MLB rumors: 3 most shocking hot and cold manager seats
By Josh Wilson
Ken Rosenthal recently walked through the most and least secure managers in the MLB. Here are the most surprising ones, as well as some other tidbits.
With just under a third of the MLB season complete, the reviews are coming in for teams based on how well they’re holding up to the expectations placed on them before the seasons. With that comes a lot of blame or praise for managers, depending on how the team is doing and whether the issues are perceived to be game-day decision-making ones or strictly personnel (or just plain bad luck).
Here’s a look at some of the most surprising revelations on hot seats for various managers around the league based on the latest MLB rumors.
Somewhat shocking: Rocco Baldelli is in for the long haul
The Minnesota Twins have extended Rocco Baldelli through “at least” 2025 according to Ken Rosenthal’s latest reporting on the security of every manager in the big leagues with The Athletic (subscription required).
That’s huge for Baldelli, and not necessarily a major shock. Still, the Twins haven’t exactly overperformed under Baldelli’s leadership, so locking in for that many years comes as a minor surprise.
The Twins lead the AL Central by a few games, but the division has been atrocious this season.
Somewhat shocking: Padres won’t mix it up
As of Tuesday morning, the San Diego Padres are 21-26 and just a game and a half ahead of the last-place Colorado Rockies. This is a team that has the third-highest payroll in the MLB and simply can’t be performing this poorly.
Bob Melvin is viewed by the Padres as a part of the solution to San Diego’s problems, according to Rosenthal.
Melvin joined the Padres in 2022 and has a career 1456-1371 record between the Padres and other teams he’s managed back to 2003.
With those warmups out of the way, let’s look at the three most truly shocking hot (or not!) seats in the MLB right now.