The Cleveland Guardians have been granted permission to interview current SF Giants bullpen and catching coach Craig Albernaz to become their next manager, according to a report by Susan Slusser of The San Francisco Chronicle. Albernaz has been with the Giants since he was hired by former manager Gabe Kapler prior to the 2020 season. He has served in the same position for the past four seasons but began spending games in the dugout (instead of the bullpen) this season, taking a more direct role in in-game decisions.
The Guardians are looking for a manager to replace future Hall of Famer Terry Francona, who announced he was stepping away from the team at the end of the season. While the Giants fired manager Gabe Kapler on Friday, the staff he built in San Francisco has built a strong reputation around the league during their tenure. As many of them face uncertain futures with the organization following Kapler's questionable firing, many will likely look for jobs in other organizations rather than wait for the Giants' search to play out. Even if Albernaz is unlikely to receive the Guardians' job, an impressive interview could put him in position to become a bench coach (or other assistant) on the team's next staff.
Albernaz was signed as a nondrafted free agent by the Tampa Bay Rays out of Eckerd College in 2006. Albernaz was never close to a league-average hitter in the minor leagues, posting a .199/.276/.254 triple-slash over his nine career seasons. However, he was an exceptional defensive backstop and quickly moved through the Rays system as a glove-first backup catcher. While he never reached the major leagues, Albernaz spent parts of five different seasons at Triple-A in the Rays organization before he finished out his playing career with the Tigers' Double-A affiliate in 2014.
Following his decision to retire as a player, Albernaz immediately transitioned to the coaching ranks, working as a coach with the Rays Appalachian League affiliate in 2015. Over the next few years, Albernaz served as a manager for multiple Rays affiliates, winning the 2018 Midwest League Manager of the Year award. In 2019, though, he left a single team's coaching staff to become one of Tampa Bay's field coordinators.
Since joining the SF Giants' staff, Craig Albernaz has worked closely with a long list of defensive catchers, including Buster Posey and Patrick Bailey. However, his most impressive work has probably come over the past two seasons, when less successful big-league catchers Joey Bart and Blake Sabol each took significant steps forward defensively under Albernaz's tutelage.
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