The Top 100 coaches most likely to become MLB managers

With the amount of turnover each offseason (and during the regular season) between coaches and managers, it’s hard for the hardened baseball fan to keep up with who is a coach on their favorite team.

In recent years and especially this offseason, teams are adding more and more coaches (the San Francisco Giants had 15 coaches in 2021, for example) when just 30 years ago, some MLB teams had just four coaches (a hitting coach that often doubled as a first or third base coach, pitching, bullpen, and the other base coach that the hitting coach didn’t occupy).

Now, teams have coaches with titles that the common fan may not even understand.

The pool of prospective MLB managers has vastly increased in recent years.

But with the expansion of coaching staffs and the retirements of some of the older managers, the pool for prospective MLB managers has vastly increased.

And despite the change in how many coaches there are, the vast majority of managers will come from a coach on the MLB staff. A few years ago, there seemed to be a wave of managerial hires of people with no experience at all … but that has virtually gone away.

There are only four current MLB managers that were a) not an MLB coach before they were hired by their current team or b) an MLB manager before their current team hired them. Those managers are Yankees manager Aaron Boone, Seattle’s Scott Servais, Milwaukee’s Craig Counsell, and the Cubs’ David Ross. And for the latter three, all of them had front office experience. Boone is the only one with no experience whatsoever.

Otherwise, the other 26 had coaching experience on an MLB coaching staff. And even if you look at each manager’s full-time predecessor, nearly every one of them was a former manager or MLB coach when they were hired. The only one that wasn’t was former Colorado manager Walt Weiss, who was in Colorado’s front office for a handful of years in the mid-2000s before he left the team for a few years until they gave him the manager job.

For that reason, for our top 100 managerial candidates, nearly all of these people served on an MLB coaching staff, were an MLB manager since 2017, or are slated to serve on an MLB coaching staff in 2022.

However, we did make one exception for our list: for a former MLB coach or manager prior to 2017 to be included, they had to have interviewed for an MLB managerial job since the 2019-2020 offseason.

While we will consider some of the “retired” managers of recent years, one that we will not is former Twins and Tigers manager Ron Gardenhire, since he retired due to medical concerns.

We start in the American League East by alphabetical order of the coach’s current or last team.

1) Tim Cossins

Tim Cossins is the field coordinator and catching coach for the Baltimore Orioles and has been since 2019. However, from 2019 through 2021, he also functioned as Brandon Hyde’s bench coach.

Cossins, 51, and Hyde worked together in the Marlins and Cubs organizations as well. Cossins was a minor league manager for the Marlins and, later, the minor league catching coordinator from 2003 through 2012. He joined the Cubs replaced Hyde as the Cubs minor league field coordinator in 2013 since Hyde was promoted to be Joe Maddon’s bench coach. When Hyde left to become the Orioles manager in 2019, Cossins joined him as his de facto bench coach.

2) Fredi González

Fredi González is currently the bench coach for the Baltimore Orioles. He is entering his first season as the official bench coach but he was a “major league coach” for them since 2020.

González, 57, has plenty of independent ball, minor league, and major league managing experience. He managed in independent ball from 1990 through 1992 and in the minors for the Marlins from 1993 through 1998.

He was their MLB third base coach from 1999 through 2001. He joined the Braves organization in 2002 as their Triple-A manager before he became their MLB third base coach in 2003. He left to become the Marlins manager in 2007 and he was there through 2010.

In 2011, he replaced Bobby Cox as manager and was there through 2016. He rejoined the Marlins for a third stint in 2017 as their third base coach and was there from 2017 until he joined the Orioles.

The Tigers interviewed González for their managerial opening in the 2017-18 offseason before they hired Ron Gardenhire.

3) Tony Mansolino

Tony Mansolino is the third base coach for the Baltimore Orioles. Mansolino, 39, will be entering his second season as their third base coach after serving as an MLB or minor league coach for the Cleveland Indians from 2011 through 2020. He was a minor league hitting coach for five seasons and then started as a minor league manager for the Indians. He served one season at each Single-A, High-A, Double-A, and he topped out at Triple-A in 2019.

He joined the Indians MLB staff in 2020 as their interim third base coach when manager Terry Francona was out. Their bench coach, Brad Mills, opted out of the season so first base coach, Sandy Alomar, Jr., became the interim manager. Third base coach Mike Sarbaugh became the acting bench coach and Mansolino took over at third and Kyle Hudson as first base coach.

Entering the 2020 season, Mansolino was the team’s defensive coordinator, replacing Kai Correa, who left to join the San Francisco Giants as their bench coach.

Mansolino is also the son of Doug Mansolino, who was a bench, first base, or third base coach for the White Sox, Brewers, Tigers, and Astros and a few other organizations as a minor league coach or manager in the 1990s and 2000s.

4) John Farrell

It has been a few years since John Farrell has had a job on an MLB coaching staff or as a manager but since he last managed, he has shown interest in managing again and other teams have as well.

Farrell, 59, spent eight seasons in the majors as a pitcher but he had two more seasons completely wiped out due to injury. He retired after the 1996 season and he immediately joined the coaching staff at Oklahoma State University (his alma mater) as a pitching coach and recruiting coordinator.

He left them for the Cleveland Indians (the main team he pitched for) to become their director of player development from 2001 through 2006. He decided to go back to coaching in 2007 when he left the Red Sox to join Terry Francona’s staff as his pitching coach for the eventual 2007 World Champions. Francona and Farrell were teammates in Cleveland in the late 80s.

He was their pitching coach for four years until he became the manager of the Blue Jays in 2011. After the 2012 season, Farrell interviewed with the Red Sox to become their manager after they fired Bobby Valentine and he did go there so the Blue Jays actually traded him to Boston along with pitcher David Carpenter for infielder Mike Aviles.

He won the World Series again with the Red Sox in 2013 and he was their manager through the 2017 season until they fired him.

Farrell then joined the Cincinnati Reds as a scout in 2018.

Since 2018, Farrell interviewed for the managerial opening with the Nationals in the 2017-2018 offseason, the Reds in the 2018-2019 offseason, and the Angels in the 2019-2020 offseason.

5) Will Venable

Will Venable has only been retired for a few years but he is the bench coach for the Boston Red Sox and he already has had a view managerial interviews, including with Oakland this offseason.

Venable, 39, last played in the majors in 2016 and in 2017, he was hired as a special assistant to then-Cubs CEO Theo Epstein. He became the Cubs first base coach in 2018 and moved across the diamond to third base in 2020. The Red Sox hired him before the 2021 season.

Considering his quick rise to bench coach and already having interviews with teams for their managerial openings, he could be one of the next handful of people to become a manager.

6) Ramón Vázquez

Vázquez is entering his first season as Boston’s first base coach. However, he was a manager in the minors for the Astros in 2016, after spending two seasons as a minor league coach for them.

He was San Diego’s infield coach in 2017 before joining the Red Sox coaching staff in 2018. From 2018 through 2020, he was their analytics coach and in 2021, he was Alex Cora’s quality control coach. In that role, he was served as a liaison between their MLB advanced scouting and statistical analysts and players and coaches to provide them with the analytics.

Since he has been with Boston, he also has been their interpreter and their infield coach.

7) Carlos Febles

Carlos Febles has been the third base coach for the Boston Red Sox since 2018 after an extensive managerial and coaching career in the minors with them.

Febles, 45, played 10 seasons in professional baseball including six seasons in the majors with Kansas City and he retired after the 2004 season.

He started coaching in 2007 as he was a coach for the Red Sox Short-Season A team before becoming their hitting coach at High-A in 2008. He was there for three seasons until he started managing for them starting in 2011. He managed one season at Short-Season A, two at Single-A, two at High-A, and two at Double-A before his promotion to the majors.

Before the Red Sox rehired Alex Cora for the 2021 season, the Red Sox interviewed Febles for their managerial opening.

8) Ron Roenicke

Currently, Ron Roenicke is a special assistant for the Los Angeles Dodgers and while he’s a bit older (65), he definitely could be a veteran choice for a team in the near future.

He was a player for them in the early 80s and once he retired, he became a coach for them, as he was Tommy LaSorda’s bench coach in 1992 and 1993. He decided to go the minors to manage for the Dodgers through the 1999 season when he jumped over to the Angels to join the MLB coaching staff of his former Dodgers teammate, Mike Scioscia.

Roenicke was Scioscia’s third base coach from 2000 through 2005 when he was promoted to bench coach with Joe Maddon leaving to manage the Devil Rays. Roenicke served as bench coach from 2006 through 2010, when Roenicke became the manager of the Milwaukee Brewers for the 2011 season. He was fired 25 games into the 2015 season but rejoined the Angels by the end of the season as third base coach. He was third base coach through 2017 when he became Alex Cora’s bench coach in 2018 and 2019.

With Cora being suspended for the entire 2020 season, Roenicke managed the Red Sox in 2020 before they re-hired Cora and fired Roenicke for the 2021 season.

9) Carlos Mendoza

Carlos Mendoza is one of the younger people on our list as he is just 42. He has been with the New York Yankees since 2006 as he was a player in the minor leagues for them from 2006 through 2009. Since 2010, he has been a coach or manager for them in the majors or minors. He was a minor league manager in 2011 and 2012 in Rookie-ball, Single-A, and the Arizona Fall League.

He became a roving defensive instructor for the franchise in 2013 and was promoted to the defensive coach for the Yankees at the major league level in 2018. After two years in that position, he became Aaron Boone’s bench coach prior to the 2020 season.

The Red Sox and Tigers both interviewed Mendoza for their managerial openings before they rehired Alex Cora and hired A.J. Hinch before the 2021 season.

10) Luis Rojas

Despite having a tumultuous time in Queens, Luis Rojas could manage another MLB team in the near future.

Rojas, 40, was the manager of the New York Mets in 2020 and 2021 after he was their quality control coach in 2019. Recently, he was tabbed to be the new third base coach under manager Aaron Boone for the New York Yankees.

Rojas, who is the son of former MLB manager Felipe Alou, joined the Mets system in 2006 as a coach. He became a minor-league manager for the Mets in 2011 through 2018, working his way through a season of Rookie-ball, four seasons at Single-A, and two seasons at Double-A.

11) Matt Quatraro

Matt Quatraro is another coach that has had a lot of interviews for MLB managerial openings, including at least with the New York Mets and Oakland A’s this offseason.

Quatraro, 48, is current the bench coach for the Tampa Bay Rays under manager Kevin Cash. Quatraro has been with the Tampa Bay Rays in two separate stints with the first starting before they even played an MLB game. He was a minor league player with them from 1996 through 2002 before he took a coaching job with them.

From 2003 through 2013, he wore a lot of hats as he was a minor league catching coach, hitting coach at Short Season-A, a manager for four seasons in Short Season-A and Single-A, and, finally, was their minor league hitting coordinator.

He left the Rays after the 2013 season to join Cleveland as their assistant hitting coach at the MLB level.

Kevin Cash was the bullpen coach for Cleveland when Quatraro joined Cleveland’s staff and, in Cash’s third season of managing the Rays (2018), Quatraro rejoined the Rays as third base coach. Charlie Montoyo was Cash’s bench coach in 2018 but left to manage the Blue Jays for 2019, so the Rays promoted him to be their bench coach for the start of the 2019 season.

13) John Schneider

John Schneider is another coach that flies under most people’s radars as a potential MLB manager.

Schneider, 41, is a former catcher in the minor leagues (and 11 of the 30 MLB managers are former catchers, which is down from just a few years ago). Starting in 2002, he spent all seven of his pro-playing years with Toronto (getting up to Triple-A) before calling it quits. After he did, Schneider immediately became a minor league coach for Toronto.

He first became a minor league hitting coach in 2008 before being named as Toronto’s manager for their Rookie-ball team in 2009. He was their manager at Rookie-ball for two seasons and Short-Season A for another season before he left the team due to a family matter for a season. He returned in 2013, though, and managed another season at Rookie-ball, two more at Short-Season A, and one season each at Single-A, Advanced-A, and Double-A through 2018.

Total, in his minor league managerial career, his team’s got to their respective league’s championship four times and those four teams won three times in his nine years managing in the minors.

In 2019, Schneider joined Toronto’s MLB staff as an MLB coach/catching coach, a title that he still holds today.

14) Miguel Cairo

Miguel Cairo is entering his second season as the bench coach for the Chicago White Sox.

Cairo, 47, spent parts of 17 seasons in the majors and he became Tony La Russa’s bench coach after he played for him in 2001 through 2003 and again in 2007 with the Cardinals. La Russa, who is already a Hall of Fame manager, brought Cairo on as his bench coach to, essentially, groom Cairo into a future MLB manager.

Previously, Cairo was the minor league infield coordinator for the Yankees from 2018 through 2020. Prior to that, he was the interim bench coach for the Cincinnati Reds in 2013 and a special assistant to the GM for the Reds from 2013 through 2017.

He took the special assistant job after he decided to retire as a player after the 2012 season and he was interim bench coach after third base coach Mark Berry missed time since he had cancer and bench coach Chris Speier became the interim third base coach.

15) Joe McEwing

Joe McEwing is another former player that played for Tony La Russa in 1998 and 1999 and, like with Cairo, La Russa is grooming him to become a future manager.

McEwing, 49, joined the White Sox organization as a minor league coach for the 2008 season, right after he announced his retirement from playing. In that season, he was their Triple-A hitting coach but he became a manager for the White Sox at the Advanced-A level in 2009. He spent two seasons there before getting promoted to Triple-A manager in 2011.

Since 2012, he has been on the White Sox MLB staff as third base coach (2012-2016, 2021-present) and as bench coach (2017-2020).

He has been on the radar as a potential MLB manager before as, among others, the Tigers and Mets interviewed him for their managerial openings for the 2018 season and he was a candidate for the Cardinals managerial job this offseason.

16) Rick Renteria

Prior to Tony La Russa being named as the Chicago White Sox manager, Rick Renteria was their manager. He also managed the Chicago Cubs after he was dumped after just one season (2014) for Joe Maddon. Renteria, 60, despite getting fired by the White Sox after 2020, came in 2nd in AL Manager of the Year voting.

Prior to his MLB managerial jobs, Renteria spent eight seasons in the minors as a manager for the Marlins and Padres, including one season at Single-A, four at Advanced-A, two at Double-A, and one at Triple-A. He also spent seven seasons as a first base coach or bench coach for San Diego or the White Sox.

18) Sandy Alomar, Jr.

Sandy Alomar, Jr. spent parts of 20 seasons as a catcher in the majors and he has had plenty of managerial interviews in the past, including when Cleveland hired Terry Francona.

Alomar, Jr., 55, served as Cleveland’s interim manager for most of 2020 since Francona was out due to health issues and the aforementioned Brad Mills opted out of the season. He was the first base coach prior to that temporary promotion and he has been their first base coach since 2014 and was their first base coach from 2010 through 2011 as well. He was the team’s bench coach in 2012 and 2013. For the final six games of 2012, he was also Cleveland’s manager after they fired Manny Acta.

Prior to re-joining Cleveland as a coach (he played with them for 11 of his 20 MLB seasons), he was the Mets catching coach in 2008 and 2009. In those two seasons, he coached with his father, Sandy Sr., who was the third base coach then bench coach for the Mets. He spent parts of 15 seasons as a coach in the majors.

18) DeMarlo Hale

Of all the people on this list, DeMarlo Hale is, perhaps, the one that is most deserving of getting an MLB managerial job. Hale, 60, would be a bit old for a first-time manager but odder things have happened in recent years.

In 2021, Hale was in his first season as the bench coach for the Cleveland Indians after long-time bench coach for Terry Francona, Brad Mills, retired. He coached for Francona back in Boston from 2006 through 2011. He also coached with Francona on the 2002 Rangers so the hiring was not a surprise. Since Francona dealt with health issues for a good chunk of the season, Hale managed the team for a total of 65 games.

He was a minor league player in the 80s and retired after reaching the Double-A level in 1988. He became an instructor at Bucky Dent’s Baseball School before becoming a minor league hitting coach for the Boston Red Sox in 1992. From 1993 through 1999, he was a minor league manager for Boston spending one season at Single-A, three at Advanced-A, and three at Double-A.

He left the Red Sox to join the Rangers as their Triple-A manager for two seasons before he joined their MLB coaching staff in 2002.

Since then, he has been a first, third, or bench coach for the Rangers (first base coach 2002-2005), Red Sox (third base coach 2006-2009, bench coach 2010-2011), Orioles (bench coach 2012, where he rejoined Buck Showalter who was in Texas when Hale was there), Toronto (bench coach 2013-2019), and Braves (interim first base coach after Eric Young, Sr. opted out 2020).

He has interviewed for numerous MLB managerial jobs in the past including with Boston before they hired Terry Francona, the Blue Jays before they hired John Farrell, the Red Sox before they hired John Farrell, the Cubs before they hired Dale Sveum, the Nationals before they hired Matt Williams, and the Twins before they hired Paul Molitor.

19) Mike Sarbaugh

Mike Sarbaugh is another coach on Cleveland’s coaching staff that could be a managerial candidate.

Sarbaugh, 54, started his playing career in 1989 and he has been with Cleveland in some capacity since 1990. He was a minor league player with them through the 1994 season and then, starting in 1995, he became a minor league coach. He has had numerous titles under his belt from then until 2004, when he started managing.

Sarbaugh spent a season at Short-Season A (2004), a season at Single-A (2005), two seasons at Advanced-A (2006-2007), two seasons at Double-A (2008-2009), and three seasons at Triple-A (2010-2012) before being promoted to the MLB coaching staff.

He was their first base coach in 2013 but has been their third base coach since 2014. With Terry Francona’s aforementioned health issues, Sarbaugh has technically been the third base coach in both 2020 and 2021 but he has been the interim bench coach for both times that Francona has been out in the last two seasons.

20) George Lombard

George Lombard is entering his second season as Detroit Tigers bench coach in 2022.

Lombard, 46, had a 16-year playing career spending parts of six of those seasons in the majors from 1998 through 2006. He became a minor league hitting coach in 2010 for Boston and served as the Rookie-ball manager for them in 2011 and 2012.

From 2013 through 2015, Lombard was the minor league outfield and baserunning coordinator for the Red Sox before joining the Braves in the same capacity. However, before he could do that, Lombard was hired by the Dodgers as their MLB first base coach for the 2016 season.

He held that role through the 2020 season before joining Hinch, who he was friends with from their time as players with Detroit in the minors at the turn of the millennium.

He has been a managerial candidate before as Lombard was interviewed by the Tigers to become their manager when Hinch was hired.

21) Chip Hale

Chip Hale is currently the head baseball coach at Arizona State University but he could be an MLB managerial candidate.

Hale (who isn’t related to the aforementioned DeMarlo Hale) was a player who spent parts of seven seasons in the majors as a backup infielder until he retired after the 1998 season.

Hale, 57, joined the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2000 as a minor league manager, managing two seasons at Rookie-ball and a season at Double-A before becoming a roving minor league coach for the D-Backs in 2003. He returned to managing for the D-Backs in the minors in 2004 as he managed their Triple-A team for three seasons before he got promoted to the D-Backs MLB coaching staff.

Hale coached under Bob Melvin with the D-Backs in 2007 through 2009 as third base coach, serving under managers Bob Melvin and A.J. Hinch. After the 2009 season, he joined the New York Mets as their third base coach and he was in that capacity in 2010 and 2011.

He rejoined Melvin in Oakland as his bench coach from 2012 through 2014 before Hale got his own managerial gig back with the D-Backs. They fired him after the 2016 season and in 2017, he rejoined Melvin in Oakland.

He was with Oakland as third base coach through mid-June of 2017 until a few coaching changes and shuffling moved him to bench coach under Melvin.

He left the A’s to join the Nationals from 2018 through 2020 as bench coach (2018-19) and third base coach (2020). He was with Detroit as their third base coach to start the 2021 season, under his former manager A.J. Hinch, before he resigned to become the head coach at ASU in July.

22) Josh Paul

Josh Paul is the quality control coach for the Detroit Tigers. He started in the role in 2020.

Paul, 46, was a catcher in the majors for parts of eight seasons in the majors with the White Sox, Cubs, Angels, and the Rays and after he retired after playing following the 2008 season, the Yankees hired him as their manager at Short-Season A, where he managed for two seasons.

In that second season, he left his post as manager in early June 2010 to serve as the Yankees interim MLB bullpen coach after pitching coach Dave Eiland went out on leave for about a month and regular bullpen coach Mike Harkey became the interim pitching coach. Paul returned to finish out the season in July.

In 2011, Paul became a scout for the Yankees and then, in 2015, he became their minor league catching coordinator. He left the Yankees after the 2017 season to become the bench coach for the Angels under Mike Scioscia and, then, Brad Ausmus. He was in that capacity until the Tigers hired him for the 2020 season. In 2020, he also was the interim bench coach for the final eight games of the season after Ron Gardenhire retired due to health reasons.

Paul was considered for the Angels managerial opening after the 2018 season.

23) Lloyd McClendon

In 2022, Lloyd McClendon will have his second stint as the Triple-A manager for the Detroit Tigers as he managed the team in 2016.

McClendon, 63, spent parts of eight seasons in the majors as a player and retired after the 1995 season. He spent the 1996 season as a minor league hitting coach for the Pittsburgh Pirates (the team he played for the most in the majors) and by 1997, he was their MLB hitting coach.

After Gene Lamont was fired by the Pirates after the 2000 season, McClendon, 63, became their manager. He was their manager until September 2005, when he was fired with about 3 1/2 weeks left in the season.

In 2006, he joined the coaching staff of his former manager, Jim Leyland, with Detroit and he was their bullpen coach for his first season. He was promoted to be the team’s hitting coach in 2007. He also served as Leyland’s de facto bench coach as well (and even managed a few games in his absence). He was with Detroit through the 2013 season, when he left to become the manager of the Seattle Mariners. He was their manager through 2015 and after he was fired, he returned to the Tigers.

In 2016, he was their manager at Triple-A Toledo before he became their hitting coach once again in 2017. He, then, became their bench coach for the 2020 season. When manager Ron Gardenhire retired with a few games left in the season, McClendon became the team’s acting manager.

24) Tom Prince

Tom Prince most recently was the Triple-A manager for the Detroit Tigers but he has some MLB coaching experience and has interviewed for an MLB managerial job before.

Prince, 57, spent parts of 17 seasons in the majors as a backup catcher retiring after the 2003 season. Immediately, Prince rejoined the Pirates (the team he played with the most in his career) as a minor league manager. He managed for them from 2004-2012, 2014-15 with six seasons at Rookie-ball, two seasons at Short-Season A, a season at Single-A, and a season at Double-A. In 2013, he was the “Coordinator of Instruction” for the Pirates, and in 2016, he was their minor league field coordinator.

From 2017 through 2019, he was their bench coach and he managed the final game of the 2019 season after manager Clint Hurdle resigned.

Prince left the Pirates after the 2019 season and joined the Tigers as their Triple-A manager in 2020 but with the pandemic, he became their manager at their alternate site. He managed for them at the Triple-A in 2021, leading them to the best record in their division for only the second time since 2008 and their third-best record since the Mud Hens returned to Toledo in 1965.

However, the Tigers fired him because they (meaning Tigers manager A.J. Hinch and new VP of Player Development Ryan Garko) wanted someone that they were more comfortable with and more aligned with more philosophically. Prince was also hired by Dave Littlefield, Garko’s predecessor who was demoted by the Tigers in August. Littlefield hired Prince back in 2004 for his first managerial job when Littlefield was the GM of the Pirates (2001-2007).

Prince interviewed with the Reds before they hired David Bell so he could be a manager for a team in the future.

25) Ramón Santiago

Ramon Santiago is another managerial candidate off the Detroit Tigers coaching staff.

Santiago, 42, spent parts of 13 seasons as a backup infielder in the majors and he played 10 of those 13 seasons with Detroit. He retired as a player after the 2015 season and he rejoined the Tigers in his first coaching role for the 2018 season.

He was their first base coach in 2018 and 2019 and then he moved across the diamond to be their third base coach in 2020. However, he moved back across the diamond for the 2021 season and is slated to be there in 2022.

26) Pedro Grifol

Pedro Grifol is entering his third year as the bench coach for the Kansas City Royals.

Grifol, 52, has been on the Royals coaching staff since 2013 where he first started as a “special assignment coach” in May. By the end of July, Grifol became their permanent hitting coach. During the 2014 season, he transitioned from hitting coach to KC’s catching coach, which he held through the 2019 season. In 2018, he also added the duties of “quality control coach” as well.

Prior to joining the Royals MLB coaching staff, Grifol was with the Mariners organization in various capacities from 2000 through 2012. In that span, he spent four seasons as a minor league manager, including three seasons at Short-Season A and one season as Advanced-A.

Grifol has had numerous interviews with teams in recent years for their managerial openings, including the Tigers when they hired A.J. Hinch before 2021 and the Giants before they hired Gabe Kapler before 2020. He was a finalist for the Giants as he received two interviews.

27) Vance Wilson

Vance Wilson is currently the third base coach for the Kansas City Royals.

Wilson, 48, was a backup catcher in the majors for parts of eight seasons with the New York Mets and Detroit Tigers. After he suffered injuries in 2007 and 2008, he signed with the Royals on a minor league deal but never got back to the majors and retired before the start of the 2010 season.

He became a minor league manager for the Royals in 2011 and he was in the minors with them through 2017. He had one season at Single-A, two seasons at Advanced-A, and four seasons at Double-A before the Royals promoted him to their MLB staff. He was their bullpen coach for two seasons before they promoted him again before the 2020 season as their third base coach.

Before the Royals hired Mike Matheny as their manager, they interviewed Wilson for the position so other teams could view him as a managerial candidate as well.

28) Dale Sveum

Dale Sveum was a special assignment scout for the Royals in 2021, which may sound like a job that would not be qualifying for an MLB manager but Sveum is still fairly young and has been there and done that as far as being a manager.

Before he became a special assignment scout for the Royals in 2020, Sveum, 58, was the Royals third base (March-May 2014), hitting coach (May 2014-2017, and bench coach (2018-2019) under Ned Yost. Prior to joining the Royals, he was the manager of the Chicago Cubs in 2012 and 2013.

Prior to the Cubs, he was with Milwaukee (the team he primarily played for in his 12-year MLB career) as third base coach (2006, 2008), bench coach (2007), hitting coach (2009-2011), and interim manager (2008).

He also was the Red Sox third base coach in 2004 and 2005 after he managed three seasons for the Pirates at the Double-A level.

29) Jayce Tingler

Jayce Tingler will be the new bench coach for the Minnesota Twins in 2022.

Tingler, 41, was the manager of the San Diego Padres for the last two seasons before he was fired after an awful second half of the season, which dropped the Padres out of the best record in baseball, first place in NL West, the playoff picture, and even being above .500. They were 34-19 to start the season but from May 30 on, the Padres were 45-64 and they were 18-36 from August 1 through the end of the season.

Other than managing the Padres, he has had very little experience in the dugout as a coach or manager at the professional level as most of his experience comes from the front office in player development.

He was in the Rangers organization from the end of his minor league playing career up until he joined the Padres (2006-2019). He was their player development field coordinator (2019), assistant GM (2017-2018), interim bench coach for a few games at the end of the 2018 season, MLB field coordinator (2015-2016), minor league field coordinator (2012-2014), coordinator of instruction at their Arizona and Dominican Republic camps (2011), manager with their Rookie-level team in Arizona (2010), and manager in the Dominican Summer League (2008-2009).

In 2007 (his first season after retiring as a player), he helped get their Dominican team established.

30) Joe Espada

Of all the people on this list, Joe Espada is, perhaps, the person without any MLB managerial experience that’s most likely to get a managerial job next offseason.

Espada, 46, was a player from 1996 through 2006, getting up to Triple-A but he never got the call to the majors but he has been a coach in the majors for over a decade and he has had a lot of managerial interviews with other teams.

Currently, he has been Houston’s bench coach since 2018 and he has also been the infield coach for Jose Altuve, Carlos Correa, and Alex Bregman, which have been one of the best defensive infields in baseball in recent years.

Prior to joining the Astros, he was the third base coach under Joe Girardi with the New York Yankees from 2015 through 2017. He was a scout for them in 2014 and prior to joining the Yankees, he was the third base coach for the Marlins from 2010 through 2013. Before making it to the majors as a coach, he was a minor league hitting coach and infield coordinator with the Marlins.

Espada was interviewed by both the Mets and A’s this offseason for their managerial openings and he has interviewed for other managerial spots in recent years too. When the Cubs hired David Ross before the 2020 season, Espada interviewed with them and he interviewed with the Astros before they signed Dusty Baker to replace A.J. Hinch.

He also interviewed with the Giants when they hired Gabe Kapler and the Pirates before they hired Derek Shelton. In the previous offseason (2018-2019), he interviewed with the Angels, Blue Jays, and Rangers for their managerial openings.

In other words, it’s just a matter of time before he gets a managerial gig, whether it’s from Dusty Baker retiring in Houston or elsewhere.

31) Eduardo Pérez

Eduardo Pérez is the first of two people on our list that has not been on a MLB coaching staff in recent years but he is definitely a managerial candidate.

Pérez, 52, spent parts of 13 seasons in the majors and a season in Japan before his career ended after the 2006 season. Starting in the 2006 playoffs, Pérez joined ESPN as a baseball analyst through 2010. At the same time, Pérez managed in the 2007-2008 and 2008-2009 in the Puerto Rican Winter League and he was also a special assistant for the Cleveland Indians.

He was with ESPN and Cleveland when Miami hired him as their hitting coach in June 2011 and he was there through the 2012 season.

He joined Houston as their bench coach in 2013 before he resigned prior to the 2014 season to spend more time with his family. He rejoined ESPN for the 2014 season and he joined MLB Network Radio as an analyst in 2016. In 2022, he will be joining Sunday Night Baseball on ESPN along with Karl Ravech and former All-Star pitcher David Cone.

Pérez has had at least two managerial interviews in recent memory as the Mets interviewed him in the 2019-2020 offseason before hiring Luis Rojas and the Astros interviewed him before hiring Dusty Baker in the 2019-2020 offseason as well.

32) Mike Gallego

Currently, Mike Gallego is the bench and infield coach for the Los Angeles Angels but he soon could be just their infield coach.

Gallego, 61, played in the majors for parts of 13 seasons before retiring after the 1998 season. He immediately became a minor league coach for the Red Sox in 1999 before he joined the Colorado Rockies as a minor league coach. He joined their major league coaching staff in the interim in 2002 before returning to the minors in 2003 and 2004.

He permanently became a member of their MLB coaching staff in 2005 as a third base coach and he was there through 2008. He joined Oakland (the team he primarily played with) as their third base coach in 2009 and he was there through 2015.

In 2016, he joined the Angels as their director of baseball development but he went back on to the field in 2019 as third base coach before becoming Joe Maddon’s bench coach for the 2020 season.

Gallego has been a candidate for some MLB managerial jobs in the past, like with Colorado when they hired Gallego’s former Oakland teammate Walt Weiss, so he still could be a candidate for a team, especially given his experience.

33) Trey Hillman

For the last three seasons, Trey Hillman was on the Miami Marlins coaching staff, first as a first base coach and then, in 2021, Hillman was their third base coach but he won’t be with them in 2022 as he left the Marlins to “pursue other opportunities.” That opportunity came with the Angels as he recently joined them as a member of their player development staff.

Hillman, 59, has been involved in coaching in the minor leagues, majors, or overseas since 1989. He was a coach in Single-A for the Yankees in 1989 before becoming a minor league manager at the young age of 27. He worked up the ranks as a manager for the Yankees for more than a decade as he managed one season in Short-Season A (1990), four in Single-A (1991-1992, 1994-1995), two in Advanced-A (1993, 1996), two at Double-A (1997-1998), and three at Triple-A (1999-2001).

He then became the Director of Player Development for the Texas Rangers in 2002 before going overseas. He managed the Nippon Ham Fighters in Tokyo, Japan from 2003 through 2007. He came back stateside in 2008 when the Kansas City Royals hired him to be their manager. He was fired in May 2010, though.

From there, he became the bench coach when Don Mattingly was with the Dodgers from 2011-2013 before Hillman became a special assistant for the Yankees in 2014. The Astros hired him to be their bench coach in 2015 and he was there for two seasons before he went make overseas to manage. He was the manager for the SK Wyverns in South Korea before he came back to join Mattingly’s staff in Miami.

34) Phil Nevin

Phil Nevin will reportedly be joining the Angels’ coaching staff in 2022 but he has been on other coaching staffs before and has plenty of experience in the majors as well.

Nevin, 51, spent parts of 12 seasons in the majors after he was drafted number one overall in the 1992 draft by Houston. He was the Yankees third base coach from 2018 through 2021 after he was the third base coach for the Giants in 2017.

Prior to that, Nevin was a manager in the minor leagues for the Tigers and D-Backs for eight seasons, including seven at the Triple-A level.

He has had a few MLB managerial interviews in recent years, including with the Tigers when they hired A.J. Hinch last offseason and when the Nationals ended up hiring Dusty Baker before the start of the 2016 season so he could still be on the radar for some other teams in the coming years.

35) José Molina

José Molina was the catching coach for the Los Angeles Angels for the past three seasons before the Angels let him go after the 2021 season.

Molina, 46, is one of the three of the famed “Molina Brothers” who were all catchers in the major leagues and José was the middle brother. Bengie played with José on the Angels and a few other places as well in his 13-year MLB career but the best Molina brother is Yadier, who has been the Cardinals catcher for the better half of two decades and entering his final season in the majors.

José was in the majors for parts of 15 seasons from 1999 through 2014 but was almost exclusively a backup catcher.

In 2016, José became the Angels’ minor league catching coordinator for three seasons before becoming their MLB catching coach.

Given his background as a catcher with coaching experience and his fluency with Spanish (which is often vital for managerial hires in today’s age), Molina could be an MLB manager in the future.

36) Mike Scioscia

Mike Scioscia could look to returning to managing in the majors after managing nearly two decades in the majors with the Los Angeles Angels.

Scioscia, 63, played was a catcher in the majors for parts of 13 seasons and was an All-Star twice. After retiring, he became the bench coach for the Dodgers in 1997 and 1998. He went down to the minors in 1999 to get some managerial experience at the Triple-A level before the Angels hired him as their manager for the 2000 season.

He managed them through the 2018 season. In over 3000 games managed, Scioscia had a .536 winning percentage and got to the postseason seven times, including their only World Series appearance and win as a franchise in 2002. The Angels have been a team since 1961 and they have only made it to the postseason 10 times.

Scioscia was the AL Manager of the Year twice and got Manager of the Year votes in 11 other seasons as well. Many of Scioscia’s coaches ended up becoming managers too including Joe Maddon, Bud Black, and Ron Roenicke.

Scioscia managed the U.S. team in the Olympics in 2021 for the 2020 Olympics and the Padres interviewed him this offseason before they went with Bob Melvin so Scioscia still wants to manage if a team will give him another shot.

37) Mike Aldrete

In 2022, Mike Aldrete will be the quality control coach for the Oakland A’s after he has held many titles on MLB coaching staffs in recent years.

Aldrete, 60, has been with Oakland since the 2015 season. Initially, he was their bench coach for a season (2015) before becoming their first base coach (2016-2017). He became their assistant hitting coach for two seasons (2018 and 2019) before becoming their first base coach again (2020-2021).

Aldrete started his MLB coaching career in 2004 after serving as a minor league coach and manager in 2001 for Arizona. He joined Bob Melvin’s coaching staff in Seattle in 2004 as first base coach before he joined Melvin, who left to become the manager of the D-Backs, in 2005 as their hitting coach.

He was there for two seasons and then (after not coaching 2007) Tony LaRussa hired Aldrete to be St. Louis’s assistant hitting coach, making Aldrete the first assistant coach in all of MLB for the 2008 season. He held that position until his promotion to bench coach in 2012. He served as bench coach from 2012 through 2014 before re-joining Melvin in Oakland in 2015.

Aldrete was a candidate for the managerial opening with Arizona before they hired Chip Hale before the 2015 season.

38) Brad Ausmus

Brad Ausmus was just named the new bench coach for the Oakland A’s under new manager Mark Kotsay.

Ausmus, 52, managed the Angels in 2019 but after one poor season, they let him go in favor of Joe Maddon. The Angels hired Ausmus from their front office as he was a special assistant to GM Billy Eppler in 2018.

He managed the Tigers from 2014 through 2017 and prior to that, he was in the front office for San Diego as a Special Assistant in Baseball Operations from 2011 through 2013. He first managed for Team Israel in the 2013 World Baseball Classic.

He played in the majors for parts of 18 seasons, where he was an All-Star once and won three Gold Gloves as a catcher. He primarily played for the Houston Astros, the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Detroit Tigers, and the San Diego Padres. Ausmus ended up working for the latter two as manager and in their front office.

In the last few years, the Astros interviewed their former catcher for their managerial opening prior to hiring Dusty Baker before the start of the 2020 season and the Mets, under former Angels GM Billy Eppler, interviewed him for their managerial position this offseason before hiring Buck Showalter.

39) Darren Bush

In 2022, Darren Bush will be the new third base coach for the Oakland A’s after he was their hitting coach for the last seven seasons.

Bush, 48, joined the A’s coaching staff in 2013 as their bullpen coach. He spent two seasons as the bullpen coach before he was promoted to hitting coach. 2022 will be Bush’s 18th season in the A’s organization as prior to 2013, he was a minor league coach and manager.

Bush joined Oakland in 2005 as their hitting coach at Advanced-A. After two seasons, he was promoted to be their manager at Advanced-A. He managed two seasons each at Advanced-A, Double-A, and Triple-A up until his promotion to the MLB coaching staff. In his eight seasons of managing, he had a .544 winning percentage, which is equivalent to an 88-74 team in a 162-game schedule.

The A’s interviewed Bush for their managerial opening before hiring Kotsay so other teams could be interested in him as well.

40) Marcus Jensen

Marcus Jensen is another managerial candidate on Oakland’s coaching staff.

Jensen, 49, has been on Oakland’s coaching staff since the 2015 season. Initially, he was the team’s assistant hitting coach and catching coach but he was promoted to bullpen coach for the 2018 season and has been there since.

Before joining the A’s MLB coaching staff, Jensen was a player, as he spent parts of seven seasons in the majors as a backup catcher. He also played in independent ball through 2006 and after he stopped playing, he immediately joined the A’s organization for the 2007 season.

He was their hitting coach at their Arizona Rookie League for two seasons before becoming their manager for five seasons. In 2013 (his final season managing), he was also the A’s minor league roving catching instructor. In 2014, he became a roving minor league hitting instructor before his promotion to the majors.

When the A’s hired Mark Kotsay this offseason, Jensen was also interviewed for the position as well so the A’s view him as a managerial candidate.

41) Chris Cron

Chris Cron is fairly new to the MLB coaching business but he has a lot of baseball coaching, in general.

Cron, 57, played professionally for a decade, topping out in the majors in the early 90s where he played a dozen games but he retired as a player during the 1995 season. Cron, who is the father of Colorado Rockies first baseman C.J. Cron, immediately went into coaching as he last played games in Triple-A in 1995 for the White Sox and was their manager at Rookie-ball in 1995.

He managed in the White Sox organization for four more seasons (two in Single-A and one each at Advanced-A and Double-A) before he joined the Rockies organization in 2000. He was their Triple-A manager for three seasons before he came back to the White Sox organization.

He managed for them at Rookie-ball (2003, 2007-2010), Single-A (2004), Advanced-A (2005), and Double-A (2006) before he left the White Sox again. He joined the Tigers as their Double-A manager for three seasons before he joined the D-Backs in 2014. He became their minor league hitting coordinator before becoming their Triple-A manager in 2019.

He was supposed to be their manager again in 2020 before the pandemic but in 2021, he became their minor league field coordinator. However, when D-Backs first base coach Dave McKay had to miss most of the season with a spleen injury and surgery, Cron became their interim first base coach.

The D-Backs offered him a role back in player development for 2022 but, instead, Cron signed with the Oakland A’s to be their new assistant hitting coach.

In 20 seasons of managing in the minors, Cron has managed over 2400 games and got to the playoffs eight times.

42) Manny Acta

Manny Acta has been with the Seattle Mariners since 2016 on their MLB coaching staff after he had two managerial gigs in the majors.

Acta, 53, joined Seattle as their third base coach in 2016, where he was for two seasons before he moved to bench coach for two seasons. He moved back to be their third base coach in 2020.

Before Seattle, he was with ESPN and ESPN Deportes for three seasons as an analyst but he joined them after he was Cleveland’s manager. He managed in parts of three seasons for them and he joined them after he spent parts of three seasons with the Washington Nationals as their manager.

However, he was unsuccessful in both ventures as MLB manager as the best record he had as an MLB manager was in 2011 with Cleveland when they went 80-82. When he was fired by Washington, they were 26-61 and when he was fired by Cleveland, they were 65-91.

Prior to that, he was the Mets third base coach (2005-2006) and the Expos third base coach (2002-2004). He was a coach and manager in the Astros organization from 1992 through 2001, which included four seasons of managing at Short-Season A, one season at Single-A, and three seasons at Advanced-A.

43) Kristopher Negron

Kristopher Negron has never served as an MLB coach before but he is slated to be Seattle’s first base coach in 2022.

Negron, who turns 36 in February, played in the majors in parts of six seasons and professionally for parts of 14, last playing in 2019. In 2020, Seattle immediately hired Negron to be an assistant to the director of player development. In 2021, Negron was Seattle’s manager at Triple-A and they had the best record in the Triple-A West at 73-47.

Negron doesn’t have much coaching experience but given his quick rise to the MLB coaching staff, he will likely be an MLB managerial candidate in the near future.

44) Donnie Ecker

Donnie Ecker only played 36 games in the minor leagues before playing in independent ball and he has no professional managerial experience but he is definitely an MLB managerial candidate.

Ecker, who turns 36 in March, will be the new bench coach for the Texas Rangers in 2022 and he will also have the title of “offensive coordinator.” He won’t be the first bench coach on this list to have no professional experience managing as well as having a background as a hitting coach either.

He joins the Rangers from the Giants where he was their primary hitting coach in 2020 and 2021. He joined the Giants from the Reds, where he was their assistant hitting coach in 2019. He was the Triple-A hitting coach for the Reds in 2018 and he was the hitting coach for three years at Single-A for the Cardinals.

His only managerial experience comes from being the head coach at Los Altos High School in California in 2013 and 2014.

45) Don Wakamatsu

Through the 2021 season, Don Wakamatsu was the bench coach for the Texas Rangers.

Wakamatsu, who turns 59 in February, had been the Rangers bench coach since 2018 and it was his second stint with the team. He was the bench coach for the Rangers under Buck Showalter from 2003 through 2006 and the team’s third base coach for Ron Washington in 2007. He joined Texas’s coaching staff from Arizona (where Showalter was prior to Texas) as he was a minor league manager for them from 1997 through 1999.

Prior to his last stint with Texas, he was the bench coach for the Royals for four seasons from 2014 through 2018. In 2013, he was a special assignment scout for the Yankees. That came after he was the bench coach for Toronto in 2011 and 2012.

He was the manager for the Mariners in 2009 and part of 2010 before he was fired after a 42-70 start to the season. He joined them after he was with Oakland for a season as bench coach.

Prior to his first role with the Rangers, he was in the Angels organization as their Double-A manager (2000) and minor league catching coordinator (2001-2002).

Since his managerial job with the Mariners over a decade ago, he interviewed with the Rays when they hired Kevin Cash for the 2015 seasons, the Rockies for their managerial job before they hired Bud Black, the D-Backs before they hired Torey Lovullo  (each before the 2017 season), and the Rangers before they hired Chris Woodward (before the 2019 season).

46) Sal Fasano

Sal Fasano is the catching coach for the reigning World Champion Atlanta Braves and has been since 2018.

Fasano, 50, spent parts of 11 seasons in the majors as a backup catcher. He retired after the 2009 season and immediately became a manager in the minors. He was a manager for the Blue Jays at in Single-A for a season and Double-A for two seasons. He then became their minor league catching coordinator for two seasons and a minor league pitching coordinator for two more seasons before he joined the Angels as their Double-A manager for a season (2017).

The Tigers interviewed Fasano for their managerial opening when they hired A.J. Hinch last offseason so other teams will likely view him as a managerial candidate as well.

47) Walt Weiss

Walt Weiss is the bench coach for the Atlanta Braves and he is another former manager on their coaching staff.

Weiss, 58, was the manager for the Colorado Rockies from 2013 through 2016. After taking a season off, he has been the bench coach for the Braves since 2018.

Prior to Weiss becoming the Rockies manager, he was a special assistant to Rockies GM Dan O’Dowd from 2002 through 2008 but left to become an assistant coach (2009-11) and eventually, head baseball coach (2012) at Regis Jesuit High School in Aurora, Colorado.

He also spent parts of 14 seasons in the majors as a player from 1987 through 2000. He was an All-Star in 1998 with Atlanta and won the AL Rookie of the Year in 1988.

48) John Gibbons

John Gibbons was a special assignment scout for the Atlanta Braves in 2021 and he got a World Series ring from the Braves for his scouting of the Houston Astros in the playoffs, which was crucial to helping the Braves win the World Series.

Gibbons, 59, has had two managerial stints with the Toronto Blue Jays spanning parts of 11 seasons as their manager.

He started as a minor league manager for the Mets as he managed for them from 1995 through 2001, with a season at Rookie-ball, two seasons at Advanced-A, a season at Double-A, and three at Triple-A. In 2002, he joined the Blue Jays as a coach, and mid-season, he was promoted to first base coach. By August 2004, he was promoted to their manager.

After he was relieved of his duties in mid-2008, he became the bench coach of the Royals for three seasons (2009-2011). He was the manager for the Padres at Double-A in 2012 before the Blue Jays rehired him for the 2013 season.

Since he left the Blue Jays (after the 2018 season), the Astros interviewed him for their managerial opening before hiring Dusty Baker and with the Red Sox when they ended up hiring Ron Roenicke in 2020.

49) Ron Washington

Ron Washington has been an MLB manager before and still wants to be one, according to FanSided’s Robert Murray. Washington, 69, is one of the elder statesmen on this list but considering that Washington is still going strong at coaching (entering his sixth season as the third base coach for Atlanta), he could still easily manage again.

After a playing career that included parts of 10 seasons in the majors that ended in 1990, he became a coach at the Triple-A level for the Mets for two seasons starting in 1991. He, then, went to the Single-A level for the Mets but became a manager before leaving to become the first base coach at the MLB level for the Oakland A’s in 1996.

In 1997, he moved across the diamond to third base and he was there until the Rangers hired him as their manager before the 2007 season. He was their manager in their most successful stint in their history when they went to the World Series in both 2010 and 2011. He resigned in September 2014.

He came back to baseball in May 2016 when he became a coach for Oakland. He was promoted back to his former role as third base coach by late August and served in that role for the rest of the season. He, then, joined the Braves at the start of the 2017 season as third base coach.

Washington was a candidate for the San Diego job this offseason but it went to Bob Melvin, who Washington coached under in 2016 in Oakland.

50) Eric Young, Sr.

Eric Young, Sr. is not a former manager but he is also on Atlanta’s coaching staff as their first base coach as well as their baserunning and outfield coach.

Young, 54, has been on the Braves coaching staff since 2018, like Walt Weiss. Previously, he served on Weiss’s staff with Colorado from 2014 through 2016 and the two played with each other on the Rockies (and were often double-play partners) from 1994 through 1997.

Prior to joining the Rockies, he was the first base coach for the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2011 and 2012 and he was a minor league outfield and baserunning instructor in 2010 with Houston.

He was an analyst on Baseball Tonight on ESPN from 2007 through 2009 after he retired from playing. He played with the Rockies, Dodgers, Rangers, Padres, Cubs, Brewers, and Giants in parts of 15 seasons in the majors from 1992 through 2006. He primarily played second base but also played over 250 games in the outfield.

Before the Rockies hired Weiss as their manager for the 2013 season, Young was a candidate for the opening, and considering his success as a coach and versatility of experience, he could easily be a manager in the majors when an opening comes up.

51) Ozzie Guillen

Ozzie Guillen is one of only two exceptions on our list that has not coached or managed since 2017 and not slated to in 2022 but he is on here for good reason.

Guillen, 58, had a 16-year career in the majors, which included three All-Star selections and a Rookie of the Year award before retiring after the 2000 season.

Guillen never coached in the minors and was quickly on an MLB field again as a coach as by June 2001, he was in the third base coaching box for the Montreal Expos. Expos owner Jeffrey Loria sold the team to MLB and immediately bought then-named Florida Marlins and Guillen followed as he became their base coach in 2002.

He remained in that capacity through the 2003 season as he was hired by the White Sox (the team he primarily played for) as their manager for the 2004 season. He was in that role through 2011 until the White Sox traded him to Miami to manage for them in 2012, the first year that they were in their new park and their first year as the “Miami Marlins.”

However, he was fired after just one season due to a poor season and inflammatory comments made during the season about then-Cuban dictator Fidel Castro.

Since then, though, he has become a pre- and post-game analyst for the Chicago White Sox on TV and the San Diego Padres interviewed him for their managerial opening this offseason before getting Bob Melvin from Oakland.

52) Keith Johnson

Keith Johnson is the first base coach for the Miami Marlins and he is entering his second season there.

Johnson, 50, was slated to be the Marlins Triple-A manager in 2020 before the minor league season was canceled so he managed their team at their alternate site. That was his first season with the Marlins after he had been with the Angels organization for over a decade.

Johnson had a 12-year playing career which peaked in 2000 when he appeared in his only six MLB games. He retired after the 2003 season and started managing in 2008. He has managed 11 seasons in the minors (excluding 2020), including one season at Single-A, two seasons at Advanced-A, and eight seasons at Triple-A.

His only MLB coaching experience prior to joining the Marlins was in the final two months of the 2018 season when the Angels promoted him to their MLB coaching staff as an infield coach.

53) James Rowson

James Rowson is entering his third season as the bench coach for the Miami Marlins.

Rowson, 45, has a bit of an unorthodox rise to being a bench coach since the position is, by and large, the backup manager, and Rowson has never managed before. Rowson, like Donnie Ecker that we mentioned earlier, has a background as a hitting coach.

Prior to joining the Marlins, Rowson was the hitting coach for the Minnesota Twins from 2017 through 2019. Under his tutelage in 2019, the Twins hit an MLB record of 307 homers. He joined the Twins after he was the minor league hitting coordinator from 2014 through 2016 and, prior, in 2008 through 2011. In between those two, he was the minor league hitting coordinator for the Chicago Cubs in 2011 and their MLB hitting coach in 2012 and 2013.

He was a minor league hitting coach from 2002 through 2007 at the Rookie-level and at Single-A.

Rowson interviewed with the Twins for their managerial opening before the 2019 season but they hired Rocco Baldelli and he also interviewed with Boston before they rehired Alex Cora at the start of the 2021 season.

54) Al Pedrique

Al Pedrique is going to be the new third base coach for the Miami Marlins in 2022 but he is far from a novice at the MLB level as a coach or a coach, in general.

Pedrique, 61, was a player from 1977 through 1994 (making it to the majors in 1987-1989) before he immediately went into managing. He has managed 16 seasons in the minor leagues including with the Royals, Astros, D-Backs, Yankees, and Marlins. He managed two seasons at Rookie-ball, one season at Short-Season A, three at Single-A, one at Advanced-A, two at Double-A, and three at Triple-A.

He also was the third base coach for Arizona in 2004 before he became their interim manager for the final 83 games of the season. He coached for the Astros at the MLB level for three seasons (2009 as third base coach and 2010 and 2011 as bench coach) and with the A’s as their first base coach (2018-19) and third base coach (2020) before joining the Marlins as their Triple-A manager for 2021.

Pedrique was interviewed by Houston for their managerial opening in 2010 and, at least as of late 2017, Pedrique was hoping to become a full-time MLB manager with the Yankees but the Yankees didn’t grant Pedrique, their Triple-A manager at the time, an interview so that’s when he left to join the A’s coaching staff.

55) Eric Chávez

Eric Chávez has very little coaching experience but he has already been interviewed for multiple MLB managerial jobs.

Chávez, 44, will be the new hitting coach for the New York Mets in 2022 but, originally, he was going to be the new assistant hitting coach for the New York Yankees in 2022.

Chávez was a player for parts of 17 seasons in the majors with Oakland, the Yankees, and Arizona, winning six Gold Gloves, a Silver Slugger Award, and getting MVP votes in four seasons.

Prior to this offseason, he was a special assistant for the Yankees front office in 2015 and a special assistant for the Angels front office from 2016 through 2021. In those two places and now with the Mets, Billy Eppler (assistant GM with the Yankees and the GM with the Angels and Mets) brought him along.

Chávez’s only coaching experience is with the Angels. When the aforementioned Keith Johnson was promoted from his Triple-A managerial post to their MLB coaching staff in August 2018, Chávez became their Triple-A manager for the final month of the Triple-A season.

Chávez has interviewed with the Texas Rangers for their managerial opening in late 2018 before they hired Chris Woodward and that same offseason with the Angels before they hired Brad Ausmus so other teams will likely be interested in him for their managerial openings in the coming years too.

56) Joey Cora

Joey Cora is the new third base coach for the New York Mets but he has a lot of coaching and some managerial experience.

Cora, 56, is the older brother of Red Sox manager Alex Cora and Joey spent parts of 11 seasons in the majors as a player with the Padres, White Sox, Mariners, and Indians. He was an All-Star in the 1997 season with Seattle but he retired after the 1998 season.

He became a coach for the Cubs in 2000 in the minors for the Mets and in 2001 and 2002, he managed their Rookie-level team. He joined the Expos in 2003 as their Single-A manager.

He then joined the White Sox MLB coaching staff under new manager Ozzie Guillen. He was with Guillen during his entire tenure there (2004 through 2011, winning the World Series in 2005), first as a third base coach (2004-2006) and then as a bench coach (2007-2011).

When Guillen became the manager of the Marlins in 2012, Cora was his bench coach there too. After a few years out of baseball, Cora joined the Pirates as their Double-A manager in 2016 and he was their MLB third base coach from 2017 through 2021.

57) Tony DeFrancesco

Tony DeFrancesco was a senior advisor in baseball operations for the New York Mets for 2021 but with their front office changes this offseason, it’s unclear if he is still with the organization or not. But he has been a managerial candidate in recent years for some teams.

DeFrancesco, 58, was the Mets first base coach (and interim third base coach when third base coach Gary DiSarcina was out for COVID-19) in 2020 which is the only time in nearly a decade that he has been on an MLB coaching staff. He has a lot of minor league coaching and managerial experience, though.

DeFrancesco retired as a player after the 1992 season and after making it to Triple-A. He started managing in 1994 and, with the exception of 2008, he managed in every season in the minors between 1994 and 2019 for Oakland (1994-2007, 2009-10), with Houston (2011-2017), and with the Mets (2018-2019).

He managed one season at Rookie-ball, two seasons at Short-Season A, two at Advanced-A, four at Double-A, and 16 at Triple-A (2003-2007, 2009-19). He has a career minor league record of 1778-1551 (.534 winning percentage). In his 16 seasons at Triple-A alone, his teams won eight division titles, four PCL Championships, and two Triple-A National Championships.

The only season he didn’t manage in the minors from 1994 through 2019 was 2008 when he was the third base coach for the Oakland A’s. He also didn’t manage the entire 2012 season at Triple-A as he became the interim MLB manager for the Astros after Brad Mills was fired with 41 games left in the season.

DeFrancesco interviewed with the Astros for their full-time managerial opening after he was their interim manager (they hired Bo Porter) and he was one of three finalists with the Mets before they hired Luis Rojas before the 2020 season.

58) Jim Riggleman

Jim Riggleman is the oldest managerial candidate we have among our 100 but considering that some older managers like Dusty Baker and Tony LaRussa coming back, perhaps Riggleman could too.

Riggleman, 69, started coaching in the minors in 1981, serving as a coach at Double-A with the St. Louis Cardinals in 1981. He became their Single-A manager for the next three seasons before being elevated to their Double-A manager for the following three seasons.

He was promoted to their MLB coaching staff in 1989 and was there through 1990. He left the Cardinals to become the Triple-A manager for the Padres in 1991 and he was promoted to become their MLB manager at the end of 1992 and serving through 1994.

He left to join the Cubs as their manager in 1995 and he was there through the 1999 season. He then was Cleveland’s third base coach (2000), the Dodgers bench coach (2001-2004), the Cardinals minor league field coordinator (2005-2007), the Mariners bench coach (2008), their interim manager (2008), the Nationals bench coach (2009), their interim manager (2009), their full-time manager (2010-2011), the Reds Double-A manager (2012), Triple-A manager (2013-14), and then he was promoted up to their MLB coaching staff.

He was their third base coach in 2015 before becoming their bench coach (2016-2018). When Reds manager Bryan Price was fired 18 games into the 2018 season, he served as their manager for the rest of the season. He wasn’t hired for their full-time managerial job in 2018 and instead joined the Mets as their bench coach in 2019.

Since his last full-time managerial job (2011), Riggleman interviewed with the Reds for their full-time job after the 2018 season.

59) Brian Schneider

In 2021, Brian Schneider was the MLB field coordinator for the New York Mets.

Schneider, 45, had a 13-year career in the majors, ending in 2012. The Marlins hired him as a minor league manager in 2014 at the Advanced-A level. He was there for two seasons before he was promoted to their MLB coaching staff as their catching coach. He was in that capacity from 2016 through 2019.

The Mets initially hired Schneider to be their Triple-A manager for the 2020 season in January 2020 but by February, they already promoted him to the majors. Carlos Beltrán was named the Mets manager but with the Astros sign-stealing scandal, the Mets fired him and promoted Luis Rojas (their quality control coach) to the managerial position. Schneider ended up getting Rojas’ old position.

Schneider’s title changed for the 2021 season as he was their “field coordinator” but, by and large, he held the same duties. He, essentially, was the liaison between the MLB coaches and players and the front office on analytics and game planning. He was also their catching coach for each of the last two seasons.

While the Mets have already named a new coaching staff under Buck Showalter, Schneider’s status still seems to be up in the air. The Mets told all of their coaches that they could look for other positions with other teams at the beginning of the offseason and he was not mentioned at all but he is still on their coaches list on their site with all of their new hires.

60) Rob Thomson

Rob Thomson is the bench coach for the Philadelphia Phillies and has been coaching in the majors for over a decade.

Thomson, 58, was in the Yankees organization from 1990 through 2017 in a number of different capacities. He was a minor league coach from 1990 through 1994 and then he managed for his only season at Short-Season A in 1995. He rejoined the minor league coaching ranks in ’96 and ’97 before becoming the Yankees minor league field coordinator in 1998 through 1999, when he became their director of player development.

He became their VP of minor league development in 2003 and then a special assignment instructor for three years starting in 2004 for three seasons. He became their minor league field coordinator in 2007 before he joined their MLB coaching staff.

He was Joe Girardi’s bench coach in 2008 before becoming their third base coach from 2009 through 2014. He moved back to bench coach in 2015 through 2017 before Girardi was fired by the Yankees.

He joined the Phillies as their bench coach in 2018 with manager Gabe Kapler and stayed on when Girardi became their manager in 2020.

Thomson interviewed for the managerial opening with the Yankees after they got rid of Girardi.

61) Dusty Wathan

In 2022, Dusty Wathan will be entering his fifth season as the third base coach for the Philadelphia Phillies.

Wathan, 48, is the son of John Wathan, who managed the Royals and Angels for parts of six seasons. Dusty was a player for 14 seasons in the minors but he got to the majors with the Royals in 2002 for only six plate appearances. He retired after the 2007 season after spending the final two seasons with the Phillies in the minors. He stayed with the Phillies after retiring and immediately became a minor league manager.

He managed in each season from 2008 through 2017 for the Phillies, including one season at Short-Season A, one season at Single-A, two seasons at Advanced-A, five seasons at Double-A, and a season at Triple-A. That’s when he was promoted to their MLB coaching staff for the 2018 season.

Wathan was a finalist for the managerial opening with the Texas Rangers in the 2018-2019 offseason before they eventually went with Chris Woodward.

62) Henry Blanco

In 2022, Henry Blanco will be the catching and strategy coach for the Washington Nationals after he was their catching and bullpen coach in 2021.

Blanco, 50, is entering his fifth season on the Nationals staff after a few years coaching elsewhere and 16 years in the majors as a backup catcher. He retired after the 2013 season at the age of 42 and immediately went into coaching.

He was an assistant coach and bullpen catcher for Arizona in 2014 before becoming the quality assurance coach for the Cubs in 2015 and serving in that role through 2017. In 2018, he joined Dave Martínez, who was the Cubs bench coach, in Washington as he became the bullpen coach.

In the last six offseasons before this one, Blanco managed in the Venezuelan Winter League so while he doesn’t have managerial experience at the pro level, he does have a fair amount of managerial experience.

63) Tim Bogar

Tim Bogar is entering his fifth season on the coaching staff of the Washington Nationals and he has been on the coaching staff of numerous other teams too.

Bogar, 55, spent parts of nine seasons in the majors as a backup infielder and he retired from playing after the 2002 season. He started managing in 2004 with the Astros. He managed their Rookie-ball team in 2004 and their Single-A team in 2005 before jumping to Cleveland in 2006. He managed their Double-A team in 2006 and 2007.

He was the quality assurance coach for the Tampa Bay Rays for their AL Champion season in 2008 where current Nats manager Dave Martínez was the bench coach before going to Boston in 2009. He was their first base coach in 2009 before becoming their third base coach in 2010 and 2011 and their bench coach in 2012.

He, then, went to the Angels to be their Double-A manager for a season before the Rangers hired him as their bench coach in 2014. When Ron Washington signed from the team in early September, Bogar was their acting manager for the final 22 games of the season.

Bogar rejoined the Angels in 2015 as a special assistant before returning to the field as the bench coach for Seattle in 2016. After the 2017 season, he joined the Nats first as their first base coach (2018-19) and since 2020, as their bench coach.

In addition to being the interim manager for the Rangers in 2014, Bogar interviewed with Houston before their hired Bo Porter as their manager in 2013 as well as the Mets before they hired Carlos Beltrán in 2020 (and then they fired him before managing a game), and the Rangers after his interim gig.

64) Darnell Coles

Darnell Coles is going to be the new hitting coach for the Washington Nationals in 2022 after he was fired by Arizona in June 2021. He will be returning to the Nats, where he used to manage and coach in the minors.

Coles, 59, spent part of 14 seasons in the majors as well as two seasons in Japan, retiring after the 1997 season. He started coaching for Seattle (the main MLB team he played with) in 2000 as their minor league hitting coordinator but after one season, he left to join ESPN as a baseball analyst through early 2006.

In 2006, he got back into coaching with Washington as a roving minor league hitting instructor before becoming a minor league manager for them. He managed at Short-Season A in 2007 and Single-A in 2008. He was their Triple-A hitting coach in 2009 before joining Milwaukee in 2010. He was their minor league hitting coordinator in 2010 for two season. In 2012, he became their Double-A manager before he accepted an assistant hitting coach job with Detroit for the 2014 season.

He rejoined Milwaukee in 2015 as their head MLB hitting coach and served in that position until he joined the D-Backs as their head hitting coach in 2019.

65) Gary DiSarcina

2022 will be Gary DiSarcina the new third base coach for the Washington Nationals.

DiSarcina, 54, spent parts of 12 seasons as an infielder in the majors for the Angels, last playing in the majors in 2000. He joined the Red Sox after he was injured for all of the 2001 season but he never got back to the majors for the team he grew up with (he’s from Massachusetts).

He was a studio analyst for the Red Sox in 2005 and in 2006, he was on the coaching staff for Team Italy in the World Baseball Classic in 2006. He joined the Red Sox as a baseball operations consultant in 2006 before becoming their manager at Single-A for three seasons from 2007 through 2009. In 2010, he was their minor league infield coordinator.

He left the Red Sox after 2010 to rejoin the Angels as a special assistant in 2011. In 2012, he became their field coordinator before he rejoined the Red Sox. He was their Triple-A manager in 2013 before he rejoined the Angels yet again but this time, on their MLB coaching staff.

He was their third base and infield coach from 2014 through 2015 and their first base and infield coach in 2016 before, yet again, joining the Red Sox as their bench coach in 2017.

He changed things up by joining the Mets in 2018 as their bench coach and then from 2019 through 2021, he was their third base and infield coach before the Nationals hired him for the 2022 season.

The Mariners interviewed him for their managerial opening in 2014 (they eventually hired Lloyd McClendon) and the Phillies expressed interest in him in October 2017 when they eventually hired Gabe Kapler but it’s unknown whether or not he interviewed for the job or not.

66) Bob Henley

In 2022, Bob Henley will be the minor league field coordinator for the Washington Nationals, a role he filled from 2010 through 2013 before joining the Nats MLB coaching staff.

Henley, 49, was the third base coach for the Nats from 2014 through 2019 and again in 2021 after being their first base coach in 2020. Prior to being their field coordinator for the first time, he was their minor league catching coordinator as well as their manager at their Rookie-level team at their Florida complex from 2006 through 2009.

He managed at the Rookie-level and at Single-A for the Expos in 2003 and 2004 before the MLB relocated to Washington, D.C. in 2005. Henley stayed on as their Single-A manager, though.

Prior to being their manager, Henley played in the minors from 1993 through 2002 but he missed the entire 2000 and 2001 seasons due to injury. He played one game in the minors for Pittsburgh in 2002 but with the exception of that, he has been in the Expos/Nationals organization since 1993. He topped out in the majors with the Expos in 1998, playing in 41 games but that was his only season in the majors.

The Padres interviewed Henley for their managerial opening in the 2019-2020 offseason before they hired Jayce Tingler.

67) Randy Knorr

Randy Knorr will be the new minor league catching coordinator for the Washington Nationals after being their first base coach in 2021.

Knorr, 53, is very much like Bob Henley in that he has been with the Nationals/Expos for a very long time in a lot of different capacities. Knorr was a backup catcher in the majors from 1991 through 2001, last appearing in the majors with the Expos. He played in Triple-A with them through 2004, though.

When they became the Nationals in 2005, Knorr retired and began managing for them in the minors. He managed their Single-A team from 2005 through 2008. However, from June 1 through the end of the 2006 season, Knorr was their acting MLB bullpen coach. In 2009, he was their full-time bullpen coach before returning to the minors to manage.

He managed their Double-A team in 2010 and Triple-A team in 2011 before returning to their MLB coaching staff a third time. He was their bench coach from 2012 through 2015 before becoming a senior advisor in the player development department for two seasons. He, again, returned to the minors as a manager in 2018 and was there in 2019 and was slated to be in 2020 as well. He managed their alternate site in 2020 before being promoted (again) to the MLB coaching staff in 2021, this time as their first base coach.

The Nats interviewed Knorr for their managerial opening in the 2013-14 offseason before hiring Matt Williams.

68) Andy Green

Andy Green is entering his third season as the bench coach for the Chicago Cubs but he has some managerial experience at the MLB level.

Green, 44, was a player in the majors for parts of four seasons (2004-2006, 2009) and he retired after the 2010 season. Immediately after retiring, Green went into managing for the D-Backs (the main team he played for) in the minors. He was their Rookie-level manager for two years and, then, their Double-A manager for two years before getting promoted to the D-Backs MLB coaching staff.

He was their third base coach in 2015 before the Padres hired him as their manager for the 2016 season. He was with them until he was fired with a little over a week left in the season. The Cubs then hired him as their bench coach for the 2020 season.

Other than the Padres job that he got, the D-Backs interviewed him before hiring Chip Hale prior to the 2015 season and the Nationals interviewed him that same offseason before hiring Dusty Baker.

69) Willie Harris

Willie Harris is entering his second season as the third base coach for the Chicago Cubs.

Harris, 43, spent parts of 12 seasons in the majors before calling it a career after the 2012 season. He started coaching in 2016 when he was the hitting coach for the White Sox with their Short-Season A team before becoming a manager. He was their manager at Advanced-A ball in 2017. The Giants hired him as their Double-A manager in 2018 and he was there through the 2019 season.

For the 2020 season, Harris was the Reds minor league outfield and baserunning coordinator before the Cubs hired him as their third base coach before the 2021 season.

The White Sox (Harris’ main team when he played in the majors) interviewed him for their managerial opening before hiring Tony La Russa last offseason.

70) Mike Napoli

Mike Napoli is one of the least experienced people on our list but he could very easily become an MLB manager.

Napoli, 40, was a catcher and first baseman in the majors for parts of 13 seasons with the Angels, Rangers, Red Sox, and Indians before calling it a career after the 2017 season. He took two seasons off before returning to baseball with the Cubs in 2020 as their quality assurance coach.

He and David Ross played together on the 2013 and 2014 Red Sox and that connection and their friendship from being with the Red Sox is what got Napoli on the Cubs coaching staff.

Before he even returned to baseball to coach, he said that he would love to be an MLB manager someday but after he had some time coaching.

Given that he was a catcher (a leadership position in and of itself) and he played for some of the best baseball minds in recent memory (the aforementioned Mike Scioscia, Ron Washington, and John Farrell, current Guardians manager Terry Francona, and (spoiler!) someone else coming up here shortly in Jeff Banister), Napoli could easily be an MLB manager in the near future if he decides that he wants to be one.

71) Johnny Washington

Johnny Washington will be the new assistant hitting coach for the Chicago Cubs in 2022.

Washington, 37, most recently was in the majors with the Padres as their hitting coach in 2019. He was their first base coach in 2017 and their assistant hitting coach in 2018 prior to becoming their hitting coach. He was their hitting coach in Double-A in 2016.

He joined the Padres from the Dodgers where he was a minor league hitting coach for them from 2009 through 2015 with four seasons at Rookie-ball, one season at Single-A, one at Advanced-A, and, finally, their hitting coach at Triple-A in 2015.

Before the Angels hired Joe Maddon before the 2020 season, the Angels interviewed Washington for their managerial vacancy.

72) Freddie Benavides

Freddie Benavides is entering his ninth season on the MLB coaching staff for the Cincinnati Reds.

Benavides, 55, played in the majors for parts of four seasons from 1991 through 1994 but called his playing career quits after the 1996 season. He joined the Reds (the team he primarily played with) in a coaching capacity in 1999 as their manager in Single-A. He was in that capacity through the 2000 season before becoming their minor league infield coordinator in 2001.

He held that role for seven seasons but during that span, he also was MLB coach for the final two months of the 2003 season and the interim manager for their Rookie-level team in 2007.

In 2008, he became their minor league field coordinator before becoming their infield coach (2014-2015) and then adding the duties of first base coach (2016-2018) as well before relinquishing infield coach duties and becoming their bench coach (2019-present).

Before they hired David Bell as their manager for the 2019 season, the Reds interviewed Benavides for their manager position.

73) Delino DeShields, Sr.

Delino DeShields is entering his fourth season as the first base coach and infield coach of the Cincinnati Reds.

DeShields, 53, spent parts of 13 seasons in the majors as a player before retiring after the 2002 season. DeShields is best remembered, though, as being the player that the Dodgers got in return from the Montreal Expos for a wiry pitching prospect by the name of Pedro Martínez.

DeShields began his coaching career in 2009 when the Reds hired him to be their hitting coach at Rookie-ball. He became their manager in 2010 and followed that up with two seasons in Single-A, two seasons in Double-A, and three seasons as Triple-A manager before being promoted to the majors.

DeShields son, Delino Jr., is a player in the majors and he actually played for the Reds in 2021.

74) J.R. House

J.R. House is the third base and catching coach for the Cincinnati Reds and is entering his fourth season in the role.

House, 42, was a catcher and played in parts of five seasons in the majors from 2003 through 2008 and called it a career after the 2011 season. Immediately after retiring, he joined the D-Backs as a minor league hitting coach. He was a minor league hitting coach for them in Rookie-ball (2012) and at Short-Season A (2013) before becoming the manager at Short-Season A in 2014.

He managed two more seasons at Advanced-A and a season at Double-A before becoming their minor league field coordinator in 2018. The Reds hired him away from the D-Backs after the 2018 season.

75) Jason Lane

Jason Lane is the third base coach for the Milwaukee Brewers and he has had a number of roles in his professional coaching career.

Lane, 45, made it to the major leagues as an outfielder for Houston in 2002 and he, initially, last appeared in the majors in 2007. However, he kept playing (primarily in Triple-A) and started to become a pitcher. By 2012, he became a full-time pitcher and he made it back to the majors with the Padres in 2014 as a pitcher. He called it a career after the 2015 season and immediately was hired by the Brewers.

From 2016 through 2019, Lane was their assistant hitting coach but in 2020, he became their new first base coach. In 2021, with the retirement of long-time third base coach Ed Sedar, Lane moved across the diamond to be their new third base coach.

Given his versatility as a coach and player, a team may want their manager to be like that.

76) Pat Murphy

Pat Murphy is the bench coach for the Milwaukee Brewers and has been since 2016 and has an extensive baseball coaching career.

Murphy, 63, joined the Brewers after he was the interim manager for the Padres in the final 93 games of the 2015 season. Murphy was Craig Counsell’s manager in college at Notre Dame as Murphy was their head baseball coach from 1988 through 1994 and the head coach at Arizona State from 1995 through 2009.

Murphy joined the Padres in 2010 as a special assistant and then went into the minors as a manager with two seasons at Short-Season A and 1+ seasons at Triple-A before becoming the Padres interim manager.

The Mets interviewed Murphy twice for their managerial opening in 2020 before they hired Luis Rojas.

77) Don Kelly

Don Kelly is entering his third season as the bench coach of the Pittsburgh Pirates and he has been a hot commodity for teams with managerial openings the last two offseasons.

Kelly, 42, was a utility player for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Detroit Tigers, and Miami Marlins for parts of nine seasons before hanging up his spikes after the 2016 season.

After retiring, he rejoined the Tigers as a scout for two years before getting into coaching. The Astros hired him as their first base coach for the 2019 season. He left the Astros after the season to join the Pirates.

Kelly interviewed with his former team (the Tigers) last offseason before they hired A.J. Hinch and the Red Sox also interviewed him before they re-hired Alex Cora. This offseason, the Mets were going to interview him before Kelly pulled himself out of consideration for their managerial job. They eventually hired Buck Showalter.

78) Mike Rabelo

Mike Rabelo joined the coaching staff of the Pittsburgh Pirates before the 2020 season but heading into 2022, he will be holding his third title in three seasons.

Rabelo, 42, was a catcher that appeared in parts of three seasons in the majors with Detroit and Miami before he called it quits after the 2010 season.

He immediately joined the Tigers as a minor league coach. He was a coach for one season in Rookie-ball and two seasons at Short-Season A before he started managing. He managed three seasons for the Tigers at Short-Season A and one season each at Single-A, Advanced-A, and Double-A through 2019.

In 2020, he joined the Pirates as their MLB assistant hitting coach before becoming their MLB field coordinator in 2021. That position entailed him taking a leadership position with “technology and innovation” as well as advising the team of MLB rules, in-game situations, and practice design.

In 2022, though, Rabelo will be the new third base coach for the team.

79) Stubby Clapp

Stubby Clapp is entering his fourth season as the first base coach for the St. Louis Cardinals.

Clapp, 48, got to the majors as a player for St. Louis in 2001 but that was the only season among his nine seasons in the minors. He played two more seasons in independent ball before calling it quits after the 2006 season.

He joined the Astros as their Single-A hitting coach right after retiring and served in that role through 2009. For the 2010 season, he was promoted to be their hitting coach at Double-A before becoming a manager. He was their manager at Short-Season A for two seasons before he left the Astros to join the Blue Jays.

He was their Single-A hitting coach for a single before becoming their Double-A hitting coach for two seasons before joining the Cardinals for the 2017 season. He was their Triple-A manager for two seasons before he was promoted to their MLB coaching staff. In both seasons in Triple-A, his team won the PCL Championship and in 2018, they won the Triple-A Championship.

The Blue Jays considered Clapp for their managerial opening before hiring Charlie Montoyo before the 2019 season (but unconfirmed if he interview) but the Pirates interviewed him before hiring Derek Shelton before the 2020 season and the Cardinals, at least, considered him before they hired Oliver Marmol for their opening this offseason.

80) Skip Schumaker

Skip Schumaker will be the new bench coach for the St. Louis Cardinals in 2022 after he was on the coaching staff for San Diego in each of the last four seasons.

Schumaker, who turns 42 in February, spent parts of 11 seasons in the majors as a player, including eight with the Cardinals, before ending his career with Cincinnati in 2015.

In 2016, he joined the Padres as an assistant to their baseball operations department for two seasons before taking the field in a coaching role. He was their first base coach in 2018 and 2019 before becoming their “associate manager” (aka bench coach) for the 2020 and 2021 seasons.

Schumaker interviewed with the Red Sox before they re-hired Alex Cora last offseason and with the Mets before they hired Luis Rojas before the 2020 season.

81) Turner Ward

Turner Ward is going to be the new assistant hitting coach for the St. Louis Cardinals in 2022.

Ward, 56, most recently was the hitting coach for the Cincinnati Reds in the 2019 season. Prior to his season in Cincinnati, he was the hitting coach for the Dodgers from 2016 through 2018 and he joined them from the D-Backs. With the D-Backs, Ward was their assistant hitting coach in 2013 and their head hitting coach in 2014 and 2015.

He was promoted from the minor leagues as Ward was their Double-A manager in 2011 and 2012 and their Double-A hitting coach from 2008 through 2010.

He started out his coaching career with the Pirates as he was their Rookie-ball manager in 2006 and their Short-Season A manager in 2007.

Ward played with the later three teams and a few others in his pro career that spanned 16 seasons through 2001.

The D-Backs interviewed Ward for their managerial vacancy before the 2015 season but they hired Chip Hale.

82) Jeff Banister

Jeff Banister will be the new bench coach for the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2022 after spending 2021 out of baseball but he has plenty of experience.

Banister, 58, was the manager for the Texas Rangers from 2015 through 2018. He came to the Rangers after being the bench coach for the Pittsburgh Pirates for the previous 4+ seasons.

Banister was their minor league field coordinator from 2003 through 2010 and their MLB field coordinator from 1999 through 2002. That came after six seasons in the minors as a manager for Pittsburgh that included one season each at Short-Season A and Single-A, two seasons at Advanced-A, and two seasons at Double-A.

He was a player with the Pirates from 1986 through 1993, culminating in 1991 with one sole plate appearance in the majors.

Banister rejoined the Pirates as a special assistant in 2019 but they let him go in mid-2020 with some cuts due to the pandemic.

Banister interviewed with the Astros for their managerial opening before they hired Dusty Baker and with Torey Lovullo potentially on the hot seat in Arizona (entering his final year and they lost 110 games in 2021), perhaps they hired Banister to be the manager in the wings if things go awry to start the 2022 season.

83) Luis Urueta

Luis Urueta had been the bench coach for the Arizona Diamondbacks for each of the last two seasons but he will be their new coordinator of MLB player development & instruction in 2022.

Urueta, 41, isn’t the D-Backs bench coach anymore because Lovullo said that Urueta and he were too similar and that a new bench would “fill his gaps” and someone that is “totally different.” Eventually, they hired the aforementioned Jeff Banister.

He was a coach on their MLB staff in 2018 and 2019 but had been in the minors with them from 2007 through 2017. He was their manager at their Dominican Rookie complex in 2007 before becoming their short-season field coordinator from 2008 through 2012. He returned to manage the managerial post in the Dominican in 2013 and 2014 before he became a coach for their Triple-A team in 2015.

He was their short-season field coordinator in 2016 and their full-season minor league coordinator in 2017.

The Red Sox interviewed Urueta last offseason for their managerial opening before rehiring Alex Cora.

84) Mike Redmond

Mike Redmond is the Colorado Rockies bench coach and he has been there since 2017.

Redmond, 50, was the manager for the Marlins in 2013, 2014, and the first 38 games of 2015 before he was fired after a 16-22 start.

Redmond was a backup catcher in the majors for 13 years, including seven with the Marlins before he retired from playing after the 2010 season. The Blue Jays hired him as a minor league manager in 2011 at Single-A as well as one season at Advanced-A before the Marlins hired him.

Redmond interviewed with Baltimore in the 2018-19 offseason before they hired Brandon Hyde as their new manager and the Tigers, at least, considered him before they hired A.J. Hinch last offseason.

85) Chris Denorfia

Chris Denorfia is the Double-A manager for the Colorado Rockies but he has some MLB coaching experience and a long career in the majors.

Denorfia, 41, spent parts of 10 seasons in the majors, playing with the Padres, A’s, Rays, Mariners, and Cubs as late as 2015. However, he continued to play in the minors through the 2017 season and he ended his career in Triple-A with Colorado.

Denorfia retired and immediately became a special assistant for the Cubs, the final team he played for in the majors. In 2019, Denorfia moved back down to the field dugout. He was the quality assurance coach for the Cubs in Joe Maddon’s final season on the North Side. For the Cubs and most teams, their quality assurance (or quality control) coach is the person that conveys the analytics from the front office to the coaching staff and players and that’s what Denorfia did.

Denorfia left the Cubs, as did Maddon and most of his coaching staff after 2019 and Denorfia joined Colorado. He was slated to be their Double-A manager in 2020 before the pandemic canceled the minor league season.

He was their Double-A manager in 2021 and will be again in 2022.

86) Bob Geren

Bob Geren has an extensive career in professional baseball as a player, coach, and manager and, currently, he is the bench coach of the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Geren, 60, spent parts of five seasons in the majors as a backup catcher but played professionally from 1980 through 1993. He went into managing with Boston in 1995 and he spent three seasons as a minor league manager with them with one season each at Rookie-ball, Single-A, and Advanced-A.

He moved to Oakland and became their manager at Advanced-A in 1999 and spent two seasons there and three at Triple-A before he was promoted to their MLB staff. He was their bullpen coach for three years and their bench coach for a season before he became their manager in 2007.

He managed Oakland for four full seasons plus two months before he was fired in early June of 2011.

He was the bench coach for the Mets from 2012 through 2015 and he has been the bench coach for the Dodgers since 2016.

Geren has had at least three managerial interviews in recent years as the Mets interviewed Geren for their managerial opening this offseason before hiring Buck Showalter, the Giants interviewed him before hiring Gabe Kapler before the 2020 season, and the Dodgers interviewed him before they hired him as their bench coach and before they hired Dave Roberts as their manager.

87) Dino Ebel

Dino Ebel has a long history of coaching at the MLB and minor league level and most recently, he has been the third base coach for the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Ebel, 55, retired as a player after the 1994 season and got right into coaching for the Dodgers. He was a coach Advanced-A for a season and at Double-A for a season before he started managing. He managed in the minors for the Dodgers from 1997 through 2004, spending one season at Rookie-ball, one season at Short-Season A, one at Single-A, two at Advanced-A, and three at Double-A before he joined the Angels as their Triple-A manager in 2005.

After one season at Triple-A, he joined the aforementioned Mike Scioscia’s coaching staff when Joe Maddon left to manage the Devil Rays. Ebel was their third base coach from 2006 through 2013 and then, he was promoted to bench coach from 2014 through 2017. He moved back to third base coach for the 2018 season, which was Scioscia’s final season as manager.

When Scioscia left, Ebel went back across town and rejoined the Dodgers and he has been their third base coach since.

The Angels interviewed Ebel before they hired Brad Ausmus for the 2019 season and the Tigers interviewed him both before they hired Ron Gardenhire and A.J. Hinch.

88) Clayton McCullough

Clayton McCullough is the first base coach for the Los Angeles Dodgers and in 2022, he will be entering his second season in that position.

McCullough, 42, was a player with Cleveland in the minors from 2002 through 2005 before he joined Toronto as a minor league manager in 2006. He was with Toronto from 2006 through 2014 and managed their Rookie-ball team for two seasons and also spent two seasons at Short-Season A, two seasons at Single-A, and two seasons at Advanced-A before joining the Dodgers in 2015.

He left Toronto to become the field coordinator for the Dodgers and he was in that capacity until 2021. In 2020, McCullough helped oversee the Dodgers at their alternate training site as well.

This offseason, the Mets interviewed McCullough to become their manager before hiring Buck Showalter.

89) Rod Barajas

In 2021, Rod Barajas was the catching coach and quality control coach for the San Diego Padres but he won’t be returning to the team in 2022.

Barajas, 46, was a catcher for 14 seasons in the majors and he caught over 1100 MLB games before he retired after playing with Pittsburgh in 2012.

He started coaching in 2014 the Padres hired him as their manager at Rookie-ball but finished the season as the hitting coach at Advanced-A. He started the 2015 season in that role but mid-season, he took over as manager at Double-A.

He was their Triple-A manager for three seasons starting in 2016. He became their bench coach for the 2019 season but since manager Andy Green was relieved of his managerial duties with eight games left in the season, Barajas became their interim manager.

In 2020 and 2021, he was their catching and quality coach.

Before the Padres hired Jayce Tingler, the Padres interviewed Barajas for the full-time managerial opening.

90) Ryan Christenson

Ryan Christenson is going to be the new bench coach for the San Diego Padres in 2022.

Christenson, 47, played in the majors for parts of six seasons from 1998 through 2003 and he played with Oakland for four of the six seasons. Once he retired after the 2004 season, Christenson was out of baseball for a while but he returned to manage in the minors for Oakland.

He managed one season in Single-A, one season at Advanced-A, two seasons at Double-A, and a season at Triple-A in 2017. After that, he was promoted to the A’s MLB coaching staff as Bob Melvin’s bench coach for 2018.

He was there until Bob Melvin left for San Diego this offseason and he took Christenson with him.

The Pirates interviewed Christenson before they hired Derek Shelton prior to the 2020 season.

91) Robby Hammock

Robby Hammock just joined the San Diego Padres as their new bench coach at the Triple-A level after spending the last decade as a coach in majors or minor with the D-Backs.

Hammock, 44, spent parts six seasons in the majors with the D-Backs as a backup catcher from 2003 through 2011 and is best known for being the catcher for Randy Johnson’s perfect game in Atlanta in 2004.

He retired after the 2011 season and became a coach for Arizona in the minors. He was their hitting coach at Rookie-ball in 2012 before going into managing. He managed one season at Rookie-ball, one at Advanced-A, and two at Double-A before he was promoted to the majors.

From 2017 through 2021, Hammock was their quality control and catching coach.

Given that he is a former catcher and well-versed in analytics (since he was a quality control coach), he could be on the radar for some teams going forward.

92) Mark Loretta

Mark Loretta rejoined the San Diego Padres as a special assistant to the CEO, marking his first job in baseball since 2019.

Loretta, 50, was the bench coach for the Chicago Cubs in 2019, which was his only season in the role and his only season on an MLB coaching staff. Prior to being ther bench coach, Loretta was doing what he will be doing in 2022: a special assistant. However, he was a special assistant in the baseball operations department so it is slightly different.

Loretta was an infielder in the majors for parts of 15 seasons, which included two All-Star nods. He retired after the 2009 season and joined the Padres front office in that special assistant role.

However, both the Cubs and Padres view/viewed him as a managerial candidate as both interviewed him in the 2019-2020 offseason for their managerial openings that eventually went to David Ross and the aforementioned Jayce Tingler.

93) Jared Sandberg

Jared Sandberg spent the last two seasons as the bench coach for the Seattle Mariners after the last two seasons but he was let go earlier this offseason.

Sandberg, who turns 44 in March, is the nephew of MLB Hall of Famer and former Philadelphia Phillies manager Ryne Sandberg. Prior to becoming Seattle’s bench coach, he was Seattle’s MLB field coordinator.

Sandberg came from the Rays organization where he worked through the ranks as a coach and manager. He was a coach at Short-Season A in 2007 (his first year coaching) before he became a manager in 2008. He spent one season at Rookie-ball, three seasons at Short-Season A, a season at Single-A, a season at Advanced-A, and four seasons at Triple-A through 2018.

Previously, Sandberg was a player as he spent parts of three seasons in the majors with Tampa and he spent parts of 12 seasons in the minors.

94) Bryan Price

Bryan Price is going to be the new “senior adviser” for the coaching staff of the San Diego Padres in 2022 after not being in any coaching capacity in 2021.

Price, 59, was the manager for the Cincinnati Reds from 2014 through 2018 when he was fired 18 games into the season after a 3-15 start. Most recently, he was the pitching coach for the Philadelphia Phillies in 2020.

Price is joining his friend, Bob Melvin, in San Diego as Price has served on his coaching staffs before. Price was a minor league pitching coach and, later, a minor league pitching coordinator for Seattle from 1989 through 1999. He became their MLB pitching coach in 2000 and Melvin became their manager in 2003.

Melvin left to become the manager of the D-Backs in 2005 and Price stayed in Seattle through the ’05 season but he joined Melvin in Arizona for the 2006 season. When Melvin was fired in May 2009, Price resigned in support of Melvin. He finished off the season with Philadelphia as a pitching consultant.

Price was hired as the pitching coach of the Reds from 2010 through 2013 before he became their manager while Melvin was with Oakland.

95) Mike Shildt

Mike Shildt is going to be a new player development consultant for the San Diego Padres after being the manager for the St. Louis Cardinals for parts of the last four seasons.

Shildt, 53, was a very rare breed of manager that never played in a professional game. He was the head coach at West Charlotte High School from 1994 through 1996 before becoming the recruiting coordinator and hitting coach for the University of North Carolina-Charlotte and UNC-Asheville. His last stop before joining the Cardinals was as an associate scout for the MLB Scouting Bureau from 1999 through 2003.

He was a scout for the Cardinals from 2004 through 2007 and he also served as their hitting coach at Short-Season A from 2004 through 2005, the bench coach at Short-Season A in 2006, and the positioning coach at Short-Season A in 2007.

He was the Rookie-ball hitting coach in 2008 before getting into managing. He managed their Rookie-ball team for three seasons and at Double-A for another three seasons. He was their Triple-A manager for two more seasons before being promoted to the MLB coaching staff.

For the Cardinals, Shildt was their quality control coach before being promoted to third base coach in June. He was their bench coach in 2018 before being named as their interim manager for the final 69 games of the season.

In each of his four seasons managing the Cardinals, Shildt received NL Manager of the Year votes in all four seasons, including a win in 2019.

96) Matt Williams

Matt Williams will be the new third base coach for the San Diego Padres in 2022 and he has about 30 years of playing, coaching, and managerial experience.

Williams, 56, played parts of 17 years in the majors and he was an All-Star five times and four Gold Gloves and four Silver Slugger Awards. He came in 2nd in NL MVP in 1994. He retired after the 2003 season.

He went into broadcasting at first as he was an analyst for select games for the D-Backs on TV and radio from 2005 through 2009. In the meantime, he was the interim manager for the D-Backs in Double-A for the final 33 games of the 2007 season.

He officially started coaching in 2010 when he became the first base coach for the D-Backs. In 2011, he went to the other side of the diamond and was their third base coach for the next three seasons.

The Nationals hired him as their manager for the 2014 season and was the 2014 NL Manager of the Year in his rookie season since the Nats won 96 games and got to the playoffs but after a disappointing 83-79 season, the Nats fired Williams after the 2015 season.

He returned to Arizona to be their third base coach in 2016, returned to broadcasting in 2017 for the Giants, and then returned back to coaching 2018 with former D-Backs manager Bob Melvin with Oakland. He was the third base coach for Oakland in 2018 and 2019.

He left the A’s to become the manager of the Kia Tigers in Korea for the last two seasons but he is rejoining Melvin in San Diego in 2022.

97) Bruce Bochy

Bruce Bochy is someone that doesn’t need much of an introduction. He retired from the Giants after the 2019 season but he has said that he would consider a return, which is why is on our list.

Bochy, 66, has managed in the majors for a quarter of a century. He managed the Padres from 1995 through 2006 and he got them to the postseason four times and World Series once in 1998, which is their most recent appearance.

He went to the Giants at the start of the 2007 season and in his tenure, the Giants won three World Series (2010, 2012, 2014) and they got to the playoffs one other time.

Prior to being an MLB manager, Bochy was the third base coach for the Padres in 1993 and 1994 and he managed in the minors for them. He managed one season at Short-Season A, two seasons at Advanced-A, and one at Double-A before his promotion to the MLB coaching staff.

With his three World Series Championships, for any team with a managerial opening in the next few years, they’d all love to have Bochy lead their team but he will have to commit to returning from retirement. But, perhaps, he would make a comeback to get a fourth World Series ring.

98) Hensley Meulens

Hensley Meulens most recently was the bench coach for the New York Mets in 2020.

Meulens, 54, was an outfielder that spent parts of seven seasons in the majors from 1989 through 1998 but between the majors, minors, independent ball, and baseball in Japan, Mexico, and Korea, he retired after the 2002 season and 17 seasons of playing.

He immediately went into coaching as he was a coach for the Orioles with their Rookie-level team in 2003 and 2004. The Pirates hired him as their Triple-A hitting coach in 2005 and he was there for four seasons before he filled the same role for the Giants in 2009.

The Giants hired him as their hitting coach in 2010 and he was their hitting coach for all three World Series titles. For the 2018 season, he was promoted to their bench coach and after Bruce Bochy retired and they hired Gabe Kapler, Meulens left the Giants to join the Mets as their bench coach. He was only there for a year, though.

He managed the Dutch National team in the Olympic qualifiers in 2021 (Meulens played for them in 2000 and is from Curaçao, which is a constituent country of the Netherlands) but they did not qualify for the Olympics.

Meulens has interviewed for numerous MLB managerial jobs in recent years including with the Yankees before they hired Aaron Boone before the 2018 season, the Twins before they hired Rocco Baldelli prior to the 2019 season, with the Giants before they hired Gabe Kapler prior to the 2020 season, and he was a finalist for the Mets managerial opening before they hired Luis Rojas for the 2020 season but Meulens was hired as their bench coach.

99) Alyssa Nakken

Alyssa Nakken is the only female on this list and she is the first and only female coach to ever be on an MLB coaching staff. She also happens to be the youngest.

Nakken, 31, is entering her third seasons as an “assistant coach” for the Giants and, previously, she was a member of their front office.

Before joining the Giants, Nakken played softball at California State University, Sacramento from 2009 through 2012.

She joined the Giants during the 2014 World Series as an intern and in 2015, she joined “Giants Enterprise,” where she was part of event logistics, planning, production, marketing, content creation & business development of the health & wellness initiatives of the San Francisco Giants.

At the beginning of her tenure with Giants Enterprise, Nakken earned her master’s degree at UC-San Francisco, where she was also their Chief Information Officer for their baseball team.

The Giants promoted her to their MLB coaching staff as an assistant at the beginning of the 2020 season and when she coached first base in a “Spring Training 2.0” game in late July 2020, she was the first female to ever coach on the field in an MLB game.

100) Kai Correa

Kai Correa is entering his third season as the bench coach and infield coach for the San Francisco Giants.

Correa, 33, came to the Giants from the Cleveland Indians. He was their organization’s defensive coordinator in 2019 and he was their Arizona and Lower Level Defensive Coordinator in 2018.

He came to them from the University of Northern Colorado. He was an assistant coach where he was their defensive coordinator, infield coach, third base coach, and recruiting coordinator. He was  at the University of Puget Sound as a head assistant from 2011 through 2014. That’s where he went to college and played baseball as well.

Well, there it is: the top 100 people most likely to manage an MLB team next, in no particular order.

The 30 MLB teams (and possible future expansion teams) have a lot of candidates but, in all likelihood, a fair amount of these people will be managers soon as since the beginning of the 2017-2018 offseason, 21 of the 30 MLB teams have had at least one managerial change and eight of those 21 have at least two changes (including interim managers).

All coaching info accessed from Retrosheet, Baseball-Reference, and/or their respective team’s media guide.