Bay Area Buzz for 2/8/17: Shanahan’s OC, Giants Sign Beckham, Mengden Injured
Today’s Bay Area Buzz, the biggest sports news from around the Bay today, involves new 49ers’ coach and his play-calling, another Giants’ signing, and an injury to an A’s pitcher.
Kyle Shanahan to Call his Own Plays
New San Francisco 49ers’ head coach Kyle Shanahan doesn’t plan on hiring an offensive coordinator to his staff. Instead, he will take on play-calling duties as the head coach, according to Ian Rapaport. The NFL Network’s insider also reports that Shanahan will hire Rich Scangarello as the quarterbacks coach, and Mike McDaniel as the run game “guru”.
Following a 2-14 season in 2016, the 49ers gave Shanahan (as well as new general manager John Lynch) a six-year contract to help this rebuild. Shanahan was the mastermind behind one of the best offenses in the NFL last season with the Atlanta Falcons, but his tenure ended on an extremely sour note as the Falcons blew a 25-point lead in the Super Bowl.
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- 49ers expected to place DE Dee Ford on injured reserve
Shanahan becomes the fourth different 49ers coach in four seasons. 2014 was Jim Harbaugh‘s last year with the team before they “mutually” parted ways, followed by single seasons by Jim Tomsula and Chip Kelly.
The Cleveland Browns went without an offensive coordinator last season, as head coach Hue Jackson served as head coach and play-caller. Other than that, every one of the other 30 teams is expected to have an offensive coordinator next season.
A’s Daniel Mengden Undergoes Foot Surgery
After suffering a fracture in his right foot during a bullpen session at his home, right-handed pitcher Daniel Mengden has undergone surgery and will be in a walking boot for at least six weeks. With pitchers and catcher reporting in about a week, Mengden will no longer be competing for a rotation spot in Spring Training.
Mengden made his major league debut last season, but struggled in 14 starts. He pitched to a 2-9 record, 6.50 ERA, and 1.611 WHIP while allowing over 10 hits per nine innings. He did strike out nearly a batter an inning, showing a bit of promise. He’ll turn 24 later this month, and should only miss about month of the regular season. Upon his return, Triple-A is his likely destination.
As Susan Slusser noted, Andrew Triggs was already the frontrunner for the final rotation spot, and Mengden’s injury likely solidifies his standing.
Giants Bring Back Gordon Beckham
After a one-week stint with the San Francisco Giants at the end of last season, Gordon Beckham has been re-signed to a minor league deal. Beckham didn’t do much during his short stint, going 0-5 at the plate in three games. He did, however, come up with a sacrifice fly against Clayton Kershaw in game 161.
The former first-round pick has never had much success as a big leaguer (.240/.303/.370, 82 OPS+), but is known as a great clubhouse presence. Alex Pavlovic tweeted that “coaches/front office loved [the] impact he had on [the] clubhouse”. Andrew Baggarly echoed the sentiment, tweeting “in a brief glimpse, it was clear that Gordon Beckham is a guy you’d want to have around”.
Next: 3 Burning Questions as Giants Enter Spring
Elsewhere, in the world of former Giants, righty Yusmeiro Petit has signed a minor league deal with the Los Angeles Angels, as the team announced on Wednesday. Following four seasons with San Francisco, Petit signed a one-year deal with the Washington Nationals last offseason. In his lone year in the capital, Petit appeared in 36 games (one start) with a 4.50 ERA and 1.323 WHIP.