The San Diego Padres were one of the biggest disappointments during the 2015 season, and their underwhelming play cost manager Bud Black his job. After also letting interim manager Pat Murphy go at the end of the year, the Padres are beginning to set their sights on a handful of potential permanent replacements.
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Padres Begin Interview Process with Candidates
Tuesday, Oct. 13
Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune reported San Diego is showing interest in former Minnesota Twins manager Ron Gardenhire, but he’s far from the only person the front office is looking at.
The Padres are apparently casting a wide net in terms of resumes. Whereas Gardenhire spent 13 years in charge of the Twins, general manager A.J. Preller is also considering former infielder Alex Cora, per CBSSports.com’s Jon Heyman, and Phil Nevin, per USA Today‘s Bob Nightengale.
Neither Cora nor Nevin can boast any previous managerial experience in MLB, but Nevin has at least coached in the minors since 2009. He’s one of the hotter candidates across the league, with Nightengale adding the Washington Nationals, the Miami Marlins and the Seattle Mariners all have him on their radars.
While Gardenhire, Cora and Nevin all have their respective strengths, the Twins lost 90-plus games in Gardenhire’s final four years, and Matt Williams is proof positive hiring first-time managers like Cora or Nevin is a risky proposition, especially for teams that want to win immediately.
Preller is undoubtedly in a difficult situation. The Padres will be paying big money to Matt Kemp, Craig Kimbrel and James Shields next year. Plus, Preller traded a number of the organization’s best prospects, so it’s not as if a lot of talent will be coming through the pipeline in the next season or two.
Fans might expect the team to contend in 2016, heaping even more pressure on the general manager to get this decision correct.
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