Joe Girardi has been rumored as a candidate for at least two MLB managerial openings, which is a good thing for the former Yankees manager, who seems intent on returning to a dugout next season.
The 54-year-old Girardi, who won 910 games and a World Series in 10 years with the Yankees before being fired after the 2017 season, has been tied to the open jobs with the Cubs and Padres, and if the Mets move on from Mickey Callaway, he's said to be in the mix for that opening as well.
Girardi told Chicago's 670 The Score he's definitely interested in being a manager again.
“When you look at managing in Major League Baseball, there are only so many jobs,” Girardi said on The Score’s “Mully & Haugh Show." “So obviously anything that comes across your desk, you’re going to be very interested in. You can’t just go to another city and say, ‘I’m going to be an orthopedic surgeon here.’ You can’t do anything like that.
“So, there’s 30 jobs. Obviously, there’s 10 teams in the playoffs, so those jobs probably aren’t open. You start to look at the other jobs available and obviously I have a lot of ties to Chicago. Any job out there is going to interest me, because I would like to manage again.”
But the Cubs opening would seem to hold particular interest for Girardi. The Peoria, Illinois, native was drafted by the Cubs and played seven seasons for them as a catcher. He was also interviewed for the team's managerial openings in 2006 and 2013.
Girardi refused to say whether he has an interview scheduled with the Cubs, who fired Joe Maddon on Sunday after five seasons.
"I've made it known that I would like to manage again, so you kind of wait and see what happens in this process," Girardi said. "There's a lot of jobs open (six), more than I remember in the past and there could be some more. So we'll see what happens."
Girardi also praised the Cubs' approach, saying, "There are a lot of pieces in place there."