Six possible managerial candidates for the Oakland A’s
The Oakland A’s, inexplicably, let Bob Melvin leave without any compensation to the San Diego Padres. In all reality, it was likely a cost-saving measure as Melvin (who has been an MLB manager for part of 18 seasons including the past 11 with Oakland) has a higher salary than a first-time manager would. All six possible candidates that we talk about today would be a first-time manager.
Currently, they are one of two teams that still do not have a manager (the other being the New York Mets) so while the lockout is in place, hiring a manager will be their number one priority. The A’s are doing exactly that as they have reportedly interviewed three candidates and plan on interviewing three more candidates in the coming days.
Here’s a little bit of a look into the six possible managerial candidates for the Oakland A’s
Mark Kotsay may be the top internal managerial candidate for the Oakland A’s
Along with Bob Melvin leaving for San Diego, his bench coach Ryan Christenson left to be Melvin’s bench coach there so the top internal candidate for the Oakland A’s is third base coach Mark Kotsay.
Kotsay, 46, played 17 years in the majors, including four seasons with the A’s from 2004 through 2007. After he retired, he became a special assistant for the Padres for a season before becoming their hitting coach in 2015. He then jumped over to Oakland in 2016 as Melvin’s bench coach. He switched roles for 2018 as he became their quality control coach. That’s the role he had until he was promoted to third base coach before the 2021 season.
Kotsay has interviewed for other MLB managerial jobs before, including with the Detroit Tigers last offseason before they hired A.J. Hinch, and in Boston and Houston. He is viewed as a future manager by most in the industry so odds are, the A’s will choose him if they go with an internal candidate.
Darren Bush is also an internal candidate for the Oakland A’s
Darren Bush, 47, has been a coach or manager in the Oakland A’s organization since 2005 so he is very familiar with everyone in the organization. He started out as a hitting coach in Single-A before he was promoted to manage in Single-A. In 2009, he was promoted to become the manager at Double-A and in 2011, manage at Triple-A.
Prior to the 2013 season, the A’s promoted him to the MLB coaching staff as he became the bullpen coach. After two seasons in that role, he was promoted to be the club’s new hitting coach, where he has been since 2015.
In the six seasons he managed in the minors for Oakland, he had a .543 winning percentage (equivalent to an 88-74 record in 162 games) or better in four of the six seasons, which is part of the reason why he was promoted to the majors.
The A’s also have had a team OPS+ of at least 100 since 2017 so it’s easy to see why Bush is considered a candidate.
Marcus Jensen is the third internal managerial candidate for the Oakland A’s
Marcus Jensen, 48, spent parts of six seasons in the majors as a backup catcher. After he retired from baseball after the 2006 season, he immediately became a coach in the minor leagues for the Oakland A’s.
By 2009, he served as the A’s Rookie-level manager and he served in that role until he was promoted to the organization’s minor league hitting coordinator in 2014. After one season of that, he was promoted to become the assistant hitting coach under Darren Bush.
Bush and Jensen are a key part of why their offense has been very good since 2017 so, like Bush, it’s easy to see why he’s a candidate: minor league managing experience and success at coaching in the majors.
Matt Quatraro is, perhaps, the leading external manager candidate for the Oakland A’s
Matt Quatraro is a name that you probably haven’t heard of before is you are a fan of the Oakland A’s or most baseball fans, in general. However, he is one of the leading candidates to become an MLB manager and soon.
Quatraro, 48, has been with the Tampa Bay Rays in two separate stints with the first starting before they even played an MLB game. They drafted him as a catcher in the 8th round of the Amateur Draft in 1996. He got up to Triple-A but retired after the ’02 season before making it to the majors but he took a coaching job with them.
From 2003 through 2013, he was a minor league catching coach, a hitting coach at Short Season-A, managed four seasons in Short Season-A and Single-A, and was their minor league hitting coordinator. For the 2014 season, the then-named Cleveland Indians hired him to be their assistant hitting coach.
When Quatraro was in Cleveland, Kevin Cash was the bullpen coach and in Cash’s third season of managing the Rays, Quatraro rejoined the Rays as third base coach. After Charlie Montoyo left to manage the Blue Jays in 2019, the Rays promoted him to be their bench coach.
Quatraro has been interviewed for numerous managerial positions before and he is also being interviewed by the New York Mets for their managerial position too. He is likely going to get one of the two spots or an opening next offseason.
Will Venable is another external managerial candidate for the Oakland A’s
Will Venable, 39, played in the majors from 2008 through 2016, and in 2017, he started his fast track to an MLB managerial position.
He started out as a special assistant to Theo Epstein in 2017 and the Chicago Cubs promoted him to be their first base coach in 2018 and 2019. In 2020, he shifted across the diamond to be their thrid base coach.
In 2021, he jumped over to the Boston Red Sox where he was promoted to be Alex Cora’s bench coach.
With that quick ascension, Venable could be an MLB manager sooner rather than later.
Joe Espada is the final external managerial candidate for the Oakland A’s
Joe Espada, 46, has long been a managerial candidate in baseball. Currently, he is the third base coach for a rival of the Oakland A’s: The Houston Astros.
After playing in the minors, he became a minor league coach for the then-named Florida Marlins. He became their third base coach in 2010 but in 2014, he left the Marlins for the Yankees. He served as a special assistant to Brian Cashman before becoming their third base coach for the 2015 season.
He then left the Yankees to become the third base coach for the Astros, where he has been since 2018. He has interviewed for numerous MLB managerial openings including with the Texas Rangers and Chicago Cubs.
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Like Matt Quatraro, he has interviewed for the Mets managerial opening too so he has some demand elsewhere.