After the finally decided to fire Gabe Kapler, who will be the next manager of the Philadelphia Phillies?
After making some big additions last offseason, most notably Bryce Harper, the Philadelphia Phillies were expected to be a playoff team this year at minimum. But those moves only paid off with one more win than 2018 (81-81), due in part to injuries, and after delaying the decision for over a week manager Gabe Kapler was fired Thursday morning.
With a solid base of talent and an owner who is willing to spend “stupid money” if need be, the Phillies have a managerial opening that will appeal to a lot of candidates. Even as a late entry into the mix for a new manager, even if Kapler’s fate feeling inevitable for the last 10 days, looking like they are close to a real push toward World Series contention may put Philadelphia atop the list of jobs for an experienced managerial candidate.
No team with a proverbial head start on a search has hired a manager yet, though competing in the news cycle with postseason games is surely not advised in a general sense. So the Phillies have their pick of whoever they might want, with a sure tilt toward those with managerial experience after Kapler arrived with none.
Here are five candidates to be the next Phillies’ manager.
5. Dusty Baker
Baker was fired by the Washington Nationals after a 97-win season and a second straight division title in 2017, as he lost in five games during a Division Series for the second straight year as well. He has surfaced on the periphery the current cycle of managerial searches, most notably as a candidate for the New York Mets’ opening.
Baker is 70 years old, so he may be content to never manage again after over 40 years spent as a major league player and a manager. But if teams want to talk to him he’d surely have to listen, and the Phillies should already have his name written on early list of candidates to replace Kapler.