KANSAS CITY -- If Royals manager Mike Matheny were to lose one of his coaches this offseason to a managerial opening elsewhere, he said he would be nothing but supportive.

The topic came up Monday in regards to the Detroit Tigers’ managerial opening created over the weekend when Ron Gardenhire abruptly retired due to health concerns.

Already, Royals bench coach Pedro Grifol and third-base coach Vance Wilson reportedly are likely candidates to be considered for the Tigers’ vacancy.

Both Grifol and Wilson interviewed for the Royals’ managerial job last offseason before Matheny was hired. Grifol also interviewed for the San Francisco Giants’ opening last fall.

Matheny has seen two of his previous bench coaches with the Cardinals become managers: Mike Shildt replaced Matheny in St. Louis, and David Bell now manages the Reds.

“I want to be as honest, I never looked at it as a feather in my cap,” Matheny told MLB.com. “But I’m proud I got a couple of guys on my [former] staff that are now managing.

“I would always ask guys on my staff, ‘What are your aspirations?’ I know there are guys who want to manage. And I have been very clear and want to be accountable throughout the season, so I ask them, ‘Am I helping in that progression?’ That’s been my agreement with my coaches.”

Matheny even tests his coaches in real time about their in-game strategies.

“In the middle of the game, I might say, ‘Hey, I’m stuck in a spot. What you got there? And tell me why,'’’ Matheny said. “I think the more talented minds you have on your staff [the better]. You can get locked in on just pitching decisions so much that it doesn’t properly put into perspective the moves on the other side, whether it’s defensive or offensive.

“It’s something every manager should shoot for, to get their coaches to where they want to be. I don’t blame anyone for wanting to be in the managerial seat. We have guys who are wired for that and have the capacity for it.”

But would it be any different if someone like Grifol or Wilson got a managerial job within the division, as would be the case with Detroit’s opening?

“I haven’t put that much thought into it,” Matheny said. “But I have watched managers in the past who have managed against close friends, and you can see there is this intensity that’s a little more, because you know more about them and they about you -- the chess match, the cat and mouse. There’s always that extra added component if it would happen.”

Rotation for this weekend
Matheny said it was likely that the Royals will stay in their current five-man rotation for the rest of the season. That would mean that right-handers Brad Keller, Carlos Hernández and Brady Singer would get their final starts this weekend against Detroit.