The Boston Red Sox are set to interview former major-league catcher Brad Ausmus and Baltimore Orioles third-base coach DeMarlo Hale for their open managerial position this week, The Boston Herald’s Michael Silverman reported Monday.

#RedSox will interview DeMarlo Hale on Thursday. Looks like Brad Ausmus on Wednesday.

— Michael Silverman (@MikeSilvermanBB) October 15, 2012

The Red Sox are filling the open position left by Bobby Valentine, who presided over a disastrous season that saw the franchise lose the most games since 1965.

Ausmus and Hale are two candidates that differ in previous managerial and coaching experience. Ausmus is only two years removed from playing in the major leagues and is currently a special assistant for the San Diego Padres. He played 18 seasons as a catcher in the majors. He will, however, manage Israel’s team in the upcoming World Baseball Classic.

Hale, meanwhile, started his managerial career in the Red Sox’s farm system in 1993. He also worked as the Red Sox’s third-base and bench coach from 2006-11. He joined the Orioles after the Red Sox fired Terry Francona last offseason.

The Red Sox interviewed Yankees bench coach Tony Pena on Monday.

The Boston Red Sox are starting to line up candidates to fill the recently-vacated manager role left by Bobby Valentine, who was let go in early October, a day after the team wrapped up a season that general manager Ben Cherrington called one of the worst in franchise history.

The team is reportedly scheduled to meet with Los Angeles Dodgers third base coach Tim Wallach this week. Now, according to a tweet Thursday morning from national baseball writer Nick Cafardo of The Boston Globe, the Sox will interview three-time gold glove catcher Brad Ausmus for the manager job.

According to a report from The Boston Globe, Ausmus would definitely be interested in the job if he were given the opportunity.

“That’s one job that would get me off my couch early.”

In September, Ausmus withdrew his candidacy from the Houston Astros’ manager search, despite playing 10 seasons for the team. He is currently a special assistant to the general manager of the San Diego Padres.

Although he doesn’t have experience managing a major league baseball team, Ausmus did manage Team Israel this year as it looked to qualify for the World Baseball Classic. He’s a native of the New England area; he grew up in Connecticut, graduated from Dartmouth and owns a home on Cape Cod.

Brad Ausmus interviewing with Red Sox for manager job early next week according to major league source.—
Nick Cafardo (@nickcafardo) October 11, 2012