Well, we believe in exit velocity, bat flips, launch angles, stealing home, the hanging curveball, Big League Chew, sausage races, and that unwritten rules of any kind are self-indulgent, overrated crap. We believe Greg Maddux was an actual wizard. We believe there ought to be a constitutional amendment protecting minor league baseball and that pitch framing is both an art and a science. We believe in the sweet spot, making WARP not war, letting your closer chase a two-inning save, and we believe love is the most important thing in the world, but baseball is pretty good, too.
The Pittsburgh Pirates fired Derek Shelton on Thursday. Which manager could be next and why?
Zachary Rotman: Now that Derek Shelton has officially been canned, I’m going to go with Baltimore Orioles manager Brandon Hyde. The front office did not do enough to improve the team’s pitching, and injuries haven’t helped either, but this team is 13-23. They might not be good enough to win the World Series or even their own division on paper, but they have the fourth-worst record in the league right now. Hyde might not be fully responsible, but things shouldn’t be this bad. It’s time for a change, and letting the manager go is the easiest move the Orioles can make right now.
Eric Cole: I’m not going to pick Shelton as the Pirates are ownership’s fault. He might end up being the first manager fired, but the guy that should get fired first is the Orioles’ Brandon Hyde. Baltimore is loaded with talent and after a promising 2024 season, they have come out this season completely flat. The starting pitching woes are on the front office, but the Orioles have looked actively bad and defeated in all facets of the game and that one can point to the manager as an area to improve.
Chris Landers: Okay, fine, I’ll zag a bit: The answer is Ron Washington. Sure, the Pirates are a travesty, but what, realistically, was Shelton supposed to do about that? How much different would their record be if you could swap him out for any manager in baseball history? The Angels aren’t exactly loaded with talent either, and another Mike Trout injury doesn’t help, but this team should not be as bad as it is right now – and it certainly shouldn’t be making the sort of boneheaded mistakes that have become commonplace. If the Halos can’t field their position or take care of the fundamentals, what exactly is Washington bringing to the table?
Adam Weinrib: Now that Derek Shelton has been canned, it’s official: I’ve learned almost nothing about him along the way. Does he like sweets? What’s his favorite movie? Is it “In the Line of Fire”? Did he genuinely think Spencer Horwitz and Isiah Kiner-Falefa would save him, or no? Next in line should probably be Ron Washington, who feels a bit like Shelton to me; his roster is stagnant, and there’s only so much he can do at the margins to make an undermanned group better. If the Braves hadn’t righted the ship … could infuriating his superstar have been enough to get Brian Snitker fired? Maybe a few more Eddie Rosario pinch-hitting appearances will get that handled by July.
The early returns are in! Pick one offseason signing that deserves an A, and another that’d earn an F if the season ended today.
Zachary Rotman: Pete Alonso has proven all 30 teams wrong by putting up an MVP-caliber first month of the season, and he deserves an A grade because of that. He’s always been an elite run producer, but Alonso entered Wednesday’s action leading the National League in hits, batting average, on-base percentage, and OPS. His approach is better than it has ever been, and the numbers back that up.
As for the F grade, that goes to Joc Pederson. I, as a Mets fan, was desperate for the team to sign him thinking he’d be the perfect right-handed DH on this team, but I couldn’t have been more wrong. Pederson, somehow, has a WRC+ of 9. Yes, you read that right. To make matters worse, he’s got a player option worth $18.5 million after this year. Woof.
Robert Murray: A: Alex Bregman. The Red Sox identified Bregman as a prime target, were patient in the winter pursuing him, and quieted every critic about the organization not spending by signing him. He’s rewarded them with a .327/.401/.612 slash line with nine home runs and 30 RBI. Great signing.
F: Max Scherzer. He’s been injured and on the decline in recent seasons. Giving him a little over $15 million on a one-year deal - and passing on Nick Pivetta - was a mistake. He would have loved to be in Toronto. He’s a Canadian! Missed opportunity.
Eric Cole: The Yankees get an A for Max Fried, at least for now. He has been one of the best pitchers in baseball so far this season and they acted both quickly and decisively to bring him in. I have some real concerns about how that contract will age, but Fried has been a big reason why the Yankees have hung around after losing Gerrit Cole. Agree with Robert that the Scherzer signing deserves a F. It is deeply frustrating to see teams ignore age and injury history when signing these old future Hall of Famers and Scherzer is a cautionary tale why you shouldn’t do it unless they are dirt cheap.
Adam Weinrib: I’ll give Bregman the Clear A. I can’t believe he ended up falling to the Red Sox after all that malaise about the validity of their offer. In the end, they simply paid him a massive chunk of money - and that was his preferred landing spot all along? Would’ve been nice to have known that the entire time. Obvious fit, though he’s really thrown off their depth chart.
F: To go against the grain, Tyler O’Neill and his 65 at-bats/.215 average with a pair of homers. Very clearly someone who was propped up by the Green Monster in Boston and his first healthy season in years entering free agency. He is no longer healthy, which is crazy. Mike Elias is bad at this.
Chris Landers: I’ll give my A to Alonso, because waiting out his market and bringing him back extremely motivated was always a stroke of genius – and looks even more so now that he’s carried the Mets offense for the first month-plus. As for my F, give me Jordan Romano: The warning signs could not have been more evident during the tail end of his run with Toronto, and Dave Dombrowski choosing him as his lone significant bullpen addition bordered on malpractice even without the benefit of hindsight.
Assuming Aaron Judge to Mickey Mantle is taken, pick one current franchise star who reminds you of a Hall of Famer from the same team:
Zachary Rotman: I’m going to cheat a bit since Justin Verlander is not in the Hall of Fame yet and is not on the Houston Astros anymore, but Hunter Brown literally looks like Justin Verlander 2.0. I mean, look at his wind-up! His numbers so far this season look pretty Verlander-esque, too.
Robert Murray: That’s a really hard question. Zach should be ashamed of himself for cheating (thanks for doing it first so I can do it too). I’ll compare Jackson Chourio to Ronald Acuña Jr. Yes, I get it! Acuña Jr. isn’t in the Hall of Fame. But they have very similar tools and Chourio, 21, is already a star and the Acuña Jr. comps will only grow louder.
Eric Cole: I am going to go with Austin Riley and Eddie Mathews. Yes, I know this sounds crazy and I will freely admit that the start of Mathews’ career was better than Riley’s. However, they both are slugging third baseman who don’t get the press they deserve. Also, Mathews’ 162 game average was .271/.376/.509 with 35 homers while Riley’s currently sits at .273/.338/.501 with 35 home runs. Mathews was better, but it is closer than you think.
Adam Weinrib: Trent Grisham and Mickey Mantle.
No, but really, give me Bobby Witt Jr. and George Brett. I’d imagine Witt Jr.’s father was a bit kinder on him growing up, but still instilled the same dogged pursuit of the infield dirt in his son’s bones. The current Royal is obviously speedier, but … hit machine, grit, tenacity, leadership, it’s all there. Witt Jr. was humbled last year in October and I don’t think that’ll happen again.
Chris Landers: At the risk of cribbing Robert, I’ll compare Chourio to someone who actually is a Hall of Famer already: Robin Yount. Okay, so Yount didn’t wind up making his move to the outfield until later in his career. But like Chourio, he was a top prospect who cracked the Majors at a preternaturally young age. And like Chourio, it took him a little while to develop, largely thanks to a very aggressive approach at the plate. Eventually Yount took off, and here’s betting that Chourio will do the same.
Luis Robert Jr. has been floated in trade talks for longer than this column has been in existence. Will it finally happen this deadline?
Zachary Rotman: I’m of the belief that teams should neversell low unless they have to. The White Sox do not have to with Luis Robert Jr. given the fact that he’s under contract through the 2027 campaign thanks to a pair of club options. With that being said, though, I’m going to make an exception here and say that they should trade him. He is too talented to be hitting under .200, and simply looks miserable being on this team. If I’m being honest, it’s hard to blame him. The White Sox will probably hold onto him if he continues to struggle knowing they can get a lot more if he breaks out in the second half or next season, but I’d just rip the band-aid off right now and get what I could knowing Robert is almost certainly wanting out.
Robert Murray: I’d hold onto Luis Robert Jr. if I was the White Sox. Internally, they believe when he’s right that he’s an MVP caliber player. Instead, he’s hitting .190 entering Thursday, and has struggled mightily. He’s signed through the 2027 season, so the team can be patient here, and I believe they will be patient. And if Robert Jr. and Sandy Alcantara are off the market in July, what exactly does the trade deadline look like?
Eric Cole: I just don’t see it. The White Sox were asking for a king’s ransom when Robert was coming off a dreadful season with real injury issues. If he starts playing well, the cost is only going to go up and teams are going to want to be cautious paying that kind of price. If he is still hitting .190 at the trade deadline, his market is going to be nonexistent even if Chicago returns to reality on his current value given his contract.
Adam Weinrib: I’m a big proponent of a culture change being just as potentially impactful as any swing tweak. Robert Jr. knows that the best version of his future is not in Chicago with the White Sox, and is playing with that realization weighing on him everyday. He’d look incredible in Seattle. The Sox should hold him until the average improves a bit, but I can’t imagine he’ll go for peanuts in July if that never normalizes. He’s just too tantalizing.
Chris Landers: Until he starts looking like the five-tool guy he was back in 2023, there’s no reason for Chicago to pull the trigger — his contract isn’t getting any less team-friendly, and the White Sox still have plenty of runway to play with. Of course, this creates a bit of a Catch-22, given that there’s not nearly enough talent around Robert for him to unlock his full potential, but, well, that’s Jerry Reinsdorf for you.
New section! Feel free to drop and tease anything you wrote from the past week:
Zachary Rotman: My First Pitch article grading five of the biggest offseason moves thus far was a really fun one to put together. Check it out!
Robert Murray: I had extensive thoughts on the Pirates’ failures and why it’s ultimately all on Bob Nutting.
Adam Weinrib: Wrote a brutally honest press release for the White Sox new City Connects and compared the College of Cardinals to the St. Louis of Cardinals.
Eric Cole: I will shamelessly plug my weekly column for Baseball Insiders that took a look at the MLB prospects forcing some intriguing position battles for their teams with their play so far this season. Also, don’t miss our weekly prospects show on the Baseball Insiders Youtube channel every Tuesday!
Chris Landers: I have become entirely too invested in covering the Devin Williams beat, both personally and professionally, but his reaction to getting out of a jam on Wednesday night was a ton of fun to write about.
Robert Murray's notebook:
- Look for the Chicago Cubs to be heavily in the starting pitching and bullpen markets come July.
- The San Francisco Giants are legit, but they badly need first base help.