Although anything can happen in the wacky world of Major League Baseball (and usually does), by all appearances, at least as of this moment, it looks as though popular 58-year-old Dodgers bench coach Bob Geren will remain as such.

For now.

While it came as a surprise to absolutely no one that the former Yankees and Padres catcher recently interviewed with the San Francisco Giants as a possible replacement for retiring future Hall of Fame manager Bruce Bochy, what did come as a surprise is that they were the only team (from among eight MLB teams needing to fill managerial vacancies) to interview the Dodgers soon-to-be five-year bench coach and Dodgers manager Dave Roberts‘ second in command.

And what does Roberts’ and Geren’s boss – Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman – think of all of this?

“I think, at this point, I’m not sure. Bob has been a big part of our successes, as good of a bench coach as I’ve been around.” Friedman said during his end-of-season press conference last month. “And I think with all the openings out there, I think it’s definitely a possibility. If so, tough loss for the Dodgers, great for him personally. And so we’ll just kind of feel that out and see where that goes.”

So far, so good.

Of the nine candidates who reportedly interviewed for the position, the Giants are down to three finalists: former Phillies manager Gabe Kapler, current Astros bench coach Joe Espada and current Rays bench coach Matt Quatraro, to replace Bochy.

However, as recently as this past Wednesday, Fox Sports’ Ken Rosenthal tweeted out that Dodgers field coordinator Clayton McCullough was also in the mix, although Rosenthal somewhat downplayed his viability as a MLB manager and sees him more in a support role.

But for now, at least, it appears that Dodgers uniform number eight will continue to be worn by (still) Dodgers bench coach Bob Geren.

…and that’s a very good thing.

Play Ball!

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