Are the Giants falling behind in MLB manager race?

SAN FRANCISCO — Within the last 36 hours, three of the eight teams conducting searches for a new manager have reportedly agreed to terms with a candidate.

The Cubs, Phillies and Padres have all settled on replacements for outgoing managers and are ready to enter the next phase of the offseason. The hiring of Joe Maddon last week brought an end to the Angels’ search, leaving the Giants as one of four teams that have yet to complete their hiring process.

Is the Giants’ slow pace a cause for concern?

As we detailed Wednesday, the Giants’ search for Bruce Bochy’s replacement has taken them in different directions than most other clubs also looking for a new manager. The Cubs’ hiring of David Ross, the Phillies’ hiring of Joe Girardi and the Padres’ hiring of Jayce Tingler will not affect the Giants’ search because none of those new managers was ever under consideration in San Francisco.

With four manager spots filled and four left to go, the Giants could wind up being the last team to announce their next leader. Here’s where the search for a new manager currently stands.

Who’s off the board?

Chicago Cubs: The Cubs hired Ross over Joe Espada, who remains in contention to succeed Bochy with the Giants. Ross, a former MLB catcher and ESPN analyst, was only considered in Chicago where he’ll replace Joe Maddon.

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim: Maddon will take over for Brad Ausmus, who went one-and-done with the Angels thanks in large part to the demands of owner Arte Moreno. When Maddon became available, the Angels pounced. Anyone who suggested their search was thorough must figure that calling Maddon and asking if he’d take the job qualifies.

Philadelphia Phillies: Girardi drew praise for his work as TV analyst with Fox during the playoffs and it was only a matter of time before he would return to a manager’s spot. The Phillies reportedly chose Girardi over Dusty Baker and Buck Showalter, neither of whom have been mentioned as serious candidates elsewhere.

San Diego Padres: San Diego settled on Tingler, a longtime member of the Rangers organization who beat out former A’s coach Ron Washington for the job with the Padres. Tingler is a friend of general manager A.J. Preller’s and he’ll enter a situation where expectations are sky-high, regardless of whether that should be the case or not.

Who’s vying for the opening in San Francisco

Joe Espada: The Astros are down 2-0 in the World Series and while the rest of the team is heading to Washington, D.C., their bench coach is reportedly on his way to San Francisco for an interview with Farhan Zaidi. MLB.com reported that Espada will speak to the Giants in person after having an initial discussion over the phone earlier this week. A winter ball manager in Puerto Rico, Espada was also a finalist in Chicago.

Pedro Grifol: The Royals quality control coach reportedly spoke to the Giants early in the process and is highly-regarded for his work on Kansas City’s major league staff. Grifol is a catching coach who has helped mold Sal Perez into a perennial Gold Glove winner and he’s received credit for keying slugger Jorge Soler’s breakout year.

Gabe Kapler: It’s unclear how serious the Giants are about Kapler’s candidacy, but the former Phillies manager has a strong working relationship with Zaidi and was considered “the favorite” entering the hiring process that led the Dodgers to pick Dave Roberts in November, 2015. Kapler’s role in handling sexual harassment allegations against Dodgers minor leaguers is troubling and will certainly be a topic of discussion if he advances to the second round of interviews.

Mark Kotsay: The Oakland A’s quality control coach has emerged as a front-runner for the job with the Giants after his first-round interview. Kotsay spent parts of 17 seasons in the majors as a player and was in Oakland when Zaidi was rising through the ranks of the A’s front office. He’s just 43 years old, but is well-regarded for his work in helping A’s players embrace and understand analytics.

Hensley Meulens: The first of two in-house candidates, Meulens should be receiving consideration for other jobs, too. He has an outstanding work ethic, speaks five languages and was beloved by players when managing the Netherlands in the World Baseball Classic. The Giants may ultimately decide to go outside the organization with their hire, but Meulens would be an asset to any first-time manager if he returned as bench coach.

Matt Quatraro: The Tampa Bay Rays bench coach isn’t the hottest name on the market this offseason and has reportedly only been considered in San Francisco. However, Zaidi admires the work Rays manager Kevin Cash has done and is intrigued by some of the alternative strategies Tampa Bay has used to succeed in a tough division. By interviewing Quatraro, the Giants were able to gather information about how the Rays have achieved some unlikely success.

Ron Wotus: Will Wotus’ time ever come? He’s starting to become reminiscent of Bruce Arians, the longtime NFL assistant coach who entered the league in 1989 and didn’t land his first full-time head coaching gig until 2013. Wotus has been more than deserving of a shot to manage for the last 15 years, but teams appear less willing to consider older coaches who lack experience leading MLB clubs.

What’s next?

The Giants planned to have eight-to-10 first round interviews before advancing to their second round and Espada is set to become the eighth candidate on Thursday. Zaidi could decide he’s heard from enough qualified candidates and move forward with the process, but it wouldn’t come as a surprise if the Giants fit one or two more interviews in with folks from high-achieving franchises.

The Giants don’t necessarily need to worry about their candidates taking jobs elsewhere because for the most part, there’s no overlap for those still being considered in San Francisco and others pining for a gig in other cities.

Espada could be a popular choice in Pittsburgh, but the Pirates are a disaster of a franchise at the moment and there’s conflicting reports out as to whether general manager Neal Huntington will hold onto his job through the end of next week. If that doesn’t sound like an enticing spot to manage, it shouldn’t. The MLB team is bad and the farm system isn’t much better, so even if Pittsburgh makes a strong play for someone such as Espada or Kotsay, a candidate may wait to see whether the Giants will offer before focusing on the Pirates.

Other jobs still open

Kansas City: Former Giants catcher and Cardinals manager Mike Matheny is considered the favorite to succeed Ned Yost. Grifol could emerge as a secondary option.

New York Mets: Like the Giants, the Mets’ process has taken a deliberate pace and New York does not appear to be in a rush to announce a hire.

Pittsburgh Pirates: There are only 30 manager jobs in MLB, so someone will be happy to take over in Pittsburgh. That doesn’t mean they’ll be happy when the season starts.