Don Mattingly: 'I think Tim Wallach is going to come with me to be the bench coach'

The Marlins officially introduced former Dodgers manager Don Mattingly as their new manager on Monday morning, inking Mattingly to a four-year deal. Among the topics discussed by Mattingly was Dodgers bench coach Tim Wallach joining him to be bench coach with the Marlins.

Mattingly was asked about his potential coaching staff, and didn't want to name any specific names, though he did mention Wallach, a coach on Mattingly's staff for the past five seasons.

"We've been in conversations about the staff. I don't know if it's something I really want to get into at this point," Mattingly said. "We've talked about some guys. I think Tim Wallach is going to come with me to be the bench coach.

"There are a number of guys coming back. I have pretty much talked or texted with every member of the staff. I don't know if Michael [Hill, president of baseball operations] wants to talk about the staff or not, but some of the guys coming back I'm comfortable with. I think it's important to the continuity of where we're going."

Wallach is still technically a candidate for the vacant Dodgers' managerial job, though the fact that Mattingly felt comfortable mentioning him by name suggests a deal with Miami is all but done.

Nothing regarding Wallach has yet beenofficially announced by the Marlins.

The contracts for the entire Dodgers coaching staff expired at the end of the season, and with the Dodgers conducting their own manager search team president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman told the staff they were free to look elsewhere for jobs, with the incoming manager likely getting to pick the bulk of his own staff.

The Dodgers are reportedly in talks to retain pitching coach Rick Honeycutt with a multi-year contract extension.

Wallach managed Triple-A Albuquerque in the Dodgers system in 2009 and 2010, then joined the major league staff as third base coach. He shifted to bench coach after the 2013 season, and has been in that role for the last two years.

Wallach, 58, has interviewed this offseason for managerial vacancies with the Nationals and Padres, jobs that went elsewhere. Washington was reported to have chosen Bud Black but contracts talk broke down, with Dusty Baker the fall-back choice, and Andy Green was hired in San Diego. Wallach in the past has also interviewed for managerial positions with the Tigers and Mariners.