Giants hire away Padres manager Bob Melvin; San Diego plans ‘thorough’ search to replace him

The Padres will have a new manager in 2024.

Bob Melvin’s short tenure, which was long on drama, has concluded, as he has accepted the job managing the Giants.

The Padres will commence what one source called a “thorough” search for their third manager in four seasons, but they are expected to hire from within.

Former Cardinals manager Mike Shildt, who has held the title of Senior Advisor to Player Development and Major Leagues for the Padres the past two seasons, is considered the leading candidate. The Padres’ brass also has long held bench coach Ryan Flaherty in high regard.

Melvin joined the Padres before the 2022 season. He helped the team navigate the wrist surgery and suspension of Fernando Tatis Jr. en route to an appearance in the National League Championship Series that year. But the team slogged to an 82-80 record and missed the postseason in 2023 — despite having MLB’s third-highest payroll and amidst an escalation in tension between the manager and members of the front office, primarily President of Baseball Operations A.J. Preller.

San Francisco will be Melvin’s fifth managerial job. He previously managed the Mariners (2003-04), Diamondbacks (2005-09) and A’s (2011-21) before his two seasons in San Diego. His 1,517 career victories rank 25th all-time. His teams have a combined .516 winning percentage, and he has led those teams to the postseason eight times in 18 full seasons.

It was announced Oct. 4, three days after the regular season finale, that Melvin would remain as Padres’ manager. But his departing for the Giants was a possibility that loomed from the moment Gabe Kapler was let go three days before the season ended.

And Tuesday’s outcome became virtually certain after the Giants were granted permission to interview Melvin over the weekend. Melvin, who will be 62 on Saturday and grew up in the Bay Area, received assurance he was the leading candidate before deciding to engage with the Giants.

The move provided an out for both sides, as the relationship between Melvin and Preller, among others in the front office, grew increasingly strained.

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Preller is expected to address the media once the Giants make the hiring official. That likely will not happen until Wednesday, as MLB prefers teams not make major announcements on the day of posteason games.

The Padres will interview outside candidates.

That could include their asking permission to speak to Marlins manager Skip Schumaker, who was a Padres coach from 2018-21 before serving as Cardinals bench coach in ’22 and then being hired by the Marlins and guiding them to the postseason in his first season. It was reported last week that Schumaker and his coaching staff and players were not pleased about the recent departure of general manager Kim Ng. Schumaker’s family, including his two school-age children, still reside in Orange County.

However, it would widely be considered a surprise if the Padres hire someone other than Shildt or Flaherty.

Shildt appears to be the frontrunner due to his experience and alignment with Preller on key tenets of managing a club. Shildt, now 55, was fired by the Cardinals in 2021 after making the postseason three straight seasons for what the organization termed “philosophical differences.”

In an interview last spring, Shildt addressed talk of his being hard on his coaching staff in St. Louis, saying, “I pulled the players and pushed the staff. And I wouldn’t push as hard.”

Flaherty has worked with Padres hitters since being hired in 2020. He served as offensive coordinator and bench coach in 2023. The 37-year-old Flaherty, who played for Orioles alongside Manny Machado from 2012-17, is younger than any current MLB manager.

This will be the fourth manager hired by Preller, who is entering his 10th season heading the baseball operations department.

Preller fired Bud Black in the middle of the 2015 season, and interim managers Dave Roberts (one game) and Pat Murphy led the team the rest of that season. Andy Green was hired before the 2016 season, his first MLB manager’s job, and led the team through Sept. 20, 2019, before bench coach Rod Barajas managed the final nine games of that season. Jayce Tingler, another rookie manager, was hired after that season and oversaw the team’s playoff campaign in the COVID-shortened 2020 season before being fired after an end-of-season collapse in 2021.

When the 2024 season starts, the Padres will be among four teams to have had five full-time managers since 2015. The Phillies are on their fifth manager in that span, while the Angels and Mets are in the process of searching for their fifth.