MLB Manager Rankings: from Worst to Best

28. Mark Kotsay — Oakland Athletics

After seeing longtime manager Bob Melvin travel south to San Diego, the A’s were left to search for a manager for the first time since 2012. Oakland’s brass landed on former Athletic utility man Mark Kotsay, who played on the team for four seasons (’04-’07) during a lengthy 17-year career.

Kotsay has been put in the unenviable position of ushering in a new era of Oakland Athletic baseball. There is a severe lack of talent on this team. However, that does infer the front office will be a bit more lenient on Kotsay’s early results. Kotsay will have free reign to experiment with a team that is entering ’22 with zero expectations.

Image Source: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

27. Rob Thomson — Philadelphia Phillies

After a two-year hiatus, Joe Girardi returned to manage the Phillies. Girardi proved himself while in New York, leading the Bronx Bombers to the 2009 World Series title and posting an overall record of 910-710 over 10 seasons. In his first two years with the Phillies, the club failed to make the postseason — and went 110-112 overall. Girardi was fired after the Phillies started the 2022 season 22-29. Enter, Rob Thomson. Thomson has served as Philadelphia’s bench coach the past five seasons and was a coach for the Yankees from 2008-2017. Let’s see what he can do as a manager.

Image Source: Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images