MLB manager watch: Who’s out and latest on potential replacements

8:03 pm | September 30, 2019 | Go to Source | Author:

Sep 24, 2019

While baseball’s best teams prepare for what they hope will be a long run in October, the rest try to fix what went wrong — and in some cases, that means replacing the manager.

Here’s the latest on baseball’s managerial merry-go-round: who’s out, which vacancies are the most appealing and who might get the call.

Jump to vacancies: Angels | Cubs | Pirates | Royals | Padres | Giants

Open jobs

Los Angeles Angels

Out: Brad Ausmus

Record: Career — 386-422 (five seasons); with Angels — 72-90 (one season); 2019 — 72-90

Why he’s out: Based on all the scuttlebutt, the main reason Ausmus is out is because Joe Maddon became available. With Maddon’s deep connections with the Angels — he spent 31 years in the organization — there is “heavy expectation in the industry” that he will replace Ausmus, according to reporting by ESPN’s Jeff Passan. The Angels’ disappointing record in 2019 didn’t help Ausmus, but given all L.A. had to contend with (Tyler Skaggs’ death, numerous injuries, free-agent flops), it seems he might have been given another chance if not for the Cubs’ parting with Maddon.

Why L.A. is a good job: Well, there’s this guy named Mike Trout who’s pretty darn good and is tied up contractually for what could be the rest of his career. Then there’s Shohei Ohtani, whose two-way talents would be a fun toy for any manager. It’s a big market, not quite as glamorous as the Dodgers but a team that has been willing to spend in the past.

Why L.A. is a bad job: Beyond Trout and Ohtani, there’s not a ton to love on the major league roster, particularly on the pitching staff. As long as ownership is willing to go hard after a top arm or two in free agency (Gerrit Cole, perhaps?), the Angels should be able to contend. But if they don’t bolster their rotation significantly, they could continue to tread water.

Latest buzz: It’s all about Maddon. Passan said “it’s much more likely than not” Maddon will end up at the Angels’ helm. Theoretically, this could happen quickly.

Possible candidates: Unless and until Maddon falls off the board for some unforeseen reason, there’s not much point in digging any deeper.

Chicago Cubs

Out: Joe Maddon

Record: Career — 1,252-1,067 (16 seasons); with Cubs — 471-338 (five seasons); 2019 — 84-77

Why he’s out: In the heady days of 2016 after the Cubs’ first World Series championship since 1908, it was easy to imagine more titles coming in the very near future and a bronze statue of Maddon being placed outside Wrigley Field. But, three seasons later, there are no more rings (in fact, just one postseason series win) and a pink slip for Maddon, the fall guy for a team that has underachieved during a post-championship stretch that has been disappointing. The Cubs’ front office feels it’s time for a new voice.

Why Chicago is a good job: Although the roster is flawed, the Cubs still are loaded with talent (hence the feeling they have underachieved the past three years). It’s one of the sport’s premier franchises in one of the country’s biggest markets with one of the game’s wealthiest owners.

Why Chicago is a bad job: The Cubs have one of the top payrolls in baseball, but there seems to be little appetite to extend it further, which could limit the flexibility to improve this offseason. The Cubs are no longer lovable losers, and a taste of victory has ramped up not only the appetite of fans for more but the pressure on the manager and the rest of the team. There’s not much help coming from the farm anytime soon.

Latest buzz: Theo Epstein acknowledged Monday that former Cubs catcher and ESPN analyst David Ross is on the “broad list” of candidates, and Ross admitted to being interested in the job Sunday. Epstein also said the Cubs haven’t yet asked permission to talk with anyone under contract with another team, but Chicago is interested in at least one member of a playoff team and will consider internal candidates.

Possible candidates: Ross; Cubs bench coach Mark Loretta; former Cubs player/MLB Network analyst Mark DeRosa; Cubs first-base coach Will Venable; former Yankees and Marlins manager Joe Girardi; Astros bench coach Joe Espada.

Pittsburgh Pirates

Out: Clint Hurdle

Record: Career — 1,269-1,345 (17 seasons); with Pirates — 735-720 (nine seasons); 2019 — 69-92

Why he’s out: Four years removed from three consecutive wild-card appearances, the club is faced with the prospect of an extended rebuild with attendance already in the dumper after the team’s high-profile trades — shipping out stars such as Gerrit Cole and Andrew McCutchen or bringing in Chris Archer — didn’t keep the Pirates anywhere close to contention.

Why Pittsburgh is a good job: For a skipper ready to ride out that rebuild, there’s some talent to work with. The lineup has a few major building blocks in place, such as Josh Bell and Starling Marte, and has talent on the rise. The pitching staff provides some tantalizing possibilities for candidates ready to wait out the recoveries from surgery of Jameson Taillon and Chad Kuhl, or for anybody who has a good idea for how to get Archer back to ace-grade performance.

Why Pittsburgh is a bad job: Will the ownership group ever really invest in keeping the best talent the team develops? GM Neal Huntington worked with Hurdle to milk the organization’s modest peak with a decent core in 2013-15, but didn’t have the time or money to build upon or even just sustain that. The Pirates’ track record for developing their homegrown pitching talent is not good.

Latest buzz: Hurdle opted to not manage on the final day of the season after he found out the team was heading in another direction. The future shape of the coaching staff will depend on who gets brought in to manage.

Possible candidates: It’s easy to nominate everybody’s favorite Pennsylvania native, Joe Maddon, but the combination of expense with the Buccos’ uncompetitiveness should keep that off the table. This has a good chance of being an opening stocked with a first-timer instead of dipping into the MLB managers recycling bin, but one name who would be a natural fit is Jeff Bannister, who is a Pirates lifer save for his four seasons as Rangers manager (2015-18). He was Hurdle’s bench coach from 2011 to 2014 and was a baseball operations special assistant this season.

Kansas City Royals

Out: Ned Yost

Record: Career — 1,202-1,339 (16 seasons); with Royals — 745-837 (10 seasons); 2019 — 58-101

Why he’s out: Yost, who led the Royals to their only World Series title in 2015, announced on Sept. 23 that he is retiring at the end of the season. He is the longest-tenured and winningest manager in franchise history.

Why K.C. is a good job: New ownership could mean a change in the low-payroll practices that have helped keep the Royals firmly entrenched in the second division for the vast majority of the past 25 years. Of course, it’s still a small market, so that is no guarantee.

Why K.C. is a bad job: Yost’s run of success from 2013 to 2015 is quite the outlier. Other than those years, the Royals have had just one winning season since 1995. Despite all the losing, most of the team’s top prospects are still at least a year or two away. On the plus side, Bobby Witt Jr., the No. 2 overall pick in this year’s draft, is a top-25 prospect.

Latest buzz: The ink wasn’t even dry on Yost’s retirement announcement before chatter stirred about former Cardinals manager Mike Matheny being the front-runner to replace him. Actually, that began in November, when Matheny was hired by the Royals as a special adviser. But that move was under outgoing owner David Glass. The plans of the group headed by John Sherman, which won’t take over until MLB owners approve the sale, remain to be seen.

Possible candidates: Matheny; Royals bench coach Dale Sveum, who replaced Yost as Brewers interim manager in 2008; Royals catching/quality control coach Pedro Grifol; Phillies third-base coach Dusty Wathan, who’s the son of former Royals manager John Wathan.

San Diego Padres

Out: Andy Green

Record: Career — 274-366 (four seasons, all with Padres); 2019 — 69-85

Why he’s out: With expectations raised this year after the signing of Manny Machado and the elevation of some touted prospects (including Fernando Tatis Jr. for 84 games before he was hurt), San Diego sagged in the second half, going 24-40 under Green after the All-Star break. With $300 million invested in Machado and one of the most dynamic young players in the game, the Padres rightfully expect more in 2020 and beyond.

Why San Diego is a good job: Tatis heads one of the best groups of young players in the game, with more on the way. The team was .500 in the first half, and momentum seemed to be building at times. Plus, we hear the weather is nice.

Why San Diego is a bad job: There is no tradition of winning — the Padres have gone 13 years without making the playoffs — so that must be established. The Dodgers are in the NL West, and they figure to be a tough hill to climb for at least the next few years. The Padres also need a front-line starting pitcher and rotation depth to be a legitimate contender, but that is at the top of GM A.J. Preller’s to-do list.

Latest buzz: With the vultures circling Wrigley Field over the weekend, expected-to-be-former Cubs manager Joe Maddon shot to the top of the presumed Padres wish list, at least according to the Twitterverse. Contract terms could be an issue — Maddon made $6 million in Chicago — but the similarities between the current Padres and the 2015 Cubs whom Maddon took over (and led to the World Series title the following year) are hard to ignore.

Possible candidates: Maddon; Padres bench coach Rod Barajas; Moises Alou, Padres special assistant to GM A.J. Preller; Cubs bench coach Mark Loretta, a former Padres player and special assistant in baseball ops; Yankees third-base coach Phil Nevin, a former Padres player; Braves third-base coach and former Rangers manager Ron Washington; former Yankees and Marlins manager Joe Girardi; former Angels manager Mike Scioscia.

San Francisco Giants

Out: Bruce Bochy

Record: Career — 2,002-2,026 (25 seasons); with Giants — 1,051-1,051 (13 seasons); 2019 — 76-82

Why he’s out: Bochy announced in February that he was retiring after the season.

Why San Francisco is a good job: The front office, led by Farhan Zaidi, is well-respected, and the Giants have kept their payroll high enough to be a consistent contender. It’s a cornerstone franchise with a solid, supportive fan base.

Why San Francisco is a bad job: The major league roster is not good, and rotation mainstay Madison Bumgarner will be a free agent and seems likely to sign elsewhere. A pretty significant rebuild is due, and the Giants’ farm system was 26th in Keith Law’s rankings entering the 2019 season.

Latest buzz: There really hasn’t been much, considering this has been a vacancy for six months. But with Bochy’s farewell tour winding down, things should be picking up very soon.

Possible candidates: Giants bench coach Hensley Meulens; Dodgers bench coach and former A’s manager Bob Geren; Dodgers special assistant/baseball ops Raul Ibanez; Angels special assistant to GM Eric Chavez; Yankees bench coach Josh Bard

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