Who should the Phillies consider for their open manager position?
The Phillies are officially searching for their fifth manager since Charlie Manuel was fired in 2013. Neither Ryne Sandberg, Pete Mackanin, nor Gabe Kapler lasted more than two full seasons as the Phillies manager, a major dent in the franchise’s legacy and the recent rebuild.
With Kapler the Phillies hoped to find their own Aaron Boone, Alex Cora, Kevin Cash, and A.J. Hinch, all former players having success in their first run as a major league manager. For whatever reason, be it a lack of clubhouse control, analytics, connection to the fanbase, or feel for the game, Kapler did not succeed the way the other four young managers did.
As we see often in the world, not just in baseball, when an organization or country gets tired of one way of leadership, they go in the complete opposite direction. Philadelphia’s search for a new manager will be no different. Look for the search, led by general manager Matt Klentak, to focus on experienced baseball men with prior managerial experience, a stronger grasp on the clubhouse, and at least some appreciation for analytics.
The last time the Phillies interviewed candidates for their manager job, here were a couple of the names who came up: John Farrell, Chip Hale, Manny Acta, Juan Samuel, Jorge Velandia, Phil Nevin, and Dusty Wathan.
Here are a couple of names who deserve mention, but either won’t get serious consideration for one reason or another or won’t be interested.
Raul Ibanez
The former Phillies outfielder has been a finalist for manager jobs in the past, but he’s reportedly not listening to jobs while he raises his family. Ibanez is likely to be a major league manager at some point, but it’s not his time just yet.
Bruce Bochy
The three-time World Series champion manager with the San Francisco Giants is headed to the Hall of Fame after retiring this year. Despite announcing that retirement prior to the 2019 season, Bochy has left a return on the table. Given his stature in the game, Bochy won’t take just any job. He’s likely to stay on the west coast and potentially return to the Padres, but for now, he’s retired.
Phil Nevin
As mentioned earlier, the Phillies interviewed Nevin when he was with the Giants in 2017. He’s a worthy candidate, but does he have the name recognition and manager experience the Phillies want right now?
Chase Utley
Like Ibanez, give Chase a couple of years to watch his kids grow before tossing around the idea of him being a manager. It’s something that could absolutely happen someday, but the reason Chase retired was to spend more time with his kids.
Brad Ausmus
Ausmus handled the Tyler Skaggs situation in Los Angeles so well and if Joe Maddon wasn’t available, Ausmus would probably still be with the Angels. Former catchers typically translate into solid managers, but Ausmus has a career record of 314-332 with the Tigers and Angels.
Joe Maddon
Joe Maddon was the hot name to watch after an amicable divorce with the Chicago Cubs despite winning the team’s first World Series in over a century. With connections to the Keystone State and a championship pedigree, Maddon feels like a solid fit on the surface.
Once the Angels decided to fire Brad Ausmus, the general consensus around baseball is that Maddon was the guy in Los Angeles. He worked for the Angels in some capacity from 1979 to 2005 as a minor league manager, scout, and major league coach before going to Tampa Bay for the Rays manager job.
A knock on Maddon would be his history of running a loose clubhouse, something Kapler was criticized for, which led up to the Carlos Santana Fortnite incident.
Maddon will, at the very least, get a phone call from the Phillies and may very well interview for the job, but all indications are he wants to return to Los Angeles.
Mike Scioscia
The man Maddon worked under for years as an Angels coach is also a Pennsylvania native. Mike Scioscia grew up less than 20 minutes away from Veteran’s Stadium and, as Jon Heyman reported on his “Big Time Baseball” podcast, Scioscia “is very interested in this job.”
Would Scioscia be willing to come back to the east coast after 19 years with the Angels in California? For the right price, absolutely you’d think he would. Something to remember with Scioscia is his disdain for analytics and the clash he had with the Angels front office, which included Matt Klentak, over the in-game use of the advanced metrics.
Like Maddon, it wouldn’t shock me if Scioscia got a phone call about the job, but I’m not sure if he’s the right fit given where the game is going.
Rob Thompson
Rob Thompson was the right-hand man for Joe Girardi in New York and for Kapler in Philadelphia. He was a finalist for the Yankees job before Aaron Boone was chosen, and Thompson was the hottest bench coach candidate on the market two years ago.
Thompson never played above Single-A in his professional career and instantly jumped into a minor league coaching role in the Yankees organization. He rose to work on the big league staff for a decade, including as the bench coach during the 2009 World Series season.
Thompson has the credentials to be a big league manager, but does he have the managerial experience the Phillies want? He does know the clubhouse and he’s worked in major markets, though his name doesn’t have the flash the Phillies will likely want.
Dusty Wathan
Like Rob Thompson, Dusty Wathan is an in-house candidate who deserves a look for the Phillies manager job.
Wathan played the majority of his 13 professional seasons in the minor leagues, though he did get five major league at-bats for the Royals in 2002. His father John was on the Royals 1985 World Series team and has deep roots in the Royals franchise.
Wathan joined the Phillies organization as a minor league coach in 2008 and rose through the ranks to manage the Double-A Reading Fightin Phils from 2012 to 2016 and for one year with the Triple-A Lehigh Valley IronPigs. Wathan was a major contributor to the development of Rhys Hoskins and other minor league players in the Phillies system prior to becoming the team’s third base coach under Kapler.
Wathan interviewed for the manager job prior to Kapler joining the team, and Wathan has been viewed as a future big league manager for some time thanks to his success in Reading. Hiring Wathan would be a move several players would likely stand behind, and it’d be a move similar to the one Atlanta made in hiring Brian Snitker, a long-time minor league coach who has turned into a very good big league manager.
Joe Girardi
Former Yankees manager Joe Girardi appears to be the favorite candidate among Phillies fans despite him being the man who took down the Phillies in 2009.
Phillies fans: Who do you want to be the next manager?
— PHILLIES TBOH (@FS_TBOH) October 10, 2019
If the Phillies were to hire Girardi, it would be just the second time in baseball history that a team who lost the World Series would hire the manager of the winning team in that series. The only other example is Johnny Keane, who managed the 1964 St. Louis Cardinals before joining the Yankees the year after beating them in the World Series.
Since being fired by the Yankees in 2017, Girardi has been in the booth and in studios as an analyst. He wants to get back in the dugout, and the Phillies are one of the more enticing jobs out there this year.
Girardi could potentially reunite with Thompson in the Phillies dugout and he wouldn’t be far from New York. It feels like a win-win for both sides if the Phillies can convince Girardi to take the job.
John Farrell
The former Red Sox manager was a finalist the last time Philadelphia had a manager opening.
Farrell was fired by Boston following their playoff exit in 2017 despite winning the World Series in 2013 and finishing atop the American League East. He was previously with the Toronto Blue Jays for two seasons before they allowed him to leave for Boston.
In his five seasons with Boston Farrell won over 400 games and has finished at .500 or better in four of his seven years managing a major league team.
There was clearly something Klentak and team president Andy MacPhail liked in Farrell if they nearly hired him two years ago. Farrell does bring a lot of the qualities Philadelphia is supposedly looking for, namely the managerial experience and the championship pedigree.
Farrell hasn’t managed in a couple of years, but keep an eye on him this time around.
Ron Washington
Ron Washington was my pick to be the Phillies manager before Kapler was hired in 2017. One of the best coaches in the game, Washington has a history of connecting with players and bringing the best out of the young stars.
Washington managed the Texas Rangers to back-to-back World Series appearances in 2010 and 2011, though his teams never got the job done. In the midst of a 53-87 season in 2014, Washington abruptly resigned as the Rangers manager after admitting to having an extramarital affair. He also came under fire for admitting to using cocaine as a coach and amphetamines as a player.
Washington stood up and admitted his mistakes, something he should be commended for.
Since leaving the Rangers, Washington has been a very successful coach with Oakland and Atlanta, helping to develop their young infielders.
Washington should get a look from most of the teams looking for managers, especially with the Braves early playoff exit.
Dusty Baker
Bryce Harper’s former manager in Washington Dusty Baker is getting attention for some manager openings, most notably with the Mets. A three-time Manager of the Year winner, Baker has led the Giants, Cubs, Nationals, and Reds to a combined 10 90-win seasons in his 22 years as a big league manager.
Baker would certainly be an “old school” hire by the Phillies, but he has the resume they want in their next manager. Not only has he been around the block as a manager, but he was a big league player for 19 years.
Now 70-years-old, Baker will likely be looking for his last manager job. He was very successful in the regular season with the Nationals, leading them to two-straight seasons with at least 95 wins, but the Nats didn’t see the playoff results they wanted.
We’ll see if Baker is ready to adopt some of the analytics Philadelphia’s front office will push out, but regardless he should be a candidate.
Buck Showalter
The name Buck Showalter has been floated as a candidate for the Phillies job for a couple of weeks, at first in passing and now as a leading candidate for the job.
Jayson Stark of The Athletic first mentioned Showalter’s name multiple on 97.5 The Fanatic prior to Kapler being fired:
"“They could be in position where some big name managers are available…Buck Showalter has been sitting out there for a year.”"
Showalter was hired by Phillies team president Andy MacPhail to lead the Baltimore Orioles from 2010 to 2018. Now 63, Showalter is looking for his fifth manager job since 1992.
Philadelphia Phillies
Despite being a manager for 20 years, Showalter has never won a pennant, and only twice has he taken a team to the league championship series. After he left the Yankees in 1995 and the Diamondbacks in 2000, both teams won the World Series the following year.
Is Showalter just a firely setup guy for the next manager to win a World Series, or can he lead a young team and seal the deal? He’s won over 1,500 games, but the lack of success in the playoffs is a concern.
Showalter is certainly the complete opposite of Kapler and he has the connection to MacPhail, both of which help his case. He’s managed in the biggest sports market in the world and led the Orioles, a team with no financial flexibility, to the playoffs.
The 2020 Phillies could be one of the best rosters Showalter has ever had, and if he can bring some fire and push the young guys to another level, the Phillies would be in fantastic shape.