HOUSTON — The Red Sox on Wednesday said a request has not been made at this point to speak with bench coach Gary DiSarcina about a potential managerial job. NBC Sports on Monday Philadelphia reported DiSarcina as being on “the early list of hot names” for the Phillies gig.
Even if now isn’t the time for DiSarcina, who’s from Billerica, his stock has risen through his first year in Boston (and his first year as a major league bench coach). Were he to depart, it’d be the second straight year the Sox lost a well-liked bench coach. DiSarcina replaced Torey Lovullo before this season.
“It's an honor to have it mentioned,” DiSarcina said, aware of chatter connecting him to the Phillies. “Especially a team like Philadelphia. I’ve known [general manager] Matt Klentak since my time with the Angels, going back five, six years ago. … You’re still so focused on where you are now. I’m so happy to be here. At the same time, it’s good that other people notice your work and other people notice you and want to talk to you and stuff.
“It’s hard to really think about [the potential for an interview], because you’re so focused on the Red Sox and getting through this series and moving on, accomplishing our final goal here. But it definitely is exciting, it’s an honor. It’s something if it happens, great, 'cause a lot of times your name comes up in a paper where teams like you, and they want to interview you. But it just doesn’t happen because they find someone else who’s a better fit.”
Sox manager John Farrell fully expects DiSarcina to be on the interview circuit. DiSarcina interviewed to be the Mariners skipper ahead of the 2014 season.
“It’d be great if he has an opportunity,” Farrell said Wednesday. “He’s got a great way to connect with players. He sees the field and the game great. He’s got front office experience to understand what goes into building a roster. Just a really, really good baseball guy.
“I would anticipate with his resume, how he interacts with people, got a great way with people, I would fully expect he would be a candidate.”
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DiSarcina appreciates the interview process because of the self-reflection involved. You have to think back on how you got to where you are, and the people who helped and your philosophies.
DiSarcina said coming back to the Sox — he was with the Sox last as Triple-A Pawtucket’s manager in 2013 before joining the Angels — has showed him a different side of Red Sox Nation, one you can’t know unless you’re on the inside.
“The good, the bad, the ugly, and everything in between,” DiSarcina said, noting a newfound appreciation for the American League East's competitiveness. “I had a little flashback when we clinched and we were running [to the field on Saturday]. The coaches kind of walk out there, they don’t run out there. And the guys were jumping up and down on each other, and I had a flashback to our first day of camp and being on the field for the first time and just kind of addressing the team, letting them know what the schedule was that day.
"Seeing all the same faces, at the beginning of the journey and to accomplish goal No. 1 and step No. 1 with this organization, it’s been — the only word I can come up with — it’s been awesome.”
If a request comes in, when would DiSarcina interview? Sox president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said if time allows, interviews can be conducted by other teams during the postseason.
“It’s very dependent on where you are, your playoffs,” Dombrowski said. “I’ve allowed guys to talk between series at times. But it really just depends. If you got one day between series, then the answer is, you wait.”