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Dodgers

Five candidates to replace Don Mattingly as Dodgers manager

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Don Mattingly stands in the Dodgers dugout during a Sept. 23 game against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Dodger Stadium.

  (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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Manager Don Mattingly takes the ball from Clayton Kershaw as the Dodgers ace leaves the game after giving up five runs and the lead to the St. Louis Cardinals in the seventh inning of the 2015 divisional series opener at Dodger Stadium.

  (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
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Dodgers manager Don Mattingly answers questions during a press conference at Dodger Stadium.

  (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
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Adrian Gonzales (23) is welcomed back to the dugout by Don Mattingly after scoring against the Atlanta Braves at Dodger Stadium on July 29, 2014.

  (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
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Dodgers manager Don Mattingly in the dugout during a game against the Angels at Angel Stadium on Sept. 8, 2015.

  (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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Dodgers General Manager Ned Colletti, left, and manager Don Mattingly speak to the media following the end of the season on Oct. 21, 2013, at Dodger Stadium.

  (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
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Don Mattingly watches batting practice before a Dodgers game against the Boston Red Sox at Dodger Stadium on Aug. 25, 2013.

  (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
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Dodgers manager Don Mattingly, right, chats with his former New York Yankees teammate, pitcher Rich “Goose” Gossage, before an old-timers game at Dodger Stadium on June 8, 2013.

  (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
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Dodgers manager Don Mattingly pitches batting practice before a game against the Diamondbacks at Dodger Stadium on May 8, 2013.

  (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
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Dodgers manager Don Mattingly argues with umpire Ron Kulpa before being ejected during the fifth inning of a game against the Florida Marlins on May 29, 2011.

  (Michael Robinson Chavez / Los Angeles Times)
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Don Mattingly greets Dodgers players before the season opener against the Giants at Dodger Stadium on March 31, 2011.

  (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
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Dodgers manager Don Mattingly, left, and former manager Tommy Lasorda talk before an exhibition game with the Angels at Dodger Stadium on March 28, 2011.

  (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
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Dodgers manager Don Mattingly walks through a tunnel leading to the field during spring training in Phoenix.

  (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
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Outgoing Dodgers manager Joe Torre, left, embraces incoming manager Don Mattingly after Torre’s last home game as manager at Dodger Stadium on Oct. 3, 2010.

  (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
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Dodgers manager Don Mattingly talks with former Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda during spring training in Glendale. Ariz., on March 29, 2010.

  (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
By Bill ShaikinStaff Writer 
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Don Mattingly is out as Dodgers manager. So who might be in?

Here are five candidates:

Dave Martinez
Chicago Cubs bench coach
Chicago Cubs bench coach Dave Martinez earlier this month.

Chicago Cubs bench coach Dave Martinez earlier this month.

(David Banks / Associated Press)

Chicago Cubs bench coach Dave Martinez earlier this month. (David Banks / Associated Press)

Martinez was Joe Maddon's longtime lieutenant with the Tampa Bay Rays when Andrew Friedman was the general manager. When Friedman left last fall for the Dodgers and Maddon left for the Cubs, Martinez interviewed for the manager's job in Tampa Bay. When the Rays bypassed him, Martinez followed Maddon to the Cubs. Martinez, 51, played 16 seasons in the major leagues. He speaks Spanish, which would be huge with a team that has invested heavily in Latin America and still struggles to get through to Yasiel Puig.


Bud Black
Former San Diego Padres manager
San Diego Padres manager Bud Black in 2007.

San Diego Padres manager Bud Black in 2007.

(Denis Poroy / Associated Press)

San Diego Padres manager Bud Black in 2007. (Denis Poroy / Associated Press)

Black managed the Padres for nine seasons, and his political savvy is reflected in the fact that he served under four general managers -- including Josh Byrnes, now the Dodgers' senior vice president, who inherited Black in San Diego and did not fire him. Players almost universally speak highly of Black's ability to run a clubhouse and relate to players. Black, 58, served as the Angels' pitching coach when they won their lone World Series championship in 2002, and before that worked in the analytically inclined front office of the Cleveland Indians, where Byrnes and former Dodgers general manager Paul DePodesta also trained.


Gabe Kapler
Dodgers minor league director
Gabe Kapler on a Fox Sports set in 2013.

Gabe Kapler on a Fox Sports set in 2013.

(Susannah Kay / Los Angeles Times)

Gabe Kapler on a Fox Sports set in 2013. (Susannah Kay / Los Angeles Times)

Kapler already is part of the Dodgers front office, with a year's experience working with Friedman. And Kapler has more managerial experience than Mattingly did when he took over the Dodgers; Kapler managed one season in the Class A South Atlantic League. Kapler, 40, played 12 years in the major leagues as an outfielder. He was born in Hollywood and played at Taft High School in Woodland Hills; he was a 57th-round draft pick.


Tim Wallach
Dodgers bench coach
Dodgers coach Tim Wallach in 2011.

Dodgers coach Tim Wallach in 2011.

(Mark J. Terrill / Associated Press)

Dodgers coach Tim Wallach in 2011. (Mark J. Terrill / Associated Press)

Wallach draws raves from players, and one Dodgers staffer said during the playoffs that he did not understand why someone who commands such respect, knows the game and communicates so well has not gotten a major league managerial opportunity yet. Wallach is a candidate for the vacant Washington Nationals job and previously has interviewed for jobs in Detroit and Seattle. Wallach, 57, a former All-Star third baseman for the Montreal Expos, was named Best Managerial Prospect by Baseball America in 2009, when he managed the Dodgers' triple-A Albuquerque affiliate.


Ron Roenicke
Dodgers third-base coach
Ron Roenicke in 2012, when he was manager of the Milwaukee Brewers.

Ron Roenicke in 2012, when he was manager of the Milwaukee Brewers.

(Jeffrey Phelps / Getty Images)

Ron Roenicke in 2012, when he was manager of the Milwaukee Brewers. (Jeffrey Phelps / Getty Images)

Roenicke was added to the Dodgers coaching staff in August, replacing Lorenzo Bundy in an effort to improve the team's baserunning. Mattingly selected Roenicke from a list of candidates provided by Friedman. Roenicke, 59, was fired in May as manager of the Milwaukee Brewers, during his fifth season in that job. He served on the Angels coaching staff for 11 years -- at one point replacing Maddon as bench coach -- and on the Dodgers coaching staff from 1992-93. Roenicke, an outfielder, played at Edgewood High School in West Covina and UCLA and was the Dodgers' first-round pick in the June 1977 draft. 

What about ...?

Two former Dodgers stars -- Dusty Baker and Mike Scioscia -- might be popular among fans but would not be a fit to manage the Dodgers at this time. Both have enjoyed successful managerial careers, but neither would mesh with the approach of Friedman and the Dodgers' new front office.


MORE ON THE DODGERS

Plenty of highs mixed with the lows of Don Mattingly's managerial career

Why Dodgers' choice on Don Mattingly is not simply 'keep him' or 'fire him'

Dodgers must address Mattingly's future, multiple roster holes in off-season

Dodgers
Bill Shaikin

Bill Shaikin, a California Sportswriter of the Year honoree, covers baseball and sports business for the Los Angeles Times.

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