As the New York Mets’ front office search is in its third week, the last managerial opening in baseball outside of the Mets was filled. Bob Melvin will be the new manager of the San Diego Padres, according to MLB.com‘s AJ Cassavell.
Melvin was the coach of the Oakland A’s from 2011 until last season, piling up an 853-764 record in the regular season and a 7-13 playoff record. The A’s picked up an option for 2022 on his contract, but the let him interview for the Padres job anyway, ESPN‘s Alden Gonzalez said.
Luis Rojas, Mike Shildt and Ozzie Guillen all interviewed for the job, according to various reports.
Melvin will take over a Padres team featuring Fernando Tatis Jr., Manny Machado and a rotation that can be the best in baseball. Reports surfaced toward the end of the year that former manager Jayce Tingler lost control of the clubhouse, coming to a head when Tatis Jr. and Machado had a loud verbal altercation in the dugout during a game.
The A’s now join the Mets as the lone teams in the major leagues without a manager. Melvin appeared in rumors alongside Billy Beane earlier this offseason, with some reports saying both Beane and Melvin could come to the Mets in a package deal to run and manage the Mets. Once Beane pulled his name from president of baseball operations running, there was still a chance Melvin would manage elsewhere. This will now happen in San Diego.
With regards to the Mets’ manager position, the team will likely wait to settle their front office before addressing who will head the dugout. At this point, with no other teams competing, there’s no need to rush the process. Shildt, the former Cardinals manager who was surprisingly fired at the end of the season, will likely be a name floated around no matter who runs the team.
Whoever manages the Mets, they’ll have Jeremy Hefner as their pitching coach. The team picked up his 2022 option this week.
