SAN DIEGO, CA — Bob Melvin is expected to be the next manager of the San Diego Padres, according to media reports, and give the team a veteran presence in the clubhouse and dugout.
The team has not announced the hiring of Melvin, but according to reports on MLB.com, Melvin and the Padres have agreed to a three-year deal, an deal that is expected to be finalized in a day or two.
Melvin is the manager of the Oakland A's and agreed to a contract option with the A's for the 2022 season. But the A's allowed Melvin to interview with the Padres and it appears he will become the Padres new manager.
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Melvin is a three-time Manager of the Year award winner. He managed the A's for 11 seasons, and was the manager of the Arizona Diamondbacks and Seattle Mariners. He has a .514 winning percentage as a manager and guided the A's to four winning seasons in a row.
The Padres were 79-83 in 2021, finished in third place in the National League West Division and out of the playoffs.
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Jayce Tingler was fired as manager of the Padres at the end of the 2021 season on Oct. 6, ending a two-year tenure during which he took the team to the 2020 National League Division Series.
Tingler's final record with the club was 116-106 for a winning percentage of .523 -- second behind only Jack McKeon, who led the team from 1988 to 1990 and went 193-164.
"Jayce accomplished a great deal in his two seasons with the Padres, leading our team through an unprecedented pandemic and into the postseason for the first time in 15 years," said A.J. Preller, president of baseball operations and general manager of the Padres, earlier this month.
"I have tremendous respect for him as a coach, colleague and friend.
"After much thought and consideration over the last several weeks, we felt change was necessary at this time to ultimately reach our championship potential in San Diego," Preller said.
Following 2020's abbreviated season, which led to the postseason berth, a win against the St. Louis Cardinals in the NL Wild Card game and being swept by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NLDS, the Friars began 2021 on a hot streak.
The team entered the 2021 season with high expectations after signing Fernando Tatis Jr. to a 14-year extension and acquiring catcher Victor Caratini, infielder Ha-Seong Kim and pitchers Yu Darvish, Blake Snell, Mark Melancon and Joe Musgrove.
El Cajon-native Musgrove made history with the Padres on April 9, notching the organization's first no-hitter, and ending the longest no-hit drought by a team in MLB history.
The Padres raced to a 66-49 record and were in the running for a wild card spot into late summer before collapsing. San Diego went 13-34 the rest of the way and was eliminated from playoff contention on Sept. 25.
The Padres finished 28 games behind the division-winning San Francisco Giants.
— City News Service
