So....who is the new GM/head of baseball ops?
- Thread starter moondog80
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I would probably just take another guy from high up in a successful franchise...
Ben Sestanovich is probably my 1st choice at the moment. He has a background in player development.
He is an assistant GM in Atlanta, pitched for Harvard, & is 34.
Ben Sestanovich is probably my 1st choice at the moment. He has a background in player development.
He is an assistant GM in Atlanta, pitched for Harvard, & is 34.
https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/mlb-gm-candidates-five-names-to-know-as-teams-start-making-front-office-changes/
Whoever is doing the press conference said “No Theo for these two jobs”. Twice. Which may mean there is a third job?
View: https://twitter.com/PeteAbe/status/1702370090841239827
A few potential Red Sox candidates off the top of my head: James Click, Sig Mejdal (Orioles), Sam Fuld (Phillies), James Harris (Guardians), Ben Sestanovich (Braves).
A few potential Red Sox candidates off the top of my head: James Click, Sig Mejdal (Orioles), Sam Fuld (Phillies), James Harris (Guardians), Ben Sestanovich (Braves).
I mentioned this in the other thread, but Sestanovich is my 1st choice. Braves Assistant GM with a player development background & was a pitcher for Harvard.
I thought about Josh Byrnes as well. Also what about Hazen? CBO would be a promotion from his GM role in Az.
I could imagine Thad Levine, who has relationships with current and former Sox execs, pretty easily being in the mix....he and Hazen are likely more 'known' than many of the truly external candidates.
I also wouldn't rule out Chris Antonetti, New England native, being willing to explore this one even though he has passed on gigs in the past.
I also wouldn't rule out Chris Antonetti, New England native, being willing to explore this one even though he has passed on gigs in the past.
I'll wait for Peter Gammons to off-handedly drop some little known name in a day or two then I'll jump on that bandwagon with gusto.
Castig and Fleming were just discussing Hazen during the game (as well as others in the Theo GM tree)
I don't think so, but I'm feeling hopeful today, so I'll say there is a 0.05% chance this happens and hope for it until it doesn't. (There is a 99.95% chance it's something else, in my opinion).
My personal thought is that it's James Click as well. Maybe there was some incredibly nefarious reason that he wasn't extended long term in Houston that I'm not aware of (I had no idea Mike Clevinger was a literal PoS, so who knows) but that's what I'm thinking.
I understand the "too Bloom-y" point, and also that he might not want to take the job because of his relationship with Bloom. Though I will say, I think he's like a "better" Bloom, at least by the scoreboard. Bloom took over a team that was coming off a World Series title and an 84 win season with lots of assets at the MLB level - expensive though they were. Yes, he rebuilt the farm, but in the following years he finished last (for whatever that is worth in 2020, and I'll say it's worth VERY little), made the ALCS in 2021 (where he lost to Click's team), and missed the playoffs twice.
Click on the other hand lost the ALCS in 2020 (again, worth very little), lost a real World Series in 2021, won a World Series in 2022. I think he's a better version of Bloom. Success developing players that contribute at the MLB level. Success at the MLB level. He married the develop and spend approach really well (Houston's payroll in '21 was 5th, 8th in '22). I think he's exactly what FSG hoped Bloom would be.
I will also say, I don't think its impossible that Stearns was the target, he turned them down for the Mets, but they ultimately decided to move on from Bloom regardless.
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Anyone concerned that with this new Sox job, nearly the entire operation is still in place? I don't get a sense that anyone is talking radical overhaul (nor am i), but what exactly is this job? I'm used to seeing somebody get a job and then filling the staff with a lot of their own people. Doesn't look like that here, and I wonder if that will matter to candidates.
I hear this a lot for a variety of roles…. Why?
I can see why he might want the job more, but not why the Red Sox would want him more.
I doubt they are considering a new GM hire much of a flight risk and I don’t see any benefit to hiring a candidate who has more friends/family around.
It’s not like college recruiting where local connections might matter.
I was in support of Bloom at the start and have been proven wrong. I will make no such proclamations about whoever is next; I just would like someone to understand what the Red Sox fan and baseball market is all about and to understand that this isn’t a small-market team.
We need this to support our belief that it could be one of us some day. Don't Grinch it up! We need this!!
Theo was one of us.
And grew up walking distance to the Park and was an avid fan himself.
Someone like that(could be from a further suburb lol) would be great
Probably too early to say what kind of overhaul there might be. While Bloom is gone immediately, they still need to finish the season so they can't have everyone go now. We'll get a better idea after the season ends how wholesale the changes will be.
Alex Cora. He knows all of the systems in place, has been pretty hands on with player development since he's come back, and has expressed a desire to have an upward trajectory from a managerial role.
https://twitter.com/jonmorosi/status/1702412052113834107?s=20
Chris Antonetti and David Forst are two names being mentioned in the industry today as potential candidates to become the next Red Sox president of baseball operations.
Chris Antonetti and David Forst are two names being mentioned in the industry today as potential candidates to become the next Red Sox president of baseball operations.
Interestingly I was thinking Mike Fast, the OTHER top guy from the Braves front office.
I want someone who has shown how to spend, and win, in a big market. Consistently. Given the failed Tampa-north experiment with Bloom, I am not excited about the idea of a guy from Oakland or Cleveland.
Antonetti is interesting. Cleveland has had a disastrous season due to catastrophic pitching injuries, an offense that turned offensive this last offseason and Tito is retiring in 2 weeks.
For sure, that was great.
And if another great candidate is available, it would be cool if he’s from close to Boston also.
But I hope ownership isn’t actually giving that any weight, just hire the best person.
(Though perhaps I would make an exception if someone’s background will land them Ohtani and/or Yamamoto
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Yeah, maybe it's that I've never lived in New England, but that stuff has never mattered to me. I want whoever is running the Red Sox to make dispassionate decisions. In short, don't do what a fan would.For sure, that was great.
And if another great candidate is available, it would be cool if he’s from close to Boston also.
But I hope ownership isn’t actually giving that any weight, just hire the best person.
(Though perhaps I would make an exception if someone’s background will land them Ohtani and/or Yamamoto
If they don't go Cora, here's a list of sitting GM's I'd like them to go after.
Make AJ Preller say no.
Mike Hazen
Mike Elias
Chris Young
Brandon Gomes
Make AJ Preller say no.
Mike Hazen
Mike Elias
Chris Young
Brandon Gomes
Is this when people start getting attached to a candidate, then spend the next few years ripping who got hired because Henry didn't hire their guy?
I'm just kidding, but it's funny how that dynamic does play out. I'm ambivalent. I just hope we hire someone who can field an ALCS-contending team next season.
I'm just kidding, but it's funny how that dynamic does play out. I'm ambivalent. I just hope we hire someone who can field an ALCS-contending team next season.
What is it that appeals to you about Preller? The Padres have had 2 winning seasons in their last 5 (one of them was the 2020 pandemic year). It seems like what he's mostly done is give out huge contracts to known entities.
Yes.Is this when people start getting attached to a candidate, then spend the next few years ripping who got hired because Henry didn't hire their guy?
I'm just kidding, but it's funny how that dynamic does play out. I'm ambivalent. I just hope we hire someone who can field an ALCS-contending team next season.
In all seriousness though, I agree with your point about being rather "ambivalent", or more admitting that I have no idea. I was ambivalent about Theo's promotion when he was hired and he ends up arguably the greatest executive in modern baseball history. I really wanted a "continuation" of his line and liked the Cherington hire. I didn't like the Dombrowski hiring and all he did was return a World Series, almost all playoff seasons, but actually had a pretty decent farm system when it was all said and done with guys like Bello, Houck, Crawford, Casas, Rafaela and Duran added during his tenure. I was thrilled with the Bloom hiring when it was made, and was ready for him to be gone following the 2022 trade deadline.
That said, the track record of FSG has been a World Series title within 2 seasons of the hiring of a new GM in 3 of the 4 hires they've made. I'm hoping that it becomes 4 of 5, obviously.
Thank you. Preller is a lot of action without a lot of results. This is his ninth full season at the helm in San Diego and they've had just two seasons above .500 (2020 and 2022). He's a deal-maker for sure. Hasn't really gotten the franchise anywhere.
I learned this lesson way back during the Jimy Williams era. I thought he was a terrible manager, but he won 92 and 94 games and made the ALCS. Obviously he had less success his final 2 seasons, but was still way over .500 (Alex Cora looks longingly at those records). And when the Sox brought on Kerrigan to replace him I was thrilled... only to see Kerrigan completely suck. I learned that I know nothing, and getting worked up over who gets hired is a waste of energy. If they're good, then great. If they stink, they'll get canned.
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