After another disappointing end to their season, it would have been fair for the Los Angeles Dodgers to look into making changes on their coaching staff, led by manager Dave Roberts and joined by Danny Lehman, Bob Geren, Mark Prior, Robert Van Scoyoc, Clayton McCullough and Dino Ebel, among others.
But the organization decided to maintain the course as Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman confirmed the team would not be making changes to their staff and said he expects the full coaching staff to return in 2024. However, rival organizations may have different plans.
McCullough, the Dodgers first base coach, recently interviewed for the Cleveland Guardians manager job and he left a strong impression on their leadership, according to Paul Hoynes of Cleveland.com:
They recently interviewed Dodger first base coach Clayton McCullough. The Guardians, according to a source, came away impressed.
The Guardians are continuing to interview many candidates and still have a long process to go, but their preference on what type of manager they hire could make McCullough even more intriguing to them:
Cleveland’s front office is said to currently be making calls around the big leagues vetting their candidates. They are looking for a young manager who can handle analytics, in-game strategy and the clubhouse to replace Francona who is stepping aside after 11 successful years in Cleveland.
McCullough also has a connection to the Cleveland organization already as he was drafted by the then-Indians in the 22nd round of the 2002 MLB draft out of East Carolina. He played four Minor League seasons with them, batting .197 with one homer and 25 RBI before beginning his coaching career.
McCullough just completed his third season as the Dodgers first base coach and ninth in the organization. In 2020, he served as a Minor League field coordinator and helped oversee the Dodgers’ operations at the alternative site on the USC campus during the pandemic-shortened season.
In addition, he served on the All-Star coaching staff in 2021 following the Dodgers’ World Series victory the season prior.
Clayton McCullough manager experience
Before joining the Dodgers organization in 2015, McCullough worked for the Toronto Blue Jays organization from 2006-2014, serving as the manager of the GCL Blue Jays (2007), Class-A Lansing Lugnuts (2008-2009), Advanced-A Dunedin Blue Jays (2010-2011) and Class-A Vancouver Canadians (2012-2013).
He posted a combined record of 402-367 during his managerial career in the Blue Jays organization.
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