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Bryan Price has heard the conjecture virtually every year since he got this gig that he’d be fired as the Cincinnati Reds manager, but this time, they were louder and stronger than ever.
When he was summoned by Reds GM Dick Williams to his St. Louis hotel room Wednesday night, after losing earlier in the day to the Milwaukee Brewers, he knew Williams wasn’t inviting him over for a late-night poker party.
His days were over.
Price is out, Jim Riggleman is in, at least as the interim manager, and perhaps Hall of Famer Barry Larkin is next.
Price, who replaced Dusty Baker four years ago, was fired just 18 games in the season, with the Reds having the worst record in baseball, 3-15.
Price knew this day was coming. Everyone knew it was coming. The team stinks. The pitching is ugly. The lineup was underperforming. And the Reds’ fan base was restless.
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When the team perpetually loses, the manager goes - that’s the way it works in baseball. Besides, Price wasn’t hired by Williams, he was the choice of former GM Walt Jocketty. New GMs always want their own guy, and now Williams plans to give it ample time.
The Reds, who also fired pitching coach Mack Jenkins, announced that they will conduct a search for a permanent managerial replacement “later in the year,’’ turning the reigns over to Riggleman, 65, a baseball lifer.
This will be the fifth major league team Riggleman has managed, the last time seven years ago when he quit as manager of the Washington Nationals after a bitter salary feud with Nationals GM Mike Rizzo. His first major-league managerial gig was 26 years ago in San Diego, and this figures to be his last.
Riggleman, who is old school but welcomes input from the analytics side, would love it to last longer than this season, but is realistic.
The Reds want to make a splash, and the sexiest name in Cincinnati is Larkin, the Hall of Fame shortstop who has no managerial experience.
Then again, neither did Aaron Boone, Alex Cora, Mickey Callaway or Gabe Kapler, when they were hired this past winter. Larkin is a Cincinnati native who has been a special assistant to the GM since 2016.
And, oh, yes, he not only believes he’s ready, but badly wants the job.
The other two logical choices are John Farrell, who was fired last year by the Boston Red Sox, and Joe Girardi, also fired by the Yankees. Farrell is already in the organization as a scout, and Girardi is on the MLB Network. Each have glossy resumes, with World Series championships.
There will be plenty of others in discussion such as New York Yankees third base coach Phil Nevin, San Francisco Giants farm director David Bell and Yankees vice president Tim Naehring, a Cincinnati native who could have been the Yankees manager if he were interested in the job.
The Reds plan to take their time, but it will easily be Williams’ biggest hire since becoming GM three years ago.
After all, it’s a hire that will greatly impact his own future.
The people’s choice will be Larkin.
The safest choice will be Girardi.
The easiest choice will be Riggleman.
It’s going to another long summer in Cincinnati, but for the first time in five years, it’s about to get awfully intriguing.
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