As the regular season comes to an end, the hot seat is about to get hotter across Major League Baseball. Once Game 162 takes place on October 5, several MLB managers are going to learn their fates one way or another.
Typically, this results in Black Monday. In this case, it would be Black Thursday as the regular season ends on Wednesday. No matter which day, teams are going to look ahead to the 2023 campaign as they re-evaluate their entire organization, including the managerial spots.
MLB managers on the hot seat
Four managers have already been fired this season. Those firings involve two teams that are currently locked into a postseason berth, showing that success is not enough if there are questions about leadership and in game decisions. In the Phillies’ case, that firing was the spark needed to get them to play up to their potential.
The end of the MLB season is coming soon. Let’s take a look at three managers that should be updating their resumes, and one that should return in 2023.
AJ Hinch
Let’s start with the MLB manager that should return.
It is easy to blame AJ Hinch for the Tigers’ disappointing season. Instead of contending for the division as they expected, they are in the AL Central basement as virtually nothing went right for them this season. Their prized free agent acquisitions either did not live up to expectations or disappeared while their prospects imploded. It was a perfect storm.
Hinch also has to face a new front office. Al Avila was let go in the middle of August while Scott Harris was lured away from the Giants as their new president of baseball operations. It would not be a surprise if he wanted to bring in a manager of his own.
And yet, Hinch is not the entire reason why the Tigers are in this position. The pitching staff was injured virtually all season as they went through 16 different starters this season. No pitcher has started more than 21 games, and Tarik Skubal will be the only one to get to 20 starts this year. Hinch is also regarded as one of the brightest managerial minds in the majors and would be snapped up quickly if he were to be let go.
Several MLB managers are going to be fired at the end of the year. AJ Hinch should not be on that list.