Whatever else you might say about Jerry Dipoto, he’s demonstrated an indomitable desire to engage in trades. Big trades, little trades, all sorts of trades. And with injuries and Robinson Canó’s suspension forcing Dee Gordon to move back to the infield (before going on the disabled list himself), and with an extra $11 million of loose change suddenly freed up by Canó’s absence, it seemed likely that Dipoto would ride again, provided he could find a willing partner.

This afternoon, Dipoto found his man, or men rather. Per Marc Topkin.

#Rays have traded Span and Colome to #Mariners

— Marc Topkin (@TBTimes_Rays) May 25, 2018

#Rays get back Andrew Moore and Tommy Romero from #Mariners

— Marc Topkin (@TBTimes_Rays) May 25, 2018

The Mariners will also receive $4.75 million in cash considerations, so not all the Canó money is spent. The deal makes all the sense in the world for the Mariners. Denard Span and his heretofore 114 wRC+ will provide additional depth in a suddenly thin outfield, with Dipoto indicating that the initial plan is for Span to spend his time in left field, while Guillermo Heredia and Mitch Haniger roam center and right, respectively. Ben Gamel will remain in the mix for the left-field spot. Span also gives the team additional options in center should Heredia falter against right-handed pitching.

Alex Colomé, meanwhile, reinforces a bullpen that, outside of closer Edwin Diaz, has been shaky at times. James Pazos and Nick Vincent have pitched their way to a respectable FIPs, but offseason signing Juan Nicasio’s velocity has declined slightly, as has his effectiveness. According to Pitch Info, his average fastball has climbed back closer to 95 mph rather than the 91 mph Mariners fans were seeing in spring, but he’s still lost a tick, which may help to explain the increase in his home-run rate. Colomé’s season got off to its own rough start, marred by inexact command that lead to an 11.7% walk rate, but May has gone considerably better, with his FIP dropping to 1.35. He represents an additional option in late innings and beyond making the ball more likely to get to Diaz, should also allow the Mariners to rest Diaz a bit more.

Tampa’s side is bit stranger. For a team with the Rays’ pitching strategy, it seems odd to trade a good closer, an oddity that isn’t lessened by the acquisition of Wilmer Font. The Rays do get Andrew Moore and prospect Tommy Romero, which isn’t nothing. As with any set of young arms, there’s always the risk that they’ll bloom into something Seattle regrets giving up. Moore pitched big-league innings with middling results last year, and started the season in Double-A, but he’s still thought to have back of the rotation potential. That isn’t useless, but it also isn’t likely to help the Mariners win right now. And as Jerry and this trade show, winning right now is what Seattle is interested in.

Position: Chief Executive Officer

Location: Phoenix, AZ

Introduction
The Society for American Baseball Research was founded in Cooperstown, NY in 1971 and has grown to more than 6,000 members around the world. SABR members organize themselves in local chapters, research committees, and virtual communities of interest. A 501(c)3 charitable corporation, SABR’s annual budget approaches $1 million with revenues coming from events, dues, licensing, and donations. SABR’s office is located in the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University in downtown Phoenix. The website, SABR.org, is a central organizing tool and repository for the collective work of Society members. SABR’s Analytics Conference in early March and Annual Convention in the summer are flagship events for the baseball community.

Role Summary
As Chief Executive Officer of SABR, you’ll be a leader on many different fronts, ensuring no two days will be the same. As a natural innovator, you’ll drive growth initiatives and navigate the continuously evolving dynamics of the baseball industry. Your people skills will empower you to effectively interface with the Board of Directors, guide your staff, and interact with the membership at large. Your strong analytical and problem-solving skills will keep operations running smoothly and facilitate the implementation of new initiatives. As a confident communicator, you’ll shine as the face of SABR at events large and small.

Duties

• Lead a high-profile organization, both internally and externally, by serving its members, leading its staff, and representing its interests in public and private dealings within the baseball industry.
• Ensure daily operations adhere to established organization bylaws, policies, and legal guidelines. Develop and manage an annual budget and regularly communicate financial and operational status to the Board of Directors.
• Continuously enhance the Annual Convention, Analytics Conference, and other events that are critical to SABR’s prestige and revenue.
• Cultivate a strong charitable giving program.
• Interact regularly with membership, particularly with committee chairs and chapter leadership, and promote best practices within those segments of the Society. Develop programs to encourage membership and deepen the connection among members.
• Promote an inclusive environment that is welcoming to members and stakeholders of all backgrounds.
• Develop collaborative external relationships and partnerships that enhance the organization and its ability to deliver experiences and opportunities for its membership.
• Sustain, encourage, and expand SABR’s technology-based outreach on the web and in social media.
• Recruit, hire, and supervise staff as well as motivate and promote the development of the staff, committee members, and volunteers.
• Sustain a strong publications program with a focus on both contribution and consumption by members.
• Lead the development of SABR’s strategic vision.
• Travel frequently to advance the above objectives.

Requirements

• Be a professional, capable, energetic, and positive leader. Have a reputation for high professional and ethical standards, be enthusiastic about working with a diverse staff, and be collaborative with a strong Board of Directors.
• Have experience with event planning.
• Have excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to address large audiences.
• Have relevant experience and education, and a strong interest in baseball.
• Demonstrate a mastery of one or more social media tools and ability to leverage other internet-based technologies.

Ideal Candidate Profile

• Have an established network within the baseball community.
• Possess an entrepreneurial spirit with a proven track record of developing and cultivating industry partnerships.
• Have knowledge of nonprofit management along with familiarity of employment and intellectual property law.
• Have experience in strategic planning, board and community relations, personnel supervision, and financial management.
• Have experience managing or implementing information technology enhancements, projects or systems.
• Have experience in public speaking, public relations, and with commercial media, especially television.
• Hold an advanced degree in a related field plus many years of relevant experience.

Application Materials

• Resume.
• 3-5 references.
• Cover letter or statement describing your vision for the Society.

Compensation and Benefits

• Cash compensation is a mix of base salary and annual incentive pay.
• Eligible for standard SABR employee benefits.

To Apply
All materials should be emailed to careers@sabr.org. Applications will begin being read on June 11, 2018. Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis until the position is filled.

The FanGraphs Auction Calculator now calculates in-season values and values off Rest of Season projections.

Some Notes:

• Rest of Season auction value calculations are available for Steamer, Depth Charts, ZiPS, and THE BAT projection systems.
• Dollar values for Rest of Season projections are pro-rated for how many days are remaining in the season.
• In-season auction value calculations are pro-rated for the number of days into the season.
• Positional eligibility for in-season calculations is determined via positions played in 2018. Please adjust your position qualifications accordingly.

Position: Data Engineer

Description:

The Rockies are looking for a Data Engineer to join their Research and Development team. The successful candidate will be responsible for expanding and optimizing their data warehouse and data pipeline architecture, with a focus on collecting, cleaning, transforming, managing and validating data using distributed computing and storage systems. The goal of the Data Engineer is to democratize data, support data initiatives, ensure consistent data delivery and empower Rockies personnel to derive powerful and actionable insights.

Responsibilities and Duties:

• Create, maintain and optimize data ETL/ELT pipelines
• Documentation of data/pipelines
• Ensure the ingestion of data and errors are handled without interruption
• Process and securely store extremely sensitive data for callback and future use
• Prepare distributed, disjoint, multi-formatted data sets for data scientists
• Research and investigate new and interesting datasets to include in our data warehouse
• Perform quantitative research related to baseball strategy and player evaluation
• Collaborate with coaches, scouts and baseball operations to suggest process improvements

Requirements:

Education and Work Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science/Engineering
  • Candidates still in school (junior or senior level) with extensive work towards such degree will be considered
• SQL knowledge and experience working with a variety of relational databases such as MySQL, PostgreSQL, or SQL Server
• Experience with a variety of structured, semi-structured and un-structured data formats including delimited files, XML, JSON and natural language text
• Ability to effectively use multiple programming languages including one of the major data science languages of Python, R or Scala
• Experience or working knowledge of “Big Data” tools such as Hadoop, Hive, Spark or Presto is a plus
• Experience with AWS Cloud services such as EC2, RDS, and S3 is a plus
• Experience with data workflow tools such as Luigi, or Airflow is a plus
• Knowledge and understanding of baseball and baseball statistics

Functional Skills

• Ability to work evenings and weekends required
• Passion for the intersection of baseball and data
• Passion for quality data
• Strong organizational skills and ability to self-start
• Strong intellectual curiosity
• Desire to learn and contribute
• Ability to work in a collaborative and open team environment
• Ability to develop and maintain successful working relationship with members of the Front Office

To Apply:
Qualified candidates should send their letter of interest and resume to BaseballJobs@rockies.com no later than June 3, 2018.

Much like the update last month, nothing in how we calculate our playoff odds has changed, but we’ve added a new feature to the page. We are now reporting the distribution of wins from the Monte Carlo simulation.

Specifically:

• The 25th percentile;
• The 75th percentile; and
• A histogram of projected wins.*

*The average is already reported as expected wins.

You can find this if you select the new display option in the dropdown of the same name.

Read the rest of this entry »

Position: Analyst, Player Development

Location: Chicago, IL

Description:
The Chicago Cubs are seeking an analyst to join the Research and Development group in Baseball Operations. This role will focus on the management and analysis of data gathered on players in the Chicago Cubs minor league system and will work closely with the both the Player Development and R&D departments. Succesful candidates will bring a background in analytics, a strong interest in evidence-based coaching and development, and the communication skills to work effectively with player development personnel to apply analytics and improve the effective understanding of data to optimize prospect performance and progression.

Responsibilities:

• Research, develop and test methods and models for the purpose of player assessment and developmentIdentify technologies, analyze data and translate into tangible coaching and skill development objectives.
• Effectively present analyses through the use of written reports and data visualization methods to disseminate insights to members of baseball operations and player development personnel.
• Handle analysis requests from and conduct studies to support player development personnel, coaches, and players.
• Conduct in-depth evaluations of Cubs prospects.
• As needed, travel to minor league affiliates to support player development initiatives.
• Identify, diagnose and resolve data quality issues.
• Examine and implement sports science technologies that may offer innovative data solutions.

Required Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in an quantitative field such as statistics, engineering, applied math, physics, quantitative social sciences, computer science, operations research.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Proficiency with SQL
• Working knowledge of advanced baseball statistics
• Experience with programming languages (e.g., C, Python or R)
• Experience or strong interest in using baseball data to support coaching or skill development

The Chicago Cubs are an Equal Opportunity Employer.

To Apply:
Please visit this site to apply.

Position: Major League Operations Intern

Location: Atlanta, GA

Description:
Support the Major League Operations group through the creation of tools for displaying and disseminating data, statistics, and other baseball-related information. The ideal candidate has a strong technical background and can work independently on self-contained projects, as well as an understanding of baseball research concepts and modern gameplay strategies.

Responsibilities:

• Develop tools and visualizations for disseminating statistical concepts.
• Conduct research projects for the Major League Operations group.
• Help build database and reporting infrastructure to support Major League advance report and coaching staff needs.
• Summarize project results in succinct, actionable format and present findings to the group.
• Opportunities for other ad-hoc contributions to the Major League advance scouting process.

Qualifications:

• Demonstrated track record as self-starter through independently-produced projects and/or writing (via online publication, etc.).
• Strong foundation in the application of statistical concepts to baseball data and the translation of data into actionable baseball recommendations.
• Required: Advanced-level capabilities in R and SQL.
• Preferred: Experience with at least one scripting language (e.g. Python, Ruby, Perl) and web development experience with Python Flask.
• Preferred: Demonstrable independent research (published or unpublished) using publicly available datasets (i.e. PITCHf/x, Statcast, etc).

Duration:
Early June through August, with potential opportunity for future full-time employment.

To Apply:
Please email relevant materials, research, and resume to bravesopsjobs@gmail.com.

Position: Software Engineer

Location: Detroit, MI

Job Description:
The Detroit Tigers are currently seeking a Software Engineer. This role will be responsible for development and maintenance of software projects within Baseball Operations. This position will report to the Sr. Software Engineer, Baseball Operations.

Key Responsibilities:

• Perform general development and maintenance tasks for the upkeep of internally developed software products.
• Use modern software techniques and best practices in all parts of the software life cycle.
• Provide feedback, and guide project work conducted by external consultants.
• Support the integration of baseball analysis into our proprietary tools and applications.
• Provide coverage for the maintenance of software tools for other developers as situations arise.
• Assist with the design and development of new software products.
• Monitor, identify and recommend new or emerging techniques, technologies, and algorithms.
• Other projects as directed the Baseball Operations leadership team.

Minimum Knowledge, Skills & Abilities:

• BS degree in Computer Science, Computer Information Systems, similar technical field of study or equivalent real-time experience.
• Demonstrated knowledge in developing in a Web-based object-oriented product environment.
• Demonstrated knowledge in working with medium-to-large scale relational databases.
• Ability to work in all phases of the product lifecycle, from requirements gathering to design, testing, and implementation.
• Demonstrated experience with UI/UX design.
• Ability to learn new technologies and techniques as necessary.
• Familiarity with the sport of baseball, baseball-specific data, modern statistical techniques, and sabermetric analysis.
• Demonstrated leadership and self-direction.
• Demonstrated project management, problem-solving, and teaching abilities.
• Demonstrated ability to communicate difficult and complex concepts to colleagues possessing a wide range of backgrounds and perspectives.

Preferred Knowledge, Skills & Abilities:

• Demonstrated knowledge of Java and JavaScript.
• Experience or knowledge in any of the following technologies are a plus:
• Spring applications
• Angular JS – Version 1.x
• Angular 2+
• React
• Demonstrated knowledge of .NET technologies.

Working Conditions:

• Office environment
• Occasional evening, weekend, and holiday hours may be required

To Apply:
Please apply here.

On Thursday, the Mariners announced that Ichiro Suzuki would transition to the role of Special Assistant to the Chairman, effective immediately. While the agreement covers only the 2018 season, it appears quite likely that we’ve seen the last of the wiry, slap-hitting international superstar in a playing role, even given his stated desire to play “at least until I’m 50.” At 44 years old, he was hitting a meager .205/.255/.205, and with outfielders Ben Gamel and Guillermo Heredia now both on the roster, his continued presence created a crunch whose resolution couldn’t even wait until this weekend’s series with the Angels, which might have included a possible encounter with the pitching version of Shohei Ohtani.

From the Mariners’ PR department:

“We want to make sure we capture all of the value that Ichiro brings to this team off the field,” [general manager Jerry] Dipoto said. “This new role is a way to accomplish that. While it will evolve over time, the key is that Ichiro’s presence in our clubhouse and with our players and staff improves our opportunity to win games. That is our number-one priority and Ichiro’s number-one priority.”

Ichiro will work in collaboration with the Mariners Major League Staff, High Performance Staff and Front Office personnel. He will assist, based on his experience, with outfield play, baserunning and hitting. And he will provide mentorship to both players and staff.

The plight of Ichiro wasn’t far from my mind as I wrote about Albert Pujols‘ crawl to 3,000 hits, and the struggles of other players when they made the push for that milestone. Back in 2013, when Ichiro was playing for the Yankees, I had the privilege of covering his 4,000th hit — his combined NPB and MLB total — for SI.com. At the time it was clear that his offensive skills had faded, and the celebration felt like a stand-in for that of an increasingly unlikely 3,000th major league hit. At 39 years old, he didn’t figure to collect the 278 he still needed. I even asked the question myself as to whether the more conventional milestone was in his sights. “I don’t make goals that are so far away,” he said through his translator. “What I do is do what I can every single day and build off that and see where that takes me.”

Lo and behold, Ichrio built off enough days to reach 3,000 while enjoying an unexpected renaissance with the Marlins in 2016. Even having not debuted stateside until he was 27 years old, he was the fourth-fastest player to 3,000 hits in terms of plate appearances, and sixth-fastest in terms of at-bats. As with the 4,000th combined hit and his long-awaited MLB pitching debut from October 4, 2015, the milestone 3,000th, a triple against the Rockies on August 7, 2016, brought a good bit of joy to the game. It also sealed the deal, once and for all, on his future enshrinement in the Hall of Fame. While his anachronistic slash-and-run style rarely produced the value to rival that of the era’s top sluggers, it was a vastly entertaining one nonetheless, and he staked his claim on a plaque via his initial decade-long run, during which he annually made the All-Star team, won a Gold Glove and cranked out at least 200 hits. He led the AL seven times in that category, setting a major league record with 262 hits in 2004 and claiming two batting titles as well as his AL Rookie of the Year/MVP combo in 2001. He will be eligible for the Hall of Fame in 2024 if he doesn’t return, although Seattle’s 2019 season-opening series in Japan offers a tempting possibility for a cameo.

Ichiro’s awe-inspiring total of 4,367 hits (1,278 in Japan, 3,089 here) will stand as the signature accomplishment for a player who has spent more than a quarter-century serving as a wonderful ambassador for the sport on two continents. Here’s hoping he can continue that ambassadorship in a non-playing capacity for years to come.

Position: Texas Rangers Baseball Systems Developer

Location: Arlington, Texas

Description:
The developer will be responsible for supporting, maintaining and expanding our baseball operations software systems. A knack for compelling visuals and design is preferred. The Rangers are looking for strong team players with outstanding people skills. Applicants who can provide code samples (any language, doesn’t have to be baseball related) will be given strong preference. Diverse applicants are encouraged to apply. Spanish fluency is a plus.

Responsibilities:

• Web development, design and testing.
• Database queries to support the application.
• Designing and maintaining reports.
• Application support for the front office, scouts and coaches.
• Update and maintain internal system documentation.

Qualifications:

• Passion for the game of baseball.
• 1-3 years professional experience in a similar capacity and/or degree in computer science preferred.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Highly organized.
• Occasional evening, weekend and holiday availability. Support is provided 24/7/365 and is shared among the team.

Technology:

• Microsoft Visual Studio
• ASP.Net
• C#
• JavaScript/AJAX
• Microsoft SQL Server
• SQL Reporting Services (SSRS)

To Apply:
Please apply here.