MLB: Five managers on the hot seat in 2016
Only two weeks have passed in a very long MLB season, but it’s not too early to begin speculating about which managers could be in trouble with their respective clubs. Every team enters a new year with expectations, and if those goals aren’t met, the buck often stops with the skipper.
It’s hard to write off any squad’s season after only 11 or 12 games, but for a few managers who already began the year with some question marks, the early results haven’t been particularly encouraging.
Here are five managers whose chairs might be getting progressively warmer unless they can turn things around.
Next: John Farrell
John Farrell (Boston Red Sox)
John Farrell just began his fourth season as Red Sox skipper, and in that span he’s experienced the complete spectrum of highs and lows. He won a World Series title in 2013, his first year at the helm, but sputtered to last place finishes in each of the following two campaigns.
Naturally, this season is a pivotal one for Farrell and the Sox, and at 6-6 through 12 games, it hasn’t exactly gotten off to an inspiring start. Boston starters have posted a 5.13 ERA thus far (23rd in the league), even after adding David Price in the offseason.
If the team doesn’t reverse its recent fortunes and make the postseason this year, it’s not unreasonable to think that new team president Dave Dombrowski might want to turn the page on Farrell and bring in his own guy.
Next: Mike Scioscia
Mike Scioscia (Los Angeles Angels)
Mike Scioscia has steered the Angels for 16 seasons, making him by far the game’s longest tenured manager. It’s almost surreal to imagine a Halos dugout without him, but there’s a sense that his reign is more tenuous now than it has been in the past.
The team’s streak of capturing five division titles in six years from 2004 to 2009 is well in the rearview mirror. Since then, the Angels have made the playoffs only once in six years, a 2014 AL West crown amidst a series of second and third place finishes.
The Angels have started the 2016 campaign at a middling 5-7 and will need to contend with the Rangers and Astros in an unpredictable division. Another postseason miss would be a disappointment, particularly with perennial MVP frontrunner Mike Trout in the fold. If that happens, new general manager Billy Eppler could decide to finally take the franchise in another direction.
Next: Chip Hale
Chip Hale (Arizona Diamondbacks)
Arizona Diamondbacks manager Chip Hale could find himself the victim of overinflated expectations if his squad doesn’t turn around its disappointing 5-8 start. The D’backs were one of the biggest surprises of the offseason, signing ace Zack Greinke to a massive contract and trading for Shelby Miller to be the number-two man in the rotation.
While the loss of A.J. Pollock is a major one, Arizona should still be in the mix for a postseason berth. However, the season so far has been a story of underachievement (combined 7.50 ERA between Greinke and Miller) and questionable lineup decisions.
If the D’backs fall out of the race at some point, Hale could shoulder the blame, despite an offseason contract extension.
Next: Paul Molitor
Paul Molitor (Minnesota Twins)
A three-game sweep of the Angels over the weekend takes some of the sting out of the Twins’ 0-9 start, but the team still has the unwelcome distinction of being tied for the worst record in baseball.
The Twins were a pleasant surprise last year, Paul Molitor‘s first as manager of his former club. Minnesota finished at 83-79, just three games out of the AL’s second Wild Card spot. With the promise of a full season of last year’s breakout rookie Miguel Sano, along with top prospect Byron Buxton, the Twins looked poised to go even further in 2016.
Unfortunately, things have not come together at all in the first two weeks of the season. Buxton and Sano are both hitting below the Mendoza line. Twins batters have posted a .644 OPS, good for just 23rd in the league. The AL Central is a crowded division, but if Molitor can’t get a more respectable level of performance out of his team, he could find himself on the chopping block, even after 2015’s unexpectedly competitive showing.
Next: Fredi Gonzalez
Fredi Gonzalez (Atlanta Braves)
Like the Twins, the Braves just enjoyed three straight victories against the Marlins to make their record look a bit more palatable after opening the campaign with nine consecutive losses. While anything is possible this early in the season, it’s hard not to see the Braves for what they are this year: a franchise thoroughly in rebuilding mode.
Fredi Gonzalez has managed in Atlanta since 2011, producing a better-than-.500 record with the team and winning an NL East title in 2013. It’s difficult to lay all the blame at his feet considering the roster he has to work with this season, but his days with the club are likely numbered.
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The Braves are set to open a new ballpark in 2017, and the organization will presumably want to put a fresh face on this upcoming era with a new skipper. That alone makes Gonzalez a long shot to return next year.