As managerial positions began to get filled across baseball on Friday like those with the Rangers and Blue Jays, one name within the Cardinals organization surfaced as a possible candidate for the Marlins’ opening.
Cardinals bench coach Skip Schumaker interviewed for Miami’s manager opening, a source who has knowledge of the Marlins manager search confirmed to the Post-Dispatch.
John Mozeliak, president of baseball operations, said on Friday that the Cardinals don’t comment on other team’s interviews.
Schumaker is viewed as one of the “top candidates” for the position, according to MLB Network.
The 2022 season marked Schumaker’s first as the Cardinals’ bench coach. Schumaker, 42, spent the 2018-20 seasons as a coach with the Padres following his retirement as a player in 2016.
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Schumaker’s contract with St. Louis contains option language that allows him to leave this offseason or return as bench coach for 2023.
Schumaker, who resides in Southern California, was the Padres' first base coach in 2018 and later became San Diego’s associate manager — a role similar to that of a bench coach — prior to the 2020 season.
He returned as San Diego’s associate manager for the 2021 season and was hired to work alongside first-year manager Oliver Marmol as the Cardinals' bench coach in early November 2021.
A member of the 2011 World Series-winning Cardinals team, Schumaker is viewed as a rising candidate to become a big-league manager. In past offseasons, Schumaker interviewed for managerial openings including with the Mets in 2019 and Red Sox in 2020.
Schumaker said during the Cardinals' West Coast road trip in September that included stops in San Diego and Los Angeles that location and proximity to his family will be a factor in his future decisions.
Other candidates who are reportedly being considered for Miami’s managerial opening include Houston bench coach Joe Espada and Tampa Bay bench coach Matt Quatraro.
Post-Dispatch lead Cardinals beat writer Derrick Goold contributed to this report.
