Detroit Tigers Manager Candidate: Phil Nevin

The Detroit Tigers continue their ” New York State of Mind” by interviewing their third coach from the Yankees, former Tigers minor league manager and player, Phil Nevin.

Earlier today, it was reported by Evan Woodbery of Mlive.com, that the Detroit Tigers interviewed Carlos Mendoza, making it the second interview from the New York Yankees coaching staff.  Then, this afternoon, Jason Beck of MLB.com reported the Tigers talked to Yankees third base coach Phil Nevin about the vacant position.

Last month,  I threw Phil Nevin’s name out as one of the possible Detroit Tigers manager candidates before they were announced based on three factors:

1. Nevin was a Tigers minor-league coach in Erie and Toledo.
2. He has a good personal relationship with Al Avila
3. He was a candidate in 2017.

Why would Phil Nevin be a good fit in Detroit?

Phil Nevin managed for four seasons between one season in Erie and three seasons in Toledo. He also managed the Arizona Diamondbacks Triple-A squad to 1st place before losing in the PCL finals in 2014.  The familiarity with coaching young talent is there and he is familiar with how Detroit may want to plan out their roster because of his experience with Al Avila. Plus, he worked with Bruch Bochy in San Francisco and Jim Leyland in Detroit.

From what a manager is in 2020, they are an extension of what the general manager wants to do. So someone who will go along with how the team wants to put out a lineup. So it would make sense to have Avila bring in someone with who he is very comfortable.

He also sounds like John Goodman. Here he is talking to “Takin Yanks” about how he got hired in New York.  Pretty cool that the Yankees allow a site like Jomboy Media and their podcast “Taking Yanks” to talk to their coaches and players. What a great concept but I digress. Some highlights in the interviews included him talking about his relationship with Aaron Boone and how Aaron’s father, Bob, taught him to get back into catching when he was a player.

Why would Phil Nevin not be a good fit with the Detroit Tigers?

The only thing I can think of is the lack of major league managerial experience.

Overall, we still have to wait until after the World Series is over to get a clearer picture of what Detroit wants to do. Will they go with experience with Hinch and Cora? Or, do they go with a manager with a lot of minor league experience? We will find out soon enough.