Detroit Tigers Bench Coach Still in Running for Miami Marlins Managerial Job
Things are looking up for the Detroit Tigers after their magical late-season run.
With so many young players who seem like they can become cornerstones for this roster going forward, it's hard not to be excited about the future for this franchise which has struggled to compete in their division and on the national stage for multiple years.
It also seems like the Tigers have the right manager in place with past World Series champion A.J. Hinch.
Despite having a clear disadvantage in their pitching rotation compared to other teams around the league, Hinch and his staff were able to push the right buttons regarding bullpen decisions when it mattered most.
Because of that, the skipper was very open about his desire to keep the entire coaching group together, but with multiple managerial openings around Major League Baseball, there was a chance someone could get poached.
Bench coach George Lombard was one of the obvious choices, and he was rumored to be a candidate for the Chicago White Sox and Miami Marlins.
Hinch and Detroit got some good news when the White Sox went in a different direction, but it sounds like Lombard is still in the running for the Marlins gig.
According to Jon Morosi of MLB Network, Miami's president of baseball operations, Peter Bendix, told him they are "nearing a decision" and there has been no indication they have taken the Tigers' bench coach out of the running.
Lombard had a six-year playing career in the MLB spanning from 1998-2006, and after he retired following the 2009 season, he immediately jumped into coaching when he took the hitting coach job for one of the Boston Red Sox's Single-A affiliates.
He has since climbed up the ranks and won the World Series with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2020 as their first base coach before taking his current role with Detroit following that campaign.
