MLB Hot Seats That Have Already Turned Ice Cold This Winter
Like all major sports, Major League Baseball is full of personnel on the hot seat.
From managers with high-profile rosters who have failed to make it to the postseason to well-paid players who haven't lived up to their contracts and executives in the front office who have made a series of bad decisions, the list is a long one. It is also hard to get off of.
Following the end of the season, however, only one group can positively impact its standing within the organization—MLB general managers. After all, this is the time when rosters are transformed and hope springs anew.
So which GMs have gone from sitting on the hottest of seats to enjoying a respectable level of comfort after just more than two months this offseason? Who has made the type of moves that satiate both ownership and the fanbase?
Before getting started, let’s explain exactly what we’re talking about here.
A Little Perspective
1 of 3
There have been several general managers who are having a huge offseason for clubs that didn't reach the postseason last year. That doesn't mean they make the list.
Take A.J. Preller and Rick Hahn, for example. Yes, the San Diego Padres and Chicago White Sox may be the most improved clubs in each league after a flurry of activity from their respective GM, but neither man was on the hot seat.
Preller is brand new, taking over for Josh Byrnes during the season. That means his seat didn't have a temperature to begin with. And the additions of Matt Kemp, Wil Myers, Justin Upton and others only solidified the belief that he is just what an ailing franchise like the Padres needs.
In Chicago, Hahn's club was coming off two terrible seasons, no doubt, but he'd signed Jose Abreu and traded for Adam Eaton last year, locked up Chris Sale and Jose Quintana to team-friendly contracts and had shed ample payroll going into this offseason. In other words, he was in the process of executing a plan that was articulated and reasoned.
The signings of Zach Duke, David Robertson and Melky Cabrera to free-agent contracts, along with the acquisition of Jeff Samardzija from the Oakland A’s, simply accelerated the rebuild.
Dan Jennings from the Miami Marlins is another one.
Sure, his club surprised many around the MLB last year by staying in contention for a large part of the season, but he had the specter of Giancarlo Stanton's contract status hanging over his head and several holes on the roster to fill.
Well, all he's done is ink Stanton to a 10-year, $325 million extension, sign Michael Morse to a free-agent contract and acquire Martin Prado, Dan Haren, Mat Latos and Dee Gordon to strengthen the product on the field. In the process, the Marlins have leapt into next season's playoff conversation.
Like Preller and Hahn, Jennings was in no danger of losing his job, but he certainly extended his shelf life with an aggressive series of moves.
To be sure, there are others like Jed Hoyer from the Chicago Cubs and Ben Cherington from the Boston Red Sox, but the larger point remains: Not every GM who has made a splash thus far had a reason to doubt his job security.
What we are going to examine in the following pages are men who went into the winter months on the hot seat after years of questionable results. They have both come through in a big way, silencing the critics—for the moment, at least.
Terry Ryan, Minnesota Twins
2 of 3
When the Minnesota Twins fired then-GM Bill Smith after the 2011 season and replaced him with former GM Terry Ryan, the club was heading in the wrong direction. It had lost 99 games after winning the American League Central each of the prior two seasons and seemed adrift.
The switch in leadership did not pay immediate dividends, and the Twins went on to lose more than 90 games in 2013 and this past season.
It appears Ryan got the memo that something drastic needed to be done.
Immediately after the season ended, he made the difficult decision to part ways with longtime manager Ron Gardenhire, eventually replacing him with Twins legend Paul Molitor.
No doubt, Gardenhire was (likely still is) one heck of a manager, but a new voice was needed. As Jasper Scherer from MLB Daily Dish noted, “The Twins front office probably didn't want to part with Gardenhire, but the execs had their hands tied after the team lost 383 games over the last four seasons.”
Ryan didn’t stop there, though.
He went out and signed former All-Star Torii Hunter to a one-year, $10.5 million contract. At the time, the move seemed curious since offense wasn’t really the Twins’ issue last season—defense and pitching were.
Well, now we know that Ryan had a bigger signing in mind, and his name is Ervin Santana. Inked to a four-year, $55 million accord, this is the move that really put this offseason over the top.
Santana has made 64 starts over the past two seasons, pitching to a 3.58 ERA with a 3.67 FIP and 1.251 WHIP over 204.0 innings in the process. Along with Phil Hughes, Santana provides legitimacy at the top of the rotation.
And with guys like Byron Buxton and Jose Berrios (and then some) positioned to make the leap to the major leagues at some point next season, the whispers regarding Ryan’s future are waning.
Alex Anthopoulos, Toronto Blue Jays
3 of 3
Going into the 2013 season, Toronto Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos was the toast of the town.
Among others, he added Mark Buehrle, Jose Reyes, R.A. Dickey and Josh Johnson in a couple of high-profile trades. He’d also signed Melky Cabrera to a two-year deal, and it seemed like his club was poised to take the American League East.
Sadly, the Blue Jays finished well out of the playoff picture.
This past season, the Blue Jays surged out of the gate and were 14 games over .500 with a six-game lead on June 6. Injuries mounted, however, and the team relinquished first place permanently on July 3.
As if the injuries and fall from first weren’t enough, Anthopoulos didn’t add anyone at the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline. The move left the fanbase and players alike wondering why the GM couldn’t find a way to add a player.
As right fielder Jose Bautista said, “We all want to win badly, and we’re in a position where we’re in striking distance with not a lot of games left, and we could have used a little boost just like some of the other teams that went out and got some additions,” via the National Post’s John Lott.
The confluence of events led to legitimate questions as to whether he would return next year before the club announced that he would be back. Make no mistake, though: There was no guarantee that he would be given another chance beyond 2015, per Steve Simmons from the Toronto Sun.
His seat was as hot as they come.
Well, after signing Russell Martin to a five-year, $82 million deal, trading for all-world third baseman Josh Donaldson and acquiring outfielder Michael Saunders from the Seattle Mariners, the mood in Toronto has chilled considerably.
If Anthopoulos passes on a chance to add talent again when his club is in contention next season, however, all bets are off. Not sure Bautista can handle it.
.png?w=256)
.png?w=480)
