The man Duane Kuiper once said may be the successor to Bruce Bochy as Giants manager, is apparently garnering significant interest from another major league team. Giants third-base coach Phil Nevin is a “strong candidate” for the Detriot Tigers’ managerial opening, according to a report from Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports.
This is not the first time Nevin, 46, has been a top candidate for a job opening. Nevin narrowly lost out to Torey Lovullo for the Arizona managerial job before signing onto Bruce Bochy’s staff. Before that, Nevin reportedly interviewed for major league managing jobs with the Nationals, Marlins, Padres and Astros.
Though a top candidate, Nevin is not necessarily considered a favorite, and will also be competing with Detriot’s in-house options that include coaches Lloyd McClendon, Omar Vizquel and Dave Clark. Ex-Marlins manager Mike Redmond, ex-Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez and ex-White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen have also been liked to the job. The Tigers announced last week that current manager Brad Ausmus will not return next season.
A Fullerton native, Nevin was the first overall pick in the 1992 draft by the Houston Astros, and made one All-Star team during his 12-year career. Nevin played under Bochy in San Diego from 1999-2005. Though his position with the Giants is Nevin’s first major league coaching job, he has managed at the AAA level for both the Tigers and Diamondbacks affiliates.
