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Brad Ausmus

West Notes: Angels, Maddon, Giants, Sabean, D-backs, A’s

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Angels manager Brad Ausmus has only been on the job for a year, but the club “would consider” firing him to hire Joe Maddon after the season, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports (subscription link). That would require the Cubs to move on from Maddon, whose contract is up, while the Angels would likely need to make the 65-year-old a substantial offer. The first part of that equation looks like a real possibility, but it appears the second would pose a problem. Angels owner Arte Moreno likely doesn’t want to pay two managers, per Rosenthal, who adds it’s very doubtful he’d be willing to match Maddon’s current salary of $6MM. Notably, though, there is quite a bit of history between Maddon and the Angels. He spent 31 years with the organization in a variety of roles before his managerial career began with the Rays prior to the 2006 season.

  • Recent speculation has linked longtime Giants executive Brian Sabean to the Marlins, but the 63-year-old told Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle that he isn’t going anywhere. Although Sabean’s contract is about to expire, he and the Giants are in talks to keep him in place for what would be his 28th year with the organization in 2020. “We’re in the process of sorting that out as we speak,” Sabean said. “I’m quite sure my Giant career will continue in some form or fashion. I’m not interested in looking to go anywhere else. We’ll see how it develops in the next month or so.” While Sabean was at the helm of the Giants’ baseball department during all three of their World Series wins this decade, he has taken on a lesser role since the team hired Farhan Zaidi to steer the ship last offseason. Sabean spent a large portion of this season scouting, which is his passion, Schulman notes.
  • The Diamondbacks have shut right-handers Luke Weaver and Zac Gallen down for the season, Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic reports. Weaver sat out all of June, July, August and most of September with forearm and UCL injuries, but he made a successful two-inning return last weekend to cap off his 2019. He and Gallen, whom the D-backs acquired at the trade deadline, figure to slot in near the top of the club’s rotation in 2020. Fellow righty Taijuan Walker could join them if he overcomes the arm problems that have essentially shelved him for two straight seasons. Walker could, however, take the ball for the first and only time of the season in Arizona’s finale on Sunday, Piecoro relays.
  • The Athletics just designated catcher Beau Taylor for assignment for the second time this year, but that doesn’t mean his days with the organization are over. On the contrary, chances are “good” that the A’s will try to re-sign Taylor in the offseason, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle writes. Judging by the glowing reviews of Taylor that prized young catcher Sean Murphy and manager Bob Melvin offer in Slusser’s piece, he clearly has the respect of the A’s players and coaches.

Angels Hire Brad Ausmus As Manager

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12:29pm: Ausmus received a three-year contract, according to Maria Guardado of MLB.com.

12:02pm: The Angels announced that they’ve named Brad Ausmus their new manager. Ausmus spent the 2018 season working as a special assistant to Angels general manager Billy Eppler.

“Over the past few weeks, our baseball operations personnel sat down with numerous highly-qualified and impressive candidates for our managerial role. We are thankful to all of them for their time and effort throughout the process,” Eppler stated. “Ultimately, Brad’s balance of connectivity, communication and leadership skills as well as his understanding of evolving strategies and probabilistic approach to decision making led us to him. We believe his knowledge, drive and growth-mindset will allow him to integrate seamlessly with our players and staff and will be pivotal in advancing our culture and moving us toward our goals as an organization.”

The 49-year-old Ausmus – a former major league catcher – is taking over for another ex-MLB backstop, Mike Scioscia. Now an Angels icon, Scioscia took the helm in 2000 and finally ended his reign when he stepped down less than a month ago.

In the wake of Scioscia’s exit, the Angels reportedly interviewed 10 managerial candidates; at one point in the process, it appeared the job would go to their Triple-A skipper, Eric Chavez. In the end, though, the Angels opted for someone with major league managerial experience in Ausmus, who oversaw Detroit’s dugout from 2014-17. The Tigers went 314-332 with one playoff berth and two seasons of at least 86 wins during that period.

In shifting from the Angels’ front office to their dugout, Ausmus will hope to turn around a disappointing situation in Anaheim. Even though the Angels have the game’s best player, center fielder Mike Trout, they’ve finished under .500 three years in a row and haven’t gone to the playoffs since 2014. The club hasn’t even won a postseason game since Trout’s remarkable career began in 2011. A rash of injuries helped undermine the Angels’ efforts in 2018, of course, though it still would’ve been a tall task for a healthy LA team to make the postseason in the AL West – a division which included two playoff teams (the Astros and the Athletics) and the 89-win Mariners.

At 80-82, the Angels ultimately finished 23 games behind the Astros and 17 back of the A’s, giving them plenty of ground to make up during the offseason. With Trout, Andrelton Simmons, Shohei Ohtani and Justin Upton leading their offense, it seems the Angels will mostly focus on improving their pitching staff over the winter. The starting staff is in desperate need of help, especially considering Ohtani underwent Tommy John surgery on Oct. 1 and probably won’t pitch next season.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

The Angels’ Managerial Search

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We’re tracking all of the managerial hiring situations around the league with team-specific posts, and it’s time to introduce one for the Angels. Mike Scioscia just wrapped up a 19-year tenure with the organization that included a whopping ten-year, $50MM contract — a managerial pact that’s still without compare.

As of late last week, the Halos were wrapping up their first round of chats with potential candidates, as Jeff Fletcher of the Southern California News Group reported. At least ten candidates were slated for an early look, with the remainder of the process — and the identities of most names under consideration — largely unknown.

There still aren’t a ton of names available, but we learned more about the club’s approach from MLB.com’s Jon Morosi (Twitter link). Beyond reviewing resumes and speaking with candidates, the Angels front office is said to be “administering [a] 2-hour written test to managerial candidates” that poses “questions spanning analytical, interpersonal and game-management aspects of the job.” Needless to say, that’s an interesting process.

Here’s the latest on individual candidates:

Latest Update – 10/20

  • The Angels have interviewed Rays major league field coordinator Rocco Baldelli, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports and Fletcher confirms. Baldelli’s among 10 candidates who interviewed during the first round of the process, per Fletcher, though he reports there are only six confirmed names (Baldelli, Vizquel, Chavez, Ausmus, Espada and Hyde). While it’s unknown which candidates have stood out to the Angels thus far, Fletcher writes that they could name their next manager by Monday.

Earlier Update — 10/18

  • Longtime big league infielder Omar Vizquel interviewed for the position but is no longer in consideration to be hired, per Venezuelan journalist Efrain Zavece on his podcast (Twitter link; hat tip to MLB.com’s Maria Guardado). The 51-year-old Vizquel previously served as the Tigers’ first base coach (under fellow Halos managerial candidate Brad Ausmus) and has spent the past two seasons managing in the White Sox’ minor league ranks.

Previous updates below…

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Reds’ Managerial Search Enters Second Round

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The Reds are well into their search for a new manager, as has long been anticipated. Interim skipper Jim Riggleman took over after Bryan Price was fired and was at the helm for most of the 2018 season, but the club is determined to consider an array of candidates before naming the next full-time dugout leader. As we did last year with other openings of this kind, we’ll use this post to track the early developments in the hiring process in Cincinnati.

Latest Update — Oct. 20

  • Per Fox Sports’ Jon Morosi (Twitter link), Giants VP of Player Development and former MLB third baseman David Bell is the now the favorite to be offered the job.
  • The Reds informed Jim Riggleman today that he will not return as manager, according to William Ladson on Twitter.

Earlier Update — Oct. 17

  • Ausmus and Girardi are also still under consideration, per Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (via Twitter). Both are slated for additional interviews, MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon adds on Twitter. It seems they’ll join Bell to make up a group of three finalists, per Jon Heyman of Fancred (Twitter link).
  • The Reds conducted interviews with the 12 candidates listed below and won’t speak with anyone else, per John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer. ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick tweets that there’s a growing sense that David Bell “has the inside track,” though he notes that Rocco Baldelli’s interview went “extremely well,” too, placing Baldelli “strongly in the mix.”

Click to view full overview of managerial search:

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Angels To Hire Brad Ausmus As Special Assistant To GM

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The Angels are set to hire former Tigers skipper Brad Ausmus as a special assistant to GM Billy Eppler, reports Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register. In further Angels news, George A. King III of the New York Post tweets that they’ve also settled on Yankees minor league catching coordinator Josh Paul as their new bench coach.

Ausmus, 48, spent the 2014-17 seasons as the Tigers’ manager but was let go at the end of the ’17 season as the Tigers sought a new voice for their rebuilding club (ultimately settling on longtime division rival Ron Gardenhire). Fletcher notes that Ausmus will assist the Angels in scouting and evaluation of in-house players, amateurs and players in other organizations.

Ausmus recently had a lengthy Q&A with Katie Strang of The Athletic in which he explained that he plans to take a year off from the rigors of serving as a big league manager. Ausmus acknowledged that he did interview with the Red Sox, but did so due to the unique appeal that the opportunity held with him as a childhood Red Sox fan with a house in Cape Cod and other family nearby. (He reportedly drew interest from multiple other organizations but turned down the opportunity to interview.)

Paul, 42, spent the 2004-05 seasons playing for the Angels under manager Mike Scioscia as part of a nine-year big league career as a catcher. He’s managed in the Yankees’ minor league system and is a know commodity to Eppler, who served as an assistant GM in the Bronx prior to being hired as the Angels’ general manager. He’ll be replacing Dino Ebel, who was moved to third base coach after Ron Roenicke left the organization to join the Red Sox’ new coaching staff under rookie manager Alex Cora.

Coach/Manager Notes: Ausmus, Blanco, Gott

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Katie Strang of The Athletic (subscription required and recommended) had a phone Q&A with Brad Ausmus. The former Tigers skipper explains his rationale in taking a year off from the field. Among his reasons for a hiatus is the ability to be more involved in his daughters’ lives. Ausmus also mentioned that the Red Sox managerial opening he interviewed for would have been a perfect fit due to a house up in Cape Cod and an emotional connection to the franchise, so he would have accepted the job in Boston. He was unwilling to comment on his interviews with other franchises, including the Mets. When asked about his time with the Tigers, Ausmus mentioned that he has no hard feelings about the way his tenure in Detroit ended, adding an anecdote about his disappointment that the Tigers didn’t win it all. “The only thing that bothered me the most is that we didn’t win,” Ausmus tells Strang. “We didn’t win a championship. That’s the only thing that stung.” The piece gives great insight into Ausmus’ experience and emotions.

Other notes about coaches around baseball…

  • The Nationals’ hire of Henry Blanco as their new bullpen coach finalized their coaching staff for 2018. Blanco will leave his position as the quality assurance coach with the Cubs to join the Nats organization. Being that Washington’s new skipper Dave Martinez will also be coming over from the Cubs, the prior relationship between the two is a definite plus, as MLB.com’s Jamal Collier notes in the above link.
  • The Phillies have announced that Jim Gott will fill their bullpen coach opening. As Todd Zolecki of MLB.com notes, the 58-year-old Gott served as the pitching coach for the Angels from 2010-2012, and has spent the past five seasons as the Angels’ minor league pitching coordinator. Gott pitched in the major leagues from 1982-1995 and had a lifetime 3.87 ERA, notching 837 strikeouts against 466 walks.

Kapler, Wathan Among Finalists For Phillies Manager

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The Phillies have an opening in the dugout after surprisingly removing Pete Mackanin from that role and transitioning him to a front office role. Philadelphia had extended Mackanin just four months earlier, making the decision all the more unexpected. We’ll track the majority of the managerial chatter pertaining to the Phils here over the course of the search and update accordingly as the hunt progresses…

Finalists

  • If the Phillies opt for a manager with Major League experience, ESPN.com’s Buster Olney tweets that the “industry expectation” is that John Farrell will get the job.
  • MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki reports that Dodgers director of player development Gabe Kapler is also a finalist for the position, along with Wathan. Both impressed the Phils with their first interviews, and it sounds as if the Philadelphia brass will conduct one more round of interviews with this pair (and any other yet-unknown finalists) before making a final decision.
  • The Phillies are “zeroing in” on Triple-A skipper Dusty Wathan for the job, per Nightengale (via Twitter). He’ll join Kapler, at the least, in a second wave of interviews. Wathan only briefly cracked the majors as a player, but has once again climbed the minor-league ladder since moving to the coaching ranks with the Phillies back in 2008.

Will Interview/Have Interviewed (Still Under Consideration)

  • Recently fired Red Sox manager John Farrell interviewed for the position on Oct. 25, reports Zolecki. It’s not yet clear whether Farrell’s sitdown with the Phils will result in another interview.
  • Dodgers director of player development Gabe Kapler is also slated for an interview, as Zolecki reports. Kapler took his position with Los Angeles after missing on the team’s managerial opening, but has continued to be cited as a possible candidate elsewhere ever since.
  • The Phillies already have one strong internal candidate in Jorge Velandia, reports Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com. Currently a special assistant to GM Matt Klentak, Velandia interviewed for the opening on Wednesday and is a “strong candidate,” according to Salisbury, though other interviews are sure to be conducted with external candidates. Nonetheless, Salisbury writes that the 42-year-old Velandia is well versed in player development and has embraced the analytical side of the game. His work with Klentak and the rest of the front office should bode well for communication. He’s spent time on the Phillies’ big league coaching staff in the past and has also spent six seasons as a manager in the Venezuelan Winter League.
  • Current Phillies third base coach Juan Samuel has also interviewed for the opening, as Bob Brookover of the Philadelphia Daily News recently reported. Samuel, 56, has been on the Phillies’ coaching staff since 2011 after coming over from the Orioles, where he worked with Andy MacPhail, who was then the Orioles’ president and now holds that same role with the Phillies. Samuel spoke to Brookover about his own openness to incorporating more data-driven decisions into on-field decisions. “If you have something available to you that gives you an advantage over other clubs, you should definitely use it,” he said.
  • Both Salisbury and Brookover list Triple-A manager Dusty Wathan as another internal candidate that is expected to interview. It’s not known yet whether the 44-year-old has interviewed, but he’s spent the past 10 seasons managing at various levels throughout the Phillies’ system, so he obviously has plenty of familiarity with the Phillies’ homegrown players and a number of the front office execs that have been with the club for an extended period of time.

Preliminary Candidates (Interview Status Unknown)

  • The Phillies have spoken with Mariners third base coach Manny Acta, Jon Heyman of FanRag writes (and clarifies on Twitter). Acta, who managed the Nationals from 2007-09 and the Indians from 2010-12, was in the running for the Mets’ job before it went to Mickey Callaway.
  • In addition to a few of the other names already covered here, Heyman hears that the Phils have some level of interested in Red Sox bench coach Gary DiSarcina and possibly former Tigers manager Brad Ausmus. Boston is in the midst of its own managerial hiring process, with the club leaving coaches like DiSarcina free to explore their options with other organizations.
  • The Phillies are interested in speaking to Rockies bench coach Mike Redmond, per Heyman. There’s been no definitive word of an interview, but the former Marlins manager has been building his dugout resume since calling it quits as a player back in 2010. At 46, he’d give the Phillies a considerably younger voice than they’ve had under recent skippers like Mackanin, Ryne Sandberg and Charlie Manuel.

Not in the Mix/No Longer in Consideration

  • Ryan Lawrence of PhillyVoice.com reported recently that the Phillies won’t consider bench coach Larry Bowa or former GM Ruben Amaro Jr. for the post. Klentak has stated a desire for a “new voice” and a “new style” in the dugout, Lawrence notes, which wouldn’t be accomplished with the 71-year-old Bowa. As for Amaro, while he’d been previously connected to the role and is reportedly on the Tigers’ radar, Lawrence definitively characterized the chances of Amaro being on the team’s radar as nonexistent.
  • USA Today’s Bob Nightengale tweets that Phil Nevin is no longer in the running after interviewing recently. FanRag’s Jon Heyman tweets that Athletics third base coach Chip Hale, who also interviewed for the Philadelphia vacancy, has been eliminated from the running as well.
  • Indians pitching coach Mickey Callaway interviewed for the post but has since been hired as the new manager of the Mets.

Mets Complete Five First-Round Managerial Interviews

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The Mets formally removed Terry Collins from his post as manager earlier this month, shifting him to a front office role and embarking on a search to replace the longest-tenured manager in franchise history. Since that time, they’ve been connected to a flurry of names, some speculatively and others more definitively. Reportedly, the Mets began interviewing candidates earlier this week.

As we’ve done with the Tigers, Phillies, and Red Sox, we’ll house all of the managerial chatter for the Mets in one place and update accordingly as candidates either further their case or are removed from consideration. Here’s where the Mets’ search stands, at present:

Latest Updates

  • The Mets appear to have wrapped up their first round of interviews, per Marc Carig of Newsday (via Twitter). New York doesn’t have plans to meet with Indians coach Sandy Alomar Jr., though Mike Puma of the New York Post hears Alomar or even other candidates could conceivably still enter the picture.
  • What is clear at this point is that there’s a slate of five candidates to have completed first-round interviews: Joe McEwing, Kevin Long, Alex Cora, Mickey Callaway, and Manny Acta. As Evan Drellich of the Boston Herald writes, though, the expectation remains that Cora will end up getting the Red Sox’ job, which would potentially knock the field back to four. There’s no indication as of yet as to which of these candidates will be brought back for a second meeting, though Puma says that process will begin next week.

Will Interview/Have Interviewed

  • White Sox bench coach Joe McEwing has had his interview, as Mike Puma of the New York Post recently reported (via Twitter).  The former big league utilityman has been in the Chicago organization since 2008, working as a minor league coach and manager before being promoted to the big league coaching staff; McEwing served as the bench coach last season after five years as the Sos third base coach.
  • Mets hitting coach Kevin Long has interviewed for the position, as Mike Puma of the New York Post first reported. Long has minor league managerial experience in addition to 11 seasons as a Major League hitting coach (2007-14 with the Yankees, 2015-17 with the Mets). Long, Puma writes, has earned the trust of the Mets’ front office with his communication skills and grasp of analytics. He’s not currently signed beyond the 2017 season. [Update: Long has had his interview, Newsday’s Marc Carig tweets.]
  • ESPN’s Marly Rivera reports that Astros bench coach Alex Cora is part of the Mets’ first wave of managerial interviews (Twitter link). Cora has experience managing in winter ball in addition to his current role as Houston’s bench coach and is a coveted managerial candidate; he’s also reportedly set for an interview with the Tigers and has been connected to the Red Sox as well.
  • The Mets sat down with Indians pitching coach Mickey Callaway on Wednesday, per Mike Puma of the New York Post (via Twitter). Previously, we had learned that the team was “expected to show interest” in Callaway, as Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic tweeted. Callaway is regarded as one of the game’s best in his current role, but he’s beginning to garner managerial interest around the game as well.
  • New York is also interviewing Manny Acta, per ESPN.com’s Buster Olney (via Twitter). Acta is currently the Mariners’ third base coach — a position he once held with the Mets — and has previously skippered the Nationals and Indians.

Not in the Mix/No Longer in Consideration

  • While the Mets had “serious interest” in recently dismissed Tigers manager Brad Ausmus, according to Peter Gammons (Twitter link), that was evidently not reciprocal. Ausmus has decided not to pursue the position. Former White Sox skipper Robin Ventura, too, is said not to have much interest in the opportunity. (Ventura tells Puma that he was not specifically rejecting interest from the Mets. Rather, he is “not pursuing any of the [current managerial] openings,” he says.) Likewise, Dodgers bench coach Bob Geren and A’s third base coach Chip Hale aren’t under consideration, per Marc Carig of Newsday. Those potential candidates were among the preliminary names under consideration, as listed by Carig (with FanRag’s Jon Heyman, the New York Post’s Mike Puma, and Kristie Ackert of the New York Daily News also reporting).
  • One other previously cited possibility, Indians first base coach Sandy Alomar Jr., is not presently scheduled to meet with the team as it moves to second-round interviews, Carig tweets. But it’s at least theoretically possible still that he or others could yet be considered, Puma writes.
  • Carig reports that the Mets don’t have interest in pursuing recently fired Red Sox skipper John Farrell (Twitter link).
  • Rays third base coach Charlie Montoyo, who had previously been rumored to be in the mix for the job, is not a consideration according to Puma (on Twitter).

The Red Sox’ Managerial Search

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After back-to-back early postseason exits in the ALDS, the Red Sox decided to part ways with manager John Farrell.  There was already speculation before the dismissal that Farrell was on the hot seat, and the rumor mill has only picked up speed now that Boston’s search has officially begun.  President of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski will now have his first opportunity to personally hire a manager since joining the Red Sox in the summer of 2015.

As we’ve done with the Tigers, Mets, and Phillies, we’ll begin to house all of the managerial chatter for the Red Sox in one place and update accordingly as candidates either further their case or are removed from consideration. Here’s where Boston’s search stands, at present:

Latest Updates

  • The club is expected to conduct a second round of interviews before making any offers of employment, per Evan Drellich of NBC Sports Boston (via Twitter). There’s a sense inside the organization, though, that Cora is the front-runner, Drellich further writes. ESPN.com’s Buster Olney (Twitter link) hears that both Cora and Ausmus are “at the center of conversations,” with expectations being that it won’t take long to name a new manager.

Will Interview/Have Interviewed

  • Recently departed Tigers skipper Brad Ausmus has interviewed for the position, as Chad Jennings of the Boston Herald reported on Twitter and we covered further in another post.
  • Astros bench coach Alex Cora is expected to interview with the Sox on Sunday, Dan Shaughnessy of the Boston Globe reports.  He’s Boston’s top candidate for the job, per Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (on Twitter). Cora is also expected to interview for the Tigers and Mets openings.  Though Cora is still in the midst of his first coaching stint on a big league staff, the 41-year-old has long been considered a promising managerial candidate, previously receiving interviews for openings with the Diamondbacks, Marlins, Nationals and Padres in recent years.  Cora enjoyed a 14-year career in the big leagues (including a stint with the Red Sox from 2005-08) before moving on to work as an analyst for ESPN and ESPN Deportes, and as a general manager in the Puerto Rican Baseball League.
  • The Red Sox have requested the Diamondbacks’ permission to interview bench coach Ron Gardenhire, Rosenthal tweets; he’s expected to chat with the team later this week, per Pete Abraham of the Boston Globe (via Twitter). The former Twins manager is one of the “final three” candidates for the job, according to Charley Walters of the St. Paul Pioneer Press (via Twitter)

Preliminary Candidates (Interview Status Unknown)

  • In addition to Ausmus, Indians first base coach Sandy Alomar Jr., Dodgers bench coach Bob Geren, Giants hitting coach Hensley Meulens have all been mentioned as likely or speculative candidates by several reporters (including Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe, NBCSports.com’s Evan Drellich and the Boston Herald’s Chad Jennings).  Ausmus may be a particular name to watch, as Dombrowski hired him as Detroit’s manager after the 2013 season and (according to Peter Gammons) Ausmus delivered a very strong performance when interviewing for Boston’s last managerial opening in the 2012-13 offseason.

Not in the Mix/No Longer in Consideration

  • Current members of the Red Sox coaching staff have been told that they are free to look for jobs outside the organization.  When asked if an internal candidate could be hired, Dombrowski said “most likely not, but I’m not going to say for sure not.”  This would more or less seem to rule out names like bench coach Gary DiSarcina, hitting coach Chili Davis or third base coach Brian Butterfield, who have all been linked to previous managerial openings in the past.
  • Dombrowski also expressed a preference for candidates with past managerial or coaching experience on a Major League staff, so longtime Red Sox catcher and current Dombrowski special assistant Jason Varitek doesn’t seem to be in the running.

Brad Ausmus Interviews With Red Sox, Is Not Interested In Mets

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Since losing his job as the Tigers skipper  a few weeks back, Brad Ausmus has drawn quite a lot of interest from other organizations looking to replace outgoing managers. Ausmus interviewed today with the Red Sox, per Chad Jennings of the Boston Herald (via Twitter), but has pulled out of the running for the Mets’ job, according to Jon Heyman of Fan Rag.

Boston recently announced that it would move on from manager John Farrell, opening one of the game’s premium posts. President of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski hired Ausmus to his former job in Detroit, leading to immediate speculation about a possible match.

While some believe that others are more likely to earn the position — Alex Cora, in particular, has drawn plenty of attention — there’s obvious reason to suspect that Ausmus will be strongly considered. We have been tracking the early-stage developments in Boston’s search right here.

As for the Mets’ job, it’s interesting to hear that Ausmus has pulled out of the hunt before meeting with the organization or landing elsewhere. New York was said to have real interest in Ausmus, and certainly has a talent-laden roster in spite of an undeniably rough 2017 campaign. Of course, we don’t know just what considerations Ausmus is bringing to bear on the situation; as Heyman notes, he does have particular ties to the broader area surrounding Boston, though New York is the next closest MLB city to that particular region (and is even closer to Ausmus’s hometown of New Haven, Connecticut).

In any event, that leaves New York considering a variety of alternatives. One other notable former MLB skipper that won’t be under consideration, it seems, is former White Sox manager Robin Ventura. He “does not appear to have a strong interest” in the Mets’ job, per Heyman’s report, despite being mentioned as a possible candidate previously. The team’s other candidates (including Cora) are covered in this omnibus post on the search for a Terry Collins replacement.

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