Baseball Chat

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Hot Seat Check: What MLB Managers and GMs are in Danger?

by Jessica Kleinschmidt Jul 29 1:39pm

Hope you are well rested from the All-Star break just in time to get yourself emotionally prepared for the trade deadline. If not, the next rollercoaster ride will be to see who may be standing in the unemployment line very soon. The two are usually related, since teams have to decide if they’re buyers or sellers, taking a hard look at what their team and their team’s future really is. Sometimes that look in the mirror means that someone’s got to go.

Here are some front office and managerial positions that could be on the hot seat.



Chip Hale, Manager, Arizona Diamondbacks

I have two guys on the list from the Arizona Diamondbacks organization. In a recent interview with Arizona Sports, Chief Baseball Officer Tony La Russa didn’t deny any rumors that there needed to be a “change” with the team. The change is surrounded by talks of replacing manager Chip Hale.

“It’s absolutely inappropriate for the owner or the president, CEO, or the general manager or the CBO to come down there and attempt to rally the troops in my opinion, because all that does is just send a message that you don’t think the guys that are leading you, the manager [and] the coaches, are adequate,” explains La Russa. “So we would never do it in that vain. I think Stew said something to try to have the guys understand the wackiness of those couple of days.” La Russa continues to put rumors to rest.

There have also been tiny whispers that Reno Aces skipper Phil Nevin is being talked about to replace Hale if it were to happen. Hale hasn’t been there long, but La Russa doesn’t seem to have a long leash. You also have to wonder if he’ll put himself in the dugout, at least on an interim level, to make a close assessment of the talent.

Dave Stewart, GM, Arizona Diamondbacks

We are all sick of talking about the Shelby Miller trade. You remember the one. The trade that sent former Braves National League All-Star pitcher Miller to the Arizona Diamondbacks for minor league pitcher Gabe Speier, Ender Inciarte, Aaron Blair and uberprospect Dansby Swanson.

With Miller’s recent demotion to the Triple-A Affiliate it’s easy to see this trade was very lopsided. In this case it doesn’t matter if you’re looking at the team as a whole because both are atrocious, but power horse Inciarte and Swanson are keeping themselves relevant while Miller licks his wounds.

Stewart was brought in as a bit of a surprise. He was a nice pitcher, but he’d been an agent for years, so it was a big shift. The thought was that La Russa really had the controls – and no one’s dispelled that. Maybe it should be La Russa getting the gate, but it’s more likely that he’ll get at least one more chance to turn things around.

A.J. Preller, GM, San Diego Padres

When the executive chairman of an organization refers to some of its players using terms like “miserable failures” and “an embarrassment,” things may need to change. Ron Fowler, the key owner of the Padres, used those words to describe the San Diego Padres.

Now with the team in fourth place in the NL West and have no sights of being a contending team, some reorganizing could be done starting with general manager A.J. Peller. Ken Rosenthal wrote in an article in regards to the coaching staff and principal decision makers could “receive more scrutiny.” Especially with a team that is a couple years away from being any type of winning organization.

Preller has always had a long-term horizon, so despite all his trading ways, he’s always needed to make the team better at the same time he’s rebuilding the farm system. Otherwise, he won’t last long enough to see all those prospects pay off. There’s a lot of people, including former Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopolous, who would jump at the San Diego job.

Mike Scioscia, Manager, Los Angeles Angels

Once again, another team that uses the phrase “there’s always next year” is the Angels. And with the saying that goes “it’s easier to fire one than 25,” it could be the end of the road for manager Mike Scioscia. Scioscia has been there a long time, but with yet another losing season, first-year GM Billy Eppler might want to make a change. If he’s going to lose, he’d rather lose with his guy.

The team can’t really do much with the players due to the huge contracts and lack of a farm system, unless they get crazy. There’s the obvious star quality and talent that Mike Trout brings to the club along with the bat in Albert Pujols that is running on its last leg. Short of trading Trout, this team is going to be looking up at the Rangers and Astros for a while. If the Mariners and A’s are above them as well, that’s an issue.

The rotation and perhaps some coaching duties need to change in order for the team to be taken seriously. I’ve always pictured Scioscia as a National League coach with his small ball mentality anyways, but his dream job with the Dodgers probably isn’t there like it was a few years back.

Joe Girardi, Manager, New York Yankees

Can you remember the last time the Yankees were this bad? Probably when Alex Rodriguez was barely able to walk, or never at all.The pinstripes currently sit in fourth place in the AL East and even though there are multiple articles being retweeted around the internet saying Joe Girardi isn’t at fault, let’s be real. We know how this works.

Still, he’s done some awesome things with much worse. Yes, I’m talking about that 2013 team. This would definitely cause some drama, but we all secretly love it. Brian Cashman is making some trades, but it’s not a full tear down. While it’s unlikely that Cashman or the Steinbrenners think that Girardi is the problem, it’s the kind of time that teams start asking if the manager is the right fit for where the team is going rather than where it’s been.