President of Baseball Operations Chris Antonetti and General Manager Mike Chernoff are casting a wide net to find the next manager of the Guardians — a very wide net.
Antonetti, Chernoff and Terry Francona wrapped up 2023 on Oct. 3 with a news conference at which Francona officially retired as manager after 11 years in the dugout. Antonetti used the opportunity to announce Francona will remain with the organization in a role still to be defined.
“Tito and I and Mike have contemplated at different points in the past, whenever he got to the point that he would step aside as manager, that we would love to have him continue to work in some capacity in the organization,” Antonetti said. “Exactly what that looks like, we’ll take some time to figure out. We don’t have clear parameters around that, but he’ll stay engaged with the organization in some way. But the first priority is Tito getting healthy, taking care of himself, and then at the right time we’ll talk about what’s next.”
Francona, 64, is having his right shoulder replaced. He also needs operations to repair two hernias. He said surgery is scheduled for Oct. 11 at Cleveland Clinic.
“I never was real concerned about the word retire,” Francona said. “I guess when you say retire, it’s like well, you’re going home and not doing anything. I know I need to go home and get healthy and see what I miss about our game and then maybe after some time see the best way to maybe quench that appetite, whatever it is.
“I don’t foresee managing, again. I don’t have a crystal ball. Nobody does. Because if I was going to manage, I like doing it here, but I also don’t want to just turn away from the game.”
Antonetti said he knew in August that Francona would retire when the current season ended. He would not reveal who is the leading prospect to replace him, but some names have surfaced, including Giants bullpen and catching coach Craig Albernaz, Rangers associate manager Will Venable, Cubs first base coach Mike Napoli and Guardians third base coach Mike Sarbaugh.
Chris Antonetti has a very eloquent farewell to Terry Francona. @CleGuardians pic.twitter.com/X5VBjmYeha
— Jeff Schudel (@jsproinsider) October 3, 2023
Sandy Alomar Jr., a favorite of Guardians fans, is not a candidate for the job. Alomar wants to remain in his current role as first base coach and catching coach, Antonetti said.
“As we go through this process, we’ve considered a very wide range of individuals,” Antonetti said. “I think our initial list was somewhere between 45 and 48 people. So you can imagine with a list that big, you’ve got a very divergent set of skills and experiences.
“We’ve tried to work to narrow (the list) down. I still think within the group we’ll spend time with, it’ll be a very diverse group with different backgrounds, experiences and perspectives.”
The fact Francona is retiring is unique. Most managers don’t go out on their own terms because they are fired, which means the next manager is taking over an unsuccessful team, whose failures might not all be the fault of the manager. The next leader of the Guardians is taking over a team that won 92 games in 2022 and one that already has a young, promising starting rotation in Shane Bieber, Triston McKenzie, Tanner Bibee, Gavin Williams and Logan Allen. Bibee, Williams and Allen were rookies in 2023.
“I don’t want to go into specifics about what we talked about in interviews,” Chernoff said. “What we’ve tried to talk about, and hopefully candidates see — and even Tito talked about it — is we’re really optimistic about the future.
“We’re the youngest team in baseball again. We’re a year removed from a 92-win team, and we have a lot of the same players on the team. We transitioned three starters onto our major-league rotation and a catcher (Bo Naylor) into our starting lineup.
“I think there are a lot of pieces, plus we have great organizational philosophies and coaches and staff that we think are really good. I’m hopeful they view this as a good opportunity.”
Antonetti, Chernoff and Francona grew very fond of each other working together for more than a decade. Antonetti was asked whether it will be difficult to forge that kind of relationship with the new manager.
“It depends who the candidate is,” Antonetti said. “There will be some candidates we have relationships with, including our own coaching staff members, and there will be other candidates that are external.
“No matter who it is, we’ll have to deepen or build a relationship. That’s an opportunity for us. There is mixed emotion and sadness with Tito leaving, but there is also excitement about the future and how we can use this as an opportunity for us to continue to grow and learn and get better.”
Some candidates have already been interviewed, but neither Antonetti nor Chernoff would say whom they’ve met. They would need permission to interview candidates still under contract, such as Venable. The Rangers beat the Rays, 4-0, Oct. 3 in the wildcard playoffs and are one win away from advancing to the ALDS.
“We have our challenges because of our market and because we know we have to do things a little differently, but we’re committed to embracing those challenges and partnering with a manager to tackle them together,” Chernoff said. “Hopefully they see that as an opportunity as much as we do.”
The Guardians finished in third place in 2023. It was their worst record in Francona’s tenure.
