10 hot managerial candidates

September, 20, 2012

9/20/12

11:40

AM ET

By Jim Bowden | ESPN.com

With the season winding down, we're starting to get a sense of which teams might have managerial openings. But who might fill those holes? Here are the names that will be discussed most frequently this winter.

Ryne Sandberg, manager, Triple-A Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs (Phillies)
Sandberg has more than paid his dues in the minor leagues, and the Phillies are so high on him that he has become the heir apparent for their big league managerial job. However, he’ll probably get that opportunity somewhere else before Charlie Manuel retires. He would be an excellent choice to replace Bobby Valentine should he not survive in Boston.

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ABOUT THIS BLOG

Jim Bowden

Bowden, who served as the senior vice president and GM for the Cincinnati Reds and the Washington Nationals, is an analyst for ESPN.com. In 1992, Bowden became the youngest GM in MLB history when the Reds hired him at age 31. The Reds finished in first place twice during his 10 years as GM, and he was named MLB Executive of the Year by Baseball America in 1999. After working for ESPN in 2004, Bowden became the first GM of the Washington Nationals when the franchise relocated from Montreal to Washington, D.C., in 2005, working in that role until the 2009 season. Bowden co-hosts the "Inside Pitch" radio show on Sirius XM satellite radio. Follow on Twitter: @JimBowdenESPNxm.