White Sox, D-Backs and Rockies: What to Expect from New Managers

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What should we expect from the new managers for the Chicago White Sox, Arizona Diamondbacks and Colorado Rockies in 2017?

The Chicago White Sox, Arizona Diamondbacks and Colorado Rockies all have new managers running the show in 2017. All three teams finished below .500 in 2016 and none of the three are considered strong contenders in the upcoming season, although the Diamondbacks and Rockies have higher hopes than the White Sox.

When MLB teams hire a new manager, they are usually on the bottom of the roller coaster and looking to improve. Often, a new manager will be brought aboard just as the team has traded away some of their veteran players and are going with a youth movement. They hope the new manager can blend the remaining veterans with younger players and develop the team into contenders.

In the case of the three teams with new men at the helm in 2017, the White Sox are the best example of team in full rebuilding mode. They traded away their best pitcher and position player and stocked their farm system with high-end talent. The Arizona Diamondbacks also traded away one of their best players from last season, but brought back a young player they hope can help the team right away, rather than a few years down the road. The Rockies believe they are further along the path to contention. Rather than trade away talent, they signed a veteran free agent to improve the team for 2017.

All three of the new managers this year are former big league players, with varying degrees of success. One was a utility player who had just one season with more than 100 plate appearances in his career. Another had a scorching “cup of coffee” in September one year then fell flat on his face the next. The third was a 15-year veteran who pitched more than 2,000 innings in his career and won over 100 games.

So what can we expect for these teams and their new managers in 2017?

Chicago White Sox

The White Sox haven’t had a winning season since 2012 and haven’t been to the playoffs since 2008. Their previous manager, Robin Ventura, got off to a good start with the team when he guided them to an 85-77 record and a second place finish in 2012. They were just three games back of the Detroit Tigers and Ventura finished third in AL Manager of the Year voting. The team plummeted to a 63-99 record the following year and then won between 73 and 78 games in each of the last three years. Ventura decided not to return after last season.

With Ventura stepping down, his bench coach, Rich Renteria, was named the new manager for the White Sox in early October. With his hiring, he joined Johnny Evers of “Tinkers to Evers to Chance” fame as only the second man to manage both the Cubs and the White Sox. He also became the only current Latino manager in MLB.

Renteria is a former big league player who played for three teams in five seasons and finished with a career batting line of .237/.285/.322 in 184 games. He managed four years in the Florida Marlins organization from 1998 to 2001 then four more years in the San Diego Padres organization from 2004 to 2007. In his eight years of managing in the minor leagues, he took three teams to the playoffs.

In November of 2013, Renteria was hired to manage the Chicago Cubs. In his first game as a big league manager he made history when he was the first manager to challenge an umpire’s decision under the expanded video review rule. He lost his challenge. He was also the first manager ejected from a game that year.

When Renteria was hired to manage the Cubs, they were coming off four straight last place finishes. They had gone 61-101 and 66-96 in the two years before Renteria arrived. He guided them to a 73-89 record, but they still finished in last place. The core of a contending team was there and it looked like Renteria would be the one to guide them as they grew into a contender.

Then, suddenly, he was out. Joe Maddon resigned from the Tampa Bay Rays and the Cubs took advantage of the opportunity to hire him. Renteria was fired on October 31, 2014. Maddon, of course, guided the Cubs to a 97-65 record in 2015 and a 103-58 record this year as the Cubs won their first world championship since 1908.

Renteria is in a similar situation with the White Sox that he was in with the Cubs. The White Sox don’t look like contenders at the present but they made some terrific trades in the offseason to restock their farm system. They were ranked the sixth-best farm system in MLB by Call to the Pen’s own Benjamin Chase. Top prospects include infielder Yoan Moncada (#1) and pitchers Reynaldo Lopez (#10), Lucas Giolito (#12), and Michael Kopech (#22).

To acquire those prospects, the White Sox had to trade their ace, Chris Sale, and their best position player from last season, Adam Eaton. Other players who could be on the move include starting pitcher Jose Quintana and first baseman Jose Abreu. This means the team Renteria is taking over will likely struggle in 2017 and 2018, but when Moncada and their pitching prospects reach the big leagues, they should be a force in the AL Central.

As the team is currently constructed, they are projected by FanGraphs to go 71-91, which is the worst projected record in the American League. If they trade away Quintana and Abreu (and possibly others), they’ll be even worse. Rich Renteria is likely to have another losing season or two on his record but hopefully he’ll be kept around long enough to see the White Sox’ prospects reach the big leagues and become contenders.

Arizona Diamondbacks

The Diamondbacks last made the playoffs in 2011. That was Kirk Gibson’s first year as manager. They won 94 games but lost in the NLDS to the Milwaukee Brewers. They finished at .500 in each of the next two years, then plummeted to a 64-98 record in 2014. That got Gibson fired and brought in Chip Hale. He guided the Diamondbacks to a 79-83 record and brought high hopes heading into the 2016 season.

In the 2015-2016 offseason, the Diamondbacks signed Zack Greinke to a six-year, $206.5 million contract and traded outfielder Ender Inciarte, pitcher Aaron Blair, and highly-regarded prospect Dansby Swanson to the Atlanta Braves for pitchers Shelby Miller and Gabe Speier. The Miller trade was widely criticized and the critics were proved correct. Miller was awful and Inciarte and Swanson look like fixtures in Atlanta for the next few years at least. Greinke’s ERA went from 1.66 to 4.37 and he missed about five weeks in the middle of the season with an oblique strain. The team went from 79-83 to 69-93 and Chip Hale got the axe.

In November, the Diamondbacks hired Torey Lovullo to manage the team. Like Renteria, Lovullo is a former big league player. He got 23 plate appearances with the Detroit Tigers in 1988 and hit .381/.409/.667. The following spring, manager Sparky Anderson said, “There’s really nothing Torey Lovullo can’t do.” It turned out there were plenty of things Torey Lovullo couldn’t do and hit major league pitching was one of them. He had a career batting line of .224/.301/.335 in 303 games with seven different teams over eight seasons.

After his playing career ended, Lovullo managed in the Cleveland organization from 2002 to 2009. He led two teams to league championships. He joined the Red Sox organization as a bench coach in 2013. When John Farrell took a leave of absence to be treated for cancer at the end of the 2015 season, Lovullo took over as interim manager and led the team to a 28-20 record.

The Diamondbacks have some talent at the major league level but a farm system that was ranked 29^th by Call to the Pen’s Benjamin Chase. They didn’t have any prospects in his Top 125. The FanGraphs Depth Charts have the Diamondbacks projected to go 78-84.

The offense will be centered around Paul Goldschmidt, A.J. Pollock, Jake Lamb and David Peralta. Both Pollock and Peralta missed much of last season with injuries but were worth a combined 10.2 Wins Above Replacement (per FanGraphs) in 2015. Brandon Drury and Yasmany Tomas should also help put runs on the board.

One of the Diamondbacks’ best hitters last year was shortstop Jean Segura, who had a monster breakout season by hitting .319/.368/.499 with 20 homers and 33 steals. He was traded to the Seattle Mariners in a deal that brought back starting pitcher Taijuan Walker and infielder Ketel Marte.

The pitching will be led by Zack Greinke, with Walker, Robbie Ray, Archie Bradley, and Shelby Miller rounding out the rotation. Greinke and Miller were both good as recently as 2015. Robbie Ray struck out 28% of the batters he faced last season but a .352 BABIP contributed to an ugly 4.90 ERA. The talent is there for Ray to take a big step forward. Bradley and Walker are young pitchers still trying to find consistency. In the bullpen, the Fernando Rodney Experience is most likely to be the closer, with Jake Barrett and Randall Delgado setting him up.

It will be difficult for the Diamondbacks to compete with the Dodgers and Giants in the NL West, but if some things fall their way they could be in the wild card race. There’s potential there, but they look like a team more likely to finish around .500 than a team that will win 85-90 games.

Colorado Rockies

The Rockies haven’t made the playoffs since 2009 and haven’t had a winning season since 2010. Before hiring Bud Black, the Rockies were managed by Walt Weiss from 2013 to 2016. They averaged 71 wins per year under Weiss and last year’s third place finish was their highest with him at the helm.

After letting Weiss go, the Rockies hired Bud Black in November. He has plenty of experience managing in the NL West. From 2007 to 2015, he managed the San Diego Padres to a 649-713 (.477) record. They never made the playoffs while he was the manager, but they did improve from 75 wins in 2009 to 90 wins in 2010. That improvement led to an NL Manager of the Year Award for Black.

More from Call to the Pen

It will be interesting to see how Black handles moving from San Diego to Colorado. During Black’s time as manager in San Diego, Petco Park was one of the best places for pitchers and most difficult for hitters. Coors Field is routinely the best park for hitters. One of the big differences is the altitude. San Diego is near sea level; Denver is almost a mile high.

Nolan Arenado, Carlos Gonzalez and Charlie Blackmon will lead the offense, with help from middle infielders Trevor Story and DJ LeMahieu. The team signed Ian Desmond as a free agent in the off-season and will (strangely) play him at first base if they don’t trade an outfielder. Second-year player David Dahl should get playing time in left field.

The pitchers expected to be in the starting rotation are all 28 or younger, with Jon Gray slated to be the team’s number one. Chad Bettis, Tyler Chatwood, Tyler Anderson and Jeff Hoffman round out the starting five. There are a number of pitchers who could compete for saves, but Adam Ottavino looks like the guy who will get the first shot.

Next: Fantasy Prospects to Target in 2017

The Rockies are projected for a 78-84 record. With the aid of their ballpark, the hitters are projected to be in the top five in runs scored. They are also projected to be in the bottom five in runs allowed. Like the Diamondbacks, they don’t appear to be contenders in the NL West thanks to the presence of the Dodgers and Giants, but they have an outside shot at a wild card spot if many things go well.

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