Rockies Manager Search: Latest News, Rumors, Speculation on Position

The Colorado Rockies are in search of a new manager after Walt Weiss stepped down from the job after four seasons with the club on Oct. 3.

Continue for updates.

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Wakamatsu Linked to Rockies

Sunday, Oct. 30

Today's Knuckleball's Jon Heyman, citing sources, reported that Kansas City Royals bench coach Don Wakamatsu will interview for the Rockies' vacant position.

Heyman added that Wakamatsu "managed the Seattle Mariners for 2009 and most of 2010. Many people were impressed by his smarts, and some others thought he got a raw deal."

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Black Intrigued by Rockies Opening 

Tuesday, Oct. 11

Former San Diego Padres manager Bud Black confirmed to Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post he is interested in the Rockies' manager vacancy. However, Saunders added the club has not confirmed that Black is a candidate. 

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Hill Emerges as Candidate for Rockies  

Tuesday, Oct. 11

Triple-A affiliate Albuquerque manager Glenallen Hill is a potential option to be the next Rockies manager, confirmed general manager Jeff Bridich, per Saunders. 

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Perez on Rockies' Radar

Saturday, Oct. 8

Thomas Harding of the Rockies' official website reported the team is looking at Atlanta Braves first-base coach Eddie Perez as a possible candidate. Perez "acknowledged" that he's been contacted by the organization, according to Reyes Urena of Venezuelan publication El Emergente (via Harding).

Perez is currently spending the offseason coaching Tigres de Aragua of the Venezuelan Winter League and has been a coach with the Braves for 10 seasons. 

Last season, he won the Winter League title with the Venezuelan club and advanced to the Caribbean Series, where his team fell in the finals to Mexico's Venados de Mazatlan. 

That kind of managerial success was expected from his former teammate and future Hall of Famer, Chipper Jones, per David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution:

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I'm not surprised at all of Eddie's success as a manager. It is just a matter of time before he is experiencing success as a big league manager. He's learned a ton, as have many coaches, from the great [former Braves manager] Bobby Cox. Some of the same traits that made him an all-time favorite teammate for countless players, are also what makes him a great manager now, and in the future.

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The 48-year-old previously spent 11 years in the majors from 1995 to 2005 as a catcher and first baseman mostly for the Braves along with two one-year stints with the Cleveland Indians and Milwaukee Brewers. 

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New Manager Will Have Uphill Battle to Turn Around Rockies

Whether it be Perez or another candidate, the new manager of the Rockies will have their hands full in turning around an organization that has been irrelevant for the better part of seven years. 

The 2016 season was the first time since 2010 that the Rockies didn't finish fourth or last in the National League West Division. They haven't had a winning season since that 2010 season and haven't made the playoffs since 2009. 

Stats courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com.