It's almost December, and the Yankees are still without a manager. More than a month after dismissing Joe Girardi, the search marches on, though things appear to be picking up steam.
New York is known to have interviewed five candidates: their own bench coach Rob Thomson, former Cleveland/Seattle manager Eric Wedge, Giants bench coach Hensley Meulens, TV analyst (and former Yankee) Aaron Boone, and Dodgers third base coach Chris Woodward.
Evidently, nobody has knocked Brian Cashman and Co. off their feet because they intend to look into at least one more name and it's an interesting one: Carlos Beltran.
Last seen helping Houston win the World Series before announcing his beautifully timed retirement, Beltran has been frontal with his desire to manage.
There's risk in his lack of experience, but the 40-year-old was very
popular as a player, and could uniquely resonate in the clubhouse.
He'd be facing sky-high expectations in his first year. Oh, and maybe the responsibility of handling Shohei Ohtani. All in the most demanding environment possible. But, outside of that, no pressure!
Speaking of Ohtani, he's expected to be posted this
weekend, and then the derby for his services will begin. It goes without
saying the Yankees will help their cause by getting a manager in place
sooner than later.
Rehabbing Iwakuma Stays in Seattle
To whatever extent NPB connections are a factor in
Ohtani's decision, the Mariners upped their pitch this week by
re-signing starter Hisashi Iwakuma to a minor-league deal.
The timing seems a little odd. Iwakuma is still
months from even being able to throw after undergoing shoulder
debridement surgery in September. The M's could have likely waited until
January or even February to check in on his rehab progress before
pulling the trigger. But, it's a risk-free move, and we'll see if it's a
selling point for Ohtani.
Iwakuma was never right this year, posting a 4.35 ERA
with severely reduced velocity in six starts before going on the shelf.
Even if he beats the odds and bounces back from major shoulder surgery
at age 37, it's hard to see much upside given his pedestrian results
when healthy in 2016.
Stanton Standoff
From the outside, it sure looks as though Giancarlo Stanton
is making matters awfully difficult for the Miami Marlins. He seems
intent on dictating his own destination in a trade, pushing for a deal
with his hometown Dodgers, and that makes life tough for a front office
already hamstrung in negotiations by his $300 million contract.
Then again, Stanton has every right. He signed a
13-year pact with Miami, with a no-trade clause. It's no fault of his
that ownership decided to bail three years after making that commitment.
Attempting to gain some sort of leverage, the Marlins have reportedly threatened him with the prospect of being stranded amidst an all-out rebuild should he refuse to accept their desired trade.
It's an ugly situation and the outcome is anybody's
guess. Fantasy players everywhere are just hoping like hell he gets out
of Miami.
Quick Hits: After being designated for assignment by the Phillies last week, former No. 1 overall draft pick Mark Appel cleared waivers, so he'll stick in the organization and head to Triple-A ... Charlie Blackmon,
looking ahead to a potentially massive payday next offseason when he's
set to hit free agency, hired a new agent ... The Rangers finalized
their one-year, $4 million deal with Doug Fister ... The Braves are said to be shopping first baseman Matt Adams ... Jung Ho Kang
was released from his Dominican Winter League team after playing
terribly, and his big-league prospects look bleak at this point.
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