In his unique style, manager Gabe Kapler has put the pieces together for the Giants - The Boston Globe (2024)

Kapler also presides over a 16-member coaching staff that includes a director of pitching, a pitching coach, an assistant pitching coach, and a bullpen coach.

There’s also a quality assurance coach and a director of video coaching. The Giants have so many coaches they all can’t be in the dugout at the same time.

It works. The Giants are 62 games over .500 under Kapler over four seasons and went into the weekend trailing the Dodgers by only 2½ games in the National League West.

After getting outbid by the Yankees for Aaron Judge, the Giants have a team with talent evenly spread throughout the lineup. Kapler has leaned into that theme with his players.

“Consider yourself a puzzle piece, a piece of something that needs to come together and fit together nicely rather than having any one piece take up too much space,” he said.

“If you view yourself that way, you have a really good chance to play as a team.”

Kapler played for the Red Sox from 2003-06, part of a 12-year career. Theo Epstein, ever a visionary, named Kapler the manager of Single A Greenville in 2007.

Managing a team that included Daniel Bard, Jon Lester, and Josh Reddick, Kapler went 58-81 and returned to his playing career in 2008. But that one season lit a spark and he returned to managing with the Phillies in 2018.

Kapler finds it funny that he’s often mentioned as being a member of the 2004 Red Sox.

“So was Manny Ramirez, Curt Schilling, Pedro Martinez. There were a lot of really good baseball players on that team,” he said. “I just played a role and was lucky to be a part of those guys.”

Kapler has fond memories of Boston and keeps track of the Red Sox and former teammate Alex Cora.

“It’s been a lot of fun to watch, actually,” he said. “I think Alex has done a really nice job with mixing and matching a really talented roster with some really talented pitching.

“I know it wasn’t the easiest offseason and there have been some challenges. But all in all, to be in a position to make a run at the playoffs is a cool thing for the Sox.”

Kapler sees similarities in Masataka Yoshida’s approach at the plate and that of his rookie center fielder Luis Matos, who has a .724 OPS since July 1.

“A nice clean low line-drive swing,” he said. “Not overwhelming power yet but he can drive the baseball. The hitter that Luis is right now doesn’t mean that’s the hitter he’s always going to be. I think that’s true of hitters who don’t have all that much experience at the major league level.”

Red Sox fans were very much a presence at Oracle Park last weekend. With MLB’s new scheduling format, the teams will play every season.

“That’s a very good thing,” Kapler said. “You have two very committed, very passionate fan bases on two separate coasts with much different styles. Different style fans and different style cities but a long, rich history. Two very original franchises.

“Just as a fan of the game I like seeing their uniform and our uniform on the same field.”

Owing up

Jansen set example after tough loss

Baseball is a game of failure and you can learn a lot about a player when he stumbles.

Kenley Jensen had a one-pitch loss against the Giants last Saturday, giving up a home run to J.D. Davis leading off the bottom of the ninth inning. He seemed stunned coming off the mound.

It was the first time in his long career that Jansen had a one-pitch outing.

After the game, Jansen told reporters he would be with them shortly and a few minutes later stood in the center of the visitors’ clubhouse at Oracle Park to take questions.

He credited Davis with taking a good swing and offered no excuses.

“I missed my location and I paid for it,” Jansen said. “That’s how baseball works sometimes. You have to own it and move on to the next one.”

Jansen took every question. “Part of the job, man,” he said the next day.

Jansen wasn’t trying to impress anybody. But as he spoke, Kutter Crawford, Josh Winckowski, and some other young pitchers were paying attention.

Jansen has pitched well in his first season with the Sox. He’s also provided a template for others with his daily work ethic and professionalism that will impact the organization for years to come.

A few other observations on the Red Sox:

▪ Pardon my cynicism, but if the Red Sox were indeed involved in the talks for Justin Verlander, it had to be only as an attempt to drive up the price. Even with the Mets supplementing his salary, it’s hard to imagine the Sox parting with two of their top five prospects for Verlander. Or that Verlander would approve a deal to a team with little chance of winning the World Series this season.

▪ No matter how many baseball games you watch, there are always days when you see something for the first time.

Most recently that was Monday when Nick Pivetta started against Seattle. After doing his usual warm-up routine, Pivetta stayed in the bullpen and came into the game from there, jogging to the mound from left field.

Pivetta had pitched successfully in relief for the previous 10 weeks and didn’t want to change that up when he went back into the rotation.

Good idea. He allowed three runs on five hits over 7⅓ innings and struck out 10 without a walk. Pivetta took the loss but keeping the reliever mind-set worked for him.

Pivetta had 43 strikeouts in July with only one start. It was the most strikeouts by a pitcher with one or fewer starts in a month since Dick Radatz had 45 in May of 1964.

“The Monster” appeared in 17 games that month and pitched 32⅔ innings. He was 3-3 with seven saves and allowed seven earned runs on 15 hits.

Radatz averaged 65 appearances and 122⅔ innings from 1962-66.

▪ Chris Martin’s two-year, $17.5 million deal looked a bit hefty when it was agreed to in December. But it has proven astute.

Martin has a 1.32 ERA since coming off the injured list May 1 while holding hitters to a microscopic .488 OPS. His 2.0 bWAR is second on the team only to Brayan Bello (2.6) among the pitchers.

▪ Zack Kelly, who appeared to suffer a season-ending elbow injury April 12, threw off the mound Thursday at Fenway South. It’s uncertain if he can return this season, but Kelly has done well to get this far after a surgeon repositioned a nerve in his elbow.

Kelly has pitched well for the Sox in 19 relief appearances since 2022.

▪ In the end, the Phillies returned Noah Song to the Sox after taking him in the Rule 5 Draft. Song is 26 and it’s uncertain if his window has closed. But it still seems strange Boston risked losing a player with his potential while keeping Frank German, Kaleb Ort, and Darwinzon Hernandez on the 40-man roster.

▪ If you’re looking to get to Polar Park, here’s your chance. The Woo Sox start a 13-game homestand Tuesday. That gives you time to make a “Free Bobby Dalbec” banner.

▪ Bianca Smith, a minor league coach with the Sox from 2021-22, is heading to Japan to coach school-age kids in Hokkaido as part of an exchange program.

Etc.

Mets owner Cohen buys some time

The most interesting news from the trade deadline wasn’t a name. It was a number.

Mets owner Steve Cohen agreed to pay $78,915,591 to the teams that took Mark Canha (Brewers), Eduardo Escobar (Angels), Tommy Pham (Diamondbacks), Max Scherzer (Rangers), and Justin Verlander (Astros) off his hands.

If Verlander gets to 140 innings and decides to pick up his $35 million option for 2024, Cohen will kick in an additional $17.5 million to the Astros.

The Rays, Orioles, Pirates, and Athletics all have smaller payrolls than the money Cohen paid to get better prospects in those trades.

That Cohen assembled a team last winter with a record $366 million payroll was the talk of baseball. Now Cohen has used the trade deadline to put his team in a rebuilding phase aimed at contention in 2025.

The Mets went from all-in to bailing out in a few days.

“It’s a moment in time when other clubs were thinking very short term and I was thinking more intermediate, long term. And so, I was able to take advantage of that,” Cohen said.

Now that the Mets see next season as a transition, the next step will be to determine if GM Billy Eppler remains in charge of baseball operations or Cohen hires somebody — former Brewers president of baseball operations David Stearns? — above him. Manager Buck Showalter, 67, also will have to decide if he sticks around.

Three-time All-Star Pete Alonso is set for free agency after the 2024 season. He could be traded this winter unless he agrees to an extension. Cohen has said he does not blame Showalter for the team underachieving this season.

A few other thoughts on the deadline:

▪ Aug. 1 may be too early for the deadline. With the 12-team playoff format, so many teams are borderline contenders. Another 7-10 days may be needed to create more teams that are sellers.

▪ As Cohen bailed, Padres owner Peter Seidler decided to keep trying and perhaps go down with the ship.

San Diego acquired first basem*n Ji-Man Choi (Pirates) and Garrett Cooper (Marlins), lefty Rich Hill (Pirates), and righthander Scott Barlow (Royals).

The Padres are four games out in the National League wild-card race and would have to hop over four teams to get there.

“They’d be dangerous if they can get in, like the Phillies last season,” an executive said.

Hill is now on his 13th team. The pride of Milton says he plans to play next season. He needs one more team on his résumé to match the record of 14 set by Edwin Jackson from 2003-19.

▪ Eduardo Rodriguez made an interesting decision, invoking his contractual rights to void a trade to the Dodgers, citing his desire to keep his family in Detroit where they are comfortable.

But the sides then revisited the deal with Rodriguez’s agent seeking a sweetener from the Dodgers. No deal was made and Rodriguez remained with the Tigers.

Now he has the right to void his contract after this season and re-enter free agency. Rodriguez has a 3.50 ERA over 33 starts with the Tigers since leaving the Red Sox after the 2021 season. Free agency certainly will be tempting.

But his unwillingness to get into a pennant race without first getting a contract boost could hurt him in the eyes of some teams.

▪ Somebody has to win the AL Central. But no team expressed much of a desire to do that based on their actions at the deadline.

The Guardians damaged their immediate prospects by trading Aaron Civale to the Rays for injured Triple A first base prospect Kyle Manzardo.

They also sent first baseman Josh Bell to Miami for an infield prospect. Bell was not having a particularly good season but had hit in the middle of the lineup.

The first-place Twins sent Jorge López to Miami for slightly better righthanded setup man Dylan Floro. That was it.

The Twins or Guardians could well win the division with a losing record.

Extra bases

MLB Network’s research determined that 573 prospects were traded from 2013-22 around the trade deadline. Only 17 of those players became what the network labeled as “impact players” with an additional 45 becoming regular contributors. Baseball fans have benefited from the increased media attention paid to minor leaguers. But that also has created a false sense of expectation in many cases and a misplaced desire to hoard players who in many cases will ultimately be fringe big leaguers if they get that far … The Dodgers now have twice as many members of the 2018 Red Sox (Mookie Betts, Ryan Brasier, Joe Kelly, and J.D. Martinez) as the Red Sox (Rafael Devers and Chris Sale) … Jason Varitek retired having caught a record four no-hitters. He was matched by Carlos Ruiz in 2015. Now Houston’s Martin Maldonado has three after catching Framber Valdez’s no-hitter against Cleveland on Tuesday. Houston’s Dusty Baker has managed four no-hitters. Walter Alston of the Dodgers has the record with seven. It helped that he had Sandy Koufax, who threw four of them … Former UConn righthander Devin Kirby, who throws a knuckleball, was signed by the Twins out of the California Collegiate League. Kirby also throws a slider and a low-90s fastball, according to the Hartford Courant. Twins pitching coach Pete Maki, a former University of New Haven coach, helped make the signing happen. The only knuckleballer to pitch in the majors this season is Matt Waldron, who made a spot start for the Padres on June 24 and threw 13 knuckleballs among his 62 pitches … José Cuas, winner of the 2022 Tony Conigliaro Award, was supposed to receive the award this week when the Royals come to Fenway Park. But Cuas was traded to the Cubs and the award presentation will have to wait. Cuas was honored for his determination in making it to the majors after working as a FedEx driver. He started his career as an infielder, converted to the mound in 2018 and made his major league debut in 2022 … All the best to Jim Davis, who is retiring from the Globe after a 44-year career as a photojournalist. Jim was a great teammate covering the Red Sox and one of the best sports photographers in the business … Happy birthday to Ray Culp, who is 82. The righthander from Texas was 71-58 with a 3.50 ERA for the Red Sox from 1968-73 and was an All-Star in 1969. Culp was obtained from the Cubs to boost the rotation after Jim Lonborg injured his left knee in a skiing accident in 1968. Culp was 16-6 with a 2.91 ERA in 1968. Arm troubles led to his retirement at 32 after the 1973 season and Culp went into real estate.

Peter Abraham can be reached at peter.abraham@globe.com. Follow him @PeteAbe.