Who is the best candidate to replace John Gibbons in Toronto?

1. Sandy Alomar Jr.

Alomar Jr. has been a candidate for multiple managerial openings through the years, but other than six games for the Indians in 2012 as interim manager after Manny Acta was fired he has not managed in the big leagues. Currently the first base coach under Terry Francona in Cleveland, Alomar Jr. has also been a catching instructor and bench coach through is coaching career.

Alomar was a finalist for the Blue Jays job at same time Hale was, after the 2010 season, and he was also tied to openings with the Chicago Cubs and Boston Red Sox a year later. He’s been an easy candidate for other openings since, but obviously nothing came to fruition.

Alomar may just be very comfortable in Cleveland, where he spent most of his playing career and has now spent the brunt of his time as a coach. But he surely would like an opportunity to manage, barring specific comments from him or reported buzz to the contrary, and Francona probably isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.

Blue Jays president/CEO Mark Shapiro came up in the Indians’ organization as the team rose up in the 1990s, right alongside Alomar’s playing career there. So there should still be some mutual familiarity, and Shapiro would presumably vouch for Alomar as a candidate to replace Gibbons in Toronto.