Orioles’ managerial search complicated by slew of unexpected openings

It’s been more than two weeks since interim manager Tony Mansolino and president of baseball operations Mike Elias addressed the media, and there’s been no information on who will be the Orioles’ manager in 2026.

Since Elias addressed the media, the number of managerial vacancies has grown. On Monday, it grew further with the surprise announcement that Mike Shildt, who led the San Diego Padres for the last two seasons, has left the team.

Barring further unexpected developments, there will be an unprecedented 10 new managers in the major leagues for 2026, fully one-third of all the jobs.

Pittsburgh decided to retain Don Kelly, who replaced Derek Shelton as manager in May, and Texas moved quickly to elevate Ship Schumaker, the former Miami Marlins skipper, who was in the Rangers’ front office to replace Bruce Bochy.

If Bochy wishes to manage again, he’d be the most sought-after candidate on the circuit. There aren’t many prospective managers with four World Series titles.

He began his managerial career with the Padres in 1995 before moving to the San Francisco Giants in 2007, and three years at home, returned with the Rangers in 2023, winning his fourth Series. His first three were with the Giants.

The San Franciso job is open, too, and unlike most of the others, there are known candidates to replace the respected Bob Melvin. His departure was announced on September 29^th while Elias was addressing the media.

The Giants have reportedly spoken with two men with Oriole ties about the job. Nick Hundley, who was a useful catcher for the Orioles in 2014 after Matt Wieters was injured, and Brandon Hyde, who was let go by the team in May.

Hundley currently serves as a special assistant to Texas general manager Chris Young, and Hyde, who’s eager to manage again, is listed by BetOnline.ag as a contender for most of the other managerial openings.

Besides the Giants, Orioles and Padres, there are openings in Atlanta, Colorado, the Los Angeles Angels, Minnesota and Washington.

Albert Pujols, who played 10 seasons for the Angels and is a future Hall of Famer with 703 home runs and 3,384 hits, reportedly is in consideration by his former team, but there’s been little to no chatter about the other positions.

As soon as Shildt’s departure was announced, speculation centered on a return to San Diego for Bochy. Chicago Cubs bench coach Ryan Flaherty, who was listed as the 2/1 favorite for the Orioles job, was a finalist for the Padres job two years ago and could be under consideration again.

According to USA Today’s Bob Nightengale, Scott Servais, who managed Seattle for nine seasons and serves as a special assistant to Padres general manager A.J. Preller, could be under consideration as could another special assistant, longtime major league catcher AJ Ellis.

Elias isn’t disclosing who he’s considering, but with the elimination of the Cubs, Detroit Tigers and New York Yankees is free to interview Flaherty, Tigers bench coach George Lombard and Yankees bench coach Brad Ausmus.

The Cleveland Guardians’ associate manager, Craig Albernaz, and major league field coordinator Kai Correa are also on the BetOnline.ag’s Orioles list.

So are Rickie Weeks, Milwaukee’s associate manager, and Dodgers first base coach Chris Woodward, but they’re presumably off-limits until after their teams finish play.

Melvin, former Cubs manager David Ross and Rocco Baldelli, who was fired by Minnesota earlier this month, are also listed as candidates.

With so many openings, it seems possible that the Orioles job, which initially seemed to be the most enticing, is now just one of the most desirable jobs. The Braves, Giants and Padres are also teams that have the potential to contend in 2026.

Does the sudden proliferation of managerial openings complicate the search for Elias?

He could always circle back to Mansolino, who was 60-59 after replacing Hyde. Elias said that Mansolino would be “a real candidate.”

Mansolino, who was listed as the second choice behind Flaherty with 4/1 odds, developed solid relationships with Elias, players, coaches and the media.

With five seasons of coaching and now managing experience, he knows the Orioles and their farm system better than any of the other candidates, and unlike some of the potential candidates, has now managed in the majors.

Major league managing is a tenuous job and more difficult than ever. Expectations are high. There was even a report that the Philadelphia Phillies were going to bring back Rob Thomson for the 2026 season. In four seasons, Thomson has compiled a .580 winning percentage and led his team to the postseason each year, and to the World Series in 2022.

I’m not sure why there would even be a question that Thomson would return next season. Perhaps the number of other managerial openings served as a deterrent to Philadelphia.

I wonder if Elias is surprised when the three openings that existed when he addressed the media has mushroomed to eight. The guess here is that he’ll see the search through when the World Series ends, no later than November 1^st and have a new manager before the General Managers meetings begin in Las Vegas on November 10^th.

He could always end the search before then by naming Mansolino ahead of the World Series. Teams are discouraged from making announcements then, though I’m not sure why.

But since he’s never had the opportunity to conduct a full search, he may want to exhaust every option.

I’m not sure those options are any better than Tony Mansolino.

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