MLB discourages teams from making announcements during the postseason. The league office prefers that the focus remain on the field until it crowns a champion.
However, the Philadelphia Phillies and Houston Astros had managerial news on Wednesday, two weeks after they were eliminated from the wild card round of the playoffs. The Phillies removed Don Mattingly's interim status, and the Astros fired Joe Espada after letting him interview for the Seattle Mariners’ manager vacancy.
Besides the Astros, only the Los Angeles Angels and Mariners have unresolved managerial situations.
Kurt Suzuki’s one-year contract with the Angels expires at the end of the month, but he appears likely to return in 2027 despite the Angels' franchise-record 100 losses this year. The Mariners, fittingly, are casting a wide net and plan to speak with as many as 20 potential candidates on teleconference before narrowing the list for in-person interviews.
Here is a look at the top 10 managerial candidates on the market,
Joe Espada
Espada was on this list for many years before the Astros promoted him from bench coach when veteran manager Dusty Baker retired following the 2023 season. Espada won two American League West titles during his three seasons. Still, this year’s team went 81-81, got swept in two games by the Chicago White Sox in an ALWCS, and became the first postseason team to finish without a winning record in a non-shortened regular season. The 51-year-old Espada has a 256-229 career record.
Rocco Baldelli
Baldelli is spending this season as a special assistant to Los Angeles Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman after being fired by the Minnesota Twins at the end of last season. Baldelli, 45, won three AL Central titles in seven seasons with the Twins and had a 527-505 record. He was the AL Manager of the Year in 2019, his first season on the job.
Brandon Hyde
Fired by the Baltimore Orioles as their manager 43 games into the 2025 season, Hyde is a senior advisor to Tampa Bay Rays president of baseball operations Erik Neander this year. Hyde led the Orioles through a rebuild to the AL East championship in 2023 and back to the postseason the following year. Hyde, 53, spent seven seasons with the Orioles, compiling a 421-492 record.
David Ross
Ross served as a color analyst for ESPN/ABC for the last three seasons after the Chicago Cubs trap-doored him, hiring Craig Counsell as manager after his contract expired with the Milwaukee Brewers. Ross, 49, managed the Cubs for four years from 2020-23, going 262-284. The highlight was winning the National League Central in 2020 during a season limited to 60 games because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Rodney Linares
The Rays’ fourth-year bench coach has never managed in the major leagues, but he's manager Kevin Cash’s right-hand man on a team three wins away from the World Series. Linares built a strong reputation as a manager in the Astros’ farm system and played a key role in preparing stars Jose Altuve and Carlos Correa for the big leagues.
Jeff Banister
Banister won the 2015 AL Manager of the Year award when he led the Texas Rangers to back-to-back AL West championships in his rookie season as a skipper. The 62-year-old led the Rangers for four years, going 325-313. Banister is currently Torey Lovullo’s bench coach with the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Brad Ausmus
Currently the bench coach for the New York Yankees and Aaron Boone, Ausmus, 57, managed for five seasons in the majors: four with the Detroit Tigers from 2014-17 and one with the Angels in 2019. The Tigers captured the AL Central title in Ausmus’ first season. Though his record is 314-332, Ausmus is considered one of the game's brightest minds.
Danny Lehmann
It is hard to go unnoticed when you are part of the two-time defending World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers, yet 41-year-old Lehmann has a low profile. The former minor-league catcher knows what winning looks like and is said to blend today’s ever-growing trove of analytics with baseball fundamentals.
Carlos Beltran
Beltran has the odd distinction of having been an MLB manager without ever managing a big-league game. The New York Mets hired him after the 2019 season, then fired the Hall of Famer after MLB found he played a significant role in the Astros’ sign-stealing scandal. Beltran, 49, still has a good reputation within the game and the gravitas of being immortalized in Cooperstown.
Morgan Ensberg
Ensberg is one of the most interesting people I have met in baseball. He is smart, funny, and has a unique perspective on many things, and he was a fantastic host on SiriusXM after his playing days. Ensberg, 51, is a successful minor-league manager in the Rays’ organization, and his name is gaining traction as a potential major-league skipper.
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