Who could succeed Ausmus in Detroit?
The last time the Tigers let go of a manager, they hired his successor the next day. That was after the 2005 season, when then-president/general manager Dave Dombrowski announced Alan Trammell’s departure and introduced Jim Leyland in the same room, 24 hours apart.
The last time the Tigers hired a manager, they interviewed four candidates and ended up with the one finalist who had neither managerial nor coaching experience. That was four years ago, when Brad Ausmus was the unexpected choice to succeed the retiring Jim Leyland.
Neither of those scenarios are likely to be repeated this time. The latest managerial search to replace Ausmus is expected to be long and wide, and general manager Al Avila says it’ll focus on candidates with experience.
“We’re going to do a lot of background checking, a lot of thorough background work, and we’ll have a good list of names that we’ll whittle down little by little,” Avila said. “So it’ll be an extensive search that will take some time.”
On the experience factor, Avila said, “I would say that experience comes in different ways. It could be an experienced manager that’s already managed in the big leagues, but it could also be an experienced manager that has managed in the minor leagues, or it could be an experienced guy that worked in a Major League dugout as a coach. In Brad’s case, he had zero managerial experience, whether it be minor leagues, major league or whatnot. He went straight from being a player to being a manager. I would say the manager doesn’t have to have managerial experience at the Major League level, but he certainly has to have managerial experience in the minor leagues or coaching experience at the Major Leagues so that the person who comes in is well-prepared in that sense.”
That goes against some thoughts in the industry that experience was beginning to take a back seat. It also narrows the field a bit for who the Tigers could interview. The next logical question is how experienced a managerial candidate has to be, and whether the Tigers will seek a younger candidate to ride out the rebuilding project.
“There might be veteran managers that would want to take on the task of a rebuild,” Avila said. “I don’t know that, and until we go out there and find the right candidate, I couldn’t tell you if it’s going to be a young guy, middle-aged guy, or an older guy. I know one thing: I would like to get a guy that has the energy to get through the process, because it’s not going to be easy. It’s going to be a long process. It’s going to be a hard process. It’s going to be a trying, grinding process, and you want somebody that has that kind of energy that can get through that.”
Asked how he sells the job to a veteran manager, Avila said, “I’m trying to sell them on opportunity. Because really, you’re going to be the manager of the Detroit Tigers that’s in full rebuild mode with all the opportunity in the world in front of you. You’re going to be able to go from the bottom to the top, as opposed to taking something over that’s already there.”
But as Avila suggested, it might not be a big sell at all.
“Remember, there’s only 30 [managerial] jobs available in Major League Baseball,” he said, “and there’s a lot of guys out there that want to be a manager, guys that used to be a manager that want to come back to be a manager, guys that have been working in baseball for a long, long time and waiting for their big break. And particularly, there are guys in the minor leagues that quite frankly go through a season like this almost every year; because in the minor leagues, the majority of the time you’re going to have a team that’s not a winning team.”
One thing Avila emphasized was that any coach currently on staff that wants to be considered will be considered, and likely will interview. That would include hitting coach Lloyd McClendon, who was passed over for the job when Ausmus was hired, went to Seattle for the managerial position there, came back to manage at Triple-A Toledo, then joined Ausmus’ staff this season.
“Let’s say we interview X amount of guys, and at the end of it all we feel that Lloyd McClendon is the best guy, then we’re going to hire Lloyd McClendon,” Avila said. “I can’t tell you if there’s a guy out there better than Lloyd or not, until we get through the process and take it to the end.”
Here’s an early list of potential candidates Avila and the Tigers might consider, in no particular order:
Lloyd McClendon: If the Tigers wanted a connection to the Leyland era, he’s the best candidate, having been around for Leyland’s entire tenure. The 58-year-old had supporters in the organization when he interviewed for the job four years ago, and he’ll presumably have a prominent supporter in the Tigers front office this time around with special assistant Jim Leyland. Besides Seattle in 2014–15, he managed the Pirates through a rebuilding phase from 2001 to 2005, peaking with a 75-win season in 2003. His career record between the two stops is 499–607.
Omar Vizquel: The Tigers infield and first-base coach has made no secret about his managerial aspirations, and he picked up experience on that end by managing Venezuela in the World Baseball Classic last spring. The question will be whether the 50-year-old can make the jump from first-base coach to manager. Like Ausmus, Vizquel’s biggest asset on his resume is a lengthy and stellar playing career, lasting 24 years, 11 Gold Gloves and six postseason appearances.
Mike Redmond: The former Marlins manager and current Rockies bench coach was a catcher in Florida when Avila was in the front office there and Leyland was a manager. He took on a rebuilding job with the Marlins and compiled a 155–207 record over two-plus seasons before being let go in 2015. The 46-year-old is regarded as an old-school manager for someone not separated that long from his playing career, but also as a good communicator. He also was a teammate and friend of Miguel Cabrera when the latter was a rookie sensation in 2003, a factor that could mean something as the Tigers try to get Cabrera to buy into the role of an elder statesman on a rebuilding club.
Phil Nevin: The former Tigers player and minor-league manager has interviewed for several Major League openings over the last few years before joining the Giants as third-base coach. He managed in the Tigers organization from 2010 to 2013 at Double-A Erie and Triple-A Toledo before being let go, but the 46-year-old remains well-regarded in the organization and close with Avila, who oversaw Tigers player development.
Fredi Gonzalez: The former Braves and Marlins manager goes way back with Avila, having managed in the Marlins farm system in the 1990s as Avila was rising in player development. He also knows Cabrera, having managed him in Florida in 2007. He’s 710–692 in 10 seasons as a Major League manager, including a division title in Atlanta in 2013 and a Wild Card berth the year before. The 53-year-old is currently a third-base coach with the Marlins under Don Mattingly.
Ron Gardenhire: The longtime former Twins manager was tied to the Tigers in rumors when Ausmus was rumored to be on his way out two years ago. It would be a vastly different managerial job now, but it’s also a different stage for Gardenhire, who interviews for the Padres and Nationals jobs two years ago before getting back into the game this spring as bench coach for the Diamondbacks. His interest in the Padres job two years ago suggests he’s open to a rebuilding challenge. Like others on this list, he’s an old school manager, but he also had a long record of success, going 1068–1039 with six division titles.
Alex Cora: The former Major League infielder is in his first season of coaching, serving as bench coach with the Astros after a TV career at ESPN. He served as the general manager for Puerto Rico’s team in the World Baseball Classic. The 41-year-old has been a hot name on the managerial interview circuit the last couple years and is expected to eventually land a job, but had no coaching experience until this year. If the Tigers wanted to make a hire with a nod to analytics, Cora will be on the list.
Manny Acta: A Major League manager from 2007 to 2012 with the Nationals and Indians, going 372–518, Acta is currently working as the third-base coach in Seattle, where his personality and his willingness to embrace analytics has earned him regard for a possible third try at the managerial role. He has also overseen rebuilding projects, usually riding out the lean years and working well with young players. The challenge will be connecting with veterans who see their waning years spent on a rebuilding team.
Ozzie Guillen: Would the Tigers really go this route the way things ended for Guillen in Chicago and Miami? The 53-year-old Venezuelan would be as close as the Tigers could get to a big draw as a manager, ever quotable and deft at using those quotes to motivate. But he also became known for controversial comments, which helped lead to his Miami tenure lasting only one year. He was publicly lobbying for a chance to interview for the job four years, but was never contacted.