As is his way, president of baseball operations Mike Elias didn’t show his hand during his end-of-season press conference Monday. The questions surrounding the Orioles’ search for a full-time manager resulted in generalities.

But the timeline, at least, is somewhat apparent. Elias said Baltimore hopes to make a decision on their next manager “ASAP,” whether that be removing the interim tag from Tony Mansolino or hiring an external candidate.

And, secondly, Elias noted that previous major league management experience could be a bonus.

“Experience is usually, overwhelmingly usually, a big positive,” Elias said. “In our particular situation, I think it’ll definitely carry a lot of weight,” given the inexperience of many of the players within the clubhouse. Still, Elias said experience is far from the only factor that will be considered.

Speed could be of the essence. The managerial market will be competitive this winter. The San Francisco Giants, Texas Rangers, Los Angeles Angels, Minnesota Twins, Colorado Rockies, Washington Nationals and Atlanta Braves also have openings at the helm. The Monday dismissals of Bruce Bochy from the Rangers and Bob Melvin from the Giants signal what could be a fast-moving market.

The following names could be under consideration for the post in Baltimore. This is not an exhaustive list of Orioles candidates, and it starts with Mansolino, because he’s the in-house option whom Elias called a “real candidate.”

Tony Mansolino

The interview process for Mansolino began in May, when the third base coach was thrust into the managerial position following Brandon Hyde’s firing. He finished with a 60-59 record in that role, and he and the rest of the coaching staff deserve plaudits for how they prevented the Orioles from dropping off a cliff.

Mansolino said he would participate in a formal interview if the Orioles desired it, and he backed himself for the role several times on Monday — while also acknowledging his future may lie elsewhere.

“In terms of being a full-time manager, I think I can do it anywhere,” Mansolino said. “I think I can do it in a big market. I think I can do it in a small market, a rebuilding team, a win-now team.”

Perhaps the largest selling point for Mansolino is that he has developed positive relationships with many of Baltimore’s most important players, both as a coach and interim manager. On the other hand, with the way the Orioles underperformed, it’s conceivable that Elias would prefer an outside voice.

Bob Melvin

The experience of Melvin could make him an attractive candidate, even though he was just ousted by the Giants for missing the postseason two seasons in a row. The 63-year-old has managed in the majors since 2003, when he began his tenure as a skipper with the Seattle Mariners.

He’s a three-time manager of the year and has won four division titles — yet the latter hasn’t happened since 2020 with the Oakland Athletics. As a bench coach for the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2001, Melvin helped win a World Series.

The 81-81 record with which the Giants finished this season is a disappointing ending for a club that made large player acquisitions. San Francisco traded for Rafael Devers midway through the season, although the club’s total payroll still ranked 14th, per Spotrac, just two spots ahead of Baltimore.

Melvin was also a longtime player in the majors, serving as a catcher for seven different teams over a 10-year period. Three of those seasons (1989 to 1991) were with the Orioles. He played 257 games for Baltimore at a time when Cal Ripken Jr. was king. Now, Ripken may have a voice as part of the ownership group when it comes to determining the next manager.

Ryan Flaherty

Another former Orioles player may well be one of the top names in consideration. Ryan Flaherty, 39, played six of his eight MLB seasons with the Orioles as a utility infielder while manager Buck Showalter commanded the dugout.

Since ending his playing career, Flaherty has been part of several well-run organizations, notably under Melvin as the bench coach of the Padres in 2022-23. He then joined the Chicago Cubs in 2024 and is in his second season as Craig Counsell’s bench coach. Apart from a small stint in June 2022 as the acting manager when coronavirus protocols held out other Padres coaches, Flaherty hasn’t managed before.

Flaherty played college baseball at Vanderbilt under Tim Corbin, the well-respected coach who also managed Mansolino (Mansolino graduated the year before Flaherty joined the Commodores).

Scott Servais

Another longtime catcher in the majors, Scott Servais transitioned to coaching and led the Mariners for eight full seasons before his midseason firing in 2024. In that time, the 58-year-old never won the American League West, and the Mariners reached the postseason just once, in 2022 (a 90-win season in 2021 resulted in Seattle missing the postseason because the expanded wild-card field hadn’t gone into effect).

The lack of postseason success is a concern, considering the Orioles made appearances in 2023 and 2024 and did not win a game. And in Servais’ final season in Seattle, a second-half collapse saw the Mariners fumble an AL West lead and prompted Servais to be fired.

Still, if experience is a desired quality, Servais has it. He has twice finished in the top three of American League manager of the year voting, and currently he’s a special assistant for player development with the Padres.

Craig Albernaz

The opening in San Francisco might set up perfectly for Craig Albernaz, unless Bochy makes a return. That’s the organization with which Albernaz began his major league coaching career, serving as a bullpen and catching coach for three seasons.

But Albernaz is an up-and-coming name to watch in multiple management hunts, even without previous experience. He became bench coach for the Cleveland Guardians in November 2023, and this season he has served under the higher title of associate manager beneath Stephen Vogt.

Albernaz, 42, played many years as a catcher in the minor leagues. He finally broke into the majors as a coach, and a managerial job could be next.

Skip Schumaker

With the departure of Bochy from the Rangers, Skip Schumaker, 45, appears to be the heir apparent. He’s still worthy of a call from Baltimore.

Schumaker, a longtime player for the St. Louis Cardinals, Los Angeles Dodgers and Cincinnati Reds, won a World Series in 2011 with the Cardinals. And he quickly made a splash as a manager. He won the 2023 National League manager of the year award for his work with the Miami Marlins, finishing that year with an 84-78 record and a wild-card spot.

Schumaker didn’t return to the Marlins for 2025, however, after Miami posted a 100-loss season in 2024. Instead, he joined the Rangers as a senior adviser to president of baseball operations Chris Young, and because he’s in-house, Texas seems his likely landing place for a second managerial position.

George Lombard

He may not have managerial experience, but George Lombard has a deep understanding of what it takes in October. He served as the first base coach for five seasons with the Dodgers, and with them, he reached the World Series three times and won it once.

Ahead of the 2021 season, Lombard became the bench coach for the Detroit Tigers. He’s in the middle of another postseason experience this year after Detroit lost in the American League Division Series last year.

Given his pedigree between two winning organizations, the 50-year-old Lombard — an outfielder who featured sparingly in the majors — is a strong candidate to make the jump to one of the open managerial positions.

Kai Correa

The youngest candidate on this list, Kai Correa is only in his mid-30s. But he is an interesting name to consider anyway given the wide-ranging responsibilities Correa carries for the Guardians. Cleveland hired Correa in 2023 to be the club’s major league field coordinator, and the role was expanded ahead of the 2025 season to also make him the Guardians’ director of defense, baserunning and game strategy.

Before joining Cleveland, Correa was part of Gabe Kapler’s staff with the Giants. He worked as the bench coach and infield instructor, and once Kapler was fired late in 2023, Correa spent three games as the interim manager.

The rise of the Guardians, a club that has reached the postseason seven times in 10 seasons, could bring about a raid of their coaching staff, including Correa and Albernaz.