La Russa’s Departure Comes As Managerial Salaries Keep Falling

Tony La Russa is officially walking away from almost $4 million left on his contract with the White Sox, and in the process most likely will also lower the going rate for a major league manager.

La Russa, who will turn 78 on Tuesday, announced Monday he is retiring for the second time. He has been on a leave from his position since Aug. 31 and cited health concerns for his decision to leave the dugout, saying in a statement it is “impossible” for him to consider managing next season.

White Sox Chairman Jerry Reinsdorf told reporters at a news conference General Manager Rick Hahn will lead the search for La Russa’s successor. That was an unstated vote of confidence for Hahn, Vice President Ken Williams and the team’s front office, who had been under fire after the Sox missed the postseason with a team that had a franchise record payroll.

Hahn will consider interim manager Miguel Cairo but said he will consider external options for the position, with a preference toward candidates who have recently managing contending teams. That list includes Bruce Bochy, Joe Maddon, Joe Girardi, Mike Scioscia (who was a finalist when the White Sox hired Jerry Manuel in 1998) and Ron Gardenhire, among others.

Trends in the industry suggest it is unlikely Reinsdorf will invest as much in his next manager as he did La Russa, his close friend and a Hall of Fame manager. While managerial salaries are rarely disclosed, the website Cot’s Contracts shows La Russa had a three-year deal worth $11.25 million.

The Dodgers’ Dave Roberts ($6.5 million) is reported to be the highest paid manager, followed by Guardians’ Terry Francona ($4.2 million), the Padres’ Bob Melvin ($4 million) are now the Mets’ Buck Showalter ($3.5 million).

Before La Russa’s departure, the highly paid Maddon ($4 million) and Girardi ($3 million-plus) lost their jobs with the Angels and Phillies, respectively, this season.

Roberts, who has guided the Dodgers to seven consecutive postseason trips, is an outlier at a time when the salary ceiling for managers has been lowered. The influence of managers has been devalued as front offices have grown in size and increased their reliance on data.

Joe Torre was paid an average of $6.4 million from the Yankees in 2005-07 before turning down a one-year extension that would have cut his salary to $5 million. Scioscia used the threat of jumping to the Dodgers to land a 10-year, $50-million deal from the Angels before the 2009 season. Bochy, who jumped from the Padres to the Giants, was reportedly earning $6 million a season when he retired three years ago.

Dusty Baker was reported to have received a four-year deal worth $3.5-4 million per year when he jumped to the Cubs after leading the Giants to the 2002 World Series, and earned almost as much in a six-season run managing the Reds. However, in his last two stops, Washington and Houston, he has taken pay cuts to extend his quest for a first World Series championship.

Reinsdorf is known for hiring first-time managers, not established ones like La Russa. It will be interesting to see how seriously he considers Ozzie Guillen as a candidate to take over for La Russa.

Guillen lacked managerial experience when Reinsdorf hired him to replace Jerry Manuel in 2004. His salary steadily climbed after his team won the ’05 World Series but he asked to be released from the final season on his contract to take over the Marlins in 2012.

Guillen received a four-year, $10-million deal from Miami — he was due $2.75 million from the White Sox in ’12 — but was fired by owner Jeffrey Loria after only one year. He hasn’t worked in baseball since, drawing the last $7.5 million on the deal as he transitioned into work as a broadcaster.

Would the 58-year-old Guillen take less to manage now than he was paid a decade ago? The trend suggests he might have to if he wants the job.

After Guillen met with owner Jerry Reinsdorf, the team agreed to release him from his current deal and his eight-year managerial run that included a World Series title in 2005 was over. He managed his final game Monday night as the White Sox beat the Blue Jays 4-3.

Guillen said he had a great talk with Reinsdorf, who respected his decision.

“It was my call and I appreciated the White Sox organization letting me do what I like to do and what is best. … Maybe not the best, maybe it’s the worst,” Guillen said. “You don’t know what is out there. Maybe I’m dreaming. I might not appreciate what I got here. You don’t know. You have to close the page and move on. That’s life. Hopefully the next book treats me the way this book treated me.”

White Sox veteran Paul Konerko said Guillen’s departure “probably needed to be done on both sides of it.”

“For Ozzie, I think he’s been kind of just burned out on this whole thing and probably likewise on the other side and that’s how it goes,” Konerko said. “It doesn’t always have to be that someone’s right, someone’s wrong, this person hates that person. Sometimes in sports — any business but especially sports — a coaching staff or a manager or a head coach whoever it might be, that kind of regime runs its course and that’s what we have here.”