George A. King lll of the New York Post reported that New York Yankees bench coach Carlos Mendoza is a potential candidate for two managerial jobs. The report indicated that he’s rumored to be a candidate for both the Boston Red Sox and Detroit Tigers vacancies.
This comes after Marcus Thames, Yankees hitting coach, also interviewed for the Tigers job nearly two weeks ago.
Mendoza, 40, spent 13 years as a minor-leaguer for the Giants and the Yankees. He retired from playing in 2009 and began coaching in the Yankees minor league system soon after. He managed the GCL Yankees in 2010 and the Charleston RiverDogs in 2011 and 2012. From 2013-2017, he was a defensive instructor throughout the organization.
After Joe Girardi was fired from the Yankees in 2017, new manager Aaron Boone tabbed Mendoza as the infield coach. He spent two years in that role before a promotion to bench coach prior to the 2020 season.
The two teams that are interested in Mendoza both struggled last season. The Red Sox finished an underwhelming 24-36 under manager Ron Roenicke. Roenicke served two seasons as bench coach under Alex Cora before a promotion to manager in 2020 after Cora was fired. Previously, Roenicke managed the Brewers from 2011 to 2015.
The Tigers were led by veteran manager Ron Gardenhire, who retired with a week left in the 2020 season. Gardenhire will go down as one of the best managers of all-time, retiring with 1200 wins. The rebuilding Tigers were 23-35 in 2020.
Mendoza reportedly interviewed with both teams, and is drawing strong interest from each of the two organizations.