The MLB’s San Francisco Giants have reportedly hired former San Diego Padres manager Bob Melvin to assume the same role for the Giants, The Athletic’s Andrew Baggarly reported Tuesday.
In a condensed interview process over the past 48 hours, nothing Bob Melvin said dissuaded the Giants. He’s their choice to manage in 2024, sources tell @TheAthletic. https://t.co/dVWifuGWbe
— Andrew Baggarly (@extrabaggs) October 24, 2023
After rumors swirled that the Padres would fire him, the team chose not to let him go officially but did allow him to interview for the same job with other teams, according to Baggerly and Dennis Lin.
The interview apparently went well, as it now appears Melvin will take the helm of the fifth ball club of his managerial career.
The decision to allow him to interview with San Francisco is a sharp reversal from earlier club statements that he would remain with the Padres, the report noted.
“Bob is our manager, and he’s going to be our manager going forward,” General Manager A.J. Preller said in early October, according to Lin. “Both he and I are very excited about the challenge of getting this group back to the postseason next year.”
“Bob is our manager, and he’s going to be our manager going forward,” A.J. Preller said of Bob Melvin. “Both he and I are very excited about the challenge of getting this group back to the postseason next year.”
— Dennis Lin (@dennistlin) October 4, 2023
This is an extraordinary screw-up on the Padres part. Rather than fire GM A.J. Preller, who has yet to even win 90 games in one season during his nine-year Padres tenure, they let him push a three-time Manager of the Year Award-winner out the door.
While Preller has been a major mover and shaker during his San Diego stay — acquiring big-name talent like Yu Darvish, Blake Snell, Manny Machado and Xander Bogaerts — he hasn’t been able to translate the off-season waves into sustained success. (RELATED: Trevor May Trashes Oakland Athletics Owner, Retires In Bold Fashion)
The past two seasons were the best two for the Padres under Preller, seeing the Friars amass 89 wins in 2022 and 82 in 2023. They did manage to squeak into the playoffs as a wild card team in 2022 and even made it to the National League Championship Series, but fell short and did not return to the playoffs this year.
Their failure to reach the postseason came despite entering the season with a franchise record $255 million payroll, according to Fangraphs.
Does the manager deserve some of the blame for not pushing such an expensive team into the postseason? Sure. But to let him walk and keep the guy who built the dumpster fire is about as boneheaded as it gets.