Jays' acquiring Cherington an excellent move

Steve Phillips

TSN Baseball Insider

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The Toronto Blue Jays made a big off-field acquisition this week with the announcement of the addition of former Boston Red Sox general manager Ben Cherington. Cherington was relieved of his duties after the Red Sox’s dismal finish in 2015. Dave Dombrowski had been hired by the Sox after he was dismissed in Detroit. Cherington decided not to stay in Detroit and work under Dombrowski. Cherington’s decision was not dissimilar to the one made by Alex Anthopoulos when he left the Jays. Both Anthopoulos and Cherington didn’t want to stay with the same team and work in perceived lesser roles. It is easier to do that with a fresh start.   

This is an excellent move by the Jays’ hierarchy of Mark Shapiro and Ross Atkins. Cherington’s fingerprints are all over the 2016 Red Sox. Sure, the Sox collapsed last year, but almost every move made this season was done with help from the Jays’ new executive. The killer B’s of Xander Bogaerts, Mookie Betts and Jackie Bradley Jr. were drafted, signed and developed while Cherington was either the vice-president of player development or general manager in Boston. He also drafted top outfield prospect Andrew Benintendi, who was called up this season and was having a big impact before a knee injury. He signed Yoan Moncada, the young Cuban infielder who is among the top prospects in all of baseball, and now getting time at third base in the big leagues. Dombrowski pulled off a big trade to acquire Craig Kimbrel from the Padres with more of Cherington’s prospects. The most consistent starter for the Red Sox this season has been Rick Porcello, whom the former Sox exec got in a deal with the Tigers and then signed to a long-term contract. The contract was ridiculed at first but now with the way Porcello is pitching, it looks like a deal. 

I guess he is not as stupid as everyone thought. 

Cherington learned under former Red Sox general manager and current Cubs president Theo Epstein. He is a high character, intelligent man who is respected by his peers in the game. He is cut from the same mold as Shapiro and Atkins.

The stated goal of the Jays is to continue to grow and improve their player development and scouting departments. Shapiro knows that regardless of the size of the market, signing and developing his own talent has significant benefits beyond the obvious financial ones. All the Jays need to do is look at the Red Sox roster to reinforce the point. 

It is always nice to have an executive join your club who comes from a team within your division. Cherington knows the personnel in Boston as well as anybody. Plus, he is motivated to beat his former club. It’s always good to have some additional built-in incentive when competing in the division. Cherington has a right to be offended by what happened in Boston; he was diminished and minimized despite having won a World Series. He will never say it out loud, but that desire for vindication is there.

Mariners come alive  

Two weeks ago, I proclaimed the Seattle Mariners were finished in the AL playoff race. Their starting pitching was struggling, their rebuilt bullpen that initially flourished was collapsing, and they weren’t scoring any runs. Other than that, they were playing great baseball. 

But now here we are; the Mariners are just two games behind in the wild-card race after winning eight straight games. They are pitching like crazy, led by youngsters James Paxton and Taijuan Walker. Veteran starters Felix Hernandez and Hisashi Iwakuma continue to always give their club a chance to win, but it is the young guys who have allowed the streak to happen. These are the same guys who have either been hurt or who have underperformed to this point in their careers. Mariners fans were fed up with waiting for the potential to be fulfilled by their young guns.  They wanted them out. But over the last two weeks it looks like the organization’s patience may have been warranted. 

The improved starting pitching has also allowed the bullpen to stabilize as well. Everyone knows their roles and they are being utilized accordingly. 

The offence has come to life as well. The middle of the lineup is as good as any in the game. Robinson Cano is playing up to the expectations of the big contract he signed a few years back. Nelson Cruz adds power and production from the right side of the plate to separate Cano and third baseman Kyle Seager. All three are red-hot and driving the baseball. They are getting contributions from the complimentary players around them as well.

It is possible that it will be too little, too late for the Mariners. They have shown the propensity for streakiness. They can’t afford a losing streak now as the season winds down. With every win, though, the Mariners grow in confidence. They have the feel of the 2008 Colorado Rockies, who rattled off 21 of 22 to end the regular season and ultimately advance to the World Series.

The big series next week between the Jays and Mariners may ultimately decide the fate of both teams. The Jays play four games against the Angels before heading to Seattle. The Seattle series is a “double whammy” series: a win for one club ensures a loss for the other. One of the two teams will walk away controlling their own destiny. 

What goes up must come down; and what is down in baseball often comes up. The Jays hope that baseball physics applies to the rest of their season. Seattle, not so much. 

Yankees add Butler

The New York Yankees made a move on the field by signing recently released Billy Butler. Butler, you may recall, was the former Oakland A’s player who was placed on the 7-day concussion DL after a clubhouse fight with teammate and former Blue Jay, Danny Valencia. The A’s released Bulter with over a year remaining on a three-year, $30-million deal. He was hitting .276/.331/.403 with four home runs and 33 RBI before being let go. 

So why would the Yankees sign a guy like this? Why not? 

It is a low-risk move for a veteran DH who is motivated to salvage his career. He will be on his best behaviour and is desperate to show he still has game. The Yankees have stayed relevant in the AL East and wild-card race even after declaring the rebuilding process. They traded away Aroldis Chapman and Andrew Miller. They released Alex Rodriguez. Out with the old and in with the new has been the name of the game. It has been working as the young prospects, led by catcher Gary Sanchez, have reinvigorated the roster. Manager Joe Girard has done a great job managing the club in transition. Adding a guy like Butler tells the players the club thinks they have a shot and, just as importantly, it shows the fans they are still the Yankees.

Butler won’t be eligible to participate if the Yankees make the playoffs, but so what?  If he gets one big hit along the way, it was worth it. 

Those darn Yankees just never seem to go away!

Spitting Seeds

- Congratulations to the Chicago Cubs for clinching the NL Central title Thursday night despite their loss to the Brewers. They have a 93-53 record and continue to roll. The challenge for manager Joe Madden will be to keep his guys hungry and prepared for October baseball as they play out the string of the regular season. It sure feels like there are the Cubs and then everyone else, but the slate gets wiped clean in the playoffs and the race shifts from a marathon to a sprint. 

I can see it now: Maddon bringing in Usain Bolt to travel with the team on a road trip reinforcing the transition to the postseason. 

- Surprise! Surprise!  Josh Donaldson returns to the Blue Jays lineup and he goes 3-for-3 with two doubles, two walks and two runs scored in a Blue Jays win. The Jays go as Donaldson goes. It;s no surprise to me that Jose Bautista and Russell Martin step up as well. These three are the Jays with the most grit and swagger. If Toronto is going to regain their confidence and mojo, they need to perform. It is tough to be cocky when you are struggling. The Jays need momentum before they head to Seattle to take on the red-hot Mariners. 

- I wonder whether Padres general manager A.J. Preller will survive this latest debacle. He was handed a 30-day suspension stemming after an investigation by the Commissioner’s Office of the trade deadline deal sending Drew Pomeranz to the Red Sox. The release from the Commissioner’s Office did not identify the actual violations, but the statements from the Padres and media reports have made it clear that “medical administration and record keeping” are the issues. 

The punishment handed down to Preller was exclusive to the trade with the Red Sox but the Padres have had a number of trades where the health of the players they have sent to other teams has been called into question. Apparently the Padres did not fully record medical data in the file where most teams normally document player treatment. The Padres had two separate files; one that would be shared with other clubs in a trade discussion and another that was for internal use. Effectively, the Padres were not fully disclosing all of the treatment that their players had been receiving to trade partners. When the traded Padres reported to their new teams and shared physical ailments they were dealing with, the treatment they had been receiving was not found in the file.  

The Padres have made it clear that this was not malicious on their part.  That is a claim that several executives that I spoke with did not necessarily believe. There is a sense that the Padres withheld information that would have diminished the value of the players they were making available.  If the other clubs knew the full physical status of the Padres players, they would likely never have consider trading for them. 

This is not a first offence for the Padres’ young general manager. He had been previously suspended when he was in charge of international scouting with the Texas Rangers for signing a player from the Dominican Republic, knowingly violating signing rules.  Preller’s job security has to be precarious, considering this is also his second losing season. Padres ownership needs to be concerned that Preller’s ability to do his job may be compromised if he loses the trust of other general managers. From the sound of it, that is already the case.

- Marco Estrada has quickly doused the flame that sparked around reports he is pitching with a herniated disc in his back. Estrada said he has had the medical issue since spring training. He had it when he pitched well and he has had it when he has pitched poorly. He is unwilling to use it as an excuse for his second-half struggles. I will use it as an excuse for him, though. It appears that he is struggling to finish his pitches and isn’t able to get out over his front leg as much as he once did in his release. 

Estrada’s claim that his balky back isn’t causing him issues is giving me a bit more hope that maybe he can find his way again this year. I had pretty much resigned myself to the fact that he was going to be only mediocre the rest of the way because of his ailing back. You gotta love his grit and willingness to pitch hurt. 

- Dodger manager Dave Roberts angered his starting pitcher, Rich Hill, and many baseball purists when he removed Hill after seven perfect innings last week. Roberts did it because Hill has had a history of injuries, most recently a bout of nagging blisters on his pitching hand. Roberts was making the team pursuit of the playoffs and a chance at the World Series as his priority. Hill had less than 90 pitches at the time and probably could have pitched longer without the blisters developing again. But what if he did leave them in and they did pop up again? It could possibly cost the Dodgers a shot at the primary goal of the team. It was a tough decision but the right decision. If Hill doesn’t like it then he has to earn the trust of his manager by staying healthy and getting rid of the blisters for good. 

Epilogue:  Hill gave up a homer with two outs in the second inning of his start last night which left him one out short of a combined perfect game.  My kids would say, “ball don’t lie,” meaning “see, Roberts was right!”

- The Yankees gave up five runs in the ninth inning on Thursday night and lost to the Boston Red Sox 7-5. Get ready for Yankee fans to rip the organization and GM Brian Cashman for having traded away Andrew Miller and Aroldis Chapman. Talk radio will be abuzz with criticism, "If only they hadn’t traded away their big bullpen arms, they would be headed to the playoffs. Fire Cashman!” 

The reality is that the Yankees are where they are because of the trades. The deals took away the expectation and pressure allowing the young players to relax and thrive, helping the Yankees win far more games than anyone anticipated. Plus, Miller hasn’t been perfect in Cleveland as he has given up five runs in 19.2 innings and Chapman has two blown saves with the Cubs. It was a tough loss for the Yankees and their fans but if they make it too big of an issue, it will become a self-fulfilling prophecy moving forward. 

- I have no problems with players having strong positions on social issues. I actually hope they do. It means they have a connection to the community and the world in which they live. It should make them better citizens. The Colin Kaepernick situation in the NFL has sparked a ton of opinions and responses.

Of course, it is everyone’s right to free speech. But it doesn’t always mean that it’s the right time and place to share an opinion, no matter what. I would not allow a player on my team to make a statement like the 49ers' quarterback. I would confront my player and tell him that he doesn’t have the right to make social statements while wearing the team’s uniform. If a player wants to take on a social issue he can do it in street clothes on his own time.  When a player is wearing the team uniform he is representing the franchise, not himself. That applies even if I agree on his position.