Price ‘In The Mix’ for Marlins Managerial Opening

Usually the Hot Stove season is ripe with rumors of trades and signings. It’s also a time for teams that disposed of a manger to fill that vacancy. One such team is the Miami Marlins who yesterday fired Ozzie Guillen.

The name that appeared in the following tweet blindsided Reds fans…

This hit the Twitterverse late last evening and has sent a large portion of the Reds fanbase scratching their heads. It poses many thoughts on the Marlins job.

First, and more importantly, Frisaro’s tweet notes that Mike Redmond is considered the front-runner for the newly vacated position and that Bryan Price is in the mix. Being “in the mix” could fluctuate one direction or the other.

That said, why would anyone honestly want that gig? Not much job security. Since the Marlins last won the World Series in 2003, here’s who’s held the position.

2004-’05: Jack McKeon (who also managed the ’03 WS Champs)
2006: Joe Girardi
2007-’09: Fredi Gonzalez
2010: Gonzalez and Edwin Rodriguez
2011: Rodriguez, Brandon Hyde (for one game), McKeon
2012: Guillen

Add this. The Marlins ’03 team started their season with Jeff Torborg at the helm. He was hired prior to the 2002 season.

Remember, this is the organization that also fired Joe Girardi. After his dismissal, Girardi was named NL Manager of the Year. Girardi was let go because he couldn’t find the means to get along with the front office. Consider Girardi guided the ’06 Marlins to a 78-84 record and had the team in the wild card mix despite having a team loaded with rookies and MLB’s lowest payroll.

The front office? I needn’t say a lot. Check out Jeff Passan of Yahoo! Sports for that.

(Frank Victores-US PRESSWIRE)

Price has deserved every bit of the praise he has received for building a pitching staff that has emerged as one of the best in the NL. We’ve watched Johnny Cueto blossom into an ace. We’ve watched the process of Homer Bailey become what few thought was actually possible in spinning a no-hitter, and then some. We observed a bullpen being labelled as baseball’s best despite the injuries in spring training including the development of Aroldis Chapman into one of baseball’s best closers (whether you want Chapman to stay in that role is a separate discussion).

We are unsure of Price’s aspirations as far as managing a team is concerned. It could be something that piques his interest. No one will doubt Price’s track record as a pitching coach. He was named Major League Coach of the Year by Baseball America in 2007 while he was with the Diamondbacks. Price has certainly built a reputation as being one of baseball’s best pitching coaches.

As weird as this may sound, the decision to bring Dusty Baker back for at least two more years could have an impact on Price’s decision, and that’s if Price is even considering any vacancy with any other organization.

If you look at Price’s coaching history, he is extremely loyal either to an organization of a specific manager. Price worked for three seasons with Lou Piniella in Seattle, but was previously a minor league pitching instructor while Lou was at the helm of the Mariners. Price started his run within the Mariners organization in 1989. After Lou was gone, Bob Melvin came in as the M’s skipper, and Price stayed on board with Melvin even after the M’s axed Melvin. When Melvin got the top job in Arizona, Price stuck with Melvin. When Melvin was replaced by A.J. Hinch in May of 2009, Price resigned.

That’s when he came to Cincinnati. You could say the rest is history, but as a Reds fan, I sincerely hope that history continues as the Reds pitching coach.