On May 17th, the Baltimore Orioles fired Brandon Hyde, giving them plenty of time to explore managerial candidates for next season.
If I had to place money on who they hire, I’d wager on another assistant coach from a winning franchise. Hyde was hired after being an assistant with the successful Chicago Cubs teams of the 2010s and it seems pretty likely they’ll go down that path again.
However, maybe Hyde’s underwhelming ending to his Orioles tenure will make the team’s leadership explore candidates who have already been a manager.
I haven’t spent every day in the Orioles clubhouse and neither has any fan reading this, but it hardly seems like a wild assumption to think some of the team’s issues could’ve been better addressed by someone with more managerial experience than Hyde.
So, if the Orioles do opt for a veteran manager over an inexperienced assistant, these are four candidates I’d expect them to explore.
Joe Maddon, age 71
Perhaps the Orioles would consider replacing Hyde with his old boss from Chicago.
Joe Maddon’s resume is pretty well-known to most baseball fans, but just as a refresher: he won the 2008 American League pennant with the Tampa Bay Rays and ended a 108-year curse by winning the 2016 World Series with the Cubs.
However, Maddon’s success with the Rays and Cubs didn’t translate to his most recent job. He took over the Los Angeles Angels in 2020 and produced an underwhelming record of 130-148 before being fired mid-season in 2022.
While Maddon’s resume is certainly excellent, the fact that he hasn’t taken a job since his 2022 firing could indicate that he’s either unofficially retired from managing or he just isn’t viewed as an appealing candidate to be a manager by today’s front offices.
Of course, there’s also a chance that neither of these are true. It’s quite possible that there simply just hasn’t been the right combination of an opening Maddon wants and a front office that wants to work with him. Maybe the Orioles could check those boxes.
David Ross, age 48
I promise this list won’t consist entirely of people who know Hyde from the 2016 Cubs, but David Ross is another currently unemployed big name worth mentioning.
A 15-year veteran catcher who won the 2013 and 2016 World Series, Ross replaced Maddon as Chicago’s manager entering the 2020 season. Ross was never able to fully find his footing at
Wrigley Field, posting a 262-284 record with the Cubs before being replaced with Craig Counsell after the 2023 season.
Ross’ first tenure as a manager wasn’t great, but it’s still far too early to completely write him off as a manager after just four years and before even turning 50. Ross was a well-respected veteran as a player with championship experience, and that might be the exact type of voice the Orioles could use in their clubhouse next year.
Scott Servais, age 57
While it’s not quite the same as Maddon ending the Cubs’ 108-year World Series drought, Scott Servais still managed to snap a 20-year postseason drought for the Seattle Mariners in 2022.
Servais’ Mariners then won their Wild Card series against the Toronto Blue Jays, pulling off a remarkable comeback in game two to advance to the ALDS. The Mariners were eventually eliminated by the Houston Astros in a three-game sweep that saw them lose game one on a walkoff homer and game three in 18 innings.
Servais also had several near-misses for making the postseason with Seattle, missing the playoffs with at least 88 wins during three different seasons between 2018 and 2023.
Meanwhile, the bad news for Servais is he spent last season in a similar position to Hyde: seeing his team fade down the stretch. On June 18, his Mariners led the AL West by 10 games with a 44-31 record. Unfortunately for him, the Mariners began running out of steam after that and Servais was fired when Seattle fell to 64-64 on August 21.
It’s quite reasonable that Orioles fans would balk at hiring another manager who had a rough end to the 2024 season, but Servais still has a pretty respectable resume in my book.
Gabe Kapler, age 49
Gabe Kapler has a bit of a fascinating resume as a manager.
In 2021, Kapler oversaw a 107-55 season with the San Francisco Giants, as they became just the 17th team in baseball history to win at least 107 games in a season. However, San Francisco’s 107 wins didn’t even amount to winning a playoff series, as the Giants lost to a Los Angeles Dodgers team that won 106 games.
That season is currently a massive outlier for Kapler, whose other five seasons as a manager haven’t even seen him lead a team to a winning record.
107-win seasons aren’t usually something that can happen from a lucky fluke, and the Orioles would be hoping he can repeat that kind of season if he gets the job.
BSL Analyst
Rose Katz is a recent graduate of the University of Maryland’s journalism school, where she worked for The Diamondback as the online managing editor and a sports blogger. As a student, she spent almost all of her time on campus in The Diamondback’s newsroom or at Xfinity Center, Ludwig Field and Maryland Stadium. Rose gained intern experience with the Mid-Atlantic Sports Network (MASN).