SAN DIEGO — The Padres will have a managerial vacancy to fill this winter after all.
The Giants announced Wednesday the hiring of Bob Melvin to become their next manager, an announcement that comes days after he approached the Padres about interviewing Melvin. The Padres granted this request, and Melvin took the interview this week. Shortly after, a deal was reached, with Melvin leaving after two seasons at the helm in San Diego. The Padres received no compensation in return.
The search for the franchise’s 23rd manager will begin shortly, with senior advisor Mike Shildt and bench coach/hitting coordinator Ryan Flaherty considered the leading internal candidates.
“We obviously appreciate Bob’s contributions here over the last two seasons in San Diego, and we wish him the best in San Francisco,” general manager AJ Preller said. “We understand that this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity in San Francisco for him to come home – and the only job that definitely appealed to him outside of San Diego. For us, as an organization, our focus is really on hiring a manager. We are very excited about the process.
Melvin went 171-153 in his two seasons in San Diego, leading the Padres to the third National League Championship Series in club history in 2022. second season at the helm was a disappointment. Despite World Series ambitions, the Padres finished 82-80, missing the playoffs.
Reports of discord between Melvin and Preller emerged, although both downplayed that claim toward the end of the season — and did so again on Wednesday. Still, Melvin and Preller seemed to recognize that the situation was not entirely satisfactory in San Diego. Preller accepted some of the blame, wondering aloud, “How can I do things a little differently to make sure the manager feels comfortable?” He also noted that he wasn’t sure Melvin would be a perfect fit for the organizational structure and some of the nuances of the star-laden roster in San Diego.
“As Bob mentioned, I think he thought (San Francisco) was in a little better shape,” Preller said. “I think we need to find a manager who fits our group, our organization at the moment.”
Sure enough, three weeks ago, during his end-of-season press conference, Preller said Melvin would return in 2024, calling him “our manager.” Melvin had one year left on his contract and noted several times that he hoped to fulfill it.
Well, for starters, the Giants called. San Francisco was looking for a replacement after parting ways with Gabe Kapler. The Padres could have refused this request. Instead, they approached Melvin with the possibility.
Melvin was born in Palo Alto, California and raised in the Bay Area, where he attended the University of California, Berkeley. He spent three seasons with the Giants from 1986 to 1988 and previously worked with Giants president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi during his time in Oakland. Melvin took some time to think before agreeing to the interview.
“I’ve had a lot of conversations with AJ,” Melvin said during his introductory news conference Wednesday in San Francisco. “When this one came out, it was probably the only one I would have listened to. But he was kind enough to talk to me about it and ask me what I thought about it.
At this point, both sides should have been clear where this was going to end. The Padres, after all, had offered Melvin a chance to become a division rival. Melvin had accepted it. Sure enough, things moved quickly from there, with Melvin eventually accepting this decision.
During his press conference, Melvin was asked directly why he chose the San Francisco job over staying in San Diego. He cited his love for the Bay Area. He also mentioned starting what could have been a limping season with a one-year contract and an unwelcome narrative regarding his place on the team. (Melvin signed a three-year contract in San Francisco.) But beyond that, Melvin didn’t delve further into his decision.
“All things considered, this opportunity presented itself…and it seems like the right one,” Melvin said. “I really enjoyed my time in San Diego. It seems like with a lot of stuff popping up there, it was time to move on.
Melvin’s departure leaves the Padres searching for a manager — an unexpected prospect, but clearly not entirely unwelcome. Otherwise, the Padres wouldn’t have allowed Melvin to interview in the first place. They will now embark on a manager search, with these two internal candidates having already come to the fore.
Shildt, an advisor to the organization for the past two seasons, previously spent more than three seasons as captain of the Cardinals and was named the 2019 NL Manager of the Year. Meanwhile, Flaherty has spent the last four seasons on the Padres staff following an eight-year playing career and is highly regarded within the organization.
Both Shildt and Flaherty will be considered, a source said, but the Padres also plan to interview external candidates (and perhaps even other internal candidates) with no timeline yet for a potential hire. Melvin’s departure also leaves the status of San Diego’s coaching staff up in the air, with the new manager likely having some say.
The hire will be crucial – for Preller and for the Padres. This will be Preller’s fourth full-time hire in his 10 seasons, joining Andy Green, Jayce Tingler and Melvin. As for the Padres, they hope to bring back the core of a team they believe can compete for a World Series in 2024.
The question now: Who will lead this team after Melvin leaves?
