Reds’ best candidates to replace manager David Bell

We’ll get an obvious name out of the way with a man every team with a managerial opening will ask to interview. Miami Marlins manager Skip Schumaker is on virtually every team’s radar as the hottest free agent manager on the market.

Schumaker is expected to depart Miami after two seasons following changes in the front office. He is highly regarded around the league after leading the Marlins to the playoffs in 2023, his first season as an MLB manager. It was the first time the Marlins had a winning record in a full season since 2009 and only the fourth time they reached the postseason.

Schumaker earned NL Manager of the Year honors, the third Marlins manager to win the award.

Things quickly went south for Miami this year as they started 0-9 and won seven games before May. The Marlins have been in last place in the NL East every day since the second day of the season. At 57-99, Miami will likely finish with the worst record in the National League.

Despite possibly losing 100 games, Schumaker will still be a hot commodity this offseason. Schumaker, a baseball lifer who played 11 MLB seasons, entered the coaching ranks in 2018 two years after retiring as a player. He spent the final two years of his playing career with the Reds in 2014 and 2015.

Reds Hall of Famer might be next in line

Sometimes lost in the shuffle of all-time great shortstops is Reds legend Barry Larkin. A Hall of Fame player, Larkin spent his entire 19-year playing career with the Reds, helping them win the World Series in 1990 and capturing NL MVP in 1995.

Larkin has worn many hats since retiring after the 2004 season but remains in baseball. Following time within the Washington Nationals’ front office and a couple of stints in television, Larkin returned to the Reds as a minor league infield instructor in 2015. He’s since helped Cincy during spring training and joined the Reds’ broadcast team in 2021.

While he doesn’t have managerial experience in MLB or the minors, Larkin did manage the Brazilian national team during the 2013 World Baseball Classic. He led Brazil to their first and only appearance in the tournament following upset wins in qualifying rounds over Colombia and Panama.

Larkin also served as bench coach for the United States during the 2009 World Baseball Classic.

Larkin interviewed for the Tampa Bay Rays’ managerial opening in 2014 but was not among the finalists for the position. The Detroit Tigers also considered hiring him in 2013 but Larkin declined an interview.

The Reds great was quoted in 2018 saying he would only manage in the big leagues if it’s for the Reds. The timing seems right for Barry Larkin to at least get an interview for Cincinnati’s managerial job.

Son of a Reds legend in the mix?

Sticking with the Cincinnati Reds lore, Eduardo Perez was floated as a potential candidate to be the next Reds manager by Jeff Passan. Perez is the son of Hall of Fame infielder Tony Perez, a seven-time MLB All-Star who played 16 of his 23 big league seasons in Cincinnati.

The younger Perez followed in his father’s footsteps and reached the majors as a player. Three of his 13 MLB seasons were with the Reds.

Similar to Larkin, Perez does not have major league experience managing but has managed before. Ironically, he was the skipper of the Colombian national team that lost to the Larkin-led Brazilians in the 2013 World Baseball Classic qualifiers.

Other managerial stops for Perez include two seasons in the then-Puerto Rico Baseball League and one season in the Puerto Rican Winter League. Perez won a Manager of the Year award during his tenure.

While most of his non-playing career has been as a television/radio analyst, Perez spent parts of three seasons as a Major League Baseball coach. He was named Marlins hitting coach during the 2011 season before being let go after the 2012 season. He then served as bench coach for the Houston Astros in 2013.

Hiring Eduardo Perez would be considered external since he doesn’t have a current position in the organization, but he has kept close ties with the franchise. Maybe a first-time MLB manager isn’t the direction Cincy should go, but Perez is a possible candidate with that label. He could be leading the Reds from the bench in 2025.