3 candidates to be next Philadelphia Phillies manager

1. John Russell

Phillies president Andy MacPhail previously served in the same role with the Baltimore Orioles, and he hired manager Buck Showalter there. Showalter’s rumored power struggle with Orioles general manager Dan Duquette, and a contract that only goes through next year, has put him on at least one list of potential candidates for the Phillies job.

But I’m going a slightly different direction, to Showalter’s current coaching staff. Russell is wrapping up his seventh season as bench coach for the Orioles under Showalter, after managing the Pittsburgh Pirates to a 186-299 record over the previous three season (2008-2010).

Russell has (or had?) a good record as a minor league manager, including being named Minor League Manager of the Year by Baseball America in 2002 and winning International League Manager of the Year in 2006. The latter award came in the first of Russell’s two seasons managing the Phillies’ Triple-A affiliate in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

Russell was also drafted by the Phillies in the first round of 1982 draft (No. 13 overall), and spent the first five (1984-1988) of his 10 major league seasons in Philadelphia.

Next: 5 candidates to replace Terry Collins as Mets manager

Russell managed the Pirates before they started to get good in more recent years, which was clearly reflected in his record. With the Phillies he could get a second chance as a big league manager in a familiar place, and right at the start of an upswing led by young players, not before it.