Could Baltimore Orioles Manager Buck Showalter Leave for Philadelphia?

The Baltimore Orioles have experienced success not seen in decades in Baltimore under Buck Showalter, but could that be coming to an end?

Buck Showalter is one of the best managers the Baltimore Orioles have ever had, with his name up there with the likes of Johnny Oates, Davey Johnson, and others, and trailing the legendary Earl Weaver.

Showalter, 61, has been in Baltimore since the second part of 2010. He is 622-569 in Baltimore and has led the franchise to the playoffs in 2012, 2014 and 2016.

The 2014 Manager of the Year has one more year on his contract in Baltimore, which is significant.

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Not only is it the last year of Buck’s contract, but also that of General Manager Dan Duquette, Third Baseman Manny Machado, Closer Zach Britton and Center Fielder Adam Jones. Those are five of the critical pieces of the Orioles’ resurgence.

Could Showalter have already managed his last game in an Orioles’ uniform?

It is possible.

Nick Carfado of the Boston Globe was the one to report the interest recently, although it has been well known that the Phillies and General Manager Matt Klentak would be interested.

Klentak, of course, was in the Orioles’ organization with Showalter.

Would Showalter go? Would he even get the chance to interview?

Both are good questions.

Showalter’s chance to interview likely depends on thoughts from Orioles owner Peter Angelos. It is believed that both Showalter and Duquette won’t be back in 2019. Most assume Duquette will be the one who will be gone.

But, maybe Angelos trusts Duquette and feels Showalter won’t get the Orioles over the hump either. Then, perhaps he would be willing to let Showalter leave.

However, Angelos has also shown himself to be pretty stubborn. Maybe he would refuse to let Showalter leave. The only recent comparison we have is how the Toronto Blue Jays were reportedly interested in Dan Duquette, and Angelos wasn’t willing to play along there.

However, the contracts were longer then, and the Jays, of course, are a division rival.

Would Buck go? Again, I think if this interest is there and he is given the opportunity to leave, he just might.

There have been numerous reports of tension between Dan Duquette and Showalter over the last few years. It is unknown how real that tension is, but usually, when there is smoke, there’s fire.

No one knows if this is the case with Buck and Peter Angelos as well. There haven’t been any rumored issues, and most steps taken by the franchise seem to show how lucky they are to have Showalter managing the club.

Buck has said several times that he anticipates Baltimore being his last stop in what could be a Hall of Fame career.

There has also been talking about whether Showalter might be interested in replacing Duquette in the front office after this season.

A lot of the other candidates have more direct ties to the Phillies. They include Larry Bowa, Ruben Amaro Jr., Dusty Wathan (Triple-A Manager).

Time will tell whether or not Showalter is asked to interview, and also whether he does.

Some Baltimore Orioles fans might be open and welcome to change at manager. However, the question then becomes who becomes the Orioles’ manager. My guess is it won’t be anyone internally.

Next: MLB Playoffs 2017 Predictions Amid Orioles Withdrawal

The Baltimore Orioles are expected to contend in 2018, which some belief might be their last hurrah with the current build of the team.

All expectations are that Buck Showalter will manage that team, but the Phillies’ interest is notable.

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