PHOENIX -- The Diamondbacks interviewed former National League manager of the year Jim Tracy for their managerial vacancy late last week, and Tracy said he came away intrigued by the possibilities.
Tracy, one of a dozen early candidates for the D-backs job, was the NL manager of the year with Colorado in 2009. He finished second with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2001 and third with the Dodgers in 2004.
"I would go as far to say there have been some very, very special moments that have taken place," Tracy said of his managerial career, "and the opportunity to do it again one more time is very intriguing in the right situation. Quite frankly, that's why I went and talked to these people.
"The experience and the knowledge and everything else that they've had over the years, with the success they have realized as a group over the years in different places, is very intriguing to me. I wanted to go down and talk with them and pass along some of my ideas and listen to some of theirs."
The D-backs also have interviewed former Arizona player and current Cincinnati bench coach Jay Bell and have received permission to speak to Oakland bench coach Chip Hale, Cleveland bench coach Sandy Alomar Jr., Kansas City bench coach Don Wakamatsu, Dodgers third base coach Lorenzo Bundy and Chicago White Sox third base coach Joe McEwing.
Triple-A Reno manager Phil Nevin, Double-A Mobile manager Andy Green and D-backs hitting coach and former Mobile manager Turner Ward also will be interviewed, chief baseball officer Tony La Russa has said.
Former Minnesota manager Ron Gardenhire and Twins bench coach Terry Steinbach have been mentioned as possible candidates, as have St. Louis coaches Jose Oquendo and Mike Aldrete.
The D-backs would like to finish first interviews by the end of the week.
"Usually I get it right when I take my time," general manager Dave Stewart has said.
The D-backs job could be a good fit for Tracy, who has spent nine of his 11 seasons as a manager in the NL West. Tracy managed the Dodgers from 2001-2005 and Colorado from 2009-12. He also managed Pittsburgh in 2006-07.
"It's an intriguing situation. It was a very, very interesting panel of baseball people that I sat with," said Tracy, interviewed by Hall of Famer La Russa and four-time 20-game winner Stewart, among others.
"I had an absolute blast. However it turns out, it turns out. But the opportunity to sit there and meet with that group of people, some of which I competed with as a manager for years, was very flattering."
Three of D-backs' last four full-time managers -- Kirk Gibson, A.J. Hinch and Bob Brenly -- had no managerial experience when they got the job, and the D-backs have said they will consider similar candidates. At the same time, there are indications that they will choose someone who has done the job before.
"It is also possible that we will look for somebody who has pulled the trigger before," La Russa said the day after the regular season.
Buck Showalter (1998-2000) and Bob Melvin (2005-09) are the only D-backs managers who had previous experience. Both made the postseason in 2014, Showalter with Baltimore and Melvin with Oakland.
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