Dodgers News: Team Interviews Dave Martinez

After Gabe Kapler, Dave Martinez has always been considered a frontrunner to be the next Los Angeles Dodgers manager. Weird thing, though… We never really heard much about his actually being interviewed.

That finally changed Friday evening.

ICYMI: Dodgers Extend Qualifying Offers

Davey Martinez will be interviewed for dodgers managerial job. Dodger people love Maddon, so martinez makes sense.

— Jon Heyman (@JonHeymanCBS) November 7, 2015

Heyman brings up a crucial point here: The Dodgers’ front office’s love for Joe Maddon. Everyone knows of Andrew Friedman’s relationship with Maddon in Tampa Bay, so the connection is fairly straightforward. Martinez is also very popular with players, by several accounts.

It should also be pointed out, though, that Martinez was not hired for the manager position after Maddon left Tampa Bay for the Chicago Cubs. Now, part of that might have been that the front office wanted to go in a completely different direction after Maddon. The idea of players hand-selecting the next coach can at times be a red flag as well as reason to hire the candidate.

I’m not saying this is the case with Martinez, and a new, more relatable voice for the Dodgers might actually be a good thing – especially for someone like Yasiel Puig, whom the Dodgers absolutely need to bounce back from a disappointing 2015.

Regardless, it’s good to see the news match the rumor we all knew. Can’t imagine we’re too far away from a decision at this point, which is definitely exciting.