Barry Larkin says Reds asked him if he was interested in managing team

Barry Larkin, National Baseball Hall of Famer and former Cincinnati Reds great, was on hand for "Reds Day at the Dragons" at Dayton's Day Air Ballpark on August 24.

An analyst for FanDuel Sports Network who has worked in player development for the Reds for many years, Larkin was asked during the broadcast of the Dragons' 11-inning win against Peoria how he handled fans clamoring for him to manage the Reds.

"I got a really great relationship with Bob and Phil Castellini and Nick Krall," Larkin said. "They asked me. They asked me if I was interested in being the manager, and I told them no early. And I really appreciated them for that. One of the reasons I didn't want to do it is I didn't want to get back into that lifestyle, you know? If I am in it, I know I am going to be in it. I wouldn't be able to be grandpa right now. Right? Because I'd be grandpa from a distance. … So there's a lot of things that I have, a lot of oars in the water. And a lot of things that I'm doing that are more important to me at this particular time in my life. Would I ever want to do it? I don't know. I know I don't want to do it now. And I can appreciate that. But I do have a great relationship with the players. And I love the fact that they've accepted me and allowed me to come and be part of their development. I love the fact that I've got a great relationship with Terry Francona. With David Bell, I had a great relationship with him. Right? And that doesn't happen in every organization. I talk to a lot of guys that have played this game in a lot of different organizations and they say they really discourage the former players from coming back and giving back. It's really a special situation here in Cincinnati and with this organization. And I've been super happy with my relationship with all of those guys. But no, I don't have any aspirations of being a manager. But I certainly have aspirations of helping that manager. And hopefully helping this manager in some player development win a World Series."

The Reds hired Francona in early October.

In August 2024, Larkin spoke during a Cardinals-Reds broadcast about the Reds' pursuit of reaching the .500 mark for the first time since they were 16-16, indicating that Reds' players "cannot accept mediocrity" and "need to be pushed."

In 2018, then-Reds president of baseball operations Dick Williams said Larkin wasn't a candidate to replace then-interim manager Jim Riggleman, but added that Larkin "still has managing as a long-term goal." Larkin said at the time that if he becomes an MLB manager, he would only want to do so for the Reds.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Barry Larkin says Reds asked him if he was interested in managing team