As Los Angeles Dodgers general manager Farhan Zaidi stated would be the case, the club trimmed their list of managerial candidates by Friday.
However, the number of those who advanced to a second round of interviews initially varied.
University of Nebraska head coach and former Angels outfielder Darin Erstad was believed to be among the candidates the Dodgers were still considering for their managerial vacancy.
While the Dodgers may have been interested in hiring Erstad, he elected to withdraw his name from consideration, according to Dylan Hernandez and Bill Shaikin of the LA Times:
Former Angels outfielder Darin Erstad was also named a finalist, but withdrew from consideration to remain the head coach at the University of Nebraska. “I love the Huskers,” Erstad explained in a text messsage to The Times.
Erstad retired in 2009 after 14 seasons in the Majors, the majority of which came with the Angels organization. He served as a volunteer hitting coach at Nebraska during the 2011 season, before getting hired by his alma mater to lead their baseball program.
The Huskers went 29-30, including 15-9 in Big Ten play during Erstad’s first season at the helm. In 2014 he guided Nebraska to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2008 with an at-large bid to the Stillwater Regional.
With Erstad no longer in the picture, the Dodgers are believed to be deciding from former San Diego Padres manager Bud Black, Padres bench coach Dave Roberts and Dodgers director of player development Gabe Kapler.
Adding further intrigue to the situation, it’s plausible the three could wind up on the same staff with one serving as manager. Black and Roberts currently aren’t under contract, while Kapler could make an easy transition to the dugout.
Dodgers bench coach Tim Wallach is likely to join Don Mattingly’s Miami Marlins staff as Wallach is unlikely to get hired as manager in Los Angeles.
