MLB's Best—And Wildest—Candidates For Manager Openings Around the League
If anyone has ever thought about becoming a manager in Major League Baseball, now is the time to apply. There are suddenly a whole bunch of openings.
There are eight, to be exact, and that's not counting any that may open up as a result of unwanted playoff outcomes. And since hiring a new manager is a slow-moving process, it's worth it to go through and identify the best candidate for each job.
In fact, let's spice things up by going a step further: Who's the wildest hire each team could make to fill its manager opening?
Whereas it requires logic to pick the best person for each job, we're going to have fun and maybe do a little light trolling with the wildest picks. They are strictly speculative, but also based at least loosely on reality such as a former player or coach with ties to the organization.
We'll hit each opening in alphabetical order by city.
Atlanta Braves
1 of 8
Previous Manager: Brian Snitker
Best Candidate: Walt Weiss
It was no real surprise when Snitker stepped down on Wednesday. He won a World Series in 2021 and subsequently skippered 100-win teams in 2022 and 2023, but whatever magic touch he had wore off in the last two seasons.
As for where Atlanta goes next, the franchise tends to prefer managers with strong ties to the organization. Snitker fit the bill as a guy who had been steeped in Braves baseball for a decade, and Weiss is from the same mold.
He played under Bobby Cox from 1998 to 2000, and he started as Snitker's bench coach in 2017. This was after a four-year stint as manager of the Rockies that, at least relative to the last three seasons, doesn't look so bad in retrospect.
Even if the Braves make some tweaks here and there, it seems unlikely they will overhaul a roster that has had the same foundation for several years at this point. To this end, Weiss' familiarity with the guys in the clubhouse would figure to be less of a liability and more of an asset.
Wildest Candidate: Chipper Jones
Ideas don't get much more "wishful thinking" than this one, but who doesn't want to see such a monumental Braves legend back in uniform and in the dugout?
And even if it's unlikely, it's not entirely outside the realm of plausibility. Jones has maintained close ties to the Braves organization, after all, and he just got his managing feet wet in the 2025 Futures Game. We also know he can give a motivational speech, at least as long as he can borrow at will from Major League.
Baltimore Orioles
2 of 8
Previous Manager: Brandon Hyde (Tony Mansolino as interim)
Best Candidate: Bob Melvin
The Orioles are going to give Mansolino a shot to stick as their permanent manager. He deserves it, as he cleaned up Hyde's 15-28 mess with a 60-59 finish.
A change does seem to be in order, though, with Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic writing the Orioles "would benefit from a strong presence in the dugout." And even if he isn't a fit in a drill-sergeant kind of way, Melvin does bring that kind of energy as a manager.
As a three-time Manager of the Year with 22 years' worth of experience, he isn't lacking for experience or success. And while his recent managerial tenures in San Diego and San Francisco fell short of expectations, he was miscast in both roles.
Rather than in a room full of well-paid veterans, Melvin's time with the A's suggests he's better off in charge of a room of young and hungry underdogs. After back-to-back years of diminishing returns, that's what he would be taking on in Baltimore.
Wildest Candidate: Buck Showalter
Showalter as the manager of the Orioles? Again?
It actually has come up as a possibility, even if only in a speculative fashion. And while it is hard to imagine Showalter—who will turn 70 on May 23, 2026—back in a dugout at this stage of his life, it's proved hard to keep him out of the dugout. He's managed in MLB on and off since 1992, most recently with the New York Mets in 2023.
Colorado Rockies
3 of 8
Previous Manager: Bud Black (Warren Schaeffer interim)
Best Candidate: George Lombard
This is not exactly a job that experienced managers are lining up for. The Rockies have lost 100-plus games in each of the last three seasons, and the front office is without a leader.
Prospective managers, on the other hand, have to start somewhere. And if any of these types should interest the Rockies, it should be Lombard.
He has impressive credentials for a guy who has never managed before, as he checks boxes as a former major leaguer who has coached under some of the best managers in the game, including Dave Roberts in Los Angeles and A.J. Hinch in Detroit.
What Lombard doesn't have is ties to the Rockies organization, but that should not be seen as a fault. Suffice it to say, they badly need to reach outside their borders for new leadership.
Wildest Candidate: Matt Holliday
Holliday is more than just one of the greatest players to ever wear a Rockies uniform. He's also as steeped in baseball as one can be, as he comes from a coaching family and has even done some coaching of his own at the college and pro levels.
There's also what would be waiting for Holliday if he was to accept a gig as the Rockies manager: a chance to manage his son, Ethan, who just went to the team with the No. 4 pick in the draft.
Los Angeles Angels
4 of 8
Previous Manager: Ron Washington
Best Candidate: Albert Pujols
There's no reason to speculate here, as the signs are already pointing to Pujols as the next manager of the Angels.
According to Sam Blum, Katie Woo and Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, the future Hall of Famer "is believed to be the leading choice for the job for Angels owner Arte Moreno."
That may well prove to be all there is to it. Moreno isn't shy about inserting himself into the day-to-day business of his club, after all, and tabbing Pujols to replace Washington would be something of an inspired layup.
Courtesy of the personal services portion of his 10-year contract from 2011, Pujols is already on the Angels' payroll. He also brings gravitas as an all-time great slugger, and his desire to prove himself as a manager is real.
He has experience managing in the Dominican Winter League and is slated for more as the manager for the Dominican Republic squad for the 2026 World Baseball Classic.
Wildest Candidate: Mike Scioscia
We had to look twice, but this name actually appears as a speculative option for the Angels at ESPN. It would be a ridiculous hire, akin to the Chicago White Sox hiring Tony La Russa out of retirement in 2020.
Then again, Moreno seems like the kind of guy who would make a move like that. It tends to be his way or the high way, even if his way often flies in the face of all logic.
Minnesota Twins
5 of 8
Previous Manager: Rocco Baldelli
Best Candidate: James Rowson
With most of their 2025 Opening Day roster gone and Baldelli out the door, you get the sense the Twins are headed for some lean years.
As with the Rockies, it's a good opportunity for a manager who's just getting into the game, rather than one who's been there and done that. Rowson is one of these guys, and the Twins know from prior years what the New York Yankees know from the last two seasons.
Wherever Rowson goes, home runs tend to follow. He was the Twins' hitting coach when they set a single-season record with 307 in 2019, and it's been more of the same in his time as the Yankees' hitting coach. They have led the majors in home runs in each of the last two seasons.
Perhaps this is no guarantee of near-term success. What it would be, though, is the Twins tapping back into one of the better team identities they've ever had.
Wildest Candidate: Nelson Cruz
Speaking of the 2019 Twins, well, why not Cruz instead? He led that year's club with 41 long balls, and he ended up with 464 for his career just four years later.
Cruz has since gotten into jobs requiring him to run things from behind the scenes, first as the GM of the Dominican Republic's WBC squad in 2023 and more recently with MLB as a special advisor. He hasn't managed yet, but he would seem to have the right intellect and ambition for it.
San Francisco Giants
6 of 8
Previous Manager: Bob Melvin
Best Candidate: Craig Albernaz
It was so tempting to put Bruce Bochy's name here. But Giants president of baseball operations Buster Posey must have seen that coming, as he has already squashed the possibility of a reunion.
The Giants do have a plethora of other options, though, and Albernaz's name is one of the more popular suggestions. It helps that he has a relationship with Posey, as he coached for the Giants when Posey was still playing in 2019 and 2021.
More recently, Albernaz has been coaching under Stephen Vogt in Cleveland. He was the bench coach in 2024 and was named the "associate manager" for 2025, which is as close to "co-manager" as you'll ever see in an official title.
Though Albernaz lacks managerial experience, one can imagine Posey being willing to chance it with him anyway. After all, he didn't have experience running a front office before he became POBO.
Wildest Candidate: Buster Posey
Yeah, we're a bit short of 100-percent seriousness with this one. Nobody has pulled off GM/manager double duty since Jack McKeon with the 1988 Padres.
Still, Posey does have a certain "Fine, I'll do it myself" energy about him. To go from merely catching for the Giants to running the whole team in just three years takes real ambition. So, maybe he's just the guy to break the mold as a guy who both designs and executes the franchise's plans.
Texas Rangers
7 of 8
Previous Manager: Bruce Bochy
Best Candidate: Skip Schumaker
Schumaker is probably going to be connected to every managerial opening in the coming weeks, but it could be hard to pry him away from Texas.
He's already been working under general manager Chris Young for the past year, specifically as a senior adviser. Before that, he made an impression in two seasons managing the Miami Marlins, notably winning the NL Manager of the Year in 2023.
When the Rangers agreed to part ways with Bochy, Young made it clear that the immediate future of the team was younger and not quite as expensive. That wouldn't have been the right fit for Bochy, who's 70 years old and already a future Hall of Famer.
On the other hand, it is precisely because of his time with the Marlins that the Rangers know Schumaker can handle that kind of direction. He got them into the 2023 playoffs in spite of a largely anonymous roster and a bottom-10 payroll.
Wildest Candidate: Adrián Beltré
The pick here was between Beltré and Michael Young, and the latter just wouldn't have had the same "Wow!" factor. Indeed, Young has already been floated as a candidate for the Angels gig.
For his part, Beltré checks boxes as a beloved former Ranger who has started to dip his toe into managing. The 2024 Hall of Famer was one of the managers for last year's Futures Game—the other, naturally, was Young.
Washington Nationals
8 of 8
Previous Manager: Dave Martinez (Miguel Cairo interim)
Best Candidate: Brandon Hyde
Whoever the Nationals hire as their next manager, they'll need to understand that it's going to be a long road back to contention. The team has been stuck in the NL East basement since 2020, and the rebuild needs a reboot.
This is why Hyde would be perfect, and he isn't even that far out of practice given he was fired by the Orioles earlier this year.
Hyde had minimal experience—i.e., one game with Miami in 2011—when the O's hired him to see the team out of its rebuild in 2019. Yet he pulled it off, getting them to a winning record by 2022 and into the playoffs by 2023.
To pull off the same trick in Washington, Hyde would have to work similar magic by getting a largely young and untested roster to fire on all cylinders. Assuming new president of baseball operations Paul Toboni does his job, he could rest assured that the talent, at least, would be there for him like it was in Baltimore.
Wildest Candidate: Jason Varitek
Two things we know about Toboni are that he's young (35) and coming to the Nationals from the Boston Red Sox, where he worked with Alex Cora and his staff as a member of the front office.
Varitek is not only a respected member of that staff, but also an accomplished former player who's been speculated as a future manager for years. And since Cora is going nowhere soon, he may have to look outside the Red Sox organization for his shot.
Stats courtesy of Baseball Reference, FanGraphs and Baseball Savant.
