Trey Hillman fired by Dodgers

Don Mattingly may or may not be back as Dodgers manager, but at the very least his right hand man won't return. Trey Hillman has been fired as bench coach by the Dodgers, per both Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times and Jon Heyman of CBS Sports.

The Dodgers confirmed Hillman's option for 2014 was declined on Tuesday.

Advance scout Wade Taylor has also been let go per both reports, someone noted by Heyman as particularly close to Mattingly.

Hillman was with the Dodgers for three seasons, giving the Dodgers someone on the coaching staff with managerial experience to help Mattingly, who had no managerial experience when he took over for Joe Torre after the 2010 season. Hillman managed the Royals from 2008-2010, and managed the Nippon Ham Fighters in Japan from 2003-2007.

Hillman could possibly remain with the Dodgers in some other capacity, per Tim Brown of Yahoo! Sports.

Mattingly's option to manage in 2014 vested by beating the Braves in NLDS, but on Monday at Dodger Stadium he said that wasn't a guarantee he'd be back, wanting a multi-year deal. Mattingly also said if it were up to him he'd bring back all of his coaches.

"If it was up to me they'd be back, but it's not up to me," Mattingly said Monday. "I'm happy with the guys in that room in there. You've got quality baseball people who are unselfish, that they want what's best for the organization and want what's best for the players. They are tireless workers, and are very persistent in what they do and in their beliefs. That room is full of character, of guys who aren't going to quit when times start to go bad."

Both Shaikin and Heyman note that Dodgers executives were taken aback by Mattingly's comments on Monday. But that's on them for scheduling a press conference - the most awkward in recent memory - before any of this was resolved.

Maybe the Cardinals were right about the Dodgers being a Mickey Mouse operation.