The Phillies are reportedly interested in hiring Indians pitching coach Mickey Callaway as their manager for next year and beyond.
The spinning door of potential candidates for the Phillies manager position continues on, with the next rumored candidate entering the stage.
Buster Olney of ESPN reports that Philadelphia is looking into hiring Indians pitching coach Mickey Callway as their next manager.
Phillies taking a close look at Indians pitching coach Mickey Callaway as they look for their next manager.
— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) October 12, 2017
Olney’s colleague at ESPN, Jerry Crasnick, reported that Callway is a candidate for any teams looking for a manager this offseason.
Look for #Indians pitching coach Mickey Callaway to be a hot managing candidate this winter. "He's on everybody's list,'' says one exec.
— Jerry Crasnick (@jcrasnick) September 30, 2017
The Indians season ended Thursday night after losing in the American League Division Series to the Yankees in Game Five after possessing a 2-0 lead in the series. Now the Phils are fully able to pursue Callaway for the position.
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Callaway pitched an unspectacular five seasons in the majors along with several years in foreign leagues before eventually starting to coach in the Indians organization. He was named the team’s minor-league pitching coordinator before joining Terry Francona’s staff in the major-leagues.
Callaway has helped develop an excellent pitching staff in Cleveland that features Cy Young favorite Corey Kluber.
Philadelphia’s pitching needs a major boost, and Callaway could help make that improvement.
While Callaway does not have any experience managing, he has served under Terry Francona for the last few years, who many regard as one of the best managers in baseball. Francona was at the forefront of how managers now use their bullpens in their playoffs, which could be attractive to Philadelphia considering Pete Mackanin was criticized by both fans and his players for how he used the bullpen.
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Whether or not Callaway would want to leave Cleveland is up in the air, but the allure of managing a team for the first time might be enough to pull him away from the reigning AL Central champs.