Heading into the offseason, the Texas Rangers, Arizona Diamondbacks and Minnesota Twins were without a manager. Well, the Rangers and D-Backs have filled their vacancies with Jeff Banister and Chip Hale, but the Twins are seemingly still going to take their time as they continue interviews.
Twins' general manager Terry Ryan hasn't revealed much in regards to who the next manager of the team might be. He has simply told reporters he has talked to "quite a few" candidates and that he's not done with the interviewing process. Based on reports, those candidates have been Twins' infield coach Paul Molitor, Class-A manager Doug Mientkiewicz and Triple-A manager Gene Glynn. They also received permission to speak with Oakland Athletics bench coach Chip Hale, but he signed with Arizona last week.
Hale was one of many on the team's external candidate list, which also includes Boston Red Sox bench coach Torey Lovullo, Indians bench coach Sandy Alomar Jr., Chicago White Sox third base coach Joe McEwing and Blue Jays bench coach DeMarlo Hale. It was also speculated that Ozzie Guillen could be a candidate, but Twins beat writer Mike Berardino says there has been no contact between the two sides. It's no surprise that Ryan isn't transparent about the hiring process because the Twins have had only two managers since 1987 - Tom Kelly and Ron Gardenhire. They won two World Series under Kelly and appeared in the playoffs six times under Gardenhire, making it past the ALDS only once.
"You gain confidence through the process and in that person in particular," said Ryan of interviewing, in this St. Paul Pioneer Press article. "Whether it's from within or from outside, we're going to pick the best person."
As for the Rangers, the team announced yesterday they would be hiring Pittsburgh Pirates bench coach Jeff Banister as their next manager, passing up on Tim Bogar, who served as the Rangers' bench coach in 2014 and interim manager for the final 22 games of the season after Ron Washington resigned. Bogar finished 14-8 to close out the season and many believed he was the favorite to land the full-time position.
But GM Jon Daniels went with Banister and signed him to a three-year contract with an option for 2018, according to Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Daniels also mentioned he was open to keeping Bogar on the coaching staff, but it's unknown what Bogar will do after being passed up for a job he likely believed was his. And it's not only Bogar who might be gone. Pitching coach Mike Maddux might be on his way out depending on whether he wants to work with Banister and hitting coach Dave Magadan has spoken with the Mets and Yankees about filling their vacancies at the position.
The only thing for certain is that Banister will manage the Rangers in 2015 and the Twins need to hire a manager before the season starts.
