibility.”
  • The Phillies finally installed a new baseball operations leader by hiring Matt Klentak, and the organization now seems largely set up to begin moving back toward contention in earnest. As MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki writes, the organization’s newly accessible leader, owner John Middleton, wants to make the team a consistent presence at the top of the standings. He acknowledged that the Phils “didn’t recognize early enough and act upon that recognition that the window had closed.” Now, the work to open a new window will start with a new philosophy. “The word that [president Andy MacPhail] has talked about and the word [Klentak] has talked about today is ’discipline,'” Middleton said. “So I think you’re right. I think you have to have a goal and you have to have a road map to achieve it, and you have to be disciplined to know where you are on that road and therefore use that to dictate your decisions and what you do. That’s what I think is going to be the key to success. The other part of this is being objective about yourself and your performances.”
  • Of course, the Phillies’ front office decisionmaking process is an important matter in and of itself, even after the hiring, and CSNPhilly.com’s Jim Salisbury lays out where things stand in that regard. MacPhail said that he will vest substantial authority in Klentak, even though his job is also baseball-focused, and both men emphasized that they are looking for balance in all regards (including, notably, between analytics and scouting in player assessment). Klentak also noted that he sees a big opportunity in the club’s worst-in-baseball finish last year. “There’s a really strong foundation of players in this organization, some of whom are in the big leagues and some of whom are coming,” he said. “I think that, coupled with the first pick in the draft, the largest international bonus pool this year, the first priority in the waiver period, the first pick in the Rule 5 draft, etc., creates some inherent advantages at least in the short term that are incredible. And I think if we do our jobs right, we will turn this into a winner and it’s going to be fun for a long time.”
  • Former Red Sox GM Ben Cherington has joined Columbia University’s Sports Management Program as an “executive in residence,” according to a press release. As Alex Speier of the Boston Globe writes, the move isn’t as surprising as it might seem at first glance.
  • Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports that the Yankees tried to hire Cherington following his resignation from the division-rival Red Sox in August. “I reached out to him,” Cashman told Sherman. “I have a lot of respect for him, his integrity and how he did his job.” Sherman notes that Cherington could have conceivably become an assistant GM when Billy Eppler left to go become the Angels’ GM, but Eppler’s responsibilities go to top scout Tim Naehring, as has been previously reported. Cherington will eventually join a front office, but for the time being, his role at Columbia makes sense, as his wife and children were living in suburban New York even while he was Boston’s GM.
  • In another interesting GM transition, former Phils GM Ruben Amaro Jr. has taken the unusual step of moving to the Red Sox as their first base coach, and Tim Britton of the Providence Journal delves into the reasoning for the move. As manager John Farrell noted, both men have some similarities in having moved from the front office to the field, though obviously the skipper made that move much earlier in his post-playing career. “I guess it’s unusual but for me, I’ve always had an itch to be back on the field,” Amaro said. “It’s always been something I’ve thought about quite a bit, and I was afforded a wonderful opportunity…. Had it not been the Red Sox, frankly I probably would not be doing this.”
  • The Angels have added former big league third baseman Eric Chavez as a special assistant, Jon Heyman of CBS Sports reported earlier today in his latest notes column. Chavez had served in that capacity last year for the Yankees, working there with new Halos GM Billy Eppler. It sounds as if the 37-year-old will have wide-ranging job responsibilities, including working with the club’s younger players and performing various scouting-related functions.

East Notes: Marlins, Jennings, Harvey, Red Sox

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After being told he would not retain his job as manager, Dan Jennings was set to return to the Marlins last week to resume GM duties. However, Jennings had questions about his current role and responsibilities that president David Samson couldn’t immediately answer, as Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald writes.  Samson has asked Jennings to stay home while he discusses the situation with owner Jeffrey Loria.  The Marlins haven’t pulled their offer for Jennings to return as GM, Jackson writes, and he and Loria are expected to talk in the coming days.  Jennings might have less influence in the front office than he did before, and that’s a result of Loria “listening to more voices.”  In addition to president/baseball operations Michael Hill, farm system chief Marc Delpiano and execs Mike Berger and Jeff McAvoy also have sway.

Here’s more out of the East divisions..

  • More from Jackson, who writes that the Marlins’ payroll of $68MM “is expected to rise slightly” in 2016.  In 2015, Miami had the lowest payroll in baseball.
  • With whispers that the Mets will listen this winter on offers for their top three starters, Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald writes that it’s “not impossible” that New Englander Matt Harvey will end up in the Red Sox’s rotation next season.  Of course, there was more speculation surrounding Harvey’s Mets future during the innings-limit controversy and it’s hard to picture a deal happening as he gets set to take the hill in Game 1 of the World Series.
  • Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times opines that it’s fair to wonder if Andrew Friedman erred in not bringing Joe Maddon to the Dodgers after both men left the Rays.  The Dodgers, of course, are searching for their next manager after parting ways with Don Mattingly.

Dan Jennings To Return As Marlins’ GM

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OCT. 9: Jennings will return to his previous role as general manager, reports Jon Heyman of CBS Sports. An announcement could come anytime between Sunday and Tuesday of the coming week, he adds. Jennings is under contract with the Marlins for three more seasons.

OCT. 6: The Marlins have announced that Jennings will not return as the manager, as Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald reports (all links to Twitter).

Club president David Samson explained that Jennings is the general manager as he is a “signed member” of the front office. Though president of baseball ops Michael Hill seemingly indicated that Jennings had yet to decide whether to continue that arrangement, Samson said that “there’s no decision for him to make.”

OCt. 4, 8:28pm: A pair of tweets from USA Today’s Bob Nightengale suggests Jennings might return to the Marlins’ front office, but not in the GM position. The Marlins could make Berger GM, with Jeff McAvoy as assistant GM, Arnold as player personnel director and David Keller as pro scouting director. Jennings would then occupy some other position. Frisaro, meanwhile, writes (via Twitter) that the Marlins are planning to establish an analytics department and that Arnold could head it.

8:08pm: The Phillies have granted the Marlins permission to interview bench coach Larry Bowa for their manager position, Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com writes. Bowa is expected to interview on Monday, MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro tweets. Bo Porter and Manny Acta have already interviewed for the job. In addition, Frisaro reports that Dan Jennings, who posted a 55-69 record as the team’s manager following the firing of Mike Redmond earlier this season, is expected to return to the Marlins’ GM job.

As of yesterday, Jennings was still deciding whether to accept a return to the Marlins’ front office. Jeff Passan of Yahoo! Sports reported that the team’s front office would undergo changes, with assistant GM Mike Berger taking over something resembling a GM position. The Marlins also recently interviewed Rays director of player personnel Matt Arnold about a front office position. It has lately appeared that Jennings’ power in the organization was somewhat diminished. If Jennings does return to the GM position, it’s not clear how the Marlins will manage their decision-making process given the presence Jennings, Berger and other front-office voices.

Bowa, 69, was previously the manager of the Padres and Phillies. He led the Phillies to a 337-308 record from 2001 through 2004 and won the NL Manager of the Year award in 2001. He also served as a base coach for the Yankees and Dodgers and as an analyst for ESPN and the MLB Network before rejoining the Phillies organization in 2014.

Marlins Front Office To Undergo “Significant Changes”

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2:22pm: As has been previously reported, the Marlins have offered Jennings a spot in their front office. He’s still deciding what to do, however, as Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald writes. “From a standpoint of if I’m asked to go back upstairs, then there are conversations that are going to have to take place because I want to understand where things are, because I’ve been removed for 4 1/2 months,” says Jennings. “There’s catch-up that I have to be involved in and conversations that need to take place so that I’m up to speed as to how things have evolved in the front office.”

12:02pm: The Marlins have talked to Rays director of player personnel Matt Arnold about a front office job, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweets.

10:12am: There will be “significant changes” in the Marlins’ front office, Jeff Passan of Yahoo! Sports tweets. Current assistant GM Mike Berger will take over a role similar to that of GM, although it’s unknown at this point what his actual title will be. It’s not clear what role, if any, current manager and former full-time GM Dan Jennings will occupy. Lately, owner Jeffrey Loria has reportedly listened to Berger and others more closely than Jennings. Also, the Marlins recently fired pro scout Mickey White and reassigned vice president of player personnel Craig Weissmann, both close associates of Jennings.

The Marlins are also currently interviewing candidates for their managerial job. It had previously been reported that they had offered Jennings a job in their front office, although perhaps he’ll go elsewhere, with the Phillies being one possibility.

It has, of course, been a disappointing season in Miami. The Marlins acquired Mat Latos, Martin Prado, Dee Gordon, Dan Haren, Michael Morse, Ichiro Suzuki and others last winter in an attempt to contend, but they struggled out of the gate, fired manager Mike Redmond, and have slouched to a 69-90 season so far amidst injuries to key players like Giancarlo Stanton and Jose Fernandez.

Marlins Have Interviewed Manny Acta, Had Discussions With Dusty Baker

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5:29pm: In addition to Acta, former Reds/Cubs/Giants manager Dusty Baker is a “strong candidate” in the Marlins’ hunt for a manager, tweets MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro. In a followup tweet, Frisaro reports that the team has “engaged in discussions” with Baker, though he’s unsure specifically when those talks began. In a third tweet, he notes that it’s still not a sure thing that Jennings will return as GM.

5:11pm: It’s been previously reported that Dan Jennings will be asked to relinquish his role as Marlins manager in 2016, and Enrique Rojas of ESPN Deportes now reports (via Twitter) that the team has interviewed Manny Acta for the position. Interestingly, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald reports (also via Twitter) that Jennings has been officially notified that he will not return as manager in 2016 despite the fact that he now wants to return to the role. Jon Heyman of CBS Sports tweets that when asked, Jennings was unaware of any talks with Acta.

Acta, 46, has served as manager of both the Nationals and Indians, each for parts of three seasons. Acta has a career record of just 372-518 as a big league manager, though he was placed given the reins on clubs that carried low expectations at the time of his hiring. As Jackson further tweets, the Marlins consider the fact that Acta is bilingual to be a factor in their interest.

Reports have indicated that the Marlins have offered Jennings the opportunity to return to the front office this offseason, but it’s unclear exactly how similar his role would be. Assistant GM Mike Berger has assumed a great deal of Jennings’ duties since the change and is said to have the ear of owner Jeffrey Loria. The Marlins have also reassigned one of Jennings’ lieutenants (former VP of player personnel Craig Weissman) and fired another (former pro scout Mickey White). Jennings, in turn, has been linked to other GM openings, most notably the Mariners and Phillies (though the latter of the two was seemingly speculative in nature).

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