Orioles manager candidates: Familiar faces, veterans who could be in play

The Orioles need a new manager.

Brandon Hyde was fired on Saturday, ending his tenure in Baltimore after six-plus seasons. Tony Mansolino was named the interim, tasking the veteran coach with turning around the most disappointing team in baseball.

It might be a long time before the Orioles decide who their next skipper will be, as there are still more than 100 games to play this season. John and Louis Angelos led the search that brought executive vice president and general manager Mike Elias to Baltimore in 2018, but now it will be owner David Rubenstein, Elias and other key decision-makers who will determine the team’s next skipper.

Here is a list of potential candidates who might be in play for the job:

Internal options

Tony Mansolino

The interim manager will have the best chance to prove he can help turn things around in Baltimore. Mansolino, a former Vanderbilt infielder who was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2005, has experience coaching in the minor leagues and was on the Cleveland Guardians’ staff in 2020. During that season, he was named the acting bench coach while Sandy Alomar Jr. filled in as the acting manager with Terry Francona away from the team because of a medical condition.

Buck Britton

The last name should be familiar to Orioles fans, as Buck is the older brother of former Orioles pitcher Zack Britton. The elder Britton is in his 16th season with the organization after managing the Triple-A Norfolk Tides for three seasons, which included winning the International League Championship in 2023 with some of the club’s heralded prospects. Britton was also named the 2021 and 2023 recipient of the Orioles’ Cal Ripken Sr. Player Development Award, given annually to a minor league staff member who exemplifies Ripken’s qualities as an instructor. The 39-year-old was promoted to major league coach before the 2025 season.

Robinson Chirinos

The former catcher was a respected veteran voice with the Orioles when they made a dramatic 31-game improvement in 2022 and just missed making the postseason. The 40-year-old Venezuela native played 11 seasons in the majors with six teams before retiring in 2023 and joined the Orioles as a bench coach for the 2025 season in his first coaching role at any level.

Familiar faces

Buck Showalter

Only Hall of Famer Earl Weaver has more wins as Orioles manager than Showalter, who went 669-684 in eight seasons from 2010 to 2018. That was one of the most successful eras in team history, as Baltimore ended a 14-season playoff drought in 2012 and advanced to the American League Championship Series in 2014.

But after a three-game sweep of the Detroit Tigers in the 2014 AL Division Series, the Orioles did not win another postseason game under Showalter’s watch, getting swept in the 2014 ALCS by the Kansas City Royals, losing the 2016 AL wild-card game to the Toronto Blue Jays and plummeting to last place in the AL East in 2017 and 2018.

Showalter and general manager Dan Duquette were dismissed after Baltimore lost a club-record 115 games in 2018, sparking the rebuild. Showalter spent the next three seasons on the sideline and occasionally appearing as a television analyst before taking over the New York Mets in 2022 and going 101-61 to finish second in the NL East before losing the NL wild-card series to the San Diego Padres in three games. The Mets were the highest-spending team in baseball the next year but fell out of contention by midsummer and missed the playoffs, leading to Showalter’s firing. The 68-year-old hasn’t coached since.

Ryan Flaherty

The 2008 first-round draft pick by the Chicago Cubs was a Rule 5 draft pick by the Orioles in 2011 and became a fan favorite in his six seasons in Baltimore. After his playing days ended, he became an advance scout and development coach for the San Diego Padres and later was named the club’s acting manager after Bob Melvin was placed in COVID-19 protocols in 2022. The 38-year-old served as the Padres’ bench coach in 2023 and became the Cubs’ bench coach in 2024 under new manager Craig Counsell.

Mark Budzinski

The 51-year-old first base coach with the Blue Jays doesn’t have ties to the Orioles, but the Severna Park native certainly knows the area. Budzinski played at Severna Park High under coach Jim Pitt and went on to star at the University of Richmond. The former major league outfielder served as manager of the minor league Lynchburg Hillcats and the Akron RubberDucks and spent time on Cleveland’s staff before joining Toronto in 2018.

Former managers

Joe Maddon

The two-time World Series champion and three-time Manager of the Year ranks 32nd in MLB history with 1,382 wins. He last last managed the 2022 Angels, going 27-29 before being replaced midseason by Phil Nevin. Maddon won a ring as Mike Scioscia’s bench coach in 2002 and later led the Cubs to their first title in 108 years in 2016.

Brad Ausmus

The current New York Yankees bench coach played 18 years in the majors with four teams, most notably in Houston and Detroit, where he was an All-Star in 1999. The 56-year-old served as manager of the Tigers from 2014 to 2017 and the Angels in 2019, compiling a 386-422 record and one playoff appearance.

Skip Schumaker

The 45-year-old former outfielder and second baseman spent 11 seasons in the majors from 2005 to 2015 and got his first job as first base coach for the Padres in 2017. He later served as bench coach for the St. Louis Cardinals before being hired as manager of the Miami Marlins in 2023, replacing Don Mattingly. Schumaker led Miami to a 84-78 record and NL wild-card berth in his first season, earning NL Manager of the Year honors, but the Marlins dropped to 62-100 in 2024. He left the team late that season after the death of his grandmother and later joined the Texas Rangers as senior adviser to president of baseball operations Chris Young. He’ll also be the U.S. bench coach for next year’s World Baseball Classic.

David Ross

A longtime backup catcher in the majors who won two World Series titles, most notably with the 2016 Cubs, Ross served as manager in Chicago from 2020 to 2023. The 48-year-old posted a 262-284 record with the Cubs with one playoff appearance during the COVID-shortened 2020 campaign and was replaced when Counsell was hired away from the Milwaukee Brewers.

Scott Servais

The 57-year-old former catcher played 11 MLB seasons before getting into coaching. He served as the Mariners’ manager for eight-plus seasons, compiling a 668-624 record but just one postseason appearance. He’s currently a special assistant for player development with the Padres.

John Gibbons

The 62-year-old former Blue Jays manager is currently the bench coach for the Mets under manager Carlos Mendoza. In two stints with Toronto — 2004 to 2008 and 2013 to 2018 — Gibbons went 793-789 and made two deep postseason runs, advancing to the ALCS in both 2015 and 2016. His Blue Jays eliminated Showalter and the Orioles in the 2016 AL wild-card game.

Phil Nevin

The 54-year-old former corner infielder spent 12 seasons in the majors with seven teams before getting into coaching, first with the San Francisco Giants and Yankees before joining the Angels as the team’s third base coach in 2022. When Maddon was fired, he served as the Angels’ interim manager and went 46-60 the rest of the way, earning the full-time role in 2023. But he lasted just one season as Los Angeles went 73-89 and missed the playoffs for a ninth straight season. His son, Tyler, played for the Orioles under Hyde.

Joe Girardi

The 60-year-old former catcher enjoyed early success as manager of the Yankees, winning the World Series in his second season in 2009, but he never returned to the Fall Classic and missed the playoffs four times in his nine-season tenure. He was named Philadelphia Phillies manager in 2020 and was fired after a 22-29 start in 2023. Rob Thomson took over and led Philadelphia to the World Series, while Girardi hasn’t coached since. He has recently appeared as a color analyst on TBS and the YES Network.

Don Mattingly

The 64-year-old former Yankees first baseman served as manager for 12 seasons with the Marlins and Los Angeles Dodgers, compiling a 889-950 record. He was named the 2020 NL Manager of the Year after leading Miami to its first postseason berth since winning the World Series in 2003 but mutually parted ways with the team after the 2022 season. He’s now the bench coach for the Blue Jays.

Mike Matheny

The 54-year-old former catcher played 13 seasons in the majors before getting into coaching. He led the Cardinals to three straight NLCS appearances, including the NL pennant in 2013, to begin his career but did not make the postseason over his final six seasons with St. Louis and Kansas City. In early 2024, he spent 20 days in an intensive care unit and was diagnosed with a subarachnoid hemorrhage, a potentially life-threatening condition that involves bleeding in the brain. He currently helps out in various roles throughout baseball.

Veteran coaches

Miguel Cairo

The 51-year-old former infielder played for nine teams during his 17-year MLB career and got his start in 2013 as a special assistant to then-Reds general manager Walt Jocketty. Cairo spent time with the Yankees and White Sox and was named acting manager for the final 34 games of Chicago’s 2022 season after Tony La Russa was dismissed. The Venezuelan was hired by the Nationals as bench coach in 2023.

George Lombard

The 49-year-old is in his fifth season as the Tigers’ bench coach and also coaches the outfielders and base runners. He was the Dodgers’ first base coach for five seasons, winning the 2020 World Series, and previously served as the Atlanta Braves’ minor league field coordinator. His son was the Yankees’ first-round pick in 2023.

Kevin Long

The 58-year-old Phillies hitting coach has been coaching the majors since 2007 with four teams. He’s never been a manager, but his connections and body of work as a baseball lifer might make him a candidate if he so desires.

Carlos Beltrán

A nine-time MLB All-Star and 2017 World Series champion with the Astros, Beltrán was briefly the Mets’ manager but stepped down before the season after Houston’s sign stealing scandal broke in late 2019. The 48-year-old worked briefly as an analyst for YES Network before joining the Mets’ front office in 2023.

Rising stars

Kai Correa

The 36-year-old former University of Puget Sound infielder never played professionally, but he made a name for himself as an assistant with the University of Northern Colorado before joining the Cleveland organization in 2018. He later worked for the San Francisco Giants as bench coach and infield instructor and was named interim manager for the final three games of the 2023 season after Gabe Kapler was fired. He returned to Cleveland as director of defense, baserunning and game strategy in addition to major league field coordinator.

Craig Albernaz

The 42-year-old former minor league pitcher began his coaching career in 2015 with the Tampa Bay Rays organization. He was a finalist for the White Sox and Marlins openings over the winter but decided to return to Cleveland as Stephen Vogt’s associate manager. “He’s a huge part of our culture and what the group created as an identity,” Guardians general manager Mike Chernoff said.

Alyssa Nakken

The 34-year-old former Sacramento State softball first baseman was the first woman to become a full-time coach in the majors when she climbed up the ranks to earn a spot on Kapler’s staff in 2020. She interviewed for San Francisco’s managerial job that went to Bob Melvin after the 2023 season and was hired as an assistant director within player development for the Guardians in 2024.

Danny Lehmann

The 39-year-old former catcher joined the Dodgers’ staff in 2015 as an advance video scout and served various roles, including game planning and communications coach, before being promoted to bench coach in 2023. The Rice product was reportedly in the mix for the White Sox managerial opening in 2024.

Troy Snitker

The 36-year-old Astros hitting coach is the son of Braves manager Brian Snitker. The 2011 draft pick by Atlanta played for the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs of the Atlantic League before suffering a concussion that ended his playing career in 2014. He then coached at North Georgia before joining the Astros, working his way from the minors to the major league staff.

Long shots

A.J. Hinch

The Tigers currently own the best record in baseball, so it would take a second-half collapse or an extremely disappointing postseason for Detroit or Hinch to start looking elsewhere. But the 51-year-old Hinch knows Elias from their time together in Houston when Hinch was the manager and Elias was the assistant general manager. The 2017 World Series champion’s tenure ended, however, because of the fallout from the Astros’ electronic sign-stealing scandal. Hinch and general manager Jeff Luhnow were fired by the Astros, and although an MLB investigation concluded that Hinch did not participate in the plan, he did not do enough to stop his team’s actions.

Bob Melvin

The 63-year-old former catcher played for the Orioles from 1989 to 1991 under Frank Robinson. He’s been the manager of five MLB teams, including three in the past four seasons after jumping from the Athletics to the Padres to the Giants, where he currently has San Francisco in the thick of a competitive NL West race. Another sudden move might be unrealistic, but patience could wear thin if the Giants miss the postseason for a fourth straight season.

Have a news tip? Contact sports editor C.J. Doon at cdoon@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/CJDoon.

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