The Phillies have not conducted an off-season managerial search since 2004, and they are sure to engage external candidates — as soon as next week. They could pursue a fresh perspective from outside the organization, someone with the ideal characteristics that fit the modern managerial mold.
Or that man could come from within the organization.
The team will have interviewed three internal candidates by the end of the week — Dusty Wathan, Jorge Velandia and Juan Samuel — for the vacant manager’s job, according to two baseball sources. Samuel, 56, was the first to interview.
All three predate general manager Matt Klentak in the Phillies organization.