Marlins interview two MLB coaches for managerial job. Details and notes
Cleveland Guardians bench coach Craig Albernaz and Dodgers first base coach Clayton McCullough were among those who interviewed for the Marlins managerial job this week, according to a source.
Albernaz, viewed as one of the top candidates for the job, has a history with Peter Bendix, the Marlins’ president/baseball operations.
Bendix and Albernaz overlapped in Tampa Bay from 2015 through 2020, when Albernaz was on the coaching staff of three Rays’ minor-league teams and then managed two other Rays minor-league affiliates — Hudson Valley and Bowling Green, where he was named 2018 Midwest League Manager of the Year. He went 145-83 as a manager for those two Single A teams.
Albarnez spent the 2019 season as one of the Rays’ minor-league field coordinators. He then worked with the Giants as their bullpen and catching coach and spent last season as the Guardians’ bench coach.
Albernaz, 41, was undrafted out of college and signed with the Rays as a free agent in 2006. He never made the majors but spent nine years in the minors, hitting .199 in 380 games and throwing out 44 percent of basestealers.
As for the 44-year-old McCullough, he has been the Dodgers’ first base coach for the last four seasons, having previously worked as the team’s minor league field coordinator. He managed four teams in the Blue Jays’ farm system between 2007 and 2014, going 402-367.
McCullough, whose candidacy for the job was first reported by “Fish on First”, played four seasons in the minors (2002-2005). He had a narrow window to interview this week, before the Dodgers begin the World Series against the Yankees on Friday night.
The Marlins in the process of interviewing at least a half dozen managerial candidates via Zoom sessions, then will bring in a handful of finalists for in-person interviews.
Former Marlins bench coach Luis Urueta and Detroit Tigers bench coach George Lombard are among other names that have been publicly linked to the Marlins managerial job.
The Marlins and former manager Skip Schumaker agreed to part ways after this past season.
THIS AND THAT
Left-hander Braxton Garrett, who didn’t pitch after June 23 because of left elbow discomfort, was recently diagnosed with an elbow impingement, and the hope is that rest will fix the issue.
▪ Outfielder Kemp Alderman continues to excel in the Arizona Fall League, with a .306 average, six homers and eight RBI in nine games and 36 at-bats.
He’s fifth in OPS (on base-plus slugging percentage) at 1.208.
Alderman, the Marlins’ No. 12 overall prospect per mlb.com, “has plenty of skills,” MLB.com evaluator/writer Jim Callis said. “His most obvious is his massive raw pop, which earns top-of-scale grades from some evaluators.
“He’s a 6-foot-3, 250-pounder with plenty of strength and leverage in his right-handed swing, but he’s also more than just a masher. Alderman has the patience to draw walks when pitchers refuse to challenge him and he’s more athletic than most players his size.”
▪ The Marlins have two other hitters playing in the Fall League: outfielder Andrew Pintar, who was acquired in A.J. Puk trade with Arizona, and infielder Jay Beshears, who was acquired in the Tanner Scott trade with San Diego.
Pintar is hitting .256 with three RBI in 43 at-bats. He hit .255 with nine homers and 24 steals (in 25 attempts) in 102 games for four Single A and Double A teams.
Beshears is hitting only 1 for 16 in the Arizona Fall League. He hit .238 with four homers and 36 RBI in 115 games, mostly in Single A.
▪ Outfielder Dillon Head, one of the key players acquired in the Luis Arraez trade with San Diego, has been cleared for all baseball activities and is working at the Marlins’ Jupiter complex after missing the final three months of the season with a hip injury.
He played five games in the low-level minors for the Marlins before undergoing a left femoral acetabular impingement procedure in June.
This story was originally published October 25, 2024 at 12:00 PM.
