M’s may already have interviewed top choice

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I’m already a little tired of discussing the Seattle Mariners managerial search, all the candidates interviewed and others potentially down the pike, but there’s a better than minuscule chance that the eventual top choice has already been interviewed. Notice I didn’t say ‘eventual hire,’ and the reason I did not phrase it that way is because it’s a two-way street. When Steve Sandmeyer offered me his two children, his car and his entire 2014 salary in exchange for coming to work with him at 1090 The Fan, I had a choice, too. Same goes for any candidate the M’s consider as Eric Wedge‘s replacement.

Jon Heyman reported Monday that San Francisco Giants bench coach Ron Wotus is the latest to interview for the position, and this comes after Rick Renteria and Chip Hale already have had an interview, and Lloyd McClendon will at some point soon. Several others will get their chance, too, but if you’re into online betting, wagering that the next skipper of the team has already been interviewed isn’t a bad one.

Hale, Renteria and Wotus all come with high praise as disciplined baseball men with long backgrounds in the game. Hale and Wotus have seen the playoffs recently with the two Bay Area clubs. Wotus has been the bench coach in San Francisco for 14 seasons, learning from and assisting Bruce Bochy while the Giants have won two World Series titles. Renteria, for good reason, is considered one of the frontrunners for the Chicago Cubs’ managerial vacancy.

We’re going to hear about several more interviews and more names linked to the Mariners, but it may not matter. They may have already spoken to their choice.

If that is the case in the end, the question then becomes, will their choice want to manage in Seattle under the current circumstances. Most assume the answer is ‘yes,’  and in most scenarios with most candidates — almost all — that is undoubtedly true. The Mariners are probably going to give the new skipper a two-year deal, even with GM Jack Zduriencik working on one year of guaranteed money, but one that could be considered monthly