*Photo from Mercury News*
After firing Jayce Tingler at the end of the season, the San Diego Padres were looking for the right man to lead their star studded team. Well, the most shocking answer is what we got. The Padres have hired Bob Melvin to be their 22nd manager on a 3 year deal, according to ESPN's Jeff Passan and MLB.com's AJ Cassavell. The Padres have confirmed the hiring.
Prior to accepting the Padres job, Melvin had been the manager of the Oakland Athletics for 11 seasons, after stops with the Arizona Diamondbacks and Seattle Mariners. Over the summer, the A's picked up Melvin's team option for the 2022 season, but when the Padres requested permission to interview Melvin, the A's granted it. No compensation is going to Oakland, but they will not have to pay the 2022 salary of Melvin.
Padres GM AJ Preller said of Melvin that "Throughout the process, Bob showed our group a true love of baseball and a natural presence to lead. It was immediately evident how he’s been able to bring out the best in his players throughout his managerial career. We believe that Bob is the right man to take our talented group and help them deliver a championship to the city of San Diego."
Melvin has managed the A's since 2011, and has racked up some accolades while doing so. He won AL manager of the year in Oakland in both 2012 and 2018, in addition to winning NL manager of the year with the D-Backs in 2007. He has led the A's to 4 straight winning seasons, and 6 playoff appearances. The A's had a career 853-764 record under Melvin.
Melvin will lead a Padres team in 2022 that, despite entering 2021 with world series hopes, stumbled mid season and never recovered. The Padres finished with a sub .500 record of 79-83, finishing in a distant 3rd place in the NL West.
In his introductory press conference, Melvin said of landing the job that "I had a great feeling, from the beginning, about it culminating in a day like this. I couldn't be happier. It's all about winning at this point, when you have a roster like that and have all the people to give you the resources and the backing to do it. I don't know that there's a better destination in baseball to be able to come to. I'm a lucky man."
Despite the lowly finish in the standings, the Padres are expected to get a lot of pitching talent back, as guys like Dinelson Lamet, Blake Snell, Ryan Weathers, Adrian Morejon, Keone Kela, Drew Pomeranz, Matt Strahm, Austin Nola, and Mike Clevinger will be fully healthy to start the season, further deepening the talent in San Diego.
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