Phillies manager rumors: Two candidates connected to Matt Klentak

Two candidates for the Phillies manager position could be in play thanks to their connection to general manager Matt Klentak.

Ryan Lawrence of Philly Voice is reporting that the Phillies manager search will start to heat up as external interviews begin. Internal interviews have already begun with Juan Samuel, Dusty Wathan, and Jorge Velandia all interviewing for the job earlier this week.

Next week, Lawrence says Indians pitching coach Mickey Callaway is set to interview for the position. In addition, Lawrence listed two other potential interviewees that both are tied to general manager Matt Klentak from his days in the Angels front office.

The first candidate listed is Tim Bogar. Bogar was Seattle’s bench coach this season and has also coach for the Red Sox, Rays, and Rangers. He worked with Joe Maddon’s 2008 AL Champion Rays team as the quality assurance coach. In 2014, Bogar went 14-8 as the Rangers’ interim manager to end the season.

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Where Bogar connects to Klentak is the fact that he was a special assistant to Angels GM Jerry Dipoto in 2015. That was Klentak’s last year working in their front office before becoming Philadelphia’s GM. The two certainly worked together during that time and are at least somewhat familiar with each other.

The other potential candidate Lawrence listed was Gary DiSarcina.

His job as the Red Sox bench coach is up in the air after John Farrell was fired earlier this week. DiSarcina certainly would appreciate some job security, which he could get for some time in Philadelphia.

DiSarcina was a coach for the Angels before getting his current job with the Red Sox. He also worked in the front office in 2011 and 2012 under Dipoto.

Farrell gave DiSarcina a hearty endorsement when his name emerged as a candidate for the Phillies position: [quote via Evan Drellich of NBC Sports Boston]

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"“He’s got a great way to connect with players,” Farrell said of DiSarcina. “He sees the field and the game great. He’s got front office experience to understand what goes into building a roster. … I would anticipate with his resume, how he interacts with people, I would fully expect he would be a candidate.”"

DiSarcina certainly seemed interested in the job when asked:

"“It’s an honor to have it mentioned,” DiSarcina. “Especially a team like Philadelphia.“I’ve known Matt Klentak since my time with the Angels, going back five, six years ago. … It’s good that other people notice your work and other people notice you and want to talk to you and stuff.”"

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Like any other job, familiarity is always important in the hiring process. Klentak’s familiarity with Bogar and DiSarcina could wind up influencing his decision on who gets hired for the position.