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Don Mattingly says Dodgers bench coach Tim Wallach may follow him to Miami

Dodgers bench coach Tim Wallach talks on the dugout phone during a game against Detroit at Comerica Park on July 8.

Dodgers bench coach Tim Wallach talks on the dugout phone during a game against Detroit at Comerica Park on July 8.

(Mark Cunningham / Getty Images)
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Dodgers bench coach Tim Wallach could follow Don Mattingly to the Miami Marlins.

Mattingly spoke of the possibility Monday in a news conference introducing him as the Marlins’ new manager.

“I think Tim Wallach is going to come with me to be the bench coach,” said Mattingly, who managed the Dodgers for the last five seasons.

Wallach, 58, was known to be under consideration to replace Mattingly as Dodgers manager.

As the manager of the Dodgers’ triple-A affiliate, Wallach was named by Baseball America as the Pacific Coast League’s top managerial prospect in 2009.

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Wallach was the third-base coach on Mattingly’s staff from 2011 to 2013 and the bench coach for the last two seasons.

Wallach interviewed this off-season for two managerial vacancies other than the Dodgers’, speaking to the Washington Nationals and San Diego Padres.

Mattingly signed a four-year contract with the Marlins but said he expected to be with the club for at least 10 seasons. Mattingly said the team’s commitment to him was one of the reasons he moved to Miami.

Mattingly acknowledged his challenge with the low-budget Marlins will be significantly different than it was with the big-spending Dodgers.

“It’s going to be a place we have to develop through the minor-league system,” he said.

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