Tampa Bay Rays president of baseball operations Matt Silverman announced the three finalists for the team's manager vacancy last week. Bench coach Dave Martinez was not one of them, which means he could be leaving the organization.
The finalists for the job are Raul Ibanez (who has yet to officially retire as a player), Cleveland Indians' bullpen coach Kevin Cash and former manager Don Wakamatsu. One of these three men will replace Joe Maddon as the team's manager, but they also might be losing their bench coach.
Dave Martinez, who served as bench coach for seven years under Maddon, did not make it to the final round of candidates along with Barry Larkin, Doug Glanville, Manny Acta, Craig Counsell, Ron Wotus and Charlie Montoyo. Despite working within the Rays' organization, Martinez and Montoyo (the team's Triple-A affiliate manager) failed to make it beyond the initial round of interviews.
"The decision on Dave Martinez was especially difficult," Silverman said in a statement. "He's played a key role in our organization's evolution, and he's done all he can to put himself in position to be a manager. In the end, we determined that our clubhouse would best benefit from a new voice that will add to our already strong and cohesive culture."
Now that Martinez has been passed up for the job, it's speculated he could join Maddon's staff on the Chicago Cubs. Maddon has yet to completely round off his coaching staff and Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times hints at a Maddon-Martinez reunion with the Cubs.
"Martinez, who interviewed for the Cubs' managing vacancy that went to Rick Renteria a year ago, was 'very, very disappointed,' according to a report out of Tampa, and seems the unlikeliest among Rays coaches to remain under a manager hired from outside the organization."
Being that the Cubs don't want to align themselves with more controversy, team officials declined to comment on the possibility of Martinez joining the coaching staff because he remains under contract with the Rays. The MLB is currently investigating whether or not the Cubs tampered with Maddon and coaxed him to come to the Cubs before he opted out of his contract with the Rays.
It's hard to believe Martinez will remain with the Rays, especially since Ibanez has absolutely no coaching experience, Cash has only been the Indians' bullpen coach for two seasons, and Wakamatsu's only manager job ended after 127-147 record in Seattle from 2009-2010 (and he's the most qualified candidate).
Silverman noted he'd like to have the vacancy filled by Thanksgiving, so we can see a new Rays manager this week.
