Alex Cora no longer candidate for Rangers manager job

Torey Lovullo and Alex Cora, two of the eight individuals who interviewed for the Rangers' vacant manager position, have confirmed that they are no longer candidates, per Evan Grant.

Mike Maddux and Steve Buechele, who also interviewed for the position, are also expected not to make the final cut.

That leaves four possible choices -- Tim Bogar, Jeff Banister, Kevin Cash, and Joe McEwing.

Evan says in the blog post linked above that Banister "appears to be gaining momentum," with the Rangers talking to people around the league about Banister over the past week.

My guess is that Bogar, Banister and Cash end up being the finalists, with Bogar ultimately named the manager, though that is just a guess.

Bogar, of course, was the Rangers' bench coach in 2014 until Ron Washington resigned, at which point he took over as interim manager for the final few weeks of the season.  The Rangers played well under his watch, and he's generally been considered the favorite.

Banister is the bench coach for the Pittsburgh Pirates, where he has worked under manager Clint Hurdle, the Rangers' former hitting coach, and someone who has ties to Jon Daniels and Thad Levine dating back to JD and Levine's days in Colorado.

Cash was a journeyman catcher who spent a lot of time in both the majors and minors, including spending the 2011 season with the Round Rock Express, before becoming Terry Francona's bullpen coach in Cleveland in 2014.

McEwing is the third base coach for the Chicago White Sox.


(lonestarball.com)