Ranking baseball's managers entering the 2018 season

As if the people of Boston did not have enough reasons to hate the Yankees, 2018 will mark the return of Aaron "Fricken" Boone, whose 11^th-inning home run in Game 7 of the 2003 ALCS still invokes pain for Red Sox fans. Speaking of Bronx-based power, Boone inherits what could be a historically potent lineup in his first year on the pine. With expectations always through the roof, Boone will have even less than a New York minute to get himself ready to continue the Yankees' ascent that has made them the talk of the winter.

When the Phillies made the decision to bring Kapler aboard, it was one of the more surprising moves of the offseason. This is his first professional coaching job after spending the last handful of years as the Dodgers' director of player development. While the inexperience in on-field management is a bit curious for a team as young as the Phils, his experience with advanced metrics and in dealing with younger talent provided enough upside for the club to hand him the keys to the ride.

It has been a whirlwind few years for Cora since he retired as a player in 2011. Following a successful stint at ESPN with a World Series title in his first year as bench coach with the Houston Astros, Cora now finds himself as the manager of the Boston Red Sox at 42 years old. He inherits a team that has won the AL East crown in each of the last two years but subsequently won a total of one postseason game over the same time span. It will be a baptism by fire for Cora, who will have to balance learning the rigors of the position along with improving his team's postseason fortunes.

Owning a 16-year pedigree as a player and a decade spent on the bench under the tutelage of Joe Maddon, Martinez brings a well-honed approach to the game to his first managerial endeavor. Martinez is known for his emphasis on analytics and stresses team chemistry. Perhaps this breath of fresh air will be the key to slowing the regular managerial turnover in D.C., where the Nats have employed three managers in the last five years — despite topping 95 wins three times over that time span.

With the treasure trove of talented arms in Flushing, a marriage between Callaway and the Mets made a world of sense. Over his final three years as pitching coach in Cleveland, the Tribe never finished lower than third in the American League in ERA. While there will be a lot more to turning around the shiftless Mets than building out an elite pitching staff, his reputation for stressing the details and work ethic could be the booster shot of new life the club needs.

The Reds remain dedicated to Price during their rebuild, but the club has yet to post a winning record in any of his four years at the helm. His sterling reputation as a pitching coach under his predecessor Dusty Baker has helped maintain his role, as the Reds have several young arms they hope will lead their resurgence. However, 2018 could ultimately be a proving-ground season for Price with the club getting more pressure (notably from star Joey Votto) to see some improved returns.

In his nearly two years as Braves skipper, Snitker has done a good job of getting better results than anticipated from a club amid a rebuilding effort. However, he enters 2018 in the tough position as a carryover manager with a new GM in Alex Anthopoulos. Anthopoulos not only will look to put his stamp on the team, but he also carries the task of turning face for an organization that is rebounding from the black eye former GM John Coppolella gave it. The rope could be short.

After hanging in the AL Wild Card picture for three-fourths of the year, the Rays' season ended with a thud, finishing below .500 yet again. With the Rays jettisoning familiar faces, most noticeably Evan Longoria, year four could be spent on the hot seat for Cash. Many more changes could be afoot if the franchise does not have a more consistently positive performance soon.

Servais has been in lockstep with GM Jerry Dipoto's plan to rebuild the roster the past two years. In year three on the job, Servais and company will need to make up ground after the injury-plagued Mariners had an eight-game regression in 2017. With stars Robinson Cano, Nelson Cruz and Felix Hernandez remaining productive while getting up in age (and remaining high in compensation as well), the urgency to get the job done is increasing each year.

Renteria never got a fair shake in his first opportunity in Chicago. He was ousted after one year when the Cubs jumped at the opportunity to land Joe Maddon. In his second shot in the Windy City, this time on the South Side, Renteria has inherited a comparable situation. He is responsible for keeping a rebuilding team afloat on the run, and the White Sox could be one of the game’s sneaky competitive teams this year thanks to a treasure trove of potentially excellent young talent.

Gibbons’ second life with the Jays has been up and down. Yet for the most part, he has made good of it, taking the Jays to the postseason in consecutive years in 2015-16 and posting winning records in three of five years since returning in 2013. Despite getting a two-year extension last April, it will be interesting to see where Gibbons stands with the franchise if the Jays suffer through another disappointing campaign like 2017. Improved health for his pitching staff could go a long way toward ensuring Gibbons’ longevity.

By all designs, the Padres were not supposed be anywhere close to competitive last year. They weren't with a 71-91 record, but the San Diego skipper pulled the absolute most he could out of his young team. Green’s reputation is growing in the game, with his ability to groom young talent gaining increasingly high regard. That is not lost on the San Diego front office either, as midway through his second year he received a contract extension that will keep him in tow through 2021.

The longtime Twins manager makes his return to AL Central this year to help steady the rocky waters surrounding Detroit's teardown. GM Al Avila made a smart choice to bring the savvy veteran skipper into the fold, as his experience could prove invaluable to assure the Tigers don’t dip too hopelessly into a free fall that saw them post the league’s worst record in 2017 under Brad Ausmus.

The Brewers' breakthrough last year had a lot to do with a few coming-of-age performances from the likes of Domingo Santana, Chase Anderson, Corey Knebel and others, but it also had plenty to do with Counsell knowing his guys. The new challenge ahead for Counsell is to elevate that performance again with an upgraded roster that is built to win now. The expectations have changed for the Crew, and Counsell needs to continue to lead the maturation for his young talents, while also leveraging his new toys in Lorenzo Cain, Christian Yelich and a handful of new starters.

It is somewhat of a new day for Yost, who enters 2018 without many of the familiar faces that helped define the run of success the club experienced over the past four years. While he will always be prone to putting forward some head-scratching lineups at times, Yost has improved markedly as an in-game strategist over the past few years. He should enjoy some good will as the team moves away from its championship peak and toward a new identity this year.

It is a complicated juncture in Matheny’s tenure as manager in St. Louis. The Cardinals are on the brink of competing, finishing a combined five games out of the NL Wild Card Game in each of the last two years. As always, expectations are sky-high for the Cardinals to return to their perennial position in the postseason after they missed out in consecutive years for the first time since 2007-08. Amid the roster turnover that is taking place, even Matheny’s .560 winning percentage over his six-year run may begin to get called into question soon.

Entering his 19^th  year with the Angels, Scioscia is the game’s longest-tenured manager and second winningest, behind only Bruce Bochy. A staunch traditionalist, the secret to his longevity has been to never stay down for too long, and 2017 was a testament to his resilience. Despite losing Mike Trout for over a month and working with a pitching staff that was ravaged by injury for much of the year, he was able to improve the Angels by six games from the year before. With an upgraded roster headed into this year, the old, venerable skipper could be in range for his first postseason appearance since 2014.

There may not be a manager who enters the year in a more complicated position than Mattingly, who is charged with guiding the remnants of the Marlins onto the field. He has gotten a lot more than he anticipated in his two years on the job, navigating the club through the death of Jose Fernandez in his first year and keeping the team focused amid a high-profile sale and acquisition in year two. Down his entire star-studded outfield of a year ago and still facing potentially more drastic cuts to his roster in the year ahead, Mattingly will be hard-pressed to break the club’s streak of eight straight losing seasons.

Banister has been one of the most underrated and successful managers in the early phase of his career. After winning AL Manager of the Year in his first season in 2015, he followed it with a 95-win AL West championship two years ago. However, after regressing to a third-place finish last year, Banister won't have the services of highly regarded pitching coach Mike Maddux and hitting coach Dave Magadan. 2018 will be a test of the developmental capabilities of Banister, as the Rangers will need to lean on him to make the most of a middling roster in a rapidly improving division.

It was a successful return to management for Black, who after a year of working in the Angels' front office helped pull the Rockies out of the trenches of the NL West in his first year with the club. Behind a revamped bullpen and a pair of MVP candidates in Nolan Arenado and Charlie Blackmon, the Rockies broke a streak of six straight losing campaigns, and Black finished third in NL Manager of the Year voting.

Melvin has been in Oakland since 2011, yet it has been three years since he last posted a winning record. Despite this, the club gave him a two-year extension through 2019 in September. In many situations, this would appear to be rewarding subpar results, but in the case of Melvin that could not be further from the truth. His chief responsibility is to be dependable, and the two-time Manager of the Year is the definition of consistent. Whether it be providing a steady hand to aid in development of the young Oakland roster or being able to simply keep anxious veterans at bay amid a seemingly endless rebuilding effort, Melvin excels.

After years tabbed as one of baseball’s best managers-in-waiting, Lovullo immediately made good on that opinion in his first year in the lead bench role. He won NL Manager of the Year in the desert after facilitating a 24-game turnaround that included capturing a Wild Card berth. Armed with an underrated starting staff and a perennial MVP candidate in Paul Goldschmidt, Lovullo’s club should continue to enjoy a new trajectory in the standings in the new year.

Roberts’ first two years on the Dodgers' bench have yielded phenomenal returns, as the club has posted the highest winning percentage in the majors (.602) over that time. While he has had a phenomenal collection of talent at his disposal, Roberts has also done a masterful job of adjusting on the run. Despite a record amount of DL victims in 2016, Roberts won NL Manager of the Year as a rookie in the role and guided the club to a deep postseason run. Last year the Dodgers continued their ascent, winning an MLB-best 104 games and going to Game 7 of the World Series. If Roberts’ upward trend continues, this year could very well be THE year in Chavez Ravine.

If you put down a few bucks on the odds of Paul Molitor being named AL Manager of the Year last spring, you likely saw a handsome return when he took home the award. After a 103-loss season the year before, Molitor was in the driver’s seat of history last season, guiding the Twins to the biggest single-season turnaround in baseball history. In the process, they became the first team ever to reach the postseason a year after losing 100 games. Molitor accomplished this feat despite having to deploy 36 different pitchers over the course of the year and losing Miguel Sano’s potent bat for over 40 games.

Entering his 20^th  year on the job, Showalter is still chasing that elusive World Series appearance, but this should not be a knock on his ability to execute. He has made a career of making the most of clubs in transition. He has another such job ahead this summer, as the Orioles will have to make do without All-Star closer Zach Britton to start the year and could potentially end the season without Manny Machado as he enters the final year of his contract. The 61-year-old skipper could find himself in familiar terrain by the season’s end.

Although the Pirates are undergoing a retooling period, they showed their faith in Hurdle by extending his deal despite the club’s recent downturn. Hurdle’s chops will be tested as he goes to battle without Andrew McCutchen and Gerrit Cole, with potentially more parts of his core on the way out as well. The best-case outcome for Hurdle will be ensuring that the Pirates don’t torpedo too far down the standings and that their emerging prospects develop well on the run.

With command of the game’s most talented roster at his fingertips and a World Series title freshly added to his résumé, it is impossible to not mention Hinch among the inner circle of managers in today’s game. His ability to understand and mold young talents is remarkable, and he relates to and properly works in veterans to the mix. Hinch has an acute understanding of not only how to execute in-game, but how to grow an appropriate environment to breed success in the dugout as well.

The Giants experienced an unpredictable swoon last year, losing 98 games and suddenly looking very old in the process. While there were plenty of fingers to point, none were directed at Bochy. He remains one of the game’s most respected tacticians. The future Hall of Famer passed Dusty Baker for the most victories in the San Francisco era of the Giants. He also won his 900^th game with the Giants late in 2017, making him the first manager ever to win that many games with two separate franchises after compiling 951 victories with the Padres previously.

Francona keeps on producing magic in Cleveland. The Indians posted the AL’s best record in 2017 as an encore to their push to the World Series in 2016. Although they were stunningly eliminated in a premature fashion by the Yankees last fall, they enter the year again as a team that is as dangerous as ever. Francona’s familiarity and comfort with his entire roster allow him to regularly win the matchup game with teams that are more talented on the field but lack a general capable of keeping up with Tito strategically.

Maddon has been a miracle worker since reaching the Windy City three years ago, guiding the Cubs to three consecutive postseasons for the first time since 1906-1908. His unique motivational methods get much of the hype, but his strategic deployment of non-traditional lineup assortments and defensive arrangements has been a decisive edge in getting the most out of already-talented roster. If there was a WAR to measure the impact of a manager, Maddon would likely be Trout-like over the last three summers.