It was widely expected upon the conclusion of the Boston Red Sox’s playoff run, but today it’s finally being reported as a thing that will happen: Red Sox bench coach Torey Lovullo will interview this week for the Cubs’ managerial vacancy, per Ken Rosenthal.
Lovullo, 48, has been mentioned in connection with the Cubs’ gig for weeks now, but the doggoned Red Sox success streak kept him out of the picture (rude!). He’s become famous round these and other parts for a FanGraphs interview that makes him look like the kind of sabermetric darling manager this front office would theoretically gravitate to (and makes me swoon), but we should all be cautious before putting too much stock in a single, short interview in which Lovullo was responding to questions about advanced statistics for a web site that carries the banner of advanced statistics.
If the interview happens – at least one report out of Boston says no actual request for permission to interview has come yet – Lovullo will join Rick Renteria, A.J. Hinch, Manny Acta, Brad Ausmus, Dave Martinez, and Eric Wedge as dudes who’ve interviewed for the job vacated by Dale Sveum shortly after the season ended. Ausmus has since been hired by the Tigers, and Manny Acta’s candidacy has been called into question. The other four theoretically remain in the mix, though Renteria is described by all corners as the favorite.
Lovullo’s presence could change that, but we’ll have to see when we get there.