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Sources: Valentine could return to Japan as coach

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Ken Rosenthal

Ken Rosenthal has been the senior baseball writer for FOXSports.com since August 2005. He appears weekly on MLB on FOX. Follow him on Twitter.

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Updated Oct 11, 2009 3:44 PM ET
     
 
Bobby Valentine's managing possibilities for next season do not just include major-league clubs. The Yokohama Bay Stars of the Japanese Central League are making a "concentrated effort" to hire Valentine, according to a major-league source. Valentine, 59, also is on the Cleveland Indians' short list of candidates who will receive interviews, sources say. A planned meeting between Valentine and Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria in Europe failed to materialize after ESPN.com reported the team's interest in Valentine. The Marlins instead chose to retain Fredi Gonzalez rather than face a backlash of negative publicity for firing him after an 87-win season. Valentine, currently working for ESPN, is not aggressively pursuing the Nationals' opening and is not believed to be a serious candidate for the Astros, sources say. The Mets surely would be intriguing to Valentine, their manager from 1996 to 2002, but they are committed to Jerry Manuel at least through the start of next season. Valentine managed the Chiba Lotte Marines in Japan in 1995 and from 2004 to '09, leading the team to the Japan Series championship in '05. The team declined to retain Valentine, saying it could not afford him.
Tagged: Mets, Marlins

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