Fansided

Five MLB managers on the hot seat in 2016

By John Buhler

Aug 11, 2015; St. Petersburg, FL, USA; Atlanta Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez (33) looks on while calling the bullpen in the dugout at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
Aug 11, 2015; St. Petersburg, FL, USA; Atlanta Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez (33) looks on while calling the bullpen in the dugout at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports /
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Aug 9, 2015; Detroit, MI, USA; Boston Red Sox manager John Farrell (53) in the dugout before the game against the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports
Aug 9, 2015; Detroit, MI, USA; Boston Red Sox manager John Farrell (53) in the dugout before the game against the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports /

3. John Farrell, Boston Red Sox

John Farrell may have won a World Series with the 2013 Boston Red Sox, but is he the type of manager the team needs to handle both the steady influx of Minor League talent as well as the cast of characters already on the team?

The Red Sox are a team that about once every three years or so finds an identity so strong that they can essentially navigate themselves to a postseason berth. Should the team gel behind designated hitter David Ortiz and have solid pitching, the Red Sox are certainly capable of winning a World Series should they get to the postseason.

The problem with Boston is that this franchise is notoriously erratic from season to season. This team over the last 15 years has won three World Series (2004, 2007, 2013), but has also been the laughing-stock of the MLB on several occasions. With the young stars like Mookie Betts, Xander Bogaerts and Henry Owens bond well with veterans Pablo Sandoval, Clay Buchholz, and Ortiz among others?

Three straight down years for Farrell should the Sox falter again in 2016 maybe too much for the baseball savvy front office to tolerate. Boston maybe a leader in the MLB in terms of sabermetrics, but sometimes it is hard to understand the signings and personalities that can sometimes consume the clubhouse negatively.

Boston is a combustible locker room that can either ignite into a World Series champion just as easily as it can implode from the start. Farrell is a former pitching coach who has to feel ecstatic about getting left-handed ace David Price to anchor the rotation. The problem is if Price can win in October on that massive Red Sox contract.

The Red Sox don’t have to win the 2016 World Series to keep his job, but Farrell’s team can’t finish fourth or fifth in the ultra-competitive AL East should he want to stay in Boston for the 2017 MLB season. A Wild Card berth would squelch the hot seat rumors for Farrell without question for the foreseeable future. However, missing the postseason for the third year in a row isn’t acceptable for a winning organization of Boston’s caliber.

Next: 2. Walt Weiss

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