Jeff Banister<\/p>\n
The Orioles may need an edge \u2014 a character who understands what it\u2019s like to fail and how to overcome it. Jeff Banister knows that all too well.<\/p>\n
When he was in high school, bone cancer almost resulted in the amputation of one of his legs. A collision at the plate when he played catcher in college left Banister temporarily paralyzed from the neck down. He waited until the 25th round to be drafted, recorded a hit in his one and only major league at-bat<\/a> and then transitioned into the incognito ranks of minor league coaching.<\/p>\n All of that helped Banister take the league by storm as a rookie manager for the Texas Rangers, when he led them to first-place finishes in the American League West in 2015 and 2016. Banister earned the American League Manager of the Year award in 2015.<\/p>\n The subsequent years were far from easy. Texas fired Banister late in 2018 after a second straight under-.500 season, and it took years before he landed a major league gig<\/a> again. The Arizona Diamondbacks added him as bench coach ahead of the 2022 season, and there he remains.<\/p>\n Banister is an interesting option for Baltimore because of his intensity, his old-school style with an understanding of analytical modernity, and the experience of failure. In an Athletic article from 2023, Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said Banister \u201cdeserves to be a major league manager one day, once again.\u201d<\/p>\n Maybe this go-around the 61-year-old will be in the running.<\/p>\n David Ross said he sometimes failed to control his emotions when arguing with umpires during his first tenure as a major league manager. (Michael Reaves\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n David Ross<\/p>\n Another Cubs connection, anyone? Elias dipped into Chicago\u2019s coaching staff for his first managerial hire, bringing Brandon Hyde to Baltimore. He could turn to one of Hyde\u2019s former players and a former Cubs manager for this next opening.<\/p>\n David Ross has made his interest in a return to managing known in recent weeks. He told The Athletic<\/a> and Associated Press<\/a> he\u2019s ready for his next opportunity. Ross, a longtime catcher, took over Chicago\u2019s manager role in 2020 despite never having managed before. He oversaw a rebuilding team and was surprisingly fired after the 2023 season, when the Cubs finished 83-79, because they poached experienced manager Craig Counsell for the top step of their dugout.<\/p>\n Ross wasn\u2019t called for an opening last year, he told The Athletic, although he was considered for Baltimore\u2019s bench coach position. Chirinos wound up taking that.<\/p>\n Ross, whose career record is 262-284, has spent two seasons away from the majors. In that time, he told The Athletic, he has reflected on what he\u2019d do differently as a manager. When he began in Chicago, he found his emotions at times grew out of control when it came to arguing with umpires.<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019re trying to fight for players,\u201d Ross said. \u201cYou\u2019ve got to take some of that emotion out of managing and continue to talk through it with the guys. Fight for your players, but there were some emotions sometimes that got the best of me from a managing standpoint, if I\u2019m being honest.\u201d<\/p>\n At 48, Ross has experience as a player and manager, and he\u2019s floating his name for consideration. Atlanta, a club with which he once played, is of particular interest for the Georgia native. Ross told AP that managing the Braves \u201cwould be amazing.\u201d<\/p>\n Associate manager Rickie Weeks, left, of the Brewers has earned praise from his boss, Pat Murphy. (John Fisher\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n Rickie Weeks<\/p>\n The Milwaukee Brewers earned the top seed in the National League on the back of contact hitting and stellar defense. Manager Pat Murphy preaches the pass-the-baton offensive approach, but his associate manager, Rickie Weeks, is a central figure in that plucky clubhouse.<\/p>\n Weeks, a former All-Star infielder, is in his second season as the associate manager. In that time, he told the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, he has grown as a communicator \u2014 primarily learning that less can mean more.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/OTUPFSB7ZRFBPN7UAXP7E6PXJQ.jpg\")
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