Black Monday Special: 2020 MLB Edition
In honor of Black Monday in the NFL and all the coaches who got/are going to get fired. We take a look at whose seat is going to be hot in the upcoming MLB season.
On Black Monday, Freddie Kitchens in Cleveland, Bruce Allen in DC, Pat Shurmur in NY have already been let go of at the time of writing. Jerry Jones will presumably be letting go of Jason Garrett in Dallas any time now. Plenty of other changes will ripple through the coaching ranks over the next few days.
Meanwhile, MLB is cruising through its offseason and there are many teams who are feeling the pressure to start winning OR ELSE. General Managers, Chiefs of Baseball Operations, whatever their title may be, will all find themselves on the chopping block in the event of underperformance.
Whether you reside on the East Coast, West Coast, or somewhere in between, there are baseball folks that could be in trouble. Which is why we’ve decided to provide you with this Black Monday: MLB edition.
Let’s start with everyone’s favorite agent turned GM in Queens.
Brodie Van Wagenen – New York Mets
It was presumed that Chaim Bloom would be bringing his magic from the Rays to a Mets organization that #LOLMets every chance they get. The Wilpons then came out of the clouds and instead hired an agent they have a close relationship with.
BVW went bold trading prospects to Seattle for Robinson Cano and Edwin Diaz from Seattle. The Mets continued the boldness when they shocked everyone by acquiring Marcus Stroman and not trading Noah Syndergaard.
Despite all the craziness in Queens, the Mets finished with 86 wins (surprisingly more than another team we’ll talk about) than and were on the periphery of the Wild Card. The Mets have had another quiet offseason outside of reworking the contract of Yoenis Cespedes. The Mets are at a critical juncture where they have key guys approaching peak value and free agency.
Syndergaard, Michael Conforto, Stephen Matz, are all intriguing veteran players who could bring a huge return. If BVW’s boldness can’t get the Mets into the playoffs, then the organization may need to find someone (Ben Cherington type?) who can develop a farm and turn the present MLB talent into pieces for the next great Mets team.
Turning to the…
Black Monday Special: 2020 MLB Edition
West Coast
Billy Eppler – Los Angeles Angels
The Angels have the best player in baseball and one of the best of all time in Mike Trout, the celebrity manager in Joe Maddon, and the big free-agent signing in Anthony Rendon. Throw in the return of two-way sensation Shohei Ohtani and Jo Adell waiting in the wings, the Angels are primed to contend in a tough AL West.
Eppler has been at the helm since 2015 and hasn’t had much success outside of signing Trout to a monstrous extension. Eppler is running out of time and excuses. The prime of Mike Trout is being wasted. If the Angels can’t get it done after a blockbuster offseason, expect Eppler to be out of a job and the Angels to look for a new chief to bring postseason baseball to the other side of LA.
AJ Preller – San Diego Padres
When the Chairman of your organization calls your season “embarrassing“, it is safe to assume something is going to have to change. Preller handpicked a top lieutenant for the next manager despite having no experience in Jayce Tingler. With three high dollar players on the roster in Manny Machado, Eric Hosmer, and Wil Myers and a treasure trove of prospects, it is now time for Preller to turn his top prospect lists into wins at the MLB level.
The Padres have made some moves so far, but are still looking to acquire a frontline pitcher. Their offseason is likely not over though. Look for Preller to make a few more moves that would solidify the Padres as wild card contenders.
Black Monday Special: 2020 MLB Edition
Chicago Fires
Rick Hahn – Chicago White Sox
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The Southsiders made noise last offseason when they put Bryce Harper in their promotional materials and came up short of signing Manny Machado. They haven’t sniffed .500 since 2012 and have toiled in the basement of the non-competitive AL Central. The White Socks have had a very active winter signing Dallas Kuechel, Yasmani Grandal, Gio Gonzalez, and Edwin Encarnacion.
They are bringing back emergent ace Lucas Giolito and will have injured but talented guys like Carlos Rodon and Michael Kopech back in the fold. Super prospect Luis Robert is slated to burst onto the scene at some point this year. Rick Hahn’s masterpiece is about to be unveiled and it will go a long way to determining his job security. If this team flops, it’ll be hard to justify him staying around.
Theo Epstein – Chicago Cubs
Once unthinkable after breaking the longest drought and curse in sports history, this season is a big one for Theo Epstein and company. The Cubs built an incredible core through the first-round draft picks like Kris Bryant, Kyle Schwarber, and a savvy trade for Anthony Rizzo, and free-agent signings like Jon Lester. But every Chief has their misses.
Epstein traded now-emerged superstar Gleyber Torres for Aroldis Chapman back in 2016 as the Cubs search for an answer at 2B. He also traded now major leaguers, Dylan Cease and Eloy Jimenez for the inconsistent and maddening Jose Quintana. The biggest blemish on Theo’s record is that the Cubs have yet to produce a home-grown pitcher; Not ONE.
The organization now finds itself unwilling to spend more money after whiffing on free agent signings like Jason Heyward and Tyler Chatwood, and the escalating arbitration salaries of the core. The Cubs only won 84 games and had a collapse of epic proportions to the Cardinals and Yelich-less Brewers.
Next. Red Sox not actively shopping Betts, but why?. dark
The Astros arrived a year after the Cubs and have been able to sustain themselves with new stars and revitalizing careers whereas the Cubs haven’t been able to replicate that model. Theo will always have his place in Cubs lore, but that doesn’t mean his seat can’t be hot.