Will Dusty Wathan be the next manager of the Phillies. (Frank Klose/SportsTalkPhilly)
By Tim Kelly, Sports Talk Philly editor 
Lehigh Valley IronPigs manager Dusty Wathan may end up being the next Philadelphia Phillies manager, but don't close the curtain on the team's managerial search just yet.
After Bob Nightengale of USA Today reported yesterday that the Phillies were 'zeroing in' on Wathan as their next manager, two different reports Thursday have indicated that candidates other than Wathan are still being considered for the team's managerial vacancy.
Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports says that while Wathan is one of the candidates still being considered, he isn't the only one:
The Phillies would appear to be getting closer to making a decision on a manager. Dusty Wathan, the Triple-A manager, is clearly in the mix and appears to remain in the running. Bob Nightengale of USA Today suggested they are zeroing in on him, and that may be true, but word is there are still three candidates remaining, including Gabe Kapler. Chip Hale and Phil Nevin are out, as reported by FanRag Sports and USA Today, as the Phillies narrow their list. Jorge Velandia is beloved and respected in the Phillies’ organization, but some believe they’d like to keep him in the front office which, if true, would eliminate one name from a public list that is not too long as it is.
Last weekend I wrote about how Velandia, who was believed to be a 'strong' candidate, could ultimately end up as the next manager of the Phillies. If he's out, then it would appear that Wathan is the only internal candidate with a serious chance to be the club's next manager. Heyman noted, as I've said all along, that the impression that most have is that the Phillies were doing their due-diligence in interviewing third base coach and Wall of Famer Juan Samuel, but probably never planned to seriously consider him for manager.
So if Wathan and Los Angeles Dodgers director of player development Gabe Kapler are two of the three finalists, who is the third name still being considered? Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadelphia says it may be former Boston Red Sox manager John Farrell:
Team officials began the final round of interviews on Thursday. In-house candidate Dusty Wathan and outsider Gabe Kapler have emerged as finalists while former Boston Red Sox manager John Farrell is getting a late look, according to sources.
MLB.com's Todd Zolecki reported yesterday evening that the Phillies had interviewed Farrell. Considering Farrell was fired 15 days ago and the Red Sox have since named Alex Cora his successor, it's unclear why the Phillies waited so late in the process to interview Farrell. From here, the 55-year-old could probably benefit from a year off and doesn't seem to fit the profile of the young, analytically-driven manager that the Phillies seem to be seeking. He would make more sense as a pitching coach on the staff of the next Phillies manager, though it's unclear whether he would be interested in doing that as he's still set to be paid by the Red Sox to not manage next year.
If the Phillies choose to go the external route, Kapler is an interesting option. He lost out to Dave Roberts, who may be the best manager in the sport, for the Dodgers job in late 2015. Still, Andrew Friedman, who may be the best executive in the sport, kept him in the organization in a rather important spot. He spent 12 years in the majors, is still just 42 and is one of the more analytically inclined people in all of baseball.
Wathan, 44, may ultimately end up being who the Phillies go with. He was the winningest manager in the history of Double-A Reading's franchise and fared well in his first season managing Triple-A Lehigh Valley in 2017. He was called up to the major league staff in September and has managed nearly every young talent on the Phillies.
