September 15th, 2023: Judge, Rodón, Bullpen, Peraza, Weaver, Mailbag

I neglected to mention this the other day: Aaron Judge is the Yankees’ nominee for the Roberto Clemente Award. Sorry, I mean the Roberto Clemente Award presented by Capital One, which is now subject to fan voting so MLB can drive eyeballs to the official site and sell ads. The Roberto Clemente Award is a tremendous honor that recognizes philanthropy and charity work, and the league monetized it. This very prestigious award is now a popularity contest. Will fans vote for the player who has done the most in his community? Of course not. They’re going to vote for the guy on their team. Can MLB not leave one thing alone? Why am I asking. We know they can’t. Once again, I am willing to be the person who sits in on meetings and says “that’s a bad idea, don’t do that.” The dumbest league, I swear. Anyway, let’s get to today’s post as the Yankees and Red Sox play an old school four-game series with two doubleheaders.

1. It’s time to shut down Judge. Folks, it’s time to shut down Aaron Judge. It’s sorta silly he’s played on the injured toe as long as he has with the Yankees being out of the race, and there’s no reason it should continue. Get him off his feet and let the toe heal. The sooner they do that, the sooner he’s able to begin preparing properly for 2024, and 2024 should be the focus now.

“Judgey wants to play. Judgey wants to be a part of it, set a tone and example for the younger guys coming up too,” Aaron Boone told Max Goodman earlier this week. “We’ll certainly be mindful of that and try not to put anyone in harm’s way certainly, but also treating these as very important games. That’s how we look at it.”

Judge wants to play and be a leader for the young guys and that’s admirable. He can still be around the team after being shut down, though the message doesn't come across the same way when you’re on the injured list. Still, it’s on the Yankees to be the adult in the room and make the best decision for the organization. That includes not playing your franchise player on an injured toe in meaningless games in Year 1 of a nine-year contract.

Even with Thursday’s grand slam, Judge is 11-for-68 (.161) in his last 20 games and in those 20 games he’s slugging .352. He is walking a ton of course, but the usual production isn’t there, and he’s not running well either. There’s also this:

(Obviously a .650-ish expected slugging is still excellent, but it’s a rather significant drop from earlier this season and last season. Judge has been excellent but not Judgian.)

My two fears are a) Judge further injuring his toe (the Yankees say he can’t but I don’t trust them much with injury matters these days), and b) Judge developing bad habits at the plate. That can happen without him even realizing it. Judge could change his mechanics to relieve pain in the toe and then suddenly he doesn’t have Aaron Judge hitting mechanics, he has something else.

I don’t want Judge doing any more damage to his toe (or even just delaying his recovery) and I don’t want him developing bad habits either. Those two things (one or the other, doesn’t have to be both) could affect his play next season, and that’s the disaster scenario. That playing on this toe injury in meaningless games in 2023 hurts the 2024 Yankees.

What’s the upside to playing Judge? There’s none. It’s all potential downside. At best it’s an unnecessary risk and at worst it’s self-destructive. There are only six home games remaining (15 games overall). Take the ticket revenue hit and do the right thing with your most important player. It’s time to shut Judge down.

2. Weekend thoughts. Two weeks ago the Yankees swept the Astros in Houston for the first time since 2013, then earlier this week they swept a doubleheader at Fenway Park for the first time since 2006. In the middle of a lost season they’re doing all this stuff they haven’t done in a long time. Go figure. Also, one game earlier this week had an announced attendance of 30,029 (that’s tickets sold, not turnstile clicks). It was the lowest attended Yankees vs. Red Sox game since 1999, excluding games with pandemic restrictions. Good thing FOX got that exclusive broadcast Thursday though. Here now are a few thoughts on the last few games.

Rodón recovers after rough start

Tuesday night Carlos Rodón’s first pitch sailed over the Green Monster for a home run and his third pitch was banged to left field for a double. A walk then followed after he was ahead in the count 1-2. It looked like we were in for another one of those Rodón starts.

Instead, Rodón settled down and struck out the next three batters, and got through five innings without allowing another run. He struck out a season high nine and his 18 swings and misses were one fewer than his season high. Dare I say Rodón looked electric after those first three batters? He did strike out eight of the next 12 batters after the walk.

I think Rodón was either tipping his pitches or giving away signs in the first inning Tuesday. The inning went homer, double, walk, strikeout. Pitching coach Matt Blake came out after the strikeout, which is an unusual time for a mound visit, and Rodón was pretty dominant after that. Furthermore, he shushed Rob Refsnyder at second base after striking out Adam Duvall for the second out of the inning.

Methinks the Red Sox picked up a tell and the runner(s) relayed the pitch to the hitter. That’s not illegal (though you can never be sure an Alex Cora team didn’t go overboard), it’s on you if you’re tipping pitches or not protecting signs, but pitchers still don’t like it. Blake let Rodón know during the oddly timed mound visit, Rodón cleaned things up, and then he shoved. Yes? No? Maybe?

Well, whatever. The fact of the matter is Rodón started out poorly Tuesday, then he settled down and had a good start. It was a welcome sight. Rodón has been bad when he hasn’t been injured this season (still has a 6.14 ERA and 6.30 FIP) and I’d like to see some semblance of 2021-22 Rodón before the end of the year, just to know it’s still in there. Tuesday was a good sign.

Also, there was a slight change in pitch mix Tuesday. Rodón threw 15 curveballs (16.2%) and six changeups (6.5%). That’s a season high for the curveball and one fewer than his season high for the changeup. Rodón has predominantly been a two-pitch fastball/slider pitcher in his career, including 2021-22, but hitters this year have told him he needs to adjust, so he did Tuesday.

“The fastball/slider combo seemed like it was getting pretty predictable, obviously,” Rodón told Greg Joyce after the game. “... We just kind of committed to throwing all four pitches. Featured the curveball heavy and kind of opened up the fastball lane. It seemed like that curveball helped me out a lot to get swing and miss.”

Rodón has three starts remaining and the Yankees won’t be able to use off-days to squeeze in a fourth (unless they start him on short rest at some point, and nah). It would’ve been worth giving him that fourth start if possible given all the time he missed. Alas. At least we saw glimpses of 2021-22 Rodón on Tuesday. May it please be the start of something.

“It still hasn’t been very good,” Rodón told Joyce. “But today was a step in the right direction. I just kind of want to build off that and move forward into this next start.”

The RailRiders bullpen

Jonathan Loáisiga landed on the injured list with elbow inflammation Tuesday and, given where we are in the calendar, his season is over. Tuesday I noted Loáisiga had only struck out five of 56 batters (8.9%) since coming off the injured list. Hopefully it’s just a post-elbow surgery thing and he’ll be good as new in Spring Training. Only 17.1 innings for Loáisiga this year. Rough.

“Certainly every season’s been interrupted,” Aaron Boone told Joyce about Loaisiga. “When he’s going well, it’s as good as there is because he’s efficient, he’s got great stuff, he can get (righties and lefties). He can go one-plus for you. He can fill any role, whether it’s closing out a game or in the biggest spots. When he’s going good, I don’t know if there’s much better in the league, frankly.”

Loáisiga joined Albert Abreu (hamstring), Ian Hamilton (groin) and Keynan Middleton (shoulder) on the injured list. Add in Mike King’s move into the rotation and the bullpen right now is Clay Holmes*, Tommy Kahnle, Wandy Peralta, and the RailRiders. Five of the nine relievers on the big league roster were either in Triple-A or another organization less than two weeks ago. Pretty wild, eh?

* Holmes is under the weather. That’s why he wasn’t in the game Thursday night and Kahnle went for the two-inning save while a random RailRider warmed up behind him.

Because the Yankees are seemingly allergic to having a bad bullpen, four RailRiders combined for four shutout innings following Rodón in the second game of Tuesday’s doubleheader. I’m not sure what more you could want from these guys in Fenway Park in what was a one-run game until the top of the ninth inning:

“That was a big part of this game,” Rodón told Bryan Hoch. “The boys came in and shut the door in big situations. That’s a heck of a job for the bullpen today as well.”

Zach McAllister made his Yankees debut 17 years – 17 years! – after they drafted him in the third round. He was part of the Dellin Betances, Joba Chamberlain, Ian Kennedy, Mark Melancon, and David Robertson draft class in 2006. The best reliever draft class ever. That’s +54.2 WAR of high leverage work even excluding Kennedy, who’s spent most of his career as a starter.

The Yankees eventually traded McAllister for Austin Kearns in 2010 and he had a fine run with Cleveland (and briefly the Tigers) from 2011-18. He stuck with it and bounced around Triple-A from 2019-23, hooked on with the Yankees in August, then got called up when Loáisiga went on the injured list. McAllister made it back to the show and with the Yankees no less. What a story.

“It’s come full circle for me. I got to every level but the big leagues when I was here last time, so to be able to throw in the pinstripes and be out there against Boston is something I’ll always remember,” McAllister told Hoch. He had a huge grin on his face after getting the third out of the sixth inning. This is pretty great:

This has not been an enjoyable season overall but at least we got some good prospect nostalgia out of it. McAllister made his Yankees debut and Billy McKinney socked some clutch dingers a few weeks ago. Even Deivi García popped back up for two appearances before being lost on waivers. In a lost season, stuff like McAllister and his smile make it worth watching.

As for lefty Anthony Misiewicz, he gives off major Lucas Luetge vibes. David Cone mentioned it during Tuesday’s broadcast, but I pointed it out Sunday, so I’m taking credit. Misiewicz is cutters and bendy breaking balls like Luetge, and his arm action is similar too. He escaped a tying run at third with one out situation, and let out a roar after striking out Duvall (video).

The Yankees would be in serious bullpen trouble if they were in the postseason race. They’re not though, so instead of stressing out, we can enjoy things like McAllister making his Yankees debut and the Red Sox not being able to hit the RailRiders. McAllister, Misiewicz, Matt Bowman, and Nick Ramirez did fine work filling in Tuesday. Great job, fellas.

One of the kids is alright

Look at that, turns out Oswald Peraza is a pretty good player when you play him regularly. He went 4-for-9 with a double and his first home run of the season (video) during Thursday’s doubleheader. The homer was a no-doubter too. Crushed to center field over the Green Monster. Peraza is 15-for-40 (.375) with five doubles and the homer in his last nine games.

“Incredible moment right there for me,” Peraza said about the home run (video). “Especially in that inning, we wanted those runs. To be able to come through and connect there, incredible.”

The Yankees really should have played Peraza more earlier this season, when Josh Donaldson was on the injured list and they were getting some of the worst third base production in the league. No use crying about it now though. Peraza is getting an opportunity now and, after a slow start, he seems to be finding himself. He looks much more confident at the plate.

The other kids, specifically Everson Pereira (25 wRC+) and Austin Wells (-22 wRC+), haven’t done much offensively yet. Wells has looked good behind the plate though, far better than I expected given the scouting reports, and Pereira’s chase and contact rates are trending in the right direction. It’s not all bad, but yeah, I hope the bats come around soon.

“Ultimately, success in this league comes down to you get fewer pitches to do damage with – good pitches to hit – you gotta take advantage of those,” Boone said about Pereira specifically earlier this week (video). “I don’t feel like he’s expanded a ton. A little bit. That pitch he’s getting within the course of an at-bat, it’s a foul ball or he’s swinging through it. Those are the pitches you’ve gotta take advantage of. That’s the separator from having success here and not.”

I’ve been saying it for weeks: there’s value in coming up late in the year and taking lumps, and then making adjustments in the offseason rather than in-season next year. That’s more or less what happened with Aaron Judge in 2016. He was terrible, used what he learned to get better, then he came back as a monster in 2017. I hope that’s what’s happening with Pereira and Wells. Or even just one of them, really.

Yankees claim Weaver

Earlier this week the Yankees claimed veteran righty Luke Weaver off waivers from the Mariners and they did that because they have a full 13-man pitching staff on the shelf. I’m not even joking. These are the pitchers the Yankees are currently without. It’s an entire staff:

Rotation: Nestor Cortes (shoulder), Domingo Germán (restricted list), Luis Gil (elbow), Frankie Montas (shoulder), Luis Severino (oblique)

Closer: Jonathan Loáisiga (elbow)

Setup: Scott Effross (elbow), Ian Hamilton (groin)

Middle: Albert Abreu (groin), Jimmy Cordero (suspended), Lou Trivino (elbow), Keynan Middleton (shoulder)

Long: Ryan Weber (elbow)

That’s a representative five-man rotation and an eight-man bullpen with relievers in appropriate roles. All we’re missing is a lefty. I guess the MIA Yankees will have to lean on Middleton and his changeup when they need a big out against a left-handed hitter.

Anyway, Weaver has been one of the worst pitchers in baseball this year, pitching to a 6.77 ERA (5.75 FIP) in 110.1 innings with the Reds and Mariners. Cincinnati is in a three-team tie for the third Wild Card spot and you could argue giving Weaver 21 starts rather than literally anyone else is the single biggest reason they don’t sit in a Wild Card spot outright.

For the Yankees, Weaver is nothing but a warm body and innings. They only have to pay him the prorated minimum, which is what they’d pay whoever fills that roster spot anyway, and they can use him as much or as little as necessary these last two weeks, and not sweat it either way. The Yankees can’t overwork Jhony Brito and Randy Vásquez, you know?

Because of Monday’s rainout and Tuesday’s doubleheader, the Yankees will need a spot starter no later than Saturday. I would guess Weaver, who threw 4.1 innings and 76 pitches as recently as Saturday, will make that start. That could be a “Weaver makes that one start and then gets DFA’d so the Yankees can bring in a fresh arm” situation. We’ll find out this weekend.

The alternative to Weaver would have been Clayton Beeter, who started Thursday night for Triple-A Scranton (13 strikeouts in five shutout innings (video)) and is at 120.2 innings this season. That is far and away a career high (previous career high was 77 innings last year). As much as I’d rather see the kids than Weaver, I get not going to Beeter given his workload. It’s easier to control things in Triple-A. Anyway, I’ve already written too many words about Luke Weaver. That’s enough.

(The Padres put Rich Hill on waivers earlier this week, though it was after the Yankees claimed Weaver, plus Hill is owed roughly $817,000 the rest of the season, not $72,000 like Weaver. The Yankees don’t need a good pitcher at this point (Hill hasn’t been good this year anyway). They just need someone with a pulse. Weaver will do.)

Miscellany

Another strong start for King on Thursday. He had to grind a bit (4.2 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 8 K) and that’s fine. Pitchers don’t always have their best stuff, and King was effective anyway. There is an entire offseason coming and we’ll see what happens, but, right now, King is pretty clearly one of the five best starters in the organization. He should come to Spring Training as a starter and compete for a rotation spot at the very least … And finally, an underrated dumb thing Thursday: Boone’s decision to pinch-hit DJ LeMahieu for Jake Bauers in the sixth inning of the first game was apparently dependent on the left-right matchup. There were runners on the corners with one out, Alex Cora went to the mound to talk to righty Tanner Houck with the lefty Brennan Bernardino warming, and LeMahieu had a bat and was ready to hit. When Cora stuck with Houck, Boone stuck with Bauers, who is 5-for-57 with 30 strikeouts in his last 20 games. Wouldn’t you rather LeMahieu hit there even with a righty on the mound? Of course you would. I’d be more annoyed about stuff like this if these games mattered.

3. Rapid fire thoughts. Jasson Domínguez will have his elbow surgery next Wednesday, the Yankees announced earlier this week. They won’t know whether he needs full blown Tommy John surgery or can get away with the internal brace procedure until the doctor gets in there and looks at his ligament. The internal brace is an option only under certain conditions (when the ligament tears away from the bone rather than snaps in half, as I understand it), and it comes with something closer to a seven-month rehab. Regular ol' Tommy John surgery rehab is 9-10 months for position players. We’ll see what happens Wednesday. Either way, what a colossal bummer this has been. Get well soon, El Marciano.

Mailbag Questions of the Week

Mark asks: With Craig Counsell likely to join the Mets at season’s end, do you think it’s possible Buck Showalter brings his career full-circle and returns as NYY manager 30 years after being fired as the dynasty years were just about to begin? And if so, would that be a good move? I like Boone a lot, but it’s painfully obvious he never managed at any level before the Yankees. He routinely gets out- managed on pitching changes and pinch hit situations. Buck has mellowed, and seems better-suited to NYY vs what the Mets are building now. What do you think?

I think the perception of Showalter is much different than the reality. The Mets are sloppy as hell and every bit as dumb on the bases as the Yankees (they’re tied in outs on the bases and you really need to watch the Mets to see how bad they are, kinda like the Yankees). Buck's bullpen management isn’t great and he leans heavily on veterans. GM Billy Eppler had to trade Eduardo Escobar away to get Showalter to play Brett Baty full-time. Buck would probably be a better manager than Aaron Boone, though I don’t think he’s that great of a manager in general. He was  a great manager at one point, no question about it, but the game seems to have passed Showalter by the last few years. The Yankees should leave their past in the past.

Dan asks: Should Luis Severino consider a permanent move to the bullpen at this point? He is clearly not durable enough to be a starter, but his stuff seems intact and could play up in relief.

I don’t think Severino is there yet. This free agent class stinks. It stinks enough that some team will sign Severino as a reclamation project starter. As bad as he was this year, Severino was pretty great last year, and I don’t think his first real season of poor performance (his problem has been injuries, prior to this year he always pitched well when on the mound) is enough to force a move to the bullpen. Down the road, yeah, he might have to move to the bullpen. I think Severino gets another chance to start somewhere in 2024. It might be his last chance to start, period.

Alec asks: How do you project the Yankees farm system to rank in next year's preseason lists, based on the talent added in the draft and the leaps forward taken by many prospects this summer? Are we looking at a Top 10 farm system in Spring 2024, before Dominguez/Wells/Pereira graduate and if no significant prospects get traded this winter?

Everson Pereira might graduate before the end of the season. He needs 60 at-bats in the last 15 games (four per game) to graduate, which is doable but unlikely. Jasson Domínguez and Austin Wells definitely won’t graduate. Graduating Anthony Volpe and Oswald Peraza, arguably the top two prospects in the system entering this year, will hurt the farm system ranking, but it will hurt the system for a good reason. You're supposed to graduate prospects.

The midseason farm system rankings are all over the place. Baseball America (subs. req’d) has the Yankees at No. 11. ESPN (subs. req’d) has them at No. 15. MLB.com has them at No. 21. FanGraphs has them at No. 25. Those rankings already factor in the draft and Volpe and Peraza graduating. Pereira graduating wouldn’t ding them too much, so I guess that’ll put the Yankees in the, uh, 11-25 range? Those four rankings average out to No. 18. I guess that sounds about right.

The x-factor is the rookie Florida Complex League team, which was absolutely stacked. Josh Norris said an evaluator told him it was the most talented rookie ball team he’d seen in decades. It sometimes can take a little while for those rookie ball kids to pop up on everyone’s radar. In a few months the Henry Lalanes and John Cruzes of the world could boost the Yankees up the farm system rankings. The FCL team hadn’t really popped yet at midseason ranking time.

Many asked: Who are the top candidates to replace Brian Cashman?

I’m not kidding when I say “many asked.” I probably got a dozen versions of this question over the last few weeks and I totally get it, and I also think the Yankees need a new head of baseball operations. Sometimes moves don’t work out, but there have been too many decisions that were obviously bad at the time the last few years (the Josh Donaldson trade chief among them), and the Yankees have been in a downward trend since 2020. It’s time for a change.

Will Hal Steinbrenner actually fire Brian Cashman and shake up the front office though? Eh, I’ll need to see it to believe it. Cashman is basically a Steinbrenner at this point, and I’m not sure Hal wants to put in the work necessary to find a replacement. He gives off major “just leave me alone and let me cash my checks” vibes and hey, I respect it. Isn’t that what we all want? I’m not sure Hal has it in him to conduct a thorough and proper GM search.

Also, if Hal is going to fire Cashman, shouldn’t he have done it already? Does he really need to see how the season ends to make that decision? The sooner you pull the plug, the sooner you begin the search for a replacement, and the sooner the new person is in place and leading the organization. Most GMs don’t get fired after the season. They get fired in August or September (see: Chaim Bloom) so the replacement can be in place when the offseason begins.

(On that note, Hal said the Yankees are “looking to bring in possibly an outside company to really take a look at the analytics side of what we do” two weeks ago. What is this “looking to bring in possibly” stuff? Why aren’t the Yankees doing this already? What are they waiting for?)

I don’t expect Hal to fire Cashman, though the chances it happens are not 0%. Maybe there’s too much pressure from investors and minority owners. I dunno. In the interest of being a full service blog, here are 12 possible candidates to replace Cashman in the event Hal does make a change. This list is not comprehensive nor am I endorsing any specific candidate. It’s just a list of people believed to be in line for a GM job, with a few big names added for good measure.

James Click, Blue Jays vice president of baseball strategy: Click was GM of the 2022 World Series champion Astros, yet he was essentially forced out when ownership offered only a one-year contract extension. A one-year contract after winning the World Series? What a slap in the face. Click has worked in the Rays and Astros front offices (and now the Blue Jays), though there have long been whispers that he’s a weird dude who doesn’t work well with other people. That was supposedly the driving force behind his exit from Houston.

Theo Epstein, consultant with MLB: The resume speaks for itself and Epstein would come with instant credibility. That said, it doesn’t sound like Epstein, who is currently working with the commissioner’s office on ways to improve the game (he was part of the group pushing for the pitch clock, the ban on shifts, etc.), wants to run a team again. Joel Sherman recently reported Epstein is “focused on assembling a group to either buy a franchise or bid on an expansion team.” His GM resume is unimpeachable. Epstein has bigger things in mind.

Randy Flores, Cardinals assistant GM and scouting director: Flores, the former big league reliever, has run drafts for St. Louis for nearly a decade now, and he founded his own sports technology company after his playing career. His background features a blend of scouting and analytics, he has a player’s perspective, and he’s familiar with working in a historic market. Teams have asked to interview Flores for front office openings over the years and supposedly he has been very selective about which ones he considers. He’s comfortable with the Cardinals.

James Harris, Guardians assistant GM: Every two years or so a Guardians assistant GM gets hired to be a GM because Cleveland generally has successful teams despite a small budget. Harris figures to be next in line. He has an unusual background – Harris worked for the University of Oregon football program and Philadelphia Eagles previously – but he’s part of a cutting edge front office and is used to working with tight payrolls.

Michael Hill, MLB’s vice president of on-field operations: It’s difficult to evaluate Hill’s tenure as Marlins GM because he was always hamstrung by former owner Jeff Loria. The Marlins never won under Hill, though he orchestrated the Hanley Ramirez and Sandy Alcantara trades, and drafted a small army of high-end producers like J.T. Realmuto, Giancarlo Stanton, Christian Yelich, and the late José Fernández (he also got taken to the cleaners in the Realmuto and Yelich trades). I know this much: Hill has held a variety of roles in a big league front office, he has a strong track record with player development, and he’s widely respected within the game.

Jeff Kingston, Dodgers assistant GM: Kingston started as an intern with the Padres in 1999 and worked his way up to director of baseball operations, then joined the Mariners as an assistant GM. He was responsible for player development and building their analytics department. Kingston joined the Dodgers in 2018. He’s never sat in the GM’s seat, but he’s done just about everything else there is to do in a front office. One of the most qualified rookie GM candidates out there.

Jeff Luhnow: I can't see this happening, though I figured I’d mention him for the sake of being covering all they bases. Luhnow, the disgraced former Astros GM, owns a soccer club in Spain and it’s not even known if he wants to return to baseball. I just can’t see the Yankees going here. Way, way too much baggage. Onward.

Sig Mejdal, Orioles assistant GM: Mejdal, a former NASA engineer, worked under Luhnow with the Astros and he followed Mike Elias to Baltimore when he took the Orioles GM job. He’s a hardcore data and analytics guy, and Evan Drellich’s book on the Astros paints an unflattering picture. Like Elias and Luhnow, Mejdal is said to be an efficiency hawk who treats players like numbers on a spreadsheet and not as human beings.

Kim Ng, Marlins GM: Ng’s contract expires after the season, and although owner Bruce Sherman recently told Barry Jackson he wants her back, Ng has a say in it too. She has ties to the Yankees (Ng was an assistant GM under Cashman from 1998-2001) and is said to be very close to Cashman. Would she not want to replace him out of loyalty? That’s a dumb thing for me to say. There are only 30 GM jobs and only one Yankees GM job. You take it when you can get it. Maybe she’s a candidate for the “Cashman is promoted to president and a new GM comes in to handle the day-to-day” plan, if such a plan exists? I dunno.

Billy Owens, Athletics assistant GM: This is Owens’ 25th season with the A’s. He started as a minor league infield instructor, moved into scouting, and climbed the front office ladder. Owens has interviewed for several GM jobs over the years, including the Mets job that went to Billy Eppler. The Athletics are a dumpster fire, though that is because ownership wants them to be bad, not because the front office is incompetent (though the Matt Olson and Sean Murphy trades look pretty terrible).

Carlos Rodriguez, Rays assistant GM: The token Rays executive. Tampa front office folks are a popular target because the Rays contend on a budget and Rodriguez is likely to be the next out the door. He cut his teeth in international scouting and has also overseen player development and performance science stuff. Like Owens, Rodriguez has been considered for several GM jobs, including the Mets job that went to Eppler.

Ben Sestanovich, Braves assistant GM: The Braves are the model organization right now and, as a result, they’ve lost several front office people to GM jobs in recent years, most notably Perry Minasian (Angels) and Dana Brown (Astros). Sestanovich works in player development and is an Ivy League guy who is well-versed in analytics. He strikes me as the kinda rookie GM you hire when you’re kick-starting a rebuild.

Mets owner Steven Cohen got his white whale earlier this week and hired David Stearns to be the new head of baseball operations. Stearns, a native New Yorker who grew up a Mets fan, ran the Brewers from 2016-22, and before that he worked with Cleveland and the Astros. Stearns would have been a great candidate to replace Cashman, maybe the best available, though I get the sense Cohen wasn’t going to be denied. He waited out Stearns’ contract with Milwaukee.

Former Rangers GM Jon Daniels is an advisor with the Rays and this Evan Grant piece makes it sound like Daniels is pretty burnt out and happy spending time with his family. During his stint in Texas, he went from being ahead of the curve early in his tenure to being behind the times his final few years. Other recently fired GMs like Bloom (Red Sox), Jeff Bridich (Rockies), Rick Hahn (White Sox), Matt Klentak (Phillies), and Dayton Moore (Royals) are a pretty hard no for me.

The Yankees would open up the pool of available candidates by offering the president of baseball operations job. Offering the GM job means you won’t get a crack at many candidates because it’s a lateral move, and teams typically block those. When you offer a promotion, teams usually will let people interview. Dodgers GM Brandon Gomes jumps to mind here. The Dodgers might not let him leave for a lateral move. It would have to be a more senior position.

Based on the little I know, Kingston seems like the best candidate. He’s done it all in a front office and he has experience working in a high level big market operation with the Dodgers. Like I said though, I’ll need to see Hal replace Cashman to believe it. The Yankees really need a fresh set of eyes and ideas. I’m just not sure they realize it.

(Send your requests for Friday's mailbag to RABmailbag at gmail dot com. The random Yankee series is on hiatus, but feel free to send in requests for when it returns.)