The Boston Red Sox, who were knocked out of Major League Baseball’s postseason last week, already are preparing for 2018 and beyond by making strides on a very important decision.
The Red Sox interviewed Brad Ausmus for their open manager position Monday, according to multiple reports. The news was first reported Monday by the Boston Herald’s Chad Jennings.
Boston, of course, is in search of a new manager after firing John Farrell last week on the heels of the team’s playoff elimination.
Ausmus, a former major league catcher, is coming off a four-year stint as manager of the Detroit Tigers. Detroit advanced to the postseason only once under Ausmus, losing in three straight games to the Baltimore Orioles in the 2014 American League Division Series, but the 48-year-old is familiar with Red Sox president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski. Dombrowski was the Tigers’ president and general manager when Detroit hired Ausmus following the 2013 season.
Dombrowski said last week during a press conference that he’d prefer the Red Sox’s next manager to have prior experience on a major league staff. Ausmus clearly has that despite the Tigers’ inconsistency during his tenure, so it’ll be interesting to see whether that gives him an edge over someone like Alex Cora, the Houston Astros bench coach who reportedly interviewed Sunday for Boston’s managerial vacancy.
The Red Sox reportedly asked for (and received) permission to interview Arizona Diamondbacks bench coach Ron Gardenhire, too. Gardenhire has ample managerial experience, having served as the skipper of the Minnesota Twins for 13 seasons from 2002 to 2014. The Twins won six division titles in that span.
Thumbnail photo via Rick Osentoski/USA TODAY Sports Images
