To lead things off, news broke this afternoon that Bob Melvin will be taking the job in San Francisco to manage the Giants. A short move for him, Melvin will leave Southern Calif. to head up North and take the post that Gabe Kapler was fired from weeks ago according to Andrew Baggarly of The Atheltic (subscription required).
Melvin's departure opens up the job in San Diego, which could now be filled internally by former Cardinals manager Mike Shildt, as we discussed Tuesday morning.
The manager chairs continue to shuffle. Who is going to be left standing when the music stops?
MLB rumors: Marlins were ready to move on from Kim Ng before season's end
A week ago, Miami Marlins general manager Kim Ng shockingly exited the franchise. about revealed some details into that public break-up (subscription required) and insinuated that the Marlins planned on moving on from Ng regardless of the 2023 season results.
Ng, hired in November of 2020, achieved plenty of firsts in the league and in Miami. She was the first female GM in MLB history, and she led the Marlins to their first postseason berth since the Covid-shortened 2020 campaign this past season.
Ng's new hires (Skip Schumaker) and trade deadline moves (David Robertson, Josh Bell, Jake Burger) showed she was more than ready to run a team. The Marlins apparently didn't think so.
After Ng's departure, she told the media that her and owner Bruce Sherman's plans to reshape the Marlins' baseball operations department "were not completely aligned."
The Marlins, who declined to extend Ng this past year, wanted to hire a president of baseball operations over Ng and may have wanted to do so regardless of the club's 2023 results.
MLB rumors: Twins GM Thad Levine dips out of Red Sox candidate pool
Twins general manager Thad Levine is out of the running for the Red Sox's vacant head of baseball operations position.
The Athletic's Chad Jennings confirmed the news and added that Red Sox assistant GM Eddie Romero and Cubs executive Craig Breslow could still be candidates.
Twins GM Thad Levine, who has been at the helm in Minnesota since the 2016 offseason, boasts over two decades of front-office experience but may have been lacking in the baseball operations department. He'll likely remain a hot commodity for other executive openings this offseason.
It appears the Red Sox are currently in their narrowing-down stage of interviews and are thinning the candidate pool a bit. Along with Romero and Breslow, four other candidates who reportedly had an initial interview with the Red Sox remain in the running: Red Sox assistant GM Michael Groopman, Red Sox VP of player development Paul Toboni, ex-Pirates GM Neal Huntington, and ex-Phillies and Giants manager Gabe Kapler.
MLB rumors: Buck Showalter named a candidate for Angels manager job
In early October, rumors spread about ex-Mets manager Buck Showalter eyeing the open Angels manager position.
Now, those rumors have been confirmed. MLB Network's Jon Morosi reported that Showalter is considered a candidate for the Angels' job on Tuesday.
Four years ago, the Angels interviewed Showalter for the manager position but picked Joe Maddon instead.
Showalter and Angels general manager Perry Minasian have some history together from their joint stint with the Texas Rangers, though Minasian's future in Los Angeles isn't set in stone for 2024.
Showalter was fired with a year remaining on his three-year contract and had led the Mets to a 74-87 record in 2023. He's clearly jockeying for another managerial position after his disappointing final season in Queens.
A plethora of changes could be coming to the Angels this winter -- Showalter just might be one of them.
