REPORT: Guardians Managerial Candidate Will Venable Says He’ll Stay With Rangers

Jon Morosi reports that Will Venable will stay with the Texas Rangers.

The Cleveland Guardians are deep in their search to find the right candidate to take over for future Hall of Fame manager Terry Francona after he stepped down from his position following the season.

However, a number of the prospects who would have been a perfect fit for the open position are apparently no longer on the market.

The latest name to reportedly be out of the running is Texas Rangers associate manager Will Venable. Jon Morosi of MLB Network reported that Venable had been in touch with a number of teams with managing vacancies, but he will pass on those opportunities and stay with the Texas Rangers.

NEWS: Will Venable, Rangers associate manager, has been contacted by multiple @MLB teams regarding their managerial openings, but he’s told those clubs that he’s staying with Texas.

This is a significant development. Venable, 40, is highly regarded in the industry. @MLBNetwork

— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) October 12, 2023

There was a belief from those close to the Guardians that Venable could be a name to "keep an eye on" due to his reputation around baseball and his connection to Cleveland's GM Mike Chernoff.

The two played baseball together at the University of Princeton.

The Rangers are in a great position as an organization as they clinched their first ALCS appearance since 2011 on Tuesday night. They have a solid core of young players and could be title contenders for years to come. 

Jun 3, 2022; Oakland, California, USA; Boston Red Sox bench coach/outfield instructor Will Venable (86) before the game against the Oakland Athletics at RingCentral Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports / © Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports

Venable is the latest name to come off the board in Cleveland's search for a skipper. Other names who at this point are unlikely to be the next manager are Sandy Alamar Jr. who declined to interview for the job and Kevin Cash said he's happy managing the Tampa Bay Rays.

Andre Knott recently said on ESPN Cleveland that the Guardians may try to have a new manager in place by the World Series. It's unknown whether Venable's decision to stay in Texas affects this plan, but it does narrow the list of available candidates.