The first domino in the managerial marketplace fell last week, and it was far from a surprise. The Texas Rangers moved quickly to hire Skip Schumaker.

There are ample openings across Major League Baseball. One of them, of course, is in Baltimore. When considering the Orioles opening, president of baseball operations Mike Elias said experience could be a beneficial quality, although interim manager Tony Mansolino remains a “real candidate” for the full-time role.

Elsewhere on staff, bench coach Robinson Chirinos and longtime Triple-A Norfolk manager Buck Britton could be options — the lack of major league experience is a downside, however, because Chirinos and Britton just finished their first seasons on a big league coaching staff.

Last week, The Baltimore Banner named eight possible candidates for the Orioles’ manager position. This is a supplemental addition, including a former manager of the year and an infield guru who’s part of the National League’s best team by record.

Jeff Banister

The Orioles may need an edge — a character who understands what it’s like to fail and how to overcome it. Jeff Banister knows that all too well.

When he was in high school, bone cancer almost resulted in the amputation of one of his legs. A collision at the plate when he played catcher in college left Banister temporarily paralyzed from the neck down. He waited until the 25th round to be drafted, recorded a hit in his one and only major league at-bat and then transitioned into the incognito ranks of minor league coaching.

All of that helped Banister take the league by storm as a rookie manager for the Texas Rangers, when he led them to first-place finishes in the American League West in 2015 and 2016. Banister earned the American League Manager of the Year award in 2015.

The subsequent years were far from easy. Texas fired Banister late in 2018 after a second straight under-.500 season, and it took years before he landed a major league gig again. The Arizona Diamondbacks added him as bench coach ahead of the 2022 season, and there he remains.

Banister is an interesting option for Baltimore because of his intensity, his old-school style with an understanding of analytical modernity, and the experience of failure. In an Athletic article from 2023, Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said Banister “deserves to be a major league manager one day, once again.”

Maybe this go-around the 61-year-old will be in the running.

David Ross

Another Cubs connection, anyone? Elias dipped into Chicago’s coaching staff for his first managerial hire, bringing Brandon Hyde to Baltimore. He could turn to one of Hyde’s former players and a former Cubs manager for this next opening.

David Ross has made his interest in a return to managing known in recent weeks. He told The Athletic and Associated Press he’s ready for his next opportunity. Ross, a longtime catcher, took over Chicago’s manager role in 2020 despite never having managed before. He oversaw a rebuilding team and was surprisingly fired after the 2023 season, when the Cubs finished 83-79, because they poached experienced manager Craig Counsell for the top step of their dugout.

Ross wasn’t called for an opening last year, he told The Athletic, although he was considered for Baltimore’s bench coach position. Chirinos wound up taking that.

Ross, whose career record is 262-284, has spent two seasons away from the majors. In that time, he told The Athletic, he has reflected on what he’d do differently as a manager. When he began in Chicago, he found his emotions at times grew out of control when it came to arguing with umpires.

“You’re trying to fight for players,” Ross said. “You’ve got to take some of that emotion out of managing and continue to talk through it with the guys. Fight for your players, but there were some emotions sometimes that got the best of me from a managing standpoint, if I’m being honest.”

At 48, Ross has experience as a player and manager, and he’s floating his name for consideration. Atlanta, a club with which he once played, is of particular interest for the Georgia native. Ross told AP that managing the Braves “would be amazing.”

Rickie Weeks

The Milwaukee Brewers earned the top seed in the National League on the back of contact hitting and stellar defense. Manager Pat Murphy preaches the pass-the-baton offensive approach, but his associate manager, Rickie Weeks, is a central figure in that plucky clubhouse.

Weeks, a former All-Star infielder, is in his second season as the associate manager. In that time, he told the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, he has grown as a communicator — primarily learning that less can mean more.

“I am very intentional. I don’t talk just to talk. I’m not big on small talk,” Weeks told the Journal-Sentinel. “But, if something has to be said, I’m going to say it.”

Murphy said Weeks has taken an expanded role in player relations and lineup construction. “He’s really valued,” Murphy said.

The Brewers, under Murphy and Weeks, aren’t the definition of a modern-day offensive powerhouse. They don’t hit many home runs (166, good for 22nd of 30), and their team-wide OPS was slightly above league average (.736, 11th). But what they lack in slug they make up for in other valuable metrics.

They don’t strike out (20.3% strikeout rate, which was tied for fourth lowest), and their 9.1% walk rate was tied for fifth best. Their 974 singles led the majors, and their .258 average was tied for second best (Baltimore, meanwhile, finished 24th with a .235 average). And, to top it off, the Brewers’ 31 fielding run value on FanGraphs was the third best in the majors.

As the Orioles look to recover next season, a critical aspect of their resurrection will be a revitalized offensive approach. Baltimore’s 18.5% line drive percentage was the second worst, and the club’s 24.2% strikeout rate was third worst. To add on, the Orioles finished with a minus-21 fielding run value, which is no help to a pitching staff.

Weeks is unproven. He has been associate manager for just two seasons. But, if the Orioles are aiming to recalibrate parts of their approach, plucking him from Milwaukee could be a major win.