Detroit Tigers: Managerial search seemingly going to take some time

The Detroit Tigers are on the hunt for a manager, but with some recent rumors, it may take some time to settle in on a candidate for the job.

In a shocking announcement just before the Detroit Tigers 2020 season ended, former manager Ron Gardenhire retired, stepping away from baseball in the best interest of his health. Now that the organization finished up the 2020 season, the organization will be on the hunt.

As they have already made some announcements on who will be interviewed, it seems like this will take some time to get through. There are some in-house candidates like Ramón Santiago, who could be given a chance, or even Lloyd McClendon, who holds the interim tag.

Beyond the organization, two PR-nightmare candidates in former Houston Astros manager A.J. Hinch or former Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora will be given interviews.

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Hiring either of these two would make things difficult for the Tigers and create controversy, but Hinch needs to be considered as he could make for a phenomenal manager.

Given Cora’s involvement with sign-stealing debacles with BOTH, the Astros, and Red Sox, he should be left alone.

Trying to pitch the idea of Cora seems like a tough-go. In contrast, Hinch reportedly admitted his involvement, stressing he did not fully realize what was happening but recognizes that he should have stepped in and done something.

The sign-stealing debate on whether it clouds Cora or Hinch’s chances can be saved for another time because they are just two of the candidates being interviewed for the position.

Mixed with these candidates, the Tigers were reported (via a recent Detroit Free Press article) to have interest in Los Angeles Dodgers’ first-base coach George Lombard. The Tigers will likely have to wait until the Dodgers postseason run ends to conduct that interview.

Especially since the Dodgers are in the postseason bubble and Lombard is in that bubble, they will either conduct virtual interviews or wait until after the postseason race. Nonetheless, there are many possible candidates, and the Tigers will need to be thorough and mull over the decision for some time.

The process may take time, and the organization will take time to make sure they make a smart decision. While the Tigers are not a winning ball club and they are trying to complete a rebuild, so choosing the best manager is crucial.

If the managerial search drones on for a bit and takes some time, that should be considered as okay because the Detroit Tigers need to ensure they have the best man for the job.