Padres hire Oakland’s Bob Melvin as new manager

The Padres kept a big secret.

On Thursday, it was revealed: They have hired Bob Melvin as their manager.

Melvin, who turned 60 on Thursday, was the Oakland A’s manager since 2011 and was under contract for 2022 after the A’s picked up the option on his deal. But he was allowed to interview with the Padres, and the team has decided to make the three-time Manager of the Year its new skipper.

Melvin was the National League Manager of the Year in 2007 while with the Arizona Diamondbacks, whom he managed from 2005-09. He won the award twice in the AL, in 2012 and ’18, with the A’s. He also managed the Seattle Mariners in 2003 and ’04.

Melvin received a three-year contract.

It is not known how many candidates the Padres interviewed in a closely guarded process. It did become public they had interviewed former managers Mike Shildt, Luis Rojas and Ozzie Guillén. Just Wednesday, Padres General Manager A.J. Preller said he did not know when the team would hire a manager and indicated it could take another week or so.

The Padres have not announced the move, but two sources confirmed Melvin has agreed to take the job that became available when the Padres fired Jayce Tingler on Oct. 6.

Preller and team chairman Peter Seidler acknowledged they were looking for a manager with experience, though they said that didn’t necessarily mean major league managerial experience.

In the end, one source involved in the decision said, the Padres were swayed by Melvin’s calm, thoughtful demeanor. They felt his track record and presence would play well in a clubhouse that last season was practically begging for a manager with experience.

“He’s going to be a voice of wisdom with our players,” one source said.

It was also important to the Padres brass that Melvin expressed a strong desire to take the job even though he already had one.

No other current manager has worked as long without interruption as Melvin has.

He was 853-764 (.528) in 11 seasons with the A’s, taking them to the postseason six times. His ’07 Diamondbacks team also went to the playoffs.

The Padres have been to the postseason just six times in 53 years. After making the playoffs in 2020 for the first time in 14 years, the team finished 79-83. That was well below expectations and resulted in Tingler being let go after just two seasons.

As the season wore on and the team fell from playoff contention, players complained about how the front office had handled certain situations and said Tingler had failed to step up and handle some internal issues. Many players said Tingler did not carry enough weight in the clubhouse.

Melvin is the first of the three managers Preller has hired that has previous major league managerial experience following Tingler in 2019 and Andy Green in 2016.

This is a developing story and will be updated.