The Boston Red Sox interviewed Arizona Diamondbacks bench coach Ron Gardenhire on Wednesday, the third candidate for the managerial vacancy.

Gardenhire, who worked alongside former Red Sox bench coach Torey Lovullo in Arizona this season, served as manager of the Minnesota Twins from 2002 to 2014.

Gardenhire’s interview “went well” according to team president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski.

“We are still deciding if we are going to interview additional candidates,” Dombrowski said in an email to MassLive.

Gardenhire, 59, developed a strong reputation as a players’ manager during his time in Minnesota. In that way, he fits the profile the Red Sox seemed to be targeting in this search.

That said, Alex Cora stands out as the perceived favorite within the industry. Cora has reportedly also interviewed for managerial openings with the Mets and Tigers. Cora turned 42 Wednesday and might be the most popular managerial prospect in the game.

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FENWAY ORGANIST Josh Kantor played some pretty unusual songs this season, the musician tweeted. Kantor, who has held the role for 15 years, posted a list of the 400 song requests he played at the ballpark this year on Twitter.

Kantor has played hits like “All You Need Is Love” by The Beatles and AC/DC’s “Back In Black” alongside 2017 summer sensation “Despacito” by Luis Fonsi and even the theme song from “The Office.”

According to an interview with the website Noisey, Kantor took the song requests from Red Sox fans through Twitter and sometimes had to learn them right before playing them for the crowd.

“I’ll find a stream somewhere, listen on my laptop, and then play it. Usually one or two listens is enough to get the gist of it,” Kantor said in the interview. “From the process of just so much repetition … it comes relatively easy at this point. I probably play close to 30 a night, total.”

AFTER SURVIVING some choppy moments to reach the NL Championship Series for a third straight season, Chicago Cubs Manager Joe Maddon wants his staff to return intact next season.

“The staff has done a great job,” Maddon said Wednesday before Game 4 against the Dodgers. “Our staff has been awesome, and they’re tight, a tightly knit group. There’s a lot of synergy involved. No one knows everything. Everybody helps everybody. There’s cross-pollination. Nobody is on their own little island. I like that.”

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Maddon extended his support to advance scouting coordinators Nate Heim and Tom Hottovy and Jeremy Greenhouse, the assistant director of research and development.

THE MINNESOTA Twins have told left-hander Glen Perkins they will decline their $6.5 million option on his contract for 2018 and pay him a $700,000 buyout, moving him closer to retirement.

The 34-year-old three-time All-Star will become a free agent, but he has said he’s not interested in pitching elsewhere. Perkins played at Stillwater High School outside the Twin Cities and at the University of Minnesota before the Twins drafted him in the first round in 2004.

HALL OF Fame manager Tony La Russa is leaving the Arizona Diamondbacks organization. La Russa served as chief baseball officer from 2015 to 2016 and became chief baseball analyst when new GM Mike Hazen arrived last spring.


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