Cleveland Guardians: Exploring 4 manager options for 2022 and beyond

DeMarlo Hale, Interim Cleveland Indians Manager

Terry Francona stepped away from the team this year at the trade deadline on July 29. The team was coming off a difficult month and it seemed like the season was pretty much over. In Francona’s absence, the team turned to bench coach DeMarlo Hale as acting manager. While Hale has had his learning curves, he’s still done a decent job and could draw interest for the full-time gig should Francona step away.

Since Hale took over, the Tribe are 18-17 on the year, which is rather similar to how they were performing under Francona. The team’s run differential has also improved under Hale, but the bullpen is struggling.

Now, not all of that can be attributed to the manager. However, Hale has done a solid job of just holding down the fort. There hasn’t been too much alteration in the team since Francona’s absence.

Should Francona decide to step away and the front office wants to stay status quo with what’s been going on with the team over the last few seasons, then Hale is a great option to consider. He wouldn’t be the only internal candidate, but this year has definitely helped his case. He wouldn’t be the flashy hire, but potentially the most logical to continue what has been built.