Reds managerial search: Jim Riggleman, Bryan Price among candidates

The Reds fired Dusty Baker on Friday after the Pirates knocked them out of the postseason.

Oct 5, 2013, 1:07 PM UTC

Rob Carr

After the Reds surprising firing of Manager Dusty Baker Friday, rumors are already starting as to who will be the next manager in Cincinnati.

General Manager Walt Jocketty said that Reds pitching coach Bryan Price and Triple-A Louisville manager Jim Riggleman would both be interviewed for the job, reports MLB.com. Houston Astros 2012 bench coach Eduardo Perez also says he is interested in the job, according to the Houston Chronicle.

More Reds coverage: Red Reporter

Riggleman is the only one of the three with major league managing experience. He has headed four different franchises over the past 20 years and accumulated a 662-824 record. His latest MLB managing stint came with the Nationals, whom he was with from 2009-11. In 12 years of managing, Riggleman has had a winning record just three times.

At least one Reds player believes that Price would be an excellent candidate to fill the vacancy.

"His reputation precedes him," soon-to-be free agent starter Bronson Arroyo told reporters. "I think he'd do a hell of a job. He's as organized and punctual as anybody I've ever seen in this game."

Over the past 12 years, Price has been pitching coach for the Mariners, Diamondbacks and, since 2009, the Reds. He won an award for Major League Coach of the Year in 2007 when he helped Arizona post the fourth best ERA in the National League. As it happens, the Reds finished 2013 with the fourth-best ERA in the MLB while topping the league in strikeouts.

Eduardo Perez's father is Hall of Famer Tony Perez, who starred as a corner infielder for the Reds during the Big Red Machine days and would later manage the team. The younger Perez was a bench coach with the Astros last year and has an offer to rejoin the team in a different role.

Perez is one of several outside candidates who could be considered for the job, including former Reds' minor league Manager David Bell and Cardinals third base coach Jose Oquendo. Cincinnati is still very much in the preliminary stages of a manager search, so it will likely still be a while before a new manager is named.