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.
