This story was excerpted from Mandy Bell’s Guardians Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.
After Guardians manager Terry Francona hinted at possibly retiring at the end of the season, president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti figured it would be best to make himself available to the media.
No, he wasn’t ready to say it would be Francona’s last season, either. It’s clear that Francona doesn’t want it to be official -- if it’s going to be official -- until the last game is played when the attention he’ll inevitably get won’t be taken away from his team.
But there were still questions Antonetti could answer -- either about Francona or the team, itself. Here’s a look at some topics he discussed.
Q: What were your thoughts about Francona hinting at retirement?
Antonetti: I mean, Tito, [general manager] Mike [Chernoff] and I talk all the time. There’s not a day that goes by that we’re not talking multiple times a day. We talk about things that are on his mind every day: How he’s feeling, what he’s feeling. So, there was nothing surprising to me or us [on Tuesday].
Q: Do you have plans for when Francona eventually retires? Are you bringing somebody within your organization?
Antonetti: Nothing specific. I think it’s pretty clear in our preferences that we wanted Tito [to] manage here and manage here as long as he’s able to and it doesn’t conflict with his overall well-being and happiness. If there ever came a point in time where his well-being, his fulfillment, his health started to conflict with the job, we would have to relook at things at that point and start thinking about what’s next. The most important thing, I think, I care about the most is Tito’s life after this, after baseball. We want to make sure he’s well positioned to enjoy every moment with his kids and his grandkids for a long time.
Q: How important is it -- that open line of communication -- that if he decides to retire, that you’ve got a little bit of time to prepare?
Antonetti: I mean, the reality is, right now, all of our focus is on the next six weeks of regular season games. That’s all we can do. All we can do during the season is try to prepare and win as many games as we can and help this group develop. Once we get to the offseason, there’s a new set of things that we’ll be focused on and, at that point, we’ll revisit things with Tito, see where his head is and take the appropriate steps.
Q: Switching back to baseball, as you guys try to evaluate young players: Brayan Rocchio, Tyler Freeman and Gabriel Arias, what are you trying to find or what do you need to know over the next six weeks?
Antonetti: Getting them game at-bats and seeing how they continue to work, develop and improve. I would say each of these guys, the path we’re currently on, all of them will continue to be in the organization throughout the course of the winter, into Spring Training next year and beyond. So, we don’t have to make any sort of definitive decisions in the next few weeks -- at the end of the season. Our job is to help them each be the best each of them can possibly be. If we do that well enough, hopefully we have a number of great options, and there’s some great competitions.
Q: Do you see Xzavion Curry more as a starter or reliever?
Antonetti: He’s saved us in a lot of ways. I mean, he was a critical member of the bullpen when he was pitching in that role. Then, a team need dictated that he would get some starting opportunities and has done a tremendous job with that. Having a pitcher like that that’s capable of succeeding in either role is really invaluable to us as we look at building not just the balance of this year’s team but next year’s.
Q: What have you thought of the way the team has responded since the Trade Deadline?
Antonetti: I don’t think the results and the wins and losses are necessarily reflective of how guys continue to work, how much they care, how hard they prepare and how much they care about each other. So, the environment around the team is very similar to what it’s been in the past. It’s a group of guys that care deeply about each other and go out and try to play the game as best as they can. We recognize the results haven’t been as good as any of us would’ve hoped but there’s not been a change in dynamic or lack of effort.