Who are the candidates to be the next Reds manager?

Larkin widely-though to be the front-runner

Credit: HANDOUT

Credit: HANDOUT

If members of the Cincinnati Reds front office read the Facebook comments during their search for the next Reds manager, they’ll look at everyone from Barry Larkin to Pete Rose to Chris Sabo, Sean Casey and even Dusty Baker.

One of those names might be a legitimate candidate, but it's too early to tell who the Reds will hire as a replacement for Bryan Price, who was fired on Thursday in his fifth season. Reds General Manager Dick Williams did not put a timetable on when the Reds would hire their next manager.

“We will be undergoing a thorough and exhaustive process to identify the next full-time manager,” Williams said. “We have good internal candidates, but that will be a process we need to undergo, and it makes more sense to do that toward the end of the season because any internal candidates, for the most part, are not going to be available until then.”

» RELATED: Williams says players need to have a ‘sense of urgency’

Below is a glance at some of the names that might get thrown around in the coming months:

Larkin: Fans have clamored for years for the Reds to hire Larkin, who played shortstop for the Reds from 1986-2004 and was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2012. Of course, Larkin has never been a manager at any level, and according to a report, he angered some in the Reds organization about his comments about some young players in the organization saying they want to see him be the Reds manager one day. Price was still the manager at the time. Larkin is in his third season as a special assistant to the general manager.

» COMMENTARY: Marcus Hartman: Firing Bryan Price shows winning might actually matter to Cincinnati Reds

Eric Davis: If you're throwing 1990 World Champions into the mix, you might as well mention Davis, who has been a special assistant to the GM since 2008.

Lou Piniella: And if you're throwing Larkin and Davis into the mix, you might as well mention the manager of the 1990 Reds. He's now a special advisor to baseball operations.

Jim Riggleman: He'll start his stint as interim Reds manager on Friday in St. Louis. He has 12 years of experience in the big leagues but only one winning season.

» REACTION: Social media reacts to firing of Reds fire manager Bryan Price

Pat Kelly: Kelly will serve as bench coach under Riggleman. He was the manager of the Triple-A Louisville Bats and managed Double-A Pensacola the last three seasons.

Buddy Bell: Here's another name in the Reds front office with managing experience. Bell managed the Detroit Tigers, Colorado Rockies and Kansas City Royals but had only one winning season in nine years.

» MCCOY: Firing Price won't fix Reds' issues

Joe Girardi: The longtime New York Yankees manager, who lost his job in 2017, likely will hear his name mentioned in connection to this job. In the category of recently-fired managers who deserve another chance, he might be the best name out there.

John Farrell: The former Toronto Blue Jays and Boston Red Sox manager, who won a World Series in 2013 with Boston, joined the Reds in March as a scout.

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