The 2017 Major League Baseball Player Chatter, News and Fantasy Thread.

**EmpireMaker** · 10-18-17, 01:03 AM

Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post tackles a number of topics pertaining to the Rockies’ offseason in his latest Rockies Mailbag column. Among the more interesting items of note, Saunders opines that Carlos Gonzalez’s days in Colorado are through, noting that it’s unlikely that he’ll receive a qualifying offer. Saunders also notes that the ascension of prospect Ryan McMahon, who has been working out at second base, could also cloud DJ LeMahieu’s future with the club. LeMahieu is a free agent after the 2018 season, and McMahon has little left to prove in the minors. McMahon cut his teeth as a corner infielder, however, so it seems possible that the Rox could yet view him as an option at first base, where they’re currently a bit unsettled. Ian Desmond, of course, is an option there, though he could also be utilized in the outfield or elsewhere on the diamond (perhaps even at second base, speculatively speaking, though he has hasn’t played there since 2009 with the Nationals).
A bit more from the game’s Western divisions…

Dodgers righty Yu Darvish reached out to Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News with an unprompted message to praise Rangers pitching coach Doug Brocail and recently fired bullpen coach Brad Holman. As Grant notes, Darvish’s recent improvements and changed mechanics have led to criticism for his coaches with the Rangers. “…There should be no criticism of Doug Brocail or Brad Holman,” said Darvish. “They are both very good coaches without a doubt. They are also great people. I’m not the kind of person who lies, so please trust me when I say this.” Darvish goes on to explain some of the alterations that he’s made since changing teams and eventually comes back to the point that there’s “no major difference in coaching or philosophy” that has led to his rebound following his trade to Los Angeles.
Following up on Evan Drellich’s recent report that Red Sox hitting coach Chili Davis will interview for the same position with the Padres, Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune adds that the Padres have also interviewed four other candidates for the currently vacant post. Lin also notes that the Friars won’t bring infield coach Ramon Vazquez back to the coaching staff next year, though rather than making a new hire, his duties could potentially be absorbed by third base coach Glenn Hoffman. “We decided to go in a different direction to work with and lead our infielders,” manager Andy Green tells Lin.
The Angels will be on the hunt for multiple relievers that can pitch multiple innings this winter, writes MLB.com’s Maria Guaradado. “I believe every bullpen needs at least two guys that can pitch multiple innings,” GM Billy Eppler said this month, per Guardado. “At least two.” Yusmeiro Petit excelled for the Angels in that capacity this year, tossing 91 1/3 innings of 2.76 ERA ball with 10.0 K/9 against 1.8 BB/9. Eppler wouldn’t comment on the possibility of retaining Petit, though it stands to reason based on Eppler’s outspoken interest in players of his skill set and Petit’s success in Anaheim that the team would at least have interest.

**JAKEPEAVY21** · 10-18-17, 07:47 AM

Originally posted by Cross

Must win for Cubs tonight, season on the line. Go Cubs Go!

have a lovely off-season

**Chi_archie** · 10-18-17, 07:47 AM

Originally posted by yisman

odd decision giving McCullers a start.

yeah, bunch of weirdos

**koz-man** · 10-18-17, 09:04 AM

Joe Maddon isn't going to do anything out of the norm with his team down 3-0. He has three meetings during a season: Spring training, the All-Star break and before the playoffs. "There's nothing inspirational I can say at this point," he said.

**Cross** · 10-18-17, 02:36 PM

Who is your team again, Peavy?

**yisman** · 10-18-17, 10:48 PM

I haven't been able to watch the full games so I've been watching the condensed games afterwards.

The problem is that it's impossible to avoid spoilers in the playoffs.

**ApricotSinner32** · 10-18-17, 11:05 PM

Originally posted by yisman

I haven't been able to watch the full games so I've been watching the condensed games afterwards.

The problem is that it's impossible to avoid spoilers in the playoffs.

**Cross** · 10-19-17, 12:05 AM

What an effort by Arrieta, please sign him Cubs!

**Chi_archie** · 10-19-17, 03:13 AM

Originally posted by Cross

What an effort by Arrieta, please sign him Cubs!

I think their $ and tying up those years is best spent elsewhere

**EmpireMaker** · 10-19-17, 06:05 AM

The Mets formally removed Terry Collins from his post as manager earlier this month, shifting him to a front office role and embarking on a search to replace the longest-tenured manager in franchise history. Since that time, they’ve been connected to a flurry of names, some speculatively and others more definitively. Reportedly, the Mets began interviewing candidates earlier this week.
As we’ve done with the Tigers, Phillies, and Red Sox, we’ll house all of the managerial chatter for the Mets in one place and update accordingly as candidates either further their case or are removed from consideration. Here’s where the Mets’ search stands, at present:
Latest Updates

First-round interviews are still going on, per an update from Puma (via Twitter). Manny Acta, Joe McEwing, and Mickey Callaway will all have wrapped theirs up by the end of the day today.
Two former Mets bench coaches — Bob Geren and Chip Hale — will not be considered for the managerial opening, Carig reports. Both had previously seemed to be candidates but will not receive interviews.
Ventura tells Puma that he was not specifically rejecting interest from the Mets. Rather, he is “not pursuing any of the [current managerial] openings,” he says.

Will Interview/Have Interviewed

White Sox bench coach Joe McEwing has had his interview, as Mike Puma of the New York Post recently reported (via Twitter). The former big league utilityman has been in the Chicago organization since 2008, working as a minor league coach and manager before being promoted to the big league coaching staff; McEwing served as the bench coach last season after five years as the Sos third base coach.
Mets hitting coach Kevin Long has interviewed for the position, as Mike Puma of the New York Post first reported. Long has minor league managerial experience in addition to 11 seasons as a Major League hitting coach (2007-14 with the Yankees, 2015-17 with the Mets). Long, Puma writes, has earned the trust of the Mets’ front office with his communication skills and grasp of analytics. He’s not currently signed beyond the 2017 season. [Update: Long has had his interview, Newsday’s Marc Carig tweets.]
ESPN’s Marly Rivera reports that Astros bench coach Alex Cora is part of the Mets’ first wave of managerial interviews (Twitter link). Cora has experience managing in winter ball in addition to his current role as Houston’s bench coach and is a coveted managerial candidate; he’s also reportedly set for an interview with the Tigers and has been connected to the Red Sox as well.
The Mets will sit down with Indians pitching coach Mickey Callaway on Wednesday, per Mike Puma of the New York Post (via Twitter). Previously, we had learned that the team was “expected to show interest” in Callaway, as Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic tweeted. Callaway is regarded as one of the game’s best in his current role, but he’s beginning to garner managerial interest around the game as well.
New York is also interviewing Manny Acta, per ESPN.com’s Buster Olney (via Twitter). Acta is currently the Mariners’ third base coach — a position he once held with the Mets — and has previously skippered the Nationals and Indians.

Potential Candidates

It is not presently known whether the Mets will interview Indians first base coach Sandy Alomar Jr., but he was among the potential candidates listed by Marc Carig of Newsday (with FanRag’s Jon Heyman, the New York Post’s Mike Puma, and Kristie Ackert of the New York Daily News also reporting on initial names).

Not in the Mix/No Longer in Consideration

While the Mets had “serious interest” in recently dismissed Tigers manager Brad Ausmus, according to Peter Gammons (Twitter link), that was evidently not reciprocal. Ausmus has decided not to pursue the position. Former White Sox skipper Robin Ventura, too, is said not to have much interest in the opportunity. Likewise, Dodgers bench coach Bob Geren and A’s third base coach Chip Hale aren’t under consideration, per Carig. Those potential candidates were among the preliminary names under consideration according to reports from Carig and the other reporters cited above.
Carig reports that the Mets don’t have interest in pursuing recently fired Red Sox skipper John Farrell (Twitter link).
Rays third base coach Charlie Montoyo, who had previously been rumored to be in the mix for the job, is not a consideration according to Puma (on Twitter)

**JAKEPEAVY21** · 10-19-17, 08:21 AM

Originally posted by Cross

Who is your team again, Peavy?

doesn't matter as I'm not the annoying shameless fanboy type.

**koz-man** · 10-19-17, 03:18 PM

Tony La Russa and Dave Dombrowski are old friends, but La Russa isn't interested in managing Red Sox — or any other team. "Passed the managerial baton," La Russa wrote in an e-mail. "I'm done." The Hall of Fame manager announced Wednesday he will leave his position in the Diamondbacks front office when his contract expires at month's end. La Russa, 73, hasn't managed since 2011 with the Cardinals.

**Cross** · 10-19-17, 06:31 PM

Haha, Peavy cracks me up.

**Chi_archie** · 10-19-17, 11:01 PM

Originally posted by koz-man

Tony La Russa and Dave Dombrowski are old friends, but La Russa isn't interested in managing Red Sox — or any other team. "Passed the managerial baton," La Russa wrote in an e-mail. "I'm done." The Hall of Fame manager announced Wednesday he will leave his position in the Diamondbacks front office when his contract expires at month's end. La Russa, 73, hasn't managed since 2011 with the Cardinals.

Larussa is old

**BarkingToad** · 10-20-17, 12:24 AM

La Russa helped Arizona get good in a short time.

**EmpireMaker** · 10-20-17, 12:31 AM

Ron Gardenhire has agreed to a three-year deal to become the Tigers’ next manager, per Jon Morosi of MLB Network (Twitter link). The deal could be announced tomorrow; Detroit’s decision to tab the veteran skipper was first reported earlier today by Ken Rosenthal and Katie Strang of The Athletic (subscription required and recommended).

Detroit will install the widely respected 59-year-old in the dugout in place of Brad Ausmus, whom the club decided not to retain past the present season. Gardenhire previously managed the division-rival Twins and most recently served as the Diamondbacks’ bench coach. He also fought through a diagnosis of prostate cancer earlier this year, returning to help guide the Diamondbacks to a successful season.
At last check, Tigers GM Al Avila had cast a wide net in lining up options. While there was no prior indication that a decision was looming, Detroit obviously decided to go ahead with Gardenhire, perhaps due in some part to ongoing competition with other organizations. Gardenhire was also under consideration for the Red Sox job, though that is expected to go to Alex Cora.
After moving on from Ausmus, who was a rookie skipper when he signed on, the Tigers have indicated a clear preference for a candidate with prior time as a MLB manager. Gardenhire certainly checks that box. He spent thirteen years running things for the Twins, beginning in 2012. That tenure spanned quite a few good years, including a run of six postseason appearances in nine years, though the team’s performance fell off sharply in his final four campaigns.
Gardy ultimately delivered a 1,068-and-1,039 win/loss record during his time in Minnesota, which wrapped up after the 2014 campaign. He failed to guide the team into the World Series and only made it out of the divisional round once despite the run of regular season success.
In any event, postseason considerations likely won’t be much of a factor early in Gardenhire’s tenure with Detroit. The team is only just embarking upon a rebuilding effort that is likely to take several seasons to come to fruition, after all, placing it more in the situation that the Twins found themselves in back in 2011 — the first year of the four-season run of misery. Gardenhire, then, has his share of experience in bringing along younger players through a rebuilding stage. While he ultimately was cut loose in Minnesota, perhaps some of his efforts are beginning to bear fruit there.
It’ll be interesting to see how this relationship works out. Avila had suggested a need for a new approach from a new skipper, but evidently was not referring to a strong sabermetric predilection. Gardenhire brings a reputation as an old-school manager, after all. As Joe Posnanski wrote at the end of his tenure in Minnesota: “Gardy comes from the Tom Kelly school — he was the valedictorian of the Tom Kelly school — where managers grump and demand and instill and bunt too much and occasionally fall in love with limited but gritty players.” That said, Gardenhire is also said to carry a new “openness” to modern analytics after his year with the D-Backs, Morosi tweets. Avila and the Tigers are betting that approach will help foster the growth of a new core and ultimately guide the team back into contention.

**Otters27** · 10-20-17, 05:24 AM

Yankees vs Dodgers MLB dream series

**JAKEPEAVY21** · 10-20-17, 07:37 AM

can Houston win 2 in a row?

**koz-man** · 10-20-17, 10:36 AM

For the third straight year, Wrigley Field is home to the NLCS clincher. The 2017 Dodgers follow the 2016 Cubs and 2015 Mets in wrapping up the NL pennant in Chicago.

**Cross** · 10-20-17, 03:07 PM

Amazing performance by the Dodgers. I would be surprised if the Yankees can make the series go six games with them.

**ApricotSinner32** · 10-21-17, 03:31 AM

Originally posted by Cross

Amazing performance by the Dodgers. I would be surprised if the Yankees can make the series go six games with them.

**BarkingToad** · 10-21-17, 05:19 AM

Do the Yanks have 1 more road win in them?

**Chi_archie** · 10-21-17, 05:21 AM

Originally posted by BarkingToad

Do the Yanks have 1 more road win in them?

I think they do

**JAKEPEAVY21** · 10-21-17, 07:26 AM

let's go astros!!

**Otters27** · 10-21-17, 08:05 AM

Feels like Astros grabbed back the momentum

**koz-man** · 10-21-17, 08:56 AM

Originally posted by BarkingToad

Do the Yanks have 1 more road win in them?

I hope not !!!

**koz-man** · 10-21-17, 08:56 AM

When it comes to facing Astros second baseman Jose Altuve, it isn't as simple as throwing a good pitch. Just ask Yankees reliever David Robertson, who served up Altuve's eighth-inning home run in Game 6 of the ALCS. "I threw it exactly where I wanted to," Robertson said. "And he hit it out of the park."

**Cross** · 10-21-17, 12:02 PM

Time for football, crown the Dodgers now.

**mr. leisure** · 10-21-17, 01:28 PM

Thinking the stros take game 7 tonight .

**EmpireMaker** · 10-21-17, 10:19 PM

McCullers with his first save and the Astros are going to the World Series !!!

**Andy117** · 10-21-17, 10:37 PM

Lost 2000 points and another $100 on the Yankees.

**yisman** · 10-21-17, 10:48 PM

Verlander ALCS MVP

weird play with Springer taking it away from Gonzalez

**BigSpoon** · 10-21-17, 11:11 PM

Astros-Dodgers should be good.

**JAKEPEAVY21** · 10-22-17, 06:08 AM

Originally posted by BigSpoon

Astros-Dodgers should be good.

looking forward to it, hopefully Houston wins in 7..

**ApricotSinner32** · 10-22-17, 08:02 AM

Originally posted by JAKEPEAVY21

looking forward to it, hopefully Houston wins in 7..