A few days after making their list of finalists known, the Marlins have found their next manager.
In the second managerial hiring of this offseason, the Marlins chose Skip Schumaker over Joe Espada (Astros), Matt Quatraro (Rays), and Luis Rojas (Yankees) as their successor to Don Mattingly.
An 11-year major league veteran, Schumaker has coached with the Padres and Cardinals since the 2018 season. From 2018-2019, Schumaker was the first base coach for the Padres, and in 2020-2021, he served as the associate manager for the club. He joined St. Louis as their bench coach prior to the 2022 season.
What does this have to do with the White Sox? Well, Joe Espada – who was named a finalist for the Marlins’ position in recent days – has also been connected to the White Sox pretty heavily.
According to a previous report by Heyman, Espada already received an interview with the White Sox on October 12. It has since been revealed that the organization was “impressed” with Espada’s interview, and a decision on the team’s next manager could come by the end of the month. The recent rumblings out of Miami looked to pose some competition to the White Sox – at this point, however, it’s clear that the White Sox and Royals would be the only two current suitors for Espada.
We likely won’t get much clarity on Espada’s future until after the World Series ends. However, until then, teams are still free to conduct managerial interviews, so be on the lookout for rumors in the coming days.
Given that the White Sox still haven’t found their next manager, it could be likely that they are targeting someone who is left in the playoffs – both Espada and Phillies’ hitting coach Kevin Long (who has been rumored to be connected to managerial openings in recent days) fit this description.
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I sure hope the Sox are not deliberately waiting to hire the next manager just to drive down a candidates asking price. This would be so typical White Sox.
I understand there is only 30 of these jobs available…. but Sox have a well established history of dysfunction/negativity. Plus an owner with bad track record that is not only well earned, but also warranted. And, with recent events/comments… Any decent candidate will really think twice about coming to the Southside. If the Sox truly want what Hahn claimed… they are going to have overpay.