Why allowing Bob Melvin to interview with Giants makes sense for Padres

On the surface, allowing a three-time manager of the year to interview with a division rival — and doing so just a couple of weeks after announcing he would return in his current role — does not make much sense. But these are the San Diego Padres under president of baseball operations and general manager A.J. Preller. There is always something potentially seismic going on beneath the crust.

More evidence of the fault lines that continue to separate Preller and manager Bob Melvin arose over the weekend. The Padres granted the San Francisco Giants permission to interview Melvin for their managerial opening, The Athleticreported Sunday, paving the way for what would be one of the sport’s most notable off-field defections in recent memory.

If the Giants end up hiring Melvin, league sources have indicated, the Padres may not be inclined to seek more than relatively minimal compensation.

Melvin, 61, has a year left on a three-year contract. The chances of Bruce Bochy redux might be limited; it’s not clear how much longer Melvin, coming off his 20th season as a major-league manager, wants to keep managing. Preller, meanwhile, has three years left on the second extension he’s been awarded since he became San Diego’s GM almost a decade ago. Yet, in the likely event that the two men soon part ways, the bulk of the explaining should fall to Preller.

Not that anyone should expect the Padres’ head of baseball operations to be especially forthcoming. On Oct. 4, a few days after the conclusion of a wreck of a season, Preller announced that Melvin would continue as San Diego’s manager. Preller added that he and Melvin were “very excited about the challenge of getting this group back to the postseason next year.” He dismissed reports of organizational turmoil and a fractured relationship with Melvin, saying he did not give “any credibility” to anonymous quotes or unnamed sources. Even in an industry known for its lack of candor, Preller stands out for his gift for obfuscation.

So, what changed in the span of less than a month? Did anything actually change? And what is the Padres’ reasoning for allowing Preller, who has overseen just two winning full seasons, to potentially choose what would be his fifth full-time manager?

Since Melvin arrived in San Diego after the 2021 season, Padres officials and others around the sport have spoken on the condition of anonymity (and in exchange for their candor) about the Preller-Melvin dynamic and, more recently, about the possibility that Melvin ends up departing for San Francisco. In the course of those conversations, a few key themes emerged.

Almost from the start, Preller and Melvin clashed on communication, roster construction and other issues. The rift between them got to the point that one Padres player recently told The Athletic he viewed it as “unfixable,” with some inside the organization echoing that sentiment. Melvin had been hired in what ownership and the front office agreed was a necessary shift away from first-time managers; before hiring Melvin, Preller had fired two such managers in Andy Green and Jayce Tingler.

But when Preller and Melvin found themselves at odds, Melvin’s resume appeared to foster stronger pushback then there was with his predecessors in San Diego. Melvin’s experience proved integral in 2022 as he navigated the Padres through Fernando Tatis Jr.’s seasonlong absence and into the franchise’s first National League Championship Series since 1998. Less than a year later, as a contentious relationship festered and the Padres floundered in the standings, team executives at least considered the idea of letting Melvin go.

However, the optics and practicality of firing a widely respected manager would present significant obstacles. Preller already has been permitted to fire three full-time managers — Bud Black, Green and Tingler — after his relationship with each man deteriorated. That’s an abnormal number for a GM whose only seasons of 82 or more wins in San Diego have come with Melvin at the helm.

At the same time, firing Melvin — instead of letting another team poach him — would leave the Padres on the hook for the $4 million he’s still owed. Potential internal replacements Ryan Flaherty and Mike Shildt might not command salaries close to that number, but the Padres have embarked on cost-saving measures throughout the organization after an expensive season that included no playoff games and the financial hit from the collapse of the team’s regional sports network.

Some in the organization would be more than content to choose a successor from within. Flaherty, the club’s bench coach and offensive coordinator, has been considered a future manager and a favorite of Preller’s. Shildt, a senior adviser and former manager of the year with the St. Louis Cardinals, has made it known he is interested in managing again.

There is some thought that either candidate would mesh better with Preller and his management style. Yet that is far from guaranteed. Tingler, now the Minnesota Twins’ bench coach, worked under Preller with the Texas Rangers and was once viewed as maybe Preller’s closest friend in the sport. By the end of Tingler’s time in San Diego, people around the team said that was no longer the case.

Perhaps the potential for more bad press encouraged Padres owner Peter Seidler to publicly and privately express a desire to retain both Preller and Melvin. “I’m not afraid to make changes. I never have been,” Seidler told the San Diego Union-Tribune in July. “But I really value stability.” Seidler has been less involved with the team since he underwent an undisclosed medical procedure in August. But on Oct. 2, he said in a statement that his “current leadership continues to have my full support.” Two days later, Preller announced on a video conference with reporters that Melvin would return as manager.

Now, the optics are unfavorable again. The Padres are likely nearing a mutual parting of ways with their most decorated manager in decades. It is fair to question whether another well-regarded manager could coexist with Preller. But another firing would make everything look even worse. Keeping a front-facing employee who appears interested in leaving might only exacerbate the problem. By overstating his desire earlier this month to continue working with Melvin, Preller essentially put the ball in the court of the manager and the Giants.

To some in the Padres organization, Preller is hoping to produce change similar to what he pushed through after a disastrous 2021 season — Preller did hire Melvin, yes, but he also fired his farm director and scouting director, replacing them with Padres executives seen as being in greater alignment with the GM. With Preller’s leash perhaps shorter than ever, he could be feeling unprecedented pressure. And he could be looking to face it while tightening his circle.

In the last few weeks, then, seemingly little has changed. Despite Preller’s pronouncements to the contrary, team officials said there continued to be only sporadic communication between Preller and Melvin. Meanwhile, there has been little clarity regarding the composition of next year’s coaching staff.

At least one explanation has surfaced. The Preller-led Padres were waiting for the Giants to call.

(Top photo of Padres manager Bob Melvin: Orlando Ramirez / USA Today)