Managing expectations, Day 7: Tim Wallach reportedly interviews with Padres; A.J. Hinch staying put.

It’s been seven days since Don Mattingly and the Dodgers mutually parted ways. The quest to find Mattingly’s successor is proceeding exactly as Andrew Friedman predicted last Thursday: cautiously.

Two nuggets from the last 24 hours: Bench coach Tim Wallach has an interview scheduled with the San Diego Padres, and current Houston Astros manager A.J. Hinch so far has no plans to leave.

“I am not a candidate,” Hinch told SiriusXM’s MLB Network Radio channel. “I’m an Astro. I’m proud to be here. Jeff Luhnow, the GM here, Jim Crane, our owner, have been terrific to me. I’ve got this second chance here, they hired me last offseason to do a job and I’m completely content being here. Obviously I have great friends throughout the industry — [Dodgers executive] Josh Byrnes, the one who started me off with this managerial track in Arizona — so I have great respect. They are going to hire a great guy. It’s not going to be me.”

Dodgers director of player development Gabe Kapler is the top candidate to replace Mattingly. Dodgers third base coach Ron Roenicke and Chicago Cubs bench coach Dave Martinez are also among the favorites. Formal interviews haven’t begun.

This entry was posted in JP on the Dodgers and tagged , , , by J.P. Hoornstra. Bookmark the permalink.

About J.P. Hoornstra

J.P. Hoornstra covers the Dodgers, Angels and Major League Baseball for the Orange County Register, Los Angeles Daily News, Long Beach Press-Telegram, Torrance Daily Breeze, San Gabriel Valley Tribune, Pasadena Star-News, San Bernardino Sun, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, Whittier Daily News and Redlands Daily Facts. Before taking the beat in 2012, J.P. covered the NHL for four years. UCLA gave him a degree once upon a time; when he graduated on schedule, he missed getting Arnold Schwarzenegger's autograph on his diploma by five months.