Report: Phillies considering ex-GM Ruben Amaro Jr. for manager

The Philadelphia Phillies' managerial job is now vacant after Pete Mackanin was moved from the dugout to a front-office position, and the team is now searching far and wide for its next skipper.

No stone is being left unturned, it seems, and multiple candidates have been mentioned as possibilities to take over the rebuilding club. That list, it appears, might include an old friend of sorts whose potential candidacy for the position will likely cause many in Philadelphia to scratch their heads.

According to Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe, Ruben Amaro Jr. - the onetime Phillies general manager, now employed as the Boston Red Sox first base coach - is reportedly under consideration for the job.

It's not known how serious the interest may be on either side, or whether the Red Sox - who are still alive in the playoffs, meaning Amaro is still busy with his coaching duties - have granted permission for the Phillies to talk to the 52-year-old.

Amaro took over from Pat Gillick as Phillies' GM just days after they won the 2008 World Series, following a decade of service to the organization as an assistant.

But while the Phillies made the playoffs in each of his first three seasons as GM, Amaro's tenure ended poorly. He was fired in September 2015 following four straight losing seasons. He became an unpopular man in the City of Brotherly Love by the time of his departure, as the franchise's farm system dried up, and the Phillies were saddled with aging, injury-prone players on massive contracts.

Amaro surprisingly resurfaced months after his firing as Boston's first base coach, marking his first uniformed job in baseball since his playing career ended. He has never managed a professional baseball team at any level.

Other potential candidates for the job reportedly include current Phillies bench coach - and one-time Phillies manager - Larry Bowa, as well as one-time Cleveland Indians skipper Eric Wedge, according to Cafardo.