Blue Jays close to deal to hire Mattingly as bench coach

Blue Jays reach deal to bring in Don Mattingly as bench coach, tweet Joel Sherman of the New York Post.

Sherman and Jon Heyman first reported earlier Tuesday night that Mattingly and the Jays were in talks over a coaching job, which Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi specified was for the vacant position of bench coach.

Assuming the deal goes through, Mattingly will return directly to the MLB staff.

He has spent the past 12 years in management, leading the Dodgers from 2011-2015 and the Marlins from 2016-22. Late last season, Miami and Mattingly announced they would part ways at the end of the year. .

The 61-year-old suggested he was open to pursuing coaching, management or front office work at the time, and he is indeed set to play another key role.

The Marlins only qualified for the playoffs once during Mattingly’s seven-year tenure as manager. Miami was rebuilding for the first part of that streak, and it looked like they took a step forward with a 31-29 showing in the shortened 2020 season to secure a Wild Card berth.

Their efforts to build around a developing rotation didn’t lead to continued progress, however, and Miami and Mattingly went their separate ways after the 2021-22 seasons with 93 and 95 losses, respectively.

The Fish then hired Skip Schumaker away from the Cardinals as manager.

Mattingly will bring a wealth of top-level experience to the bench coaching position. It’s surely welcome for John Schneider, 42, who was named Toronto coach just before the start of the offseason.

He had served in that role on an interim basis for the past two months, taking over when the Jays fired Charlie Montoyo in July.

This will be his first full season as a major league manager, so it’s a good idea to bring in a veteran like Mattingly to help him with those decisions.

Schneider entered the 2022 season as Toronto’s bench coach under Montoyo. When he left the position to take on the lead role, the Jays promoted Triple-A manager Casey Candaele to interim bench coach for the second half.

It’s unclear if Candaele will stay on the MLB staff or if he should return to the minor leagues in 2023.

The upcoming bench coach hire is just one part of what could be a very hectic week for Mattingly.

He is one of eight former players being considered for the Hall of Fame by the Era Committee. The six-time All-Star will find out on Sunday if he will be enrolled in Cooperstown in 2023.