Could the Padres fire manager Bob Melvin?
Think back to the start of the 2023 season. The San Diego Padres were one of many teams hopeful that a collection of star power would propel them into the postseason at the very least. After making it to the NLCS last year, the hope was to get further this year.
Instead? They're now 65-73, totaling their losses from last year with a month left to go. They have a 2.0% chance of making the postseason according to Fangraphs' model.
So as you might expect, the organization will consider changes. Those changes could be with player personnel -- like Juan Soto -- but they also could be with leadership.
In a recent column, Bob Nightengale suggests manager Bob Melvin is more likely to take the fall than general manager AJ Preller, who is liked by ownership. He thinks Ryan Flaherty would be a front-runner to succeed him, currently the bench coach for the team.
Melvin, a long-time manager for the Oakland Athletics has not had a long leash if this is the end of the road for him in San Diego. He's been the lead dog the last two seasons and still has an overall winning record. While his team has not displayed as much passion as one would hope, Melvin doesn't exactly feel like the sole reason the team isn't panning out.
Brian Cashman might be safe, but Aaron Boone isn't
Nightengale's column continued to talk about the New York Yankees. Fresh off an electric series sweep over the Houston Astros that will ultimately probably be too little too late, the team is fun again for the first time in a while.
New young prospects have been called up and are performing well with expectations lower than ever before with playoff hopes almost entirely in the rearview.
According to Nightengale, general manager Brian Cashman is still safe. He wants to keep Aaron Boone as the team's manager, but according to Nightengale, it will be team owner Hal Steinbrenner's call, not Cashman.
If the Yankees keep winning, it will be tough to justify firing Boone, who has led a team that looks ill equipped to win as far as how they've been built, not always how they've been led. While Boone is far from perfect and leaves fans scratching their heads at times, most of the responsibility for the poor results this year is attributed to Cashman.
For Boone, the answer is likely to just keep winning and stay employed. But if the recent success reverts back to the implosion we were witnessing after the trade deadline, there's a real chance he could be fired.
Shohei Ohtani's Tommy John surgery gets possible timeline
Shohei Ohtani's torn UCL has been a hot topic for the Los Angeles Angels and the entire MLB. While the common thinking would suggest he would undergo Tommy John surgery, such a decision has potentially career-long implications. Coming up on his free agency this winter, his decision to elect to get surgery or not could be a meaningful data point for teams figuring out how much they'd like to offer him, should they have the chance to do so.
Here's what Nightengale reported:
Ohtani has yet to publicly declare his intentions, but those familiar with Ohtani's thinking believe that he could shut it down in the next 10 days and undergo Tommy John surgery to repair his torn UCL.
What would that mean for Ohtani next season? Well, he won't be pitching, that's for sure. The recovery timeline for TJ surgery is lengthy and keeps pitchers out entire seasons. For other players, it all really depends. Typically one can bat no problem, so as Nightengale points out, he'll likely be good to go as a designated hitter.
This year we saw Bryce Harper undergo Tommy John. He famously returned 160 days after the surgery, albeit as a designated hitter. He stayed out of the outfield, his normal position, and instead tried to learn first base to make himself useful defensively even as he couldn't make far throws.
That timeline was quick, but Ohtani is a freak of nature, so let's rock with it. If Ohtani gets surgery in 10 days, 160 days after that would be mid-February. That puts him right back in-line for spring training. Should he need some additional time, he'll be ready to DH early in the regular season no problem.
Definitely don't expect the two-way player we've become accustomed to seeing in Ohtani in previous years. Clearly, he isn't going to be able to pitch, but the surgery won't keep us from seeing his offensive brilliiance continue.
And who knows, if Harper learns first base to get himself back on the dirt, maybe Ohtani could add yet another position to his toolbelt? Unlikely, but one can dream!
