Tampa Bay Rays bench coach Dave Martinez has mentioned that he would like to be a major league manager one day, and that he is ready for the challenge.
With the recent news of the Houston Astros firing manager Bo Porter, there are rumors swirling around that the 49-year old bench coach might be a candidate to replace him. This would not be the first time that he has been involved in a managerial search with the Astros. Back in 2012, Martinez was considered one of the finalists in the Houston manager job. The job was ultimately won by Porter.
Before yesterday's game, Martinez denied being contacted by the Astros, but remained open to being interested if he was called by them. He told Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times before yesterday's game this:
"My job is to be the bench coach with the Rays and help this team succeed," said Martinez, who has also previously interviewed for manager jobs with the Cubs, Indians and Blue Jays. "If another opportunity arises, I'd welcome the opportunity. (The Astros) are good people over there. I've interviewed with them before. If they do call me, I'd be looking forward to it."
Martinez would be a great candidate for the Astros' managerial job as he has hung around Rays' manager Joe Maddon for many years now. If he does not get the job with Houston, Martinez will likely get another job somewhere else very soon.