Baltimore parted ways with former hitting coaches Ryan Fuller and Matt Borgschulte at the end of the season. Borgschulte landed with the Twins as their top hitting instructor last month. Kubatko reports (on X) today that Fuller is headed to the White Sox as director of hitting.

Asche will take a larger role in their stead. The O’s hired the former big league third baseman/outfielder as offensive strategy coach during the 2022-23 offseason. Asche had something of a de facto third hitting coach job in that capacity for two years. The O’s now seem content to turn the lead job over to the 34-year-old.

Most of Asche’s five-year playing career came as a member of the Phillies. The left-handed hitter played in Philadelphia between 2013-16. The final of those seasons overlapped with Joseph, a former first baseman who played 249 games for the Phils between 2016-17. Joseph made the transition to coaching in 2021. He spent a trio of seasons working with minor league hitters before joining Seattle’s staff as an assistant hitting coach. The Mariners shook up their hitting staff a couple times last season but kept Joseph in the fold all year. He’ll move on after one season to work with his former teammate in Baltimore.

Baltimore also has a bench coach vacancy after parting with Fredi González at the end of the year. The O’s haven’t settled on a replacement, but one notable name is connected to the job. Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic reports that the Orioles have interest in David Ross for the position, though he cautions that it’s unclear if that interest is mutual.

Last winter, Ross rebuffed interest from the Yankees regarding their bench coach job. That came within a week of his surprise firing as Cubs manager when Chicago jumped on the chance to hire Craig Counsell. Ross seemingly didn’t have any desire to take a non-managerial coaching job at the time. It isn’t known if that has changed, though he has close ties to Baltimore skipper Brandon Hyde. The O’s manager was on the Cubs’ coaching staff while Ross played for Chicago in 2015-16.

Brown, 52, just joined the Seattle staff coming into this year. He had previously served as a hitting coach for the Marlins and Dodgers at the major league level. Prior to holding those gigs, he was with the Mariners as a minor league coordinator.

The M’s are having a good season overall, currently sporting a record of 31-27 that has them atop the American League West. However, that’s largely due to a strong pitching staff and in spite of some lackluster offense. The team has a collective earned run average of 3.58, ninth-lowest in the majors.  But their hitters have collectively slashed .221/.295/.361 for a wRC+ of 94. That indicates they’ve been six percent below league average overall, a mark that bests just six other clubs in the league.

Over the offseason, president of baseball operations spoke of wanting to lower the club’s strikeout-heavy tendencies, which seemed to play a role in letting players like Teoscar Hernández, Mike Ford, Jarred Kelenic, Eugenio Suárez and Tom Murphy depart, either via trade or free agency.

This year, the club as a whole is striking out at a 28.3% rate, easily the worst in the majors. The Athletics are second-worst at 26.2%, a significant gap. That’s at least partially attributable to the front office bringing in other players with their own strikeout tendencies, such as Mitch Garver, Luke Raley and Mitch Haniger, but perhaps the ongoing problem with punchouts played a role in the club looking to make a change.

Regardless of the reasoning, it’s a notable development since it’s fairly rare for clubs to make midseason staff changes, especially when doing so well overall. Manager Scott Servais will try to guide the club forward without Brown, while DeHart and Joseph step up. DeHart has been a member of the staff since the 2020 season, going from assistant hitting coach to his current title. Joseph was just hired coming into the current campaign.

It was reported last month that Brown would be joining Seattle’s staff in some capacity. It wasn’t initially clear what role he would hold. Brown had worked as hitting coach for the Marlins a season ago. He left Skip Schumaker’s staff for the promotion in Seattle.

Brown had spent some time as a hitting coach with the Dodgers before joining Miami. Prior to his stint in Los Angeles, he’d been with Seattle as a minor league hitting coordinator. He returns to the Mariners, where he had worked from 2012-16, as Scott Servais’ top assistant.

With Brown stepping in as the lead hitting voice, Arnerich makes the transition to the relief corps. Seattle lost last year’s bullpen coach, Stephen Vogt, who took over as Guardians manager. It’s a bit of an odd transition for Arnerich to move from the offense to the pitching staff, but Seattle clearly wanted to keep him around in some capacity.

Jarret DeHart, who had been a co-hitting coach with Arnerich last season, remains in that role and holds the additional title of director of hitting strategy. They’re joined by Joseph, who has his first MLB coaching job.

The 32-year-old played two seasons in the big leagues, working as the Phillies primary first baseman between 2016-17. He hit .247/.297/.460 in Philadelphia. Joseph also spent a year in Korea and played parts of four Triple-A campaigns. He retired as a player after the 2020 season and immediately jumped into coaching. Joseph worked with the Mets for two years and spent ’23 as hitting coach for the Giants’ High-A affiliate.

As with DeHart, much of the 2023 staff returns. Pete Woodworth is back as pitching coach. Kristopher Negrón and Manny Acta will coach first and third base, respectively. Perry Hill is at infield coach. Trent Blank is the director of pitching strategy, while Carson Vitale is serving as field coordinator.

We’ve seen foreign stints help spur big league revivals from quite a few players. Eric Thames, Miles Mikolas, and Chris Martin are among those that played significant roles in the 2019 MLB campaign. Whether any of the players covered below will do so remains to be seen, but there’s certainly a path.

Let’s start with the Korea Baseball Organization, the top league in South Korea. Remember, teams in the KBO and other leagues face limits on the number of non-native players they can employ. That creates a lot of pressure to secure big production from those roster spots, and often spurs mid-season change. (Statistics courtesy of the always excellent MyKBO.)

The top performers …

• Former Phillies slugger Darin Ruf marauded the KBO once again, though he wasn’t quite as awesome this year (.911 OPS, 22 home runs) as he was in 2018 (1.024 OPS, 33 home runs). After scoring with Ruf, the Samsung Lions went after Mac Williamson in a mid-season move. But Williamson failed to gain traction in his forty contests, hitting a tepid .273/.329/.409.
• Several other hitters joined Ruf as repeat KBO participants and star-level performers. Outfielder Jamie Romak has also now completed three excellent campaigns with the SK Wyverns. Like Ruf, he took a step back this year (1.001 OPS to .878 OPS), likely reflecting a KBO baseball de-juicing effort.
• After a brief but promising showing in 2018, Jerry Sands rewarded the Kiwoom Heroes for bringing him back by swatting 28 dingers and batting a robust .305/.400/.543 on the year. Jared Hoying wasn’t quite as productive, but turned in a solid sophomore campaign with the Hanwha Eagles (.284/.343/.460).
• The KT Wiz continued to benefit from their 2017 find of outfielder Mel Rojas Jr., who never got a big-league call-up from the Pirates or Braves. He slashed a robust .322/.384/.530 with 24 homers in his third KBO season.

Several KBO newcomers found something in their new organizations …

• Jose Miguel Fernandez took a difficult path to the majors and did not receive a lengthy opportunity at the game’s highest level, but displayed his intriguing blend of hitting ability with the Doosan Bears. Appearing in all 144 contests, Fernandez poked 15 long balls and slashed a hefty .344/.413/.483.
• The KIA Tigers dropped former Cardinals flash-in-the-pan outfielder Jeremy Hazelbaker after just eleven contests. That may have been a quick leash, but they ended up making out well with Preston Tucker. The former MLB reserve outfielder ultimately slashed .311/.382/.479 with nine home runs.

Other KBO organizations are likely to go back to the drawing board after cycling through multiple players …

• Another team changing horses in mid-stream was the LG Twins, who tired of former Phillies first bagger Tommy Joseph after he slashed .274/.335/.426 with nine long balls in 54 games. The club turned to another OBP-challenged slugger in the left-handed-hitting Carlos Peguero, who provided a bit more overall offense (.286/.333/.472) but no additional dingers (9) in his 57 appearances.
• Former Padres infielder Carlos Asuaje struggled in 49 games with the Lotte Giants, slashing just .252/.358/.368. He was replaced by Jacob Wilson, a former Cards and Nats farmhand, but Wilson wasn’t much more effective (.251/.352/.433 with nine home runs). (Wilson and Rojas were the only two hitters to appear in the KBO this year without prior MLB experience.)
• The NC Dinos opened the year with Christian Bethancourt behind the plate, but he didn’t do enough damage to hang onto his roster spot, with a .246/.311/.404 line in 53 games. That led to a mid-season change to former big league outfielder Jake Smolinski. Unfortunately, he managed only a .229/.301/.439 slash of his own.

A former second-round pick of the Giants in 2009 who was shipped to Philly in the 2012 Hunter Pence trade, Joseph made 880 plate appearances for the Fightins in 2016-17, slashing .247/.297/.460 (96 wRC+) with 43 homers. His lack of plate discipline and defensive ability held him thereafter in the minors, though, and Joseph opted for a Korea stint after a solid Triple-A season in the Rangers organization last season. For LG, Joseph posted a .274/.332/.426 line in 217 plate appearances before his July release.

Joseph’ll head to Triple-A Pawtucket, where he’ll likely spend the rest of the minor league season. A September platoon with Mitch Moreland could be in the cards, especially if current partner Sam Travis continues to perform at his languid pace.

Playing in Asia isn’t foreign to the 32-year-old Peguero, though he is new to Korean ball. Peguero spent 2016-18 with the Rakuten Golden Eagles of Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan. Before that, he played parts of 2011-15 in the majors and struggled to a .194/.263/.384 line in a combined 319 plate appearances with the Mariners, Royals, Red Sox and Rangers.

Joseph’s also an ex-Ranger, having joined the team via waivers from the Phillies going into the 2018 season. Joseph ended up spending the entire season in the minors, though, which was unexpected after he was a regular for the Phillies over the previous two years. The right-handed slugger accumulated 880 trips to the plate during those seasons and piled up 43 home runs, but his overall production (.247/.297/.460 – good for a 97 wRC+) didn’t convince the Phillies to retain him, nor did it lead to a chance in Texas.

Unable to find another big league opportunity last offseason, the 27-year-old Joseph signed in Korea for $1MM. While Joseph looked like a candidate to rake in the hitter-friendly KBO, his OPS (.758) over 217 PA has fallen more than 100 points short of the league average (.866) for foreign players.

Meanwhile, former Twins and Red Sox right-hander Justin Haley has signed with the KBO’s Samsung Lions, the team announced via press release (hat tip: Dan Kurtz of MyKBO.net, on Twitter). Haley’s deal will pay him a guaranteed $650K ($550K salary, $100K signing bonus) and provide him with the opportunity to earn an additional $250K via performance incentives. He’s represented by PSI Sports Management.

Joseph, 27, turned away interest from teams in Japan and Korea last offseason, telling NBC Sports Philadelphia’s Jim Salisbury at the time that he didn’t want to forgo the opportunity to return to the big leagues in 2018. Circumstances have changed since that time, of course. Joseph was still on Philadelphia’s 40-man roster at that point, and while he was undoubtedly cognizant of the fact that he wasn’t likely to have a prominent role on a roster with both Carlos Santana and Rhys Hoskins, there was perhaps hope that he’d land with another organization.

That proved to be the case to an extent; the Phillies designated Joseph for assignment, and he was claimed by the Rangers in Spring Training. Texas, though, designated Joseph for assignment at the end of camp and outrighted him to the minors. The slugger spent most of the 2018 season with Texas’ Triple-A affiliate, where he raked at a .284/.353/.549 clip and mashed 21 homers in 357 plate appearances. He’ll head to South Korea with a career .247/.297/.460 batting line and 43 homers through 880 Major League plate appearances — all with the Phillies.

Haley, meanwhile, pitched in the Majors in both 2017 and 2018 — albeit in limited fashion. Minnesota selected Haley out of Boston’s system in the 2016 Rule 5 Draft, and he made hit MLB debut in 2017. However, Minnesota didn’t hang onto him for the full season, ultimately returning him to Boston that May. Haley had his contract selected by the Red Sox in 2018 and made four relief appearances, though he lost his roster spot back on Nov. 1. In 25 2/3 career innings at the Major League level, Haley has a 5.61 ERA and a 14-to-9 K/BB ratio. However, he’s been substantially better in Triple-A, where he’s compiled a career 3.53 ERA with 7.6 K/9 and 2.4 BB/9 in 260 1/3 innings.

Both Joseph and Haley stand to earn considerably more money than they’d have made by signing a minor league contract and opening the season in Triple-A with a new organization. And, should either player cement himself as a quality contributor in the KBO, there’s certainly the opportunity to earn a raise in the KBO for the 2020 season as well. It’s not especially common to see players elevate their stock overseas and then return to find big league success, though Eric Thames and Miles Mikolas both stand out as recent examples of that route to multi-year free agent contracts.

As conveyed by Matt Eddy of Baseball America, who also covers quite a few other minor moves, these players have now elected free agency:

Athletics: RHP Raul Alcantara, LHP Danny Coulombe

Blue Jays: RHP Mike Hauschild, INF/OF Darnell Sweeney

Braves: LHP Rex Brothers, RHP Miguel Socolovich

Cardinals: LHP Tyler Lyons

Indians: RHP Evan Marshall, RHP Alexi Ogando

Mariners: RHP Christian Bergman, LHP Ross Detwiler, RHP Mike Morin, INF Zach Vincej

Marlins: OF JB Shuck

Mets: RHP Chris Beck, OF Bryce Brentz, RHP Scott Copeland, OF Matt den Dekker, INF Ty Kelly

Nationals: LHP Tommy Milone, OF Moises Sierra, RHP Carlos Torres

Orioles: RHP Jhan Marinez, INF Luis Sardinas

Padres: OF Matt Szczur

Phillies: INF Trevor Plouffe

Pirates: LHP Buddy Boshers, RHP Casey Sadler, RHP A.J. Schugel

Rangers: C Juan Centeno, LHP Anthony Gose, RHP Drew Hutchison, INF Tommy Joseph, RHP Chris Rowley

Rays: INF Brandon Snyder, RHP Ryan Weber

Reds: C Tim Federowicz, RHP Kevin Quackenbush

Tigers: INF Dixon Machado, RHP Jacob Turner

White Sox: RHP Tyler Danish

Texas will turn to Colon, 44, to start tonight’s game in Oakland. The timeless veteran inked a minor league pact with the Rangers this offseason and delivered strong results in Spring Training, working to a 3.00 ERA with a 10-to-2 K/BB ratio in 18 innings of work. He’ll join Cole Hamels, Mike Minor, Doug Fister and Matt Moore in the Texas rotation as he looks to continue a career that, upon taking the hill tonight, will have spanned parts of 21 seasons.

Colon split the 2017 season between the Braves and the Twins, struggling badly in Atlanta before rebounding, to an extent, in Minnesota. “Big Sexy” turned in a 3.94 ERA and a 38-to-11 K/BB ratio through his first 10 starts with the Twins before fading and yielding 19 runs in his final 18 1/3 frames (over the life of five starts).

While the season, on the whole, wasn’t a good one for Colon, the popular righty is only a season removed from tossing 191 2/3 innings with a 3.43 ERA, 6.0 K/9 and 1.5 BB/9 with the 2016 Mets. In fact, from 2013-16 with the A’s and Mets, Colon averaged 195 innings per season with a 3.59 ERA, twice making the All-Star team (2013 and 2016) and twice pacing his league in BB/9 (2015-16). He’s one of many veteran arms the Rangers bought low on in the offseason in hopes of catching some lightning in a bottle.

For Colon, the opportunity is not without significance. He’s spoken many times about what it would mean to him to tally another four wins and move into the all-time lead for wins by a Dominican-born pitcher, overtaking Hall of Famer Juan Marichal. Colon is also less than two months away from his 45th birthday, and if he can keep his remarkable career going to that point, he’ll fulfill a promise to his late mother in which he told her he’d pitch until age 45.

Joseph, meanwhile, has struggled to get on base in each of his two big league seasons and saw his overall offensive output decline in 2017. In total, he’s a .247/.297/.460 hitter in 880 PAs, but as an OBP-challenged slugger with significant defensive limitations, his appeal around the league was unsurprisingly somewhat limited. He’ll give Texas some depth at first base, though with Joey Gallo and Ronald Guzman ahead of him on the depth chart at first base and Shin-Soo Choo slated for regular DH work, it might take an injury or two to create a clearer opportunity for Joseph to return to the Majors.

Once a top-ranked catching prospect, Joseph moved to first base due to concussion issues and broke into the Majors with a solid showing in 2016 (.257/.308/.505). However, Joseph has struggled to get on base in each of his two big league seasons and saw his overall offensive output decline in 2017. Overall, he’s a .247/.297/.460 hitter in 880 PAs, but as an OBP-challenged slugger with significant defensive limitations, he was squeezed out in Philadelphia and could have a tough time finding a regular role elsewhere.

The 33-year-old Jepsen didn’t pitch in the Majors last season after posting a dismal 5.98 ERA in 49 2/3 frames between the Twins and Rays in 2016. He spent last year with the Nationals’ Triple-A affiliate but endured similar struggles, logging a 5.32 ERA in 23 2/3 innings of work. Jepsen has long shown the ability to miss bats, however, and was an effective closer for the Twins as recently as 2015. From 2012-15, he posted a 2.93 ERA with 8.7 K/9 against 3.2 BB/9 in 215 1/3 innings between the Angels, Rays and Twins.

Joseph, whom Philadelphia designated for assignment last week to make room for Jake Arrieta, lost his footing with the club after the emergence of Rhys Hoskins in 2017 and the signing of Carlos Santana during the offseason. There was simply no room on the Phillies’ roster for Joseph, a former catcher prospect who has become a first base/DH option in the majors.

The 26-year-old Joseph debuted with the Phillies in 2016 and was a solidly above-average hitter that year, with a .257/.308/.505 line (112 wRC+), 21 home runs and a .248 ISO in 347 plate appearances. Joseph went backward over a 533-PA sample size in 2017, though, as he slashed a subpar .240/.289/.432 (85 wRC+) with 22 HRs and a .192 ISO.

While Joseph was a regular in Philadelphia, that’s unlikely to be the case in Texas. With Joey Gallo occupying first and Shin-Soo Choo as the Rangers’ primary DH, there’s no obvious path to playing time for Joseph. He’ll either open the season on optional assignment or attempt to bounce back from last season as a bench bat.

Joseph, 26, simply found himself without a clear path to playing time after the Phils elected to give big money to Carlos Santana earlier in the winter. Without a DH spot to hide an extra bat, Joseph was a marginal competitor for a bench spot in camp.

That’s not to say he won’t hold some appeal to other organizations, though. Joseph has shown plenty of pop in his first two years in the majors, putting the ball over the fence 43 times in 880 plate appearances. But he’ll certainly need to boost his .297 OBP if he’s going to hold down a big league job, particularly given his lack of defensive flexibility.

Things would surely look quite a bit different if Joseph was still catching. Once a top-tier prospect as a backstop, concussion problems forced him out from behind the plate. The fact that he was still able to reach the majors as a first baseman is testament both to his talent and effort.

The Phillies signed Carlos Santana to a three-year, $60MM contract this offseason, pushing Rhys Hoskins to the outfield and rendering Joseph without an opportunity outside of a bench role. Phils skipper Gabe Kapler has been playing Joseph in the corner outfield this spring to enhance his versatility, but Joseph still faces an uphill battle when it comes to securing even semi-regular at-bats in a crowded first base/outfield mix with the Phils.

Here’s more out of the NL East…

• Erick Fedde made his first appearance of the spring this week, taking the mound for the first time since suffering a flexor strain that ended his season last summer. MLB.com’s Jamal Collier spoke with the promising Nationals right-hander, stating that he felt no lingering effects in his previously problematic forearm. Collier notes, too, that Fedde’s velocity looks to be back to normal after dipping last summer before the right-hander was shelved for the remainder of the year. While the 25-year-old Fedde, a former first-round pick and longtime top prospect in the organization, comes with plenty of upside and hopes to break camp with the club, Collier notes that his remaining minor league options could make that difficult. Right-hander A.J. Cole is the current favorite for the fifth spot in the Nats’ rotation, perhaps in part due to the fact that he’s out of options.
• Jacob deGrom’s availability for Opening Day is in question, writes Kristie Ackert of the New York Daily News. While the back stiffness that’s been hampering deGrom in the past few days isn’t believed to be serious, the Mets would prefer deGrom to make five starts to ramp up for the regular season. In order to make that schedule, he’d need to start a game by Sunday, and he’ll likely need to complete two bullpen sessions before he’s cleared to do so. The New York Post’s Mike Puma takes things a bit further, suggesting that deGrom may not be ready for the first week or so of the season (Twitter link). It’s understandable that the Mets would prefer to proceed with caution after the rampant injuries that ran through their pitching staff last season, though, and it doesn’t sound at present that deGrom is in danger of missing any significant time once the regular season rolls around.
• Marlins CEO Derek Jeter was largely dismissive of the grievance filed by the MLBPA against his team (as well as the Rays, A’s and Pirates), per Barry Jackson, Clark Spencer and Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald. “As we have done since the day we took over in October, we will continue to do everything we can to build a foundation for sustained success and improve this organization — which has not made the postseason since 2003 and has gone eight seasons without a winning record,” Jeter said in response to the grievance, which alleges that the four teams listed are not properly reallocating their revenue-sharing profits to improving their clubs.
• Sticking with the Marlins, Craig Davis of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel writes that non-roster invitee Scott Van Slyke has impressed manager Don Mattingly early in camp as he vies for a job. Mattingly, of course, knows Van Slyke well, having also managed him during his best years with the Dodgers. Van Slyke, Davis notes, changed his hitting mechanics this offseason at the behest of his father Andy — a two-time Silver Slugger winner and three-time big league All-Star. Of some note, Davis adds that Van Slyke’s minor league deal with the Fish does not contain an opt-out at the end of Spring Training, so even if he doesn’t make crack the 25-man roster, he could very well be ticketed for Triple-A New Orleans, where he’d serve as a depth option with a strong track record against left-handed pitching and experience in all three outfield slots.

More from around the NL East…

• “If I had the opportunity to pick a position, I would pick second base,” Asdrubal Cabrera tells Kevin Kernan of the New York Post.  This represents a change in attitude from during the season, when Cabrera was openly unhappy about moving from shortstop to the keystone, though Cabrera explained to Kernan that his displeasure over the position change stemmed from the move seemingly being sprung upon him with little notice.  “I was not happy with the communication,” Cabrera said.  The veteran infielder also noted that he likes playing third base, which looks to be his primary position for 2018 as things currently stand on the Mets’ roster.  New York has been primarily linked to second basemen in trade and free agent rumors, though Cabrera’s flexibility (and that of the re-signed Jose Reyes) make it possible that the Mets could still make a play for a third baseman.
• The Phillies have been unable to find a trade partner for Tommy Joseph this offseason, leaving the first baseman fighting for a roster spot as Spring Training approaches, The Athletic’s Matt Gelb writes (subscription required and recommended).  Rhys Hoskins’ presence led the Phils to shop Joseph last summer, and the path to first base playing time has become even more blocked now that Carlos Santana is a Phillie.  “You don’t know where you fit in,” Joseph said. “You don’t know what your role is. But those are all things that will evolve as spring training gets started and as we get deeper into March….I’ll go out there and earn my keep.”  As Gelb notes, the Phillies’ trade efforts have been hampered by the presence of so many other first base options still available in free agency.  Joseph still has a minor league option remaining, so he could find himself back in Triple-A after hitting 43 homers and a .247/.297/.460 slash line over his first 880 MLB plate appearances.
• The Braves plan to have a spirited Spring Training competition for rotation jobs, as manager Brian Snitker tells Gabriel Burns of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that as many as three starting spots could be up for grabs.  Julio Teheran and Mike Foltynewicz have two slots spoken for, and the newly-acquired Brandon McCarthy will be a strong favorite for the third slot if healthy.  That leaves the likes of Max Fried, Luiz Gohara, Lucas Sims, Sean Newcomb, and Mike Soroka battling for the remaining rotation spots, plus Scott Kazmir could also be a factor if he can recover from the injuries that sidelined him for all of the 2017 season.  Atlanta is more likely to use the starters that don’t win jobs as relievers rather than again use a six-man rotation, Snitker said.

A few more notes from the National League East…

• Jay Bruce was the focal point of trade rumors and (earlier in his tenure) criticism for much of his time with the Mets, but the slugger tells Dan Martin of the New York Post that he is “absolutely” open to a reunion with the Mets in free agency this winter. Bruce tells Martin that he’s never seen a team as gutted by injuries as the 2017 Mets and still believes the team has the talent to contend in 2018. “I believe the Mets are a team that feels obligated to put a winning group out there, barring any injuries,” says Bruce. “I enjoyed my time in New York. It’s a great group of guys there. The talent’s there. The nucleus is there. We’ll see what happens.”
• The Braves made what appear to be some fairly minor changes in their front office, reports Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (subscription required and recommended), but some within the organization wonder if they’re the start to larger alterations. Among the more notable changes, Dom Chiti has moved from director of pitching to farm director, per Rosenthal. Special assistant Dave Wallace will step into Chiti’s former role. Dave Trembley will no longer serve as farm director and will instead be a field coordinator. Many teams make changes to their front office structure and scouting departments around this time, so the exact timing of the moves isn’t a surprise. One club official, though, spoke to Rosenthal about a “power struggle,” rhetorically asking: “Is John Schuerholz running the club or are John Hart and John Coppolella running it?” Rosenthal cites other Braves sources in reporting that Hart refutes the validity of that view. Hart, according to Rosenthal, is expected to return next year (his contract runs through 2017), and the Braves are also expected to eventually hire another exec to work under current Coppolella, who is currently the GM.
• The Phillies still aren’t certain exactly where Rhys Hoskins will play for the remainder of the 2017 season once Aaron Altherr and Odubel Herrera are activated from the disabled list, writes MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki. But, Hoskins’ historic start to his MLB career all but ensures that he’ll be in the lineup on a daily basis down the stretch. Manager Pete Mackanin suggested that he knows fully what Herrera and Altherr are capable of, so Hoskins could get some at-bats at their expense down the stretch. He’ll also be mixed in at first base, though Mackanin suggested that current first baseman Tommy Joseph “is an asset” for the Phils as well. Also of note, Zolecki notes that top prospect J.P. Crawford “is certain” to receive a September call-up, so Phils fans will soon have another look at one of the team’s hopeful core pieces.
• Zolecki focuses on the 2017 season, but the issues that he raises lead to the greater question of Joseph’s future with the team. The Phillies have likely seen enough from Altherr and rookie Nick Williams that they’ll want each to get regular at-bats in the outfield corners next season, thus preventing Hoskins from playing left field. It seems largely inevitable that Hoskins will claim the regular first base role in 2018, barring the trade of a young outfielder this winter, which either makes Joseph himself a trade candidate or pushes him into a bench role.