It has now been a season and a quarter since Joe Girardi last managed in the majors, but the current MLB Network analyst told Chris Cwik of Yahoo Sports this week that his plan is to return to the dugout.
The 54-year-old Girardi is arguably the most appealing free-agent manager available, having helped the Yankees to a 910-710 regular-season mark with six playoff berths and a World Series title (2009) from 2008-17. The Yankees then parted with Girardi on the heels of a season in which they took the world champion Astros to seven games in the ALCS, replacing him with Aaron Boone. Since then, Girardi has unsurprisingly drawn interest from teams in need of a manager. Girardi interviewed for the managerial vacancies in Cincinnati and Texas this past offseason, but he withdrew from contention for the Reds job, and the Rangers decided he wasn’t the right fit for their post.
Taking over in Cincy or Texas would have meant grabbing the helm of a rebuilding team, which Girardi has done in the past and seems open to doing again. Girardi managed the Marlins in 2006, and though they only won 78 games, he took home NL Manager of the Year honors. Reflecting on his time in Miami, Girardi told Cwik: “You know what, I had a blast with the rebuild I had in Florida. The unfortunate situation is that I didn’t get to see it through. I was only there for the one year. Working with those young players was rewarding. It was exciting. It was fun to watch them understand that they did belong at that level.”
A willingness to join a rebuilding franchise should only help Girardi’s cause as he seeks a return to the majors, but there are clubs with win-now aspirations that could turn to him. For instance, Mets manager Mickey Callaway is reportedly in jeopardy of losing his job in the coming days. If that happens, a return to New York could be on the table for Girardi. As with Callaway, Nationals skipper Dave Martinez may not be on the most solid footing given his team’s dreadful start. And it’s likely that long-running speculation surrounding Girardi and the Cubs will continue if he doesn’t find a new job by the offseason. Not only is Girardi an Illinois native and an ex-Cubs catcher, but Joe Maddon isn’t under contract beyond this year.
Cubs
Doubt it.
Great trade proposal mom…
Clint Frazier and Robert Loaisiga to the Cubs for Kyle
Do the Yankees need another DH?
They already have so many guys who should be DHing
I hope Robert is able to stay healthy because Jonathan Loaisiga can’t put a half season together without hitting the IL.
Schwarber was actually decent on defense last year and besides Andujar I can’t think of any Yankees players that should be clear cut DH’s.
Nah, Kyle starts heating up when the calendar flips to June.
White Sox. This article is about rebuilding teams. Cubs don’t fit the profile and they are going to re-sign Maddon.
And you know this how?
Girardi is a veteran manager. One of the reasons he was not resigned by the Yankees was his lack of connection with the young players. He would be a perfect fit for the Cubs. I think he will join the Nationals though. He made a ton of money with the Yankees and might be one of the few solid veteran managers that would be willing to work for what the Nationals seem to be comfortable paying a manager.
Please god no… The game has passed way beyond guys like Joe Girardi
Not so sure Giradi is in that fossil category some managers are. His got the Yankees farther with less than Boone
Girardi’s one of those guys who still believes blind obedience to tradition is a virtue and that managers are dictators.
On a team like the Cubs, built for versatility and with a pretty free Wheeling clubhouse he’d just be a disaster
No Cubs. Been skipped by theo and jed already. Why would they want him now. Do
The guy is a tool.
Maybe. But he’s still one of the most sought-after managers. Glad he stayed away from TEX/CIN. Prediction: NYM
Girardi isn’t going to jump on a sinking ship with poor ownership.
Mets won’t pay him either.
Great take internet tough guy.
Yes, you are!
What does that word mean. Like hes a hammer , angle grinder, maybe a impact driver?
Wins 78 games with the 2006 Marlins and wins the manager of the year. How does that happen?? Maybe he’ll go back to the Marlins after Mattingly.
that’s actually a good idea. Would imagine Jeter and Girardi connection making that a natural fit. Makes sense
Jeter despises Girardi
What are you talking about?
It’s known that they don’t get along
Known, by which people cited in which source
Known by who? Did a raven bring you this message?
I would thunk he’s a pick to join the Mets. It’ll be like a Casey Stengel sort of case, staying in NY and joining the Mets after his Yankees glory ended.
I kinda thunk that too. Now not so sure.
Actually Casey’s Yankees’ glory ended the day he decided not to start Whitey Ford in game 1 of the 1960 World Series.
Giants
Giants
I agree. I’d much rather see him managing than Hensley Muelens. The only thing is I don’t remember if Girardi ever managed a team that wasn’t a bunch of superstars? Anyone know? Bochy often managed to get a lot out of fringe players.
He’s been patiently waiting next year when Maddon does not have his contract extended. He wants to manage the Cubs I think. Will be good to have a normal manger again. Maddon won a World Series and all Cubs fans are thankful. But the Cubs won in spite of Maddon and his maddening bullpen management and constant line up changes.
Opinion: the Cubs won in spite of Maddon. The very seldom brought up FACT: he was down 3-1 and won a World Series.
Tampa Bay: three playoff appearances in Maddon’s last five years——none since.
Let’s see how many times the Cubs make the playoffs after Maddon leaves.
He seems to be pretty good at what he does.
ps—-Dave Roberts has more lineup changes than Maddon and he’s been to the last two World Series.
Maddon is a Buffoon as a strategist but makes a great Clown
My guess is the Cubs want Girardi, he wants the Cubs, but if they keep playing this well management will have no excuse not to extend Maddon.. Epstein and Hoyer probably secretly wish they were playing a little worse.
Sure, makes a ton of sense for the president and GM to wish their team was playing worse. If they want Girardi and want to get rid of Maddon it would take one phone call and one short meeting. Then, in about five minutes, they can start wishing their team was playing better again. I can really see those to sitting in their offices saying “boy, we need to figure out a way to finish 83-79 instead of making the playoffs.”
OK, maybe not. But I’ve seen this come up in business, having a employee I don’t like but can’t fire because they were doing too well. If they liked Maddon, he would have been extended before the season started like every other successful manager.
Nah—-the trend in baseball today is to replace playoff making and contending managers that are making millions (Joe Girardi included in this list) and replace them with much more cost efficient personnel. The Red Sox just won a World Series doing that. It doesn’t always work, though—-see Washington Nationals.
The Maddon stay or go will come down to money. They will not get rid of him and pay Girardi or anyone else the same.
I don’t usually make comments like this but to say a GM and Pres of a team in the middle of their window for contention wish for poorer production from their team to justify changing the manager has to be one of the dumbest things I’ve read in recent memory.
I highly doubt the Cubs want Girardi. They jumped as soon as Maddon was available, which implies he’s the kind of manager they want… And Girardi is the opposite of Maddon.
Take away the fact that he’s a former player, and there’s really little about him that fits into the current incarnation of the Cubs.
I think he’s going to the Cubs. Showalter to Mets.
Jesus was born in a real manger
He’s going to want a ton of money, for a job that nobody’s going to be paying big dollars for now.
And he’s going to need a more “old-school” GM (Rizzo, maybe) to work under; I don’t think Joe wants the FO making out his lineups.
My guess is that he stays where he is.
I’m not sure where you got that impression of Girardi. The Yankees are among the most analytically-minded clubs in baseball, and joe was regularly teased and derided about the use of his binder full of info in the dugout. I’m not saying any manager likes to be overly-directed by the higher ups, but Girardi isn’t some hard headed, old school type.
Think you misunderstood….never claimed Joe G. was anti-analytical. And yes I remember that teasing he took for his binders; I also remember the teasing Larussa got for his index cards. And for that matter the gruff Earl Weaver took for relying on numbers. The methods haven’t changed, just the technology.
But Joe strikes me as the type that if the GM calls him in the dugout, he’s likely to hang up the phone. And you can’t do that anymore.
Because no GM wants to spend 200 million dollars on a team built a certain way, then have the manager do something completely different with it because of a ‘gut feeling’…
Blue jays … replaced that Taco Bell
???
Joe would be great with any team.. but the cubbies are best fit. Don’t think he’ll go to Mets. Just setting himself up to fail. Good young team but joe is a veteran guy. Cubs are perfect. He was a great yankees manager, and really good with trusting the talent and guile of his players. Wherever he ends up he’s a class act and I wish him well
The DC job should be open by the 4th of july.
True that.
He was actually a darn good manager in NY. Granted he had a ton of money behind him and talent but he also had very challenging teams (often aging and potentially dysfunctional) to manage and in a challenging place and in that way did a terrific job.
(It’s not as if he was replaced by anything better either.)
I got news for you, Aaron Boon has done a heck of job! Especially this season with all the injuries (that just won’t stop) and they’re still only a 0.5 out of first. That’s excellent if you ask me, name me one other major league manager that could stay a float the way the Yankees have in this situation…
Yes, yes, yes and yes. In these days of analytics, we’ve fatally focused on seeing performance as some type of “fixed” quantity. It isn’t; people get into new circumstances, and react. Especially a particularly bright guy like Boone.
Boone DID look like the dear in the headlights last year; this just in, NY’s a tough room. But he grew into the position.
NO ONE could have predicted the success the Yanks have had this year with half a lineup. The real war now is whether it’s Cashman or Boone. Like with most success stories, it’s a little bit of both.
Boone is a seriously underrated manager.
Expos.
Nah. I’m thinking Senators or Colt .45’s. Maybe the Beaneaters if you’re lucky. They are the oldest franchise in baseball after all.
Washington without a doubt! Just a few weeks from now.
Looks like this movement with the younger more relatable to players managers isn’t working out so well
Boone’s doing just fine.
Hey Girardi I know of an opening coming lol it’s for the Mets
Girardi has made it no secret that his dream job is to manage the St. Louis Cardinals. Yes he’s from the Chicago area, but he grew up a Cardinals fan. I don’t know if that will ever happen, but that’s what has always been said.
He won’t take a job during the season. He’ll try for the Cubs job if they don’t re-sign JM. If he doesn’t get that he’ll take another.
I predict that Girardi manages the Cubs and Maddon manages the Angel’s or Giants next season.
Girardi is so overrated. Daffy Duck could of won that many games with those clubs in NY. He managed in NY so he is a “ good manager” no he lived in the media capital and they worship and over blow anyone that ever steps on the field there as the 2nd coming.
Nonsense, they had some crappy teams not so long ago in NY, and Girardi somehow managed to keep them winning. He did an excellent job with an aging core, never suffering a losing season in his decade long tenure..
White Sox
Whatever (other than replacing Maddon) keeps him from breaking up the Cubs usual TV broadcast duo ever again is fine by me. He doesn’t have anything on Joe Buck, but jeez, last night was probably on the same level as listening to Jessica Mendoza for an entire game.
Jessica Mendoza is one of the best in the game. She knows way more about the game many of the other commentators. I cringe at some of the inane crap that some commentators say that clearly have never played or taken the time to learn about the game.
Anyone that’s actually played a decent level of ball can recognize she knows her stuff.
If she could only figure out when to stop talking, she’d be alright….
Calling her one of the best in the game would be a stretch in my opinion, but I also don’t know all the commentators in the game, nor is that my gripe with her. As petrleooo mentioned, its her inability to stop talking that makes her a tough listen.
Cardinal fan of 50 years; I would take Girardi or Maddon over the current Cardinals Manager. The players respect both; both are proven winners. Tony LaRusso, Whitey Herzog, Chuck Tanner, are old school managers; similar to Girardi and Maddon.
Include Jim Leyland and Dusty Baker
Girardi > Boone
Haha. Yes… Thanks to the Kent Merker situation, my Braves lucked out and got Chip Caray from ur Cubbies. He was the perfect replacement for his late dad Skip. He was an even better replacement for his late grandad and all time great Cub announcer Harry. Send Merker and Cubs ownership my thanks. All he did was point out that the team wasn’t performing to expectations during a season everyone expected them to win it all. Even though he was an occasional critic, he was a loyal cubs fan from birth. I could hear it during his 1st couple of seasons here. Now he’s a die hard Braves fan, just like his dad was.
You’re welcome? I honestly don’t know a single Cubs fan that misses him, but I guess some people like the high they get when he uses up all the oxygen in the stadium….
What about SFG next season?
“It was fun to watch them understand that they did belong at that level.” Initially I misread that as “didn’t belong” and thought of the Blue Jays.