Rosenthal: Why struggling managers aren't yet feeling the hot seat, a Royal boost and more MLB notes (2024)

Man, has this sport gone soft.

Some of you might recall my past references to “The Curse of Samuel Joseph,” the phrase coined by the late Jerome Holtzman of the Chicago Tribune in May 1991 when a manager was fired on each of the first three days of my son’s life.

Every year around Sam’s birthday, I would make sure to be on high alert, knowing with the season about one-fourth complete, teams would start getting itchy.

This year, I took a nap.

Since 2018, only four managers have been dumped in the middle of the season, all in 2022 (the tally excludes late-September, get-it-over-with dismissals). Teams that shift course generally wait until the end of the season, when the samples are more complete and the moves are less jarring.

The reluctance of teams to make in-season changes is in many ways a positive development. Firings are never pleasant. And as heads of baseball operations preach collaboration, they should be reluctant to scapegoat managers who essentially act as extensions of the front office.

The lull this season, at least so far, is in part a reflection of recent turnover. Eight teams, or more than 25 percent, are under new dugout leadership. Not all of those changes were the results of firings. The Houston Astros’ Dusty Baker and Cleveland Guardians’ Terry Francona retired. Craig Counsell left the Milwaukee Brewers for the Chicago Cubs after his contract expired. The San Diego Padres allowed Bob Melvin to depart for the San Francisco Giants.

The newbies, almost by definition, are safe. Two, the Cleveland Guardians’ Stephen Vogt and Brewers’ Pat Murphy, are leading teams in first place. And among the teams that qualify as disappointments, all seem disinclined, for one reason or another, to make a move.

The Cincinnati Reds would look dumb for firing David Bell, whom they extended at the end of last season. The St. Louis Cardinals – winners of eight of their last 10 – would look even dumber for firing Oli Marmol, whom they extended in March. The team, coming off its first last-place finish since 1990, wanted to eliminate the potential distraction of Marmol managing in the final year of his contract — a decision many in the industry viewed as curious. The Miami Marlins’ Skip Schumaker, the reigning NL Manager of the Year, could be a candidate for Marmol’s job, among others, at the end of the season. The Marlins during the offseason voided Schumaker’s contract option for 2025, enabling him to depart.

The Colorado Rockies are headed for their sixth straight losing season under Bud Black, but a midseason change would appear pointless. Ditto for the Chicago White Sox with Pedro Grifol, who is in his second year. The Texas Rangers’ Bruce Bochy and Arizona Diamondbacks’ Torey Lovullo also are presiding over sub-.500 clubs, but ahem, they managed against each other in the 2023 World Series.

The Toronto Blue Jays, last in the AL East with the highest payroll in team history, are perhaps the most fascinating case. Team president Mark Shapiro and general manager Ross Atkins were the ones who chose John Schneider to replace Charlie Montoyo in July 2022. Bench coach Don Mattingly would be a logical replacement for Schneider, even though Mattingly is also offensive coordinator and the Blue Jays rank next-to-last in runs per game. A second change within two years, however, only would reinforce the perception that the front office doesn’t have the answers.

Which often is the problem with firing a manager, isn’t it? The true problem lies above.

Lugo, Wacha giving Royals boost

When trying to calculate the value of a free agent, teams do not always account for the positive effect a veteran can have on younger players. While that intangible cannot be measured, it often is real. The 2024 Kansas City Royals are a case in point.

Seth Lugo (three years, $45 million, opt out after two seasons) and Michael Wacha (two years, $32 million, opt out after one) are not only providing quality innings, but also teaching the Royals’ younger starters how the job should be done.

“I’ve always wanted to get deeper into games, control my pitch count, stay away from the big inning — that’s something that has been a downfall for me in my career,” right-hander Brady Singer said. “This year, I’m doing a little better job of that, just watching those two guys, how they navigate through the innings.”

The lessons from Lugo, 34, and Wacha, 32, are helping not just Singer, 27, but also Cole Ragans and Alec Marsh, both of whom are 26. Only three teams, the Philadelphia Phillies, Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees, boast better rotation ERAs than the Royals. Lugo is second in the AL with 65 1/3 innings and first with a 1.79 ERA. Wacha has a 4.45 ERA, but along with Ragans and Singer also ranks among the top 20 in the AL in innings.

“The way they’re setting up hitters, attacking hitters, studying hitters, has been a massive benefit for all of us,” Singer said. “Lugo can pick apart every single batter without even pitching. The work he puts in between outings has been huge. I’ve done a much deeper dive into analytics and studying guys and figuring out how to get guys out, not only the first time, but the third time through the lineup. It’s the same with Wacha.”

The Royals’ five starters have taken every turn but two; the exceptions occurred only because Marsh needed time on the injured list after getting struck on the elbow by a batted ball. The team’s two free-agent relievers, Will Smith (7.63 ERA) and Chris Stratton (4.95), have not been as successful. But for the starters, Lugo and Wacha have set a clear tone.

“They never let an inning get too big on ‘em,” Singer said. “They have the same look on their face, the same idea: ‘I’m just going to get this guy out and move on to the next one.’ They’re not looking too much forward, thinking about the outcome of the inning. They’re focused on the next pitch. And I’ve benefited from watching them.”

‘Live fungo’ making Riley even better

Austin Riley was a NL Gold Glove finalist last season at third base, and Atlanta Braves people say his defense this season is even better. Riley, who hasn’t played since leaving a May 12 game with a tight left intercostal muscle, attributes his improvement to a drill introduced by bench/infield coach Walt Weiss and third base coach Matt Tuiasosopo — “live fungo.”

In the drill, a coach stands in the batter’s box with a fungo bat, hitting flips from another coach to an infielder as hard as he can.

“I had never done it, never heard of it until this year,” Riley said. “You’re getting those true topspin, one-hopper, two-hoppers at third. I told Walt after we started doing it in spring, I didn’t know that was something I really needed. It has been a game changer for me.”

Weiss, a major-league shortstop from 1987 to 2000, said he adopted the drill from his playing days. He found it particularly valuable in spring training, when he might play five innings every other day and not get a grounder for two weeks.

“The spin off the bat is more game-like,” Weiss said. “Regular fungos are very vanilla.”

The Braves, Riley included, revere their previous infield coach, Ron Washington. Washington left after last season to become the Los Angeles Angels manager. Riley continues to refer to him as “the best.” But as Riley put it, “Different guys do different things, click different ways.”

“Live fungo” clicked for Riley. A Gold Glove could be next.

Luis Gil: A Yankees success story

When it comes to the acquisition of Luis Gil, the Yankees were both lucky and good. Lucky because they acquired Gil from the Minnesota Twins for outfielder Jake Cave when the right-hander was 19 and still in rookie ball. Good because they saw qualities in Gil that made him a target, then enhanced those qualities through player development.

As The Athletic’s Chris Kirschner wrote Thursday in his detailed look at Gil’s ascent, the Yankees first became aware of the pitcher in 2017. Travis Chapman, the Yankees’ current first-base coach, was then the manager of the team’s Dominican Summer League affiliate. General manager Brian Cashman said Chapman, after watching Gil pitch against the DSL Yankees, advised club officials to put him on their radar. The Yankees, using their technology in the Dominican, began tracking Gil through data and video.

The designation of Cave for assignment on March 12, 2018, in Cashman’s words, prompted, “a lot of action.” Teams were willing to give up a player for Cave rather than risk him going through the waiver process. The Twins balked at several players the Yankees requested before finally agreeing to part with Gil, Cashman said.

The Yankees plugged Gil into senior director of pitching Sam Briend’s development program. The pitcher made his major-league debut in 2021, producing a 3.07 ERA in six starts, but his progress stalled when he underwent Tommy John surgery on May 21, 2022. His return this season has been nothing short of spectacular. Gil, 26, has a 2.39 ERA in nine starts, and last Saturday against the White Sox, set a Yankees rookie record with 14 strikeouts.

“Great work by Cash and his staff there to identify some interesting stuff but also to bring him along developmentally,” Twins chief baseball officer Derek Falvey said. “He was a DSL guy at the time who had a really good arm with some command issues and dealt with some elbow trouble.

“We actually liked Jake for our team a lot at the time and he had a really nice start here in that 2018 season. He battled some injuries after that and has still carved out some good roles along the way. But we certainly felt Gil was one where the Yankees had identified some upside skills there and then developed him well.”

Profar’s emergence? Assist, Tatis

San Diego Padres right fielder Fernando Tatis Jr. might have a future as a hitting coach. During spring training, Tatis noticed something amiss in Jurickson Profar’s load, the way his teammate gathered momentum on his backside to prepare for a swing. Profar made the adjustment, and attributes part of his success this season to the change.

“It was more finding his rhythm . . . finding what was his best load (so) he felt fluid,” Tatis said. “I just gave him feedback on what he was doing and him telling me what he felt, kind of working like a mirror. It was just good baseball hitting talk through daily work.”

Profar, 31, entered the season a .239 career hitter with an adjusted OPS 8 percent below league average. Through Tuesday, he was batting .339, third in the majors, with an adjusted OPS 75 percent above league average. He ranked fourth overall in Baseball-Reference’s calculation of the latter metric, ahead of Mookie Betts, Aaron Judge, Juan Soto and numerous others.

Regression is perhaps imminent — Profar’s expected numbers (.309 average, .448 slugging percentage) were considerably lower than his actual ones (.339, .515). But he has looked more like the player who was the game’s consensus No. 1 prospect in 2013 than the one he has been most of his career.

Earlier this season, Profar also credited Tatis’ father, former major leaguer Fernando Tatis Sr., with helping him get back to basics last winter in the Dominican Republic. Tatis Sr. was Profar’s manager with the Estrellas Orientales in the Dominican winter league.

Games are faster….again

While it’s still early to draw conclusions, the reduction in the pitch clock from 20 to 18 seconds with runners on base seems to be having the desired effect. Consider the month-by-month comparisons of nine-inning game times between 2023 and ‘24, as chronicled by Baseball Reference.

The average nine-inning game was down only one minute in April, from two hours, 36 minutes to 2:35. But through Tuesday, the drop in May was three minutes, from 2:37 to 2:34. Perhaps more telling, the percentage of games lasting 2:30 or less increased from 35 to 39.1 percent in April, and from 33.2 to 44 percent in May.

The league, while keeping the clock at 15 seconds with no runners on base, sought to reduce the time with one or more runners on because the average times of games last season increased each month. The players’ union objected to the change, believing the adjustment came too soon, but was outvoted on the league’s competition committee, which includes six owners, four players and one umpire.

One concern voiced by players is that any benefits from the two-second reduction might be outweighed by an increased risk of injury – and that the league, at a time when it is doing an extensive study of pitching injuries, should be taking every precaution to keep pitchers healthy.

Signs of life in Colorado

Just when it appeared the Rockies might be showing signs of improvement, sweeping the Rangers and Padres during a seven-game winning streak, they dropped their next four to the Giants and A’s.

The return of first baseman Kris Bryant on Tuesday from a 31-game absence with a low back strain could help. Kyle Freeland and Germán Márquez both rejoining the rotation before the All-Star break could be even more meaningful, and Antonio Senzatela might be back in September.

The Rockies, though, remain a team under construction. Shortstop Ezequiel Tovar and center fielder Brenton Doyle emerged last season, as did outfielder Nolan Jones, who has been on the injured list since April 30 with back and knee trouble. Outfielder Jordan Beck, the 38th overall pick in 2022, is the latest to get a chance. And more kids are coming.

Catcher Drew Romo (35th overall, 2020) is excelling at Triple A. Left-hander Carson Palmquist (third round, 2022) and righty Jaden Hill (second round, 2021) are performing well at Double A. Righty Chase Dollander (ninth overall, 2023) should reach Double A this season, and the Rockies figure to take another pitcher with the third overall pick in July.

The Colorado system, ranked 24th by The Athletic’s Keith Law, would be in better shape if not for injuries. The team in a single announcement last July revealed that three of their top pitching prospects required Tommy John surgery. And outfielder Zac Veen (ninth overall, 2020), after a strong start in his return from season-ending wrist surgery last June, is back on the injured list with lower back stiffness.

The Rockies are a long way from relevance. But if their young talent starts to develop, that could change.

Around the horn

*Braves first baseman Matt Olson has appeared in 504 consecutive games since May 2, 2021, the longest active streak in the majors. Since 2000, only six players have appeared in that many in a row.

It’s an impressive feat, but Olson is still 2,128 games short of Cal Ripken’s record – or roughly the equivalent of Lou Gehrig’s previous mark. Ripken’s streak began on May 30, 1982. He reached 500 games on June 15, 1985. And he needed to play in every game for the next 10-plus years to surpass Gehrig.

*Only in the Oakland Coliseum would a visiting manager need to leave his office for the gym in order to privately inform a player of a trade. But that’s what happened on May 3 when Luis Arraez learned he was headed to the Padres 15 minutes before the Marlins were to take the field in Oakland.

Schumaker pulled Arraez into the gym because the visiting manager’s office in Oakland is attached to the athletic trainers’ locker room. Schumaker wanted 1-on-1 time with Arraez, and the best way to get it was in the gym.

*Finally, in case you missed it, here’s Pirates hitting coach Andy Haines on Oneil Cruz:

“Nothing really surprises me at this point with him, to be honest. He is the definition of why you buy a ticket to watch a Major League game.

“It’s a generational type talent, and really in all facets of the game he can wow you. The major-league game has presented challenges for him for sure, as it does all young players, but it’s been fascinating to see him respond to those and continue to grow.

“It really is unique and special to watch in person.”

(Top photo of Oli Marmol and Skip Schumaker: Dilip Vishwanat/MLB Photos via Getty Images)