Signs point to ValleyCats having new manager in 2019
Jason Bell could see promotion after winning championship
The Tri-City ValleyCats should find out in January who will manage them in 2019.
Don't be surprised if it's someone other than Jason Bell, who guided the ValleyCats to the New York-Penn League title last season in his first year managing.
A series of moves by the Houston Astros, who are the parent club of the short-season Class A ValleyCats, could put the 28-year-old Bell in position for a promotion to a higher level.
"Not too sure what's exactly happening yet,'' Bell said in a text this week. "There's been a crazy amount of movement so things have been ever changing!"
Two possible landing spots for Bell are the Class A advanced Fayetteville (N.C.) Woodpeckers or the Class A Quad Cities River Bandits in Davenport, Iowa.
MLB.com, citing an anonymous source, reported last week the Astros are promoting Quad Cities manager Mickey Storey to Triple A Round Rock.
The Astros announced in September they were parting ways with Fayetteville manager Morgan Ensberg, who managed the ValleyCats in 2017.
Astros senior manager for communications Steve Grande said the franchise won't announce its minor-league staffs until January. A ValleyCats spokesman said the team hasn't been told anything yet.
Bell was impressive with the ValleyCats in his first managerial assignment last summer. Sharing the organization's devotion to analytics, the personable Bell guided Tri-City to a 42-33 regular-season record, followed by playoff sweeps of Mahoning Valley in the semifinals and Hudson Valley in the championship series.
It was the third title in ValleyCats' history.
Bell was the second-youngest manager in affiliated minor-league baseball.
If the ValleyCats get a new manager, it will be their 10th in the franchise's 18 seasons. Tri-City would also be welcoming a new manager for the fourth year in a row. The ValleyCats haven't had a manager serve more than one season since Ed Romero from 2013 to 2015.
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