Let’s blindly reach into the bag to find a replacement for Paul Molitor

1. Brad Mills

Mills has been back at Terry Francona’s side as Indians since 2013, first as third base coach and most recently as bench coach. He was also Boston Red Sox bench coach under Francona from 2004-2009. In between was a two-plus year stint as Houston Astros manager (2010-2012), with 171-274 record. As Francona has dealt with some health issues in recent years, which caused him to miss manager the AL All-Star team in 2017, it’s easy to Mills eventually taking over as Indians’ skipper.

Mills is also familiar to Falvey from their mutual time in the Indians organization. Around a year ago at this time, before Molitor was given his new deal, Mills was reportedly “of interest” to the Twins.

Mills has a lot of experience as a minor league manager, albeit last in 2002. He was also the first base coach for the Philadelphia Phillies, under Francona (surprised?) from 1997-2000 and bench coach for the Montreal Expos in 2003.

If Falvey and Levine want a manager to convey their philosophies in a way they didn’t think Molitor can, Mills’ wide array of experience may make him the guy. His time managing the Astros during a transition into a rebuild may also be a point in his corner.