If Joe Girardi wants to manage again, he should have plenty of options looking toward 2020.
In search of a fresh voice, the New York Yankees let Joe Girardi go after a 91-win season and and ALCS appearance in 2017. He surfaced as a candidate for the managerial openings of the Cincinnati Reds and Texas Rangers last offseason, but didn’t appear close to taking either job.
Girardi went 910-710 (.562 winning percentage) over 10 seasons as Yankees’ manager, with six playoff berths and a World Series win in 2009. He also managed the Florida Marlins for one season in 2006, leading that team to a 78-84 mark as he won NL Manager of the Year, but got fired for his efforts.
Two odd exits from jobs may follow Girardi, but there’s no doubt he will be a top candidate for any managerial openings after this season. Currently working as an analyst for MLB Network, the 54-year old told Chris Cwik of Yahoo! Sports this past week he plans to return to the dugout.
If Girardi wants to manage again, he will have ample options looking toward 2020.
After being swept by the lowly Marlins this weekend, New York Mets manager Mickey Callaway is on the hot seat and may not make it through an upcoming homestand. If he is fired, bench coach Jim Riggleman is the most likely in-season replacement, but Girardi would naturally be in the mix for a return to New York.
Elsewhere in the NL East, Dave Martinez is feeling some heat in his second season as skipper of the Washington Nationals as the team has started slowly. The Nationals go through managers quickly anyway, but there’s a chance Martinez doesn’t see the end of the season if things continue to go off the rails.
Girardi is a Peoria, Illinois native and spent a chunk of playing career with the Chicago Cubs, so speculation has tied him to that job. Current manager Joe Maddon also happens to be without a contract for next season.
Girardi seems to prepare for broadcast work as thoroughly as he would if he were managing a team on a daily basis, so the jump back in will not necessarily be a big one. The Mets, Nationals and Cubs are on the early list of potential suitors, with others that don’t look obvious in May sure to come.