Outside The Confines: Managing in the offseason

Good morning. There were three managers hired on Monday, although it seems like we have one of those hires covered pretty well around here.

• The Mets, who were considered an early favorite for Craig Counsell, hired Yankees bench coach Carlos Mendoza as their new manager.
• Will Sammon and Tim Britton write that the Mets went in a different direction by hiring a first-time manager with potential. (The Athletic sub. req.)
• The Guardians announced that former catcher Stephen Vogt will be their new manager. Vogt retired after the 2022 season and spent last year as the Mariners’ bullpen coach, his only experience as a coach.
• Still, Zach Meisel writes that Vogt has been seen as a manager-in-waiting for a long time. (The Athletic sub. req.)
• Michael Baumann looks at all three new manager hires, and that includes the Cubs and Counsell.
• The Angels still have not replaced fired manager Phil Nevin. General manager Perry Minasian said that the Halos would not rush their choice.
• The Pennant-winning Diamondbacks don’t need a new manager as they reportedly agreed to an extension with Torey Lovullo. The deal will keep Lovullo in Arizona through the 2026 season.
• Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner reportedly spoke with current and former Yankees players before deciding to keep manager Aaron Boone for the 2024 season.
• Sticking with the Yankees, general manager Brian Cashman disputed the idea that the team is “analytically driven” and pointed out that the Yankees have the largest scouting department and smallest analytics department in the AL East.
• A roundtable discussion of the best fits for the top free agents.
• Manny Randhawa polled the writers on MLB dot com to ask where the top free agents will sign.
• The nine most “fascinating” free agents this winter.
• A look at how Shohei Ohtani fits in with the top 12 candidates to sign him. (The Athletic sub. req.) The Cubs are among the 12 teams.
• Bob Nightengale reports that the talk of Ohtani’s next team is dominating the GM meetings.
• R.J. Anderson ranks all 30 MLB team on how likely they are to trade for Juan Soto. The Cubs’ are third.
• Mark Feinsand argues that Baltimore is becoming an attractive destination for free agents. Sure, until they see how much money the Angelos family are offering. Team general manager Mike Elias is probably going right now, “Oh, so you aren’t considering playing for the Orioles, Shohei? Maybe this nice green portrait of Andrew Jackson might change your mind? There might even be two pictures if you’re willing to fly coach.”
• Scott Merkin reports that there are no “untouchables” on the White Sox roster, according to GM Chris Getz.
• Michael Baumann breaks down the trade that sent professional hitter Mark Canha from the Brewers to the Tigers for (almost) nothing.
• Kiley McDaniel has ten things we’ve learned from this year’s playoffs. (ESPN+ sub. req.)
• One thing we’ve learned is that the pitch clock is working. The World Series games average three hours and one minute, the fastest World Series since 1996.
• Jay Jaffe notes that the Dodgers are short on starting pitching, with Clayton Kershaw’s surgery and the team declining Lance Lynn’s option.
• Kiri Oler has an appreciation of the retiring Nelson Cruz, who defied the aging curve. Oler notes that Cruz’s role off-the-field was as important or more so that his terrific on-field contributions.
• A judge in Nevada has rejected on procedural grounds a proposed ballot referendum that would put the new stadium funding in Las Vegas up for a vote. Backers have vowed to both appeal and try again.
• Mets owner Steve Cohen unveiled an $8 billion plan to create commercial development around Citi Field.
• Chad Jennings looks at Rush frontman Geddy Lee and his massive baseball memorabilia collection. (The Athletic sub. req.)
• Lee is auctioning off a part of his collection.
• Ichiro Suzuki, now 50 years old, was helping out a Japanese high school team with hitting instruction when he took some batting practice. Ichiro hit a home run that broke the window of a math classroom beyond right field.
• And finally, Anthony Castrovince has a great story of the efforts to track down and make official the records of the Negro Leagues from 1920 to 1948, now that they are officially classified as major leagues. He also profiles two of the three living players from the 1948 and before Negro Leagues. (He assumes you are already familiar with Willie Mays, who is the third one.)

And tomorrow will be a better day than today, Buster.