Former major league All-Stars Matt Williams and Brad Ausmus are among the candidates to replace Davey Johnson as manager of the Washington Nationals, the Washington Post reports.
Williams, who has been a coach with the Arizona Diamondbacks since 2010, "recently" taked to the club about replacing Johnson, who is retiring, the newspaper reports. And Ausmus also will get an interview, although the timing is unclear.
Williams, 47, was a finalist last offseason for the Colorado Rockies job that ultimately went to Walt Weiss. He managed the Salt River Rafters in the Arizona Fall League last year but doesn't have an extensive managerial background. Nationals GM Mike Rizzo was scouting director for the D-backs in the early 2000s, when Williams was playing for the team.
"He’s going to be a manager at some point, so he deserves every opportunity to get out and have an offer or at least interview," D-backs 2B Aaron Hill told the Post. "I know everyone here wishes him the best. You never hear a bad thing about him. He relates [to players] really well. He’s very even-keeled. You don’t see a lot of emotions get to him at a higher level. Communication is a big thing with him. He’s got a presence about him.”
In his 17-season major league career, Williams hit .268 with 378 homers, 1,218 RBIs and a .317 on-base percentage. The five-time All-Star and four-time Gold Glove winner last played in the majors in 2003.
Ausmus, 44, works in the front office of the San Diego Padres and also doesn't have much managerial experience. But the former catcher was widely viewed as a future skipper during his 18-year playing career. He managed Israel's team during the qualifying rounds of this year's World Baseball Classic.
The three-time Gold Glove winner hit .251 with 80 home runs during his career.