Well, one of the big pieces of news this past week was that manager Joe Girardi was let go by his disappointed employers, the high-spending Philadelphia Phillies. As always happens, when one shoe falls, it usually means there’ll be teams that will now feel it’s OK to do the same.
There are a number of viable candidates, so let me throw you my two cents as to who might be on the hot seat right now and what teams might have a new manager for the 2023 season.
Let’s start out in Anaheim. Joe Maddon has had a great run as a full-time major league skipper since 2006. With 17 consecutive seasons under his belt with the Rays, Cubs and Angels, it just might be the end of the run.
Maddon’s time in Anaheim could best be described as hugely disappointing, and his contract expires at the end of 2022. His club got out of the gate very well, but the Halos are currently on an 11-game losing streak. Unless you hear from owner Arte Moreno in the next two weeks that Maddon is his man and that he is extending him, Maddon will be the next manager to go.
Two managers in the AL Central, Tony La Russa and Terry Francona, both figure to get long leashes before anything happens to them in-season. And let’s be clear: Francona will not be fired at any point by the Guardians. That said, both sides could very well make a decision in the best interests of the club and his health. If that doesn’t happen in 2022, there is a good chance he won’t be at the helm in 2023. His contract expires after this season.
La Russa has a close and abiding relationship with owner Jerry Reinsdorf. He won’t be fired, per se, but if his team doesn’t make a real run in the playoffs, Reinsdorf could have to make a decision to cut ties with the Hall of Fame skipper, if for no other reason than his front office may be privately fuming that this decision wasn’t its call to begin with.
I am sure GM Rick Hahn was perfectly happy with the genial, good baseball man Rick Renteria.
It looks like Royals skipper Mike Matheny is entering the danger zone. His boss, Dayton Moore, is a solid, slow-moving baseball man. Moore knows he embarked upon a rebuild, but he won’t fire himself. After 52 games this year, Matheny’s Royals are just 17-35. I doubt he’d be let go in-season, but he would be wise to get things turned around so there is an angle to keep him. So far, he doesn’t look like a difference-maker.
I am perturbed that Orioles GM Mike Elias can proclaim blue skies are ahead for his team — just before right-hander Grayson Rodriguez was shut down with a Grade 2 lat strain — and yet make no real mention of the status of his manager.
Elias is incredibly tight-lipped about sharing things with his media, so maybe quietly he has told Hyde he’ll be back. I would still rate Hyde’s chances of getting a one- to two-year extension as in the 80 percent range.
Another American League manager who might not be so lucky, if he doesn’t have a good next few weeks, is Mariners skipper Scott Servais. He is close to Mariners GM Jerry Dipoto, but Girardi was a buddy of Phillies team president Dave Dombrowski, too. Business is still business.
The Marlins have made some rumblings that manager Don Mattingly’s time could be coming to a close. He never got the job he most coveted with the Yankees, but he has carved out a decade-long run with the Dodgers and Marlins. Marlins GM Kim Ng deserves the chance to start clean with someone she really wants in the job.
One last skipper who could go is Reds manager David Bell. He deserved to be dealt a better hand. Ownership continued to slash payroll via trade and replace veterans with younger and cheaper players. Bell would likely get another shot in reasonably short order. He is respected in the game, and his baseball peers know there isn’t anyone who could have handled this any better.
Now, time for my power rankings.
1. New York Yankees (39-15, No. 2 last week): I feel bad about trajectory of Miguel Andujar’s career, but trading him will not adversely affect this version of the Bronx Bombers.
2. New York Mets (37-19, No. 3): The clock just keeps ticking, and we are getting closer to the return of Jacob deGrom and Max Scherzer. Don’t bet against owner Steve Cohen pulling one more rabbit out of his cash-laden hat, either.
3. Houston Astros (35-19, No. 4): Kyle Tucker and Yordan Alvarez developing into star players allowed the Astros to let Carlos Correa walk. How does Tucker steal nine out of 10 bases? Amazing.
4. Los Angeles Dodgers (35-19, No. 1): I was reading the other day that lefty Andrew Heaney and second baseman Max Muncy are both getting close to going out on their rehab assignments. I know Heaney will help with the Dodgers’ rotation depth, but it could take Muncy until next year to become relevant again as he battles back from the UCL tear in his left elbow last September. Muncy elected not to undergo Tommy John surgery.
5. Milwaukee Brewers (33-23, No. 5): I keep waiting for manager Craig Counsell to fix what keeps his team from really being in the championship chatter. The Phillies, the post-Girardi 4-0 juggernaut, are next up at Miller Park.
6. San Diego Padres (33-21, No. 6): I blinked and the Robinson Canó era began and ended in San Diego. There ought to be an investigation as to who thought that was a good idea. On the plus side, manager Bob Melvin was at the helm for the Padres’ series win in Milwaukee (three of four) after returning from prostate surgery.
7. St. Louis Cardinals (32-23, No. 11): I don’t know what the Cardinals have in mind for the deadline, but adding outfielder Juan Yepez and infielders Nolan Gorman and Brendan Donovan has really added a new dimension to manager Oliver Marmol’s lineup.
8. Toronto Blue Jays (31-22, No. 9): I know we are all obsessed with big names, but are you telling me if team president Mark Shapiro and GM Ross Atkins had, say, Buck Showalter or Bruce Bochy, this team wouldn’t be dead-even with the Yankees?
9. Tampa Bay Rays (31-23, No. 8): Good news on the horizon for the Rays. Star pitching prospect Shane Baz threw four innings of shutout ball on a rehab start for Triple-A Durham.
10. Minnesota Twins (32-24, No. 7): The Twins are hanging tough and have benefitted a good bit from the four other teams in the AL Central, but the White Sox and Guardians are starting to look more and more like they should have all season.
11. Boston Red Sox (27-27, No. 14)
12. San Francisco Giants (29-24, No. 12)
13. Atlanta Braves (28-27, No. 15)
14. Cleveland Guardians (24-25, No. 18)
15. Chicago White Sox (25-27, No. 13)
16. Los Angeles Angels (27-28, No. 10)
17. Arizona Diamondbacks (26-29, No. 16)
18. Seattle Mariners (24-30, No. 19)
19. Texas Rangers (25-28, No. 21)
20. Philadelphia Phillies (25-29, No. 22)
21. Pittsburgh Pirates (24-28, No. 24)
22. Miami Marlins (22-30, No. 20)
23. Colorado Rockies (23-31, No. 17)
24. Baltimore Orioles (23-33, No. 25)
25. Chicago Cubs (23-32, No. 26)
26. Oakland Athletics (20-36, No. 23)
27. Detroit Tigers (21-33, No. 27)
28. Washington Nationals (21-35, No. 28)
29. Kansas City Royals (17-35, No. 29)
30. Cincinnati Reds (18-35, No. 30)