The Arizona Diamondbacks have fired General Manager Dave Stewart and Manager Chip Hale on Monday, according to a team announcement.
The swift movement of Diamondbacks’ management has been expected for some time now; it was widely believed a regime change would be put in place following a dismal 2016 season. Despite the firings of both Stewart and Hale, Diamondbacks’ Chief Baseball Officer Tony La Russa may still have a job in 2017, according to Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports and other media reports. Arizona is reportedly undecided as to whether La Russa will be a part of the team’s future plans. The Diamondbacks promised a competitive 2016 season after the front office signed ace starting pitcher Zack Greinke to a six-year, $206.5 million deal and traded for Shelby Miller from the Atlanta Braves, among other moves. However, the team did not live up to hefty expectations, finishing 69-93, ranking fourth in the NL West. The Shelby Miller trade, in particular, is shaping up to be one of the most lopsided trades in recent memory. The Diamondbacks’ traded former No. 1 overall pick Dansby Swanson, along with other valuable pieces, in order to get Miller, who stumbled to a 6.15 ERA in 101 innings at the big league level (Miller was actually demoted to Triple-A during the season). There has been no word on possible replacements for Stewart and Hale, though Ray Montgomery and Phil Nevin could be fits, as Robert Murray of FanRag says.
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The Atlanta Braves have interest in signing former NFL quarterback Tim Tebow to a minor league deal, ESPN's Pedro Gomez reported.
The Braves were one of the five teams that met with Tebow 1-on-1 after his workout last Tuesday, according to Gomez, who also reported that the Rockies were showing interest in him as well. Tebow held a workout for 28 of the 30 Major League teams last Tuesday at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, where he showcased his baseball skills on both sides of the plate. The Cubs and Athletics did not attend his workout. Tebow's workout generated a wide range of reviews from scouts, though the consensus was that he had lots of raw power but still needed polish with the other parts of his game. The 29-year-old and former Heisman Trophy winner announced last month that he was interested in playing professional baseball, even after spending more than a decade away from the game, having last played it in high school. The Braves, at the very least, make sense from a geographical standpoint. Tebow grew up in eastern Florida and was a standout quarterback at the University of Florida, just 330 miles from Atlanta and in "Braves territory." The Braves may also be interested in Tebow to mentor some of their younger players. Well known for his work ethic and persistence, Tebow could be a good fit for an Atlanta team that is going through a rebuild. It's hard to know, if signed, how much of a baseball impact Tebow will have on the Braves but any could be an added bonus. --Devan Fink
The Miami Marlins have acquired outfielder Jeff Francoeur in a three-team trade with the Atlanta Braves and Texas Rangers on Wednesday, as Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports and Joel Sherman of the New York Post reported.
In the deal, the Braves acquired minor league first baseman and shortstop Dylan Moore from the Rangers and minor league catcher Matt Foley from the Marlins. Texas received three international signing bonus slots (two from Miami and one from Atlanta). The 32-year-old Francoeur will provide outfield depth for the Marlins, especially in the wake of Giancarlo Stanton's groin injury that could keep him out for the rest of the season. Francoeur also will be a veteran presence in an otherwise young and inexperienced clubhouse, something that the Braves had relished during his stay. In fact, the team decided to hold onto Francoeur at the non-waiver trade deadline due to this. As for performance, Francoeur does not provide loads of value. This season, he is hitting .249/.290/.381 with seven home runs and 33 runs batted in over 276 plate appearances. Francoeur has played a tick above replacement level with defense and base running added in, with his wins above replacement checking in at 0.1, per FanGraphs. In dealing Francoeur, the Braves will receive the 24-year-old Moore. The Rangers' 7th round pick in 2015, Moore has hit for an .816 OPS in 494 plate appearances between Class-A and Class-A Advanced. He is not among the Rangers' top-30 prospects, per MLB.com. The Braves also received the 22-year-old Foley from the Marlins. The 40th round pick in 2015 has a .644 OPS in 44 plate appearances Rookie-Level and Class-A Short Season this season. --Devan Fink
The Atlanta Braves have announced on Tuesday that top infield prospect Dansby Swanson will be promoted to the Major Leagues on Wednesday.
The need for an infielder came about when the Braves traded Erick Aybar to the Tigers. Swanson, 22, was the No. 1 overall pick by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 2015 MLB Draft. He was traded to the Braves this past offseason in a blockbuster move as part of a package that sent Shelby Miller to the desert. Swanson has hit well since coming out of LSU last year. This season, in 470 plate appearances between Class A-Advanced and Double-A, Swanson is hitting .275/.362/.426 with nine home runs and 55 runs batted in, all while playing shortstop. The Georgia native is ranked as the fifth-best prospect in baseball per MLB.com's midseason rankings. He is an all-around great player, posting above average or better marks with his hit, run, arm and fielding tools. He has the potential to be a perennial Major League All-Star. For the Braves, the promotion of Swanson is a huge deal. Atlanta has undergone one of the biggest rebuilding projects in all of baseball and has posted the worst record in the Major Leagues this season at 44-74. The team plans to open up a new ballpark for the 2017 season, when the team hopes to begin a turnaround from a few bleak seasons spanning the past three years. With Swanson, the future for the Braves seems closer than ever. --Devan Fink
After 14 Major League seasons, New York Yankees’ first baseman Mark Teixeira has decided to hang up the cleats.
According to Buster Olney of ESPN.com, Teixeira will announce his retirement today and will go into effect at the end of the season. The Yankees announced a 3 p.m. eastern press conference with Teixeira but did not give a reason as to why. The 36-year-old Teixeira was initially drafted by the Texas Rangers in the first round of the 2001 MLB Draft. The fifth overall pick was selected out of the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta. It didn’t take long for Teixeira to earn a big league promotion, making the team out of Spring Training in 2003 and appearing in his first game as the designated hitter on April 1, 2003. Teixeira would go on to have a very successful season, hitting 26 home runs and driving in 84 with an .811 OPS. He finished fifth in the American League Rookie of the Year voting. Teixeira would go on to play four-and-a-half seasons with the team that initially drafted him, posting a slash line of .283/.368/.533 while there, being named to an All-Star team and winning two Gold Gloves and Silver Sluggers each. In 2007, Teixeira was traded to the Braves in a deal that got the Rangers Elivs Andrus, Neftali Feliz, Matt Harrison and Jarrod Saltalamacchia. He suited up for 157 games with Atlanta before being dealt to the Angels at the 2008 trade deadline. During the 2008-09 offseason, Teixeira became a free agent and cashed in. He signed an eight-year, $180 million contract with the Yankees, leading many to wonder if it was time for a salary cap in baseball. “At the rate the Yankees are going, I’m not sure anyone can compete with them,” Brewers owner Mark Attanasio told Bloomberg News in 2008. “Frankly, the sport might need a salary cap.” Teixeira went on to earn his money the very next season, hitting .292/.383/.565 with 39 home runs and 122 RBIs, both leading the American League en route to the Yankees’ World Series victory over the Philadelphia Phillies. Since, the Yankees have seen Teixeira decline, likely due to both age and injuries. He’s posted just a .239/.336/.463 slash line since 2009, averaging 23 home runs and 69 RBIs. Teixeira has battled injuries and has not played 150+ games since the 2011 season. In 2016, Teixeira is having the worst season of his career, hitting .198/.287/.340 with 10 home runs and 27 RBIs over 303 plate appearances. With that in mind, it only makes sense that the impending free agent has decided to call it a career. Cover Those Bases wishes Teixeira the best of luck in retirement. —Devan Fink |
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