There’s expected to be plenty of movement around Major League Baseball this offseason, particularly when it comes to managers.
At the moment, there are questions about whether baseball will be heading into a lockout, although most expect that will happen.
If it does, we could see plenty of unusual developments with free agency, but by then, we should have a clearer idea of which managers will remain in their positions. Especially for teams that fail to reach the playoffs, we should get an early indication of what their future could look like.
Right now, several managers are sitting on the hot seat, including the Seattle Mariners, who have been one of the more disappointing teams in Major League Baseball.
Skipper Dan Wilson hasn’t necessarily done a poor job, so to speak, but he also hasn’t done enough to prove that he deserves to remain in charge. Recently, as teams have started considering possible replacements, former Major League veteran Miguel Cairo, who spent 17 years playing in the league, has emerged as one name being mentioned.
“This might be a surprising fit, but don’t sleep on Cairo finally earning a full-time managerial position. He went 18-16 as the White Sox’s interim manager in 2022 while filling in for Tony La Russa. The 17-year MLB veteran also served as the Nationals’ interim skipper last year, going 29-43 amid an organizational restructure.
“Whether it’s Cairo or someone else, I’m especially interested to see how a new manager would handle Cal Raleigh, whose emotional immaturity has only grown far more concerning throughout the season. Wilson has seemingly enabled Raleigh’s lack of accountability going all the way back to the World Baseball Classic,” Jake Elman wrote.
The intriguing part about Cairo is that he brings coaching experience and currently works on the Washington Nationals staff. He played primarily in the infield during his career and knows what it takes to compete at the Major League level, which could be a major benefit when working with players in a clubhouse.
At the same time, there is no guarantee that Cairo would be the perfect choice for the Mariners, who have plenty of issues to address at the moment.