Betting site lists Flaherty as favorite to become Orioles’ manager

The Chicago Cubs’ win over the Milwaukee Brewers in Game 3 of the National League Division Series not only extended the Cubs’ season, it prevented their bench coach, Ryan Flaherty, from interviewing for the Orioles’ manager’s job for at least another day.

According to Betonline.ag, Flaherty is the 2/1 favorite to become the next Orioles’ manager.

He’s one of 17 candidates listed by the site, which also lists odds for the other six teams—Atlanta, Colorado, Los Angeles Angels, Minnesota, San Francisco and Washington—looking for managers.

Flaherty is listed among the contenders for the Braves, Rockies, Giants and Nationals jobs, but is the favorite only in Baltimore.

I’ve never met anyone who bets on manager hirings or firings, but I’m sure there are enough fans who do it, otherwise the site wouldn’t keep listing the odds.

Since Orioles president of baseball operations Mike Elias is tight-lipped, these odds are purely speculative. Other names not on the list are surely in the mix, too.

Interestingly, Tony Mansolino, who managed the Orioles for the final 119 games of the season, is listed as the 4/1 second choice. Flaherty and Mansolino both attended Vanderbilt. Mansolino managed Flaherty in 2019 at Triple-A Columbus in the Cleveland organization.

The guess here is that Flaherty is the betting favorite because of his past ties with the Orioles. He was a utility player for the Orioles under Buck Showalter from 2012-2017 and became a fan favorite.

Flaherty finished his playing career with Atlanta and Cleveland. Before joining the Cubs as bench coach, he was a trusted coach in San Diego under Bob Melvin, who was recently let go by San Francisco and was assigned 14/1 odds to be the next Orioles’ manager.

For the last two seasons, Flaherty has worked under baseball’s highest paid manager, Craig Counsell, as his bench coach and his name is often mentioned for managerial openings.

He was a finalist in San Diego after Melvin left, but lost out to Mike Shildt, and he headed for Chicago.

Other top Baltimore candidates, according to BetOnline.ag, are Brewers associate manager Rickie Weeks (5/1), former Cubs manager David Ross (6/1), Detroit Tigers bench coach George Lombard (7/1) and former Texas manager and current Arizona bench coach Jeff Banister (9/1).

Longtime Orioles manager Buck Showalter (22/1) is also listed as a candidate probably because he has many fans who might put a few dollars on him, not because he’s being seriously considered.

According to The Athletic, the Orioles were one of several teams to ask about Skip Schumaker, who replaced future Hall of Famer Bruce Bochy in Texas. The Rangers acted swiftly to hire Schumaker, who worked in their front office in 2025, to make sure he didn’t get away.

We really don’t know how many candidates Elias will interview and if the interviewing process has already begun, but it seems like it would be a difficult job for a first-time manager.

Managing a win-now team, which the Orioles will be in 2026, isn’t easy. Ask Brandon Hyde, who’s listed among the possibilities for several of the jobs. It’s much easier managing without expectations than with expectations.

If Chicago wins the series over Milwaukee and heads into the National League Championship Series, it could elongate the Orioles’ selection process, if they’re indeed interested in Flaherty.

The 39-year-old Flaherty is an interesting mix of old and new school. He learned the game from his father, Ed, the longtime coach at the University of Southern Maine. He also learned much from Showalter and Melvin and has learned Spanish to better communicate with Latin American players.

Call for questions: I answer Orioles questions most weekdays. Please send yours to: Rich@BaltimoreBaseball.com.