While the San Francisco Giants‘ managerial hunt remains murky and top exec Buster Posey said he’s keeping his list of candidates tight to the vest, he did eliminate one major name from consideration.
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Posey said he had touched base with Bruce Bochy, his former manager who took the Giants to three titles a few days ago. The Texas Rangers announced Tuesday that Bochy won’t be back with them next year, and Posey said there will always be a spot for Bochy with the Giants. It just won’t be as a manager.
“I don’t even know what Boch’s plans are, if he wants to continue to manage or not,” Posey said. “The door is always open here for some sort of role, but the way I think things are coming into picture in my mind with where we go next, I don’t see us going that route with Boch.”
That’s not a surprise. Bochy is 70 and making such a hire, harkening to glories of the past, probably isn’t the forward-thinking, fresh approach Posey appears to be favoring. In addition, Posey said, planning around making a long-term pick at manager is also a consideration.
Posey said he has already had conversations with candidates, and as he’d said Monday after the team let Bob Melvin go, “You keep your options open for what we think will be the best combination of manager and coaches to move us forward.”
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The Giants chose not to renew the contracts of any of their current coaches but, as the Chronicle reported Monday, will recommend them to the new manager. The team anticipates there will be holdovers on the staff.
None of the current staff will be interviewed for the managerial opening, however, the Chronicle has learned. This is something of a surprise: First-base coach Mark Hallberg is one of Posey’s best friends, a college teammate who has sharp baseball acumen, and he’d long been viewed as a potential manager down the line. He, pitching coach J.P. Martinez and bullpen coach Garvin Alston are among the most likely returnees, contingent on the wishes of whoever takes over as manager.
Among the possible candidates, at least one might be destined to take Bochy’s spot in Texas: Skip Schumacher, the former Marlins manager, is an adviser with the Rangers and has been seen as Bochy’s heir apparent. That doesn’t mean that the Giants can’t call and ask for permission to interview him before any decision is made in Texas.
Another Texas possibility is former Giants catcher Nick Hundley, who was just in town for the Willie Mac award presentation and who has long been viewed as manager material; like Hallberg, he’s good friends with Posey.
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Other former managers now linked to the Giants by local and national outlets include Rocco Baldelli, David Ross, David Bell and Brandon Hyde. Brian Snitker was just let go by the Braves and was the 2018 NL Manager of the Year. Considering Posey’s comment on Bochy, that may put older, more well-traveled options such as Joe Maddon and Bud Black on the “unlikely” heap.
Others mentioned for consideration include Cubs coach Ryan Flaherty, Tigers bench coach George Lombard Sr., Yankees coach Luis Rojas, Reds special assistant Curt Casali, broadcasters Mark DeRosa and Javier Lopez (lots of former Giants in there), Giants vice president of player development Randy Winn and University of Tennessee coach Tony Vitello. One candidate who, like Hundley, seems to tick an awful lot of boxes is Cleveland assistant manager Craig Albernaz, a former Giants coach.
Eight teams are looking for managers, so competition will be fierce. With Posey leading the charge for San Francisco, the Giants might have an edge when it comes to landing their top candidate, even if that person is coveted by numerous teams.
This article originally published at Buster Posey rules out Bruce Bochy from Giants’ search for a new manager.