Dave Martinez to Interview for Nationals Managerial Job

Dave Martinez. Dave, Dave Mar-TI-nez. Okay, so maybe only two of you will get that, but I couldn’t help myself.

Joe Maddon’s longtime bench coach has interviewed for several managerial openings over the past seven years or so, one of which came with the Cubs after Dale Svuem was relieved of his duties. Frankly, I’m amazed he’s remained in his current role as long as he has.

That could be changing soon, however, as several spots have opened up across MLB. Martinez was among the finalists in Detroit before the Tigers chose Ron Gardenhire, and he’ll surely be in consideration for others. As the Washington Post’s Jorge Castillo reports, one such job is with the Nationals.

The Nationals have reached out to Cubs bench coach Dave Martinez for their managerial opening and he will interview, per source.

— Jorge Castillo (@jorgecastillo) October 23, 2017

Martinez had actually spoken with the Nats back in 2013, but the club opted to go with Matt Williams instead. That didn’t work out too well, though the same could be said for pretty much every skipper there.

Praised in particular for his savvy with defensive positioning, Martinez appears to have the strategic chops to lead a club. He’s also bilingual and has been tasked with delivering both good and bad news as Maddon’s right-hand man, which indicates that he’s a good communicator.

You have to wonder why Martinez has served as a perpetual bridesmaid in these situations, but his move to the role of skipper seems inevitable. I think he’ll do a good job, too, which is why I’d rather he go to an AL team.

Regardless, it’s looking like the Cubs will be filling a couple spots on their staff after Maddon had expressed hope that they’d all return for 2018.