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MLBTR Podcast: Adolis García, the Tyler Glasnow Decision and Bob Melvin

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The latest episode of the MLB Trade Rumors Podcast is now live on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts! Make sure you subscribe as well! You can also use the player at this link to listen, if you don’t use Spotify or Apple for podcasts.

This week, host Darragh McDonald is joined by Anthony Franco of MLB Trade Rumors to discuss…

  • The Rangers are in the World Series for the first time since 2011 (0:55)
  • Looking back on the journey of Adolis García (5:00)
  • What’s next for the Astros after dropping the ALCS? (7:40)
  • Bob Melvin reportedly moving from the Padres to the Giants (10:15)
  • Is Tyler Glasnow a trade candidate or not? (14:45)
  • The Offseason Outlook of the Dodgers (21:45)

Plus, we answer your questions, including…

Check out our past episodes!

  • Boston Searches for a Boss, Kim Ng and Surgery for Brandon Woodruff – listen here
  • The Mets’ Front Office, TJ for Alcantara and the D-Backs Extend Their GM – listen here
  • Mariners To Spend? Tigers To Contend? And Managerial Vacancies – listen here​

Giants To Sign Bob Melvin, Farhan Zaidi Through 2026

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The Giants held an introductory press conference to present new manager Bob Melvin today. It was announced that both Melvin and president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi have agreed to deals that run through 2026, with Andrew Baggarly of The Athletic among those to relay the news. While Melvin’s deal is signed, chairman Greg Johnson said that Zaidi and the club have “agreed in principle” to a deal through 2026 which will be announced shortly, video courtesy NBCS. Zaidi announced that they will give the Padres no compensation for acquiring Melvin, per John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle.

Melvin was manager of the Padres until now, on a deal that ran through 2024. It wasn’t known if his reported move to the Giants would affect his contract, but today’s news provides some clarity on that front. The news about Zaidi is also particularly noteworthy since his current deal was also set to expire after 2024. Though he hasn’t put pen to paper yet, it seems he will secure himself a bit of runway as well.

The Giants have been somewhat inconsistent since Zaidi was hired at the end of the 2018 season. The club finished below .500 in the two seasons prior to him joining the club and would post two more losing seasons in 2019-2020. That was followed by an incredible jump to 107 victories in 2021, though that club was eliminated by the Dodgers in the NLDS. They then dropped to 81-81 in 2022 and were expected to be ambitious in the 2022-2023 offseason as they looked to get back into contention.

They did indeed set their sights high, coming close to landing Aaron Judge before he wound up back with the Yankees. The Giants then pivoted to another free agent superstar in Carlos Correa, agreeing to a 13-year, $350MM deal, but the Giants balked at Correa’s medicals and walked away before making that deal official. By then, most of the top free agents had already signed elsewhere and the Giants eventually spread their money around to several mid-tier guys, including Ross Stripling, Sean Manaea, Michael Conforto, Mitch Haniger, Taylor Rogers and Luke Jackson.

Though the club hovered around the postseason picture for parts of 2023, they ultimately slid down the standings and finished at 79-83. It was expected that 2024 was going to be a sort of make-or-break year for the staff, with both Zaidi and manager Gabe Kapler believed to be on contracts that would expire after that season. As recently as mid-September, Johnson voiced his support for the Kapler/Zaidi duo to return in 2024. But Kapler was fired just a couple of weeks later and has now been replaced by Melvin. It seems that Johnson and the club want to give this new duo some continuity going forward and will lock them in for three years.

Despite the inconsistent results on the field, it’s understandable why the club felt it would need to present a united front. Signing a marquee free agent figures to be a big priority again this offseason and it should help with the pitch if they have things in order. Many free agents will go to whichever team offers the most money, but if they receive somewhat comparable offers from multiple clubs, other factors could act as dealbreakers. Signing onto a club with a lame duck president could have perhaps created some uncertainty in the minds of prospective signees, but today’s announcement should take that off the table.

Even if the Giants are successful in landing a big name free agent or two this winter, the path back to contention will still have challenges. The Dodgers continue to be a powerhouse and should have plenty of money to spend this offseason. The Diamondbacks are headed to the World Series right now and are loaded with young talent to keep them in good shape going forward. The Padres are a bit of a mystery at the moment but still have plenty of star power. It will be an interesting period for the Giants but the ticking clock isn’t quite as loud as it appeared to be coming into today.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Giants Hire Bob Melvin As Manager

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October 25: The Giants have made it official, announcing today that Bob Melvin is now their manager.

October 24: The Giants “are poised to announce” that Bob Melvin has been hired as the team’s new manager, The Athletic’s Andrew Baggarly reports.  It isn’t known when the official announcement could be made, though the league prefers that teams save major news for between postseason rounds, so the Giants may wait until for the two days between the end of the NLCS and the start of the World Series on Friday.

Between the late-season firing of Gabe Kapler as manager and the reports of discord between Melvin and Padres president of baseball operations A.J. Preller, there has been plenty of speculation over the last month that Melvin might find himself on the move from San Diego to San Francisco.  Padres chairman Peter Seidler’s stated preference was that both Melvin and Preller remain with the organization in 2024, and Preller even said in a post-season wrapup press conference that “Bob is our manager, and he’s going to be our manager going forward.”

However, Melvin remained on the Giants’ radar, and a parting between Melvin and the Padres seemed inevitable once San Diego granted Melvin permission to interview with the Giants this past weekend.  As Baggarly reports, that interview took place on Monday, and involved several members of San Francisco’s ownership group and baseball operations staff, not to mention franchise icon Buster Posey.  It seems as though the interview was enough to confirm Melvin’s status as the favorite for the job, and the veteran skipper will now get a new job as an early birthday present, as he turns 62 on Saturday.

Melvin’s resume includes three Manager of the Year Awards, eight postseason appearances, and a 1517-1425 record over 20 seasons with the Padres, Athletics, Diamondbacks, and Mariners.  The hiring in San Francisco is also something of a homecoming for the Palo Alto native, and a continuation of Melvin’s linkage of the Bay Area and his baseball career.  Melvin played with the Giants for three of his 10 seasons as a big league catcher, and had an 11-year stint managing the A’s from 2011-21.

As it happens, this is the second time in almost exactly two years that Melvin take a new managerial job while leaving another job with one year remaining on his contract.  The A’s had contractual control over Melvin for the 2022 season but chose to let him walk to the Padres without compensation, with reports stating that Melvin’s $4MM salary was seen as onerous for an Oakland club that was about to embark on a major teardown.  It is also fair to assume that the Athletics front office was open to letting Melvin make a graceful exit to a better situation, rather than keep him as manager for at least one season of what looks like it will be a lengthy rebuild process.

This past weekend’s reports from Baggarly and Dennis Lin suggest that Melvin’s current salary (also $4MM for 2024, the last year of his Padres contract) might have been a factor in San Diego’s decision, as the organization is planning to reduce expenditures in a number of different areas.  With a mounting debt that could be in conflict with MLB regulations and some broadcasting uncertainty due to the Diamond Sports Group’s bankruptcy proceedings, the Padres look to be cutting back on the high-spending ways, including a reported reduction in player payroll to around $200MM for next season.

Finances aside, the simpler answer is probably just that the Giants’ interest allowed for the Padres to part ways with Melvin in relatively smooth fashion, without the awkwardness of a firing.  Preller has already fired three different managers (Bud Black, Andy Green, Jayce Tingler) during his nine-plus years in charge of San Diego’s front office, and three other men (Dave Roberts, Pat Murphy, Rod Barajas) have also worked as interim managers.  Of course, whether it was a firing or a “parting of the ways,” the bottom line is that the Padres have had another manager come and go while Preller remains.

Lin and Ken Rosenthal examined how the Preller/Melvin relationship soured in a piece for The Athletic last month, and the criticisms of Preller’s management style also predated Melvin’s arrival in San Diego.  In fact, Melvin’s hiring was seen as a stabilizing element after the clubhouse turmoil that marked the end of Tingler’s managerial stint, yet it seems as though the ship was only steadied through the success of the 2022 season.  This year, the Padres underachieved despite their massive payroll, with a very poor record in one-run (9-23) and extra-inning (2-12) games undermining a team that, by all other statistical measurements, should’ve won a lot more than 82 games.

With even more pressure on Preller to get the Friars on track, the next managerial hire will be one of the most crucial decisions of his tenure.  Two internal candidates (Mike Shildt and bench coach Ryan Flaherty) have already emerged as leading contenders for the job, and it might be that the Padres wanted to start lining up some candidates before officially green-lighting Melvin’s interview with San Francisco.  San Diego will surely interview some other people out of due diligence, though it wouldn’t be a shock if the job does end up going to either first-time manager Flaherty, or former Cardinals skipper Shildt.

As for Melvin, he’ll now take over another team in need of a culture change.  After winning 107 games in 2021, the Giants are 159-163 over the last two seasons, and Kapler’s hands-off managerial style was starting to seem more like a detriment than a plus.  Several Giants players, either on or off the record, felt the club was somewhat directionless, with Logan Webb outright stating he felt “we have to make some big changes in here to create that winning culture.”

These criticisms extended not only to Kapler but to president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi, whose contract is believed to run only through the end of the 2024 season.  As such, Zaidi is also certainly feeling the pressure to build a contending roster, and the Giants are expected to be aggressive shoppers this winter after missing out on both Aaron Judge and Carlos Correa as a big-ticket addition last offseason.  Faced with what might be a make-or-break scenario, it probably isn’t surprising that Zaidi has turned to a familiar face as manager — Zaidi previously worked as the Athletics’ assistant GM during Melvin’s tenure in Oakland.

The terms of Melvin’s contract aren’t yet known, though Baggarly suggests it could be a relatively short-term deal, should Melvin view the San Francisco job “as a fitting place to round out” his career.  There has been some buzz about possible coaching changes coming to the Giants’ staff, though Baggarly suggests that the majority of San Francisco’s 13-person staff could be retained.  That perhaps puts a different spin on the Giants’ managerial search, as the focus on internal candidates and others with past Giants ties (i.e. Stephen Vogt) might have been a way of gauging how any of these candidates might have been willing to mesh with Melvin, if he was Zaidi’s preferred choice all along.

Latest On Padres’ Managerial Situation

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The possibility of a managerial change in San Diego rose back to the forefront yesterday, as the Padres granted permission for the Giants to speak with Bob Melvin. The three-time Manager of the Year, who’s familiar with both the Bay Area and San Francisco president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi from his long stint with the A’s, now seems a strong candidate to leave San Diego for a division rival.

Melvin is under contract with the Padres for next season. As a result, the Friars could require compensation to approve him taking the job elsewhere. Dennis Lin of the Athletic writes that the Padres may not demand more than a marginal return to allow the veteran skipper to depart, however.

That’s a reflection of the apparently strained relationship between Melvin and baseball operations leader A.J. Preller. Multiple late-season reports indicated there was a strong divide between the two. San Diego ownership clearly doesn’t believe the situation had become untenable. After a meeting between Preller, Melvin and chairman Peter Seidler, the organization announced a few weeks ago that Melvin would return. However, the Giants’ interest could afford San Diego a fresh start while clearing Melvin’s $4MM salary. Had he been fired, the Padres would’ve remained on the hook for the money.

If Melvin heads to San Francisco, the Padres have a few internal candidates to take his place. Bench coach Ryan Flaherty and senior advisor Mike Shildt seem the likeliest options. In a piece at The Athletic, Britt Ghiroli and Lin write that the 37-year-old Flaherty is highly regarded within the organization and seemingly has a strong relationship with Preller. As a result, they suggest the former Orioles infielder appears the top internal option.

By contrast, Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune casts Shildt as the in-house potential favorite. The 55-year-old has prior MLB managerial experience, having led the Cardinals from midway through 2018 until he was dismissed after the ’21 season due to what St. Louis called “philosophical differences” with the front office. (Flaherty’s only managerial experience consisted of a two-week interim stint in 2022 while Melvin was recovering from surgery.) Shildt has spent the last two years working with Preller’s front office and has been open about his hope for another managerial position.

Both The Athletic and the Union-Tribune suggest San Diego could also consider external opportunities. It’s too soon to say with certainty that Melvin is even departing, much less the position will come down to Flaherty or Shildt. Given the Giants’ stated goal of finalizing their hire before the start of free agency, there figures to be a resolution within the relatively near future.

Padres Permit Bob Melvin To Interview For Giants’ Managerial Position

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Padres manager Bob Melvin has been given permission by the team to interview with the Giants about their managerial vacancy, according to The Athletic’s Dennis Lin and Andrew Baggarly.  “Melvin has emerged as the favorite in San Francisco, with league sources indicating that he received assurances he would be a top candidate before he agreed to participate in the interview process,” Lin and Baggarly write.

Reports surfaced two days ago that the Giants were temporarily halting their search for a new manager while waiting to hear back from rival teams for their go-ahead to interview employees.  Melvin was chief among this new group of candidates, and it could very well be that the Giants were specifically waiting on the Padres on whether or not Melvin would be allowed to speak with the division rival.  Melvin is still under contract with San Diego through the end of the 2024 season, though rumors have swirled for months about Melvin’s future with the club and his relationship with president of baseball operations A.J. Preller.

By this point, it would seem like an upset if Melvin doesn’t end up as San Francisco’s next manager.  While the official interview has yet to take place, Melvin and Giants president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi are quite familiar with each other — Melvin was the Athletics’ manager when Zaidi began his baseball career in Oakland’s front office over a decade ago.  Lin and Baggarly note that it could create an even more awkward situation between Melvin and Preller if Melvin didn’t end up getting the Giants job, so perhaps regardless of what happens with the San Francisco interview, Melvin might not be back as the Padres’ skipper in 2024.

Back in September, Lin and Ken Rosenthal delved into the internal issues that have plagued the Padres organization even before their disappointing 2023 season.  Chief among these problems is the allegedly frosty relationship between Melvin and Preller, though both men have downplayed the idea of any discord.  After the Padres finished with only an 82-80 record this season, there was plenty of speculation that either Melvin or both Melvin and Preller could be fired, yet club chairman Peter Seidler gave a full vote of confidence to his management team at season’s end.  Preller also stated soon afterward that “Bob is our manager, and he’s going to be our manager going forward,” seemingly putting the matter to rest.

However, many pundits felt a parting was coming sooner rather than the later, especially when the Giants’ managerial position became open after Gabe Kapler was fired.  The past ties between Melvin and Zaidi made the veteran skipper a logical candidate from day one, assuming the hurdle of the Padres’ clearance for an interview could be jumped.

It is possible the Padres and Giants might work out a trade to officially send Melvin to the Bay Area, or the Padres might simply see this as an opportunity for a fresh start.  Melvin leaving for another job rather than being fired, as Baggarly and Lin note, would save the Padres the $4MM owed to the manager in salary for the 2024 season.  This tracks with the Padres’ overall plan to cut costs next season, ranging from both internal financial matters like a manager’s salary to player payroll.

If Melvin was to be hired by the Giants, San Diego would suddenly be in need of a new manager, though Lin and Baggarly cite bench coach Ryan Flaherty and coach Mike Shildt as possible candidates to take over the job.  Best known for his days as an Orioles utilityman, Flaherty has been on the Padres’ coaching staff for the last four seasons, and was promoted to bench coach prior to the 2023 campaign.  Prior to hiring Melvin, Preller’s previous two managerial hires were Andy Green and Jayce Tingler, who (like Flaherty) had never managed at the MLB level.

On the other hand, Shildt is a former skipper, managing the Cardinals from 2018-2021 and leading the club to postseason appearances in the last three of those seasons.  Shildt was rather surprisingly fired after the 2021 season due to what Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak described as “philosophical differences,” and the Padres then interviewed Shildt for the managerial vacancy that was eventually filled by Melvin.  San Diego ended up hiring Shildt anyway that winter for a player development position, and he moved into a coaching role this past season.

Coaching Notes: Giants, Angels, Athletics

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Bob Melvin’s upcoming interview with the Giants has only increased the speculation that the Padres manager could soon be taking over in San Francisco’s dugout, to the point that Melvin’s prospective coaching staff might already be coming into view.  According to Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle, Melvin “would be likely” to bring Padres third base coach Matt Williams along with him from San Diego to San Francisco.  Williams was a four-time All-Star with the Giants during his playing career, and two other former Giants players are also under consideration for coaching roles — Pat Burrell as a new hitting coach, and Ryan Vogelsong as the new pitching coach.

Justin Viele, Pedro Guerrero and Dustin Lind are the Giants’ trio of incumbent hitting coaches, yet given the club’s lackluster offense in 2023, it isn’t surprising change might be coming.  The pitching staff’s results were more up-and-down, yet Slusser notes that pitching coach Andrew Bailey “is extremely well regarded” and has often been considered by other teams for jobs in their organizations.  If Vogelsong did become pitching coach, the Giants could look to retain Bailey as bench coach or as the director of pitching, but Bailey also might prefer a new role with a team nearer to his family on the East Coast.  Vogelsong has been working as a roving instructor within the Giants organization, while Burrell has been the hitting coach for the Giants’ Single-A affiliate.

More on other coaching situations around baseball…

  • The Angels have hired Dom Chiti as a minor league pitching coordinator, The Athletic’s Britt Ghiroli reports (via X).  Chiti previously worked for Los Angeles as a special assistant and then as bullpen coach from 2020-22, before joining the Mets as their bullpen coach for the 2023 season.  The 64-year-old Chiti has over four decades of experience in a variety of coaching and front office roles with the Angels, Mets, Rangers, Indians, and Orioles.
  • The Athletics are parting ways with bullpen coach Mike McCarthy, Fangraphs’ David Laurila writes.  2023 was McCarthy’s first year on Oakland’s coaching staff, and his first year on a big league staff altogether.  Before joining the A’s, McCarthy spent five seasons coaching for the Triple-A affiliates of the Padres and Twins.

NL Notes: Marlins, Giants, Cardinals

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The Marlins are parting ways with director of amateur scouting D.J. Svihlik, per Barry Jackson and Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald. Svihlik, who had been part of Miami’s front office since 2017 including six years in his current role as scouting director, did not have his contract removed following the 2023 campaign and is now set to join former GM Kim Ng in departing the organization. The move to part ways with Svihlik is hardly a surprise given Sherman’s previously reported discontent with the club’s amateur scouting and player development apparatus.

While very few of Svihlik’s draft picks have played a direct role for the Marlins at the big league level (with right-hander Max Meyer and catcher Nick Fortes among the best examples), Jackson and McPherson make the important point that many of the club’s highest picks in recent years have been used in trades to acquire key talents on the big league roster such as Jake Burger, Josh Bell, and A.J. Puk. The duo go on to note that the task of finding a replacement for Svihlik figures to be likely left in the hands of the club’s next baseball operations leader, the search for whom Sherman has already begun. Installing a president of baseball operations who would take control of the department and lead a restructuring of the club’s amateur scouting department was one of the key goals Sherman held for this offseason that led to Ng parting ways with the organization.

More from around the National League…

  • As the Giants continue their search for a manager to replace Gabe Kapler, one potential candidate has withdrawn himself from consideration, per The Athletic’s Andrew Baggarly: Rangers special assistant Nick Hundley. Baggarly added that Hundley spoke at length with longtime Giants catcher Buster Posey and president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi regarding the position, but ultimately declined to interview for the role on account of family concerns. Hundley, 40, spent 12 seasons in the major leagues as a catcher, including the 2017 and 2018 campaigns in San Francisco. Upon retiring in early 2020, Hundley took a job in the commissioner’s office before eventually joining the Rangers in his current role of special assistant prior to the 2022 campaign.
  • Cardinals left-hander JoJo Romero is in a good place following his season-ending knee injury last month, per Daniel Guerrero of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Guerrero notes that Romero made progress regarding the injury throughout the month, but did not return to the big league roster in hopes of ensuring the injury was fully healed and his mechanics wouldn’t be impacted headed into the offseason. Romero was a revelation for St. Louis in the second half as he took over the closer’s role from Jordan Hicks, posting a 3.18 ERA, 35.8% strikeout rate and a 0.79 FIP in his final 17 innings of the season. His overall season numbers were also impressive, as well: the lefty posted a 3.68 ERA and 2.22 FIP across 27 appearances this season. Assuming he’s healthy in time for Spring Training, Romero figures to once again play a significant role for the Cardinals out of the bullpen next year.

NL West Notes: Bogaerts, Haselman, Rockies

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While Manny Machado’s recovery from elbow surgery will cloud the Padres’ infield picture for the start of the 2024 season, it is possible the Friars might explore moving Xander Bogaerts off of shortstop as soon as next year, The Athletic’s Dennis Lin writes.  The public defensive metrics were pretty mixed on Bogaerts’ glovework last season, as he received +3 Outs Above Average, -4 Defensive Runs Saved, and an exactly even 0.0 UZR/150 over 1285 2/3 innings at shortstop.  “Team officials have talked among themselves about the possibility of asking Bogaerts to move to the right side of the infield,” Lin writes, with perhaps even first base being an ideal destination from a defensive standpoint, setting up an infield of Bogaerts at first base, Jake Cronenworth at second base, Ha-Seong Kim at shortstop, and Machado at third base.

For his part, Bogaerts would prefer second base over first base if a position change did happen.  When talking to Lin and other reporters last month, Bogaerts said “we’ll cross that bridge when we get there” in terms of changing his defensive role, and he had “no idea” if the Padres were going to broach the subject in the coming months.  Depending on Machado’s injury rehab, Kim is expected to handle third base until Machado is ready to return to fielding duty, though naturally any of the Padres’ plans could be altered by upcoming offseason moves.

Some other items from around the NL West….

  • Angels third base coach Bill Haselman “has been talked about” in regards to the Giants’ managerial job, a source tells John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle.  Haselman played in parts of 13 MLB seasons from 1990-2003, and has five years of coaching experience on Major League staffs — as a bullpen coach and first base coach for the Red Sox in 2004-06, and as a catching instructor and third base coach in Anaheim over the last two seasons.  Haselman also has a lot of experience as a minor league coach and manager in the Angels’ and Dodgers’ minor league systems, and his time with the Dodgers overlapped with Farhan Zaidi’s tenure as Los Angeles’ general manager from 2014-18.  It remains to be seen if Haselman is more than a speculative candidate to be the Giants’ next skipper, though Zaidi (San Francisco’s president of baseball operations) appears to be expanding his search beyond internal candidates.
  • The Rockies and Mariners discussed a trade last offseason that would’ve brought some pitching to Colorado, according to Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post.  The specifics of the trade talks weren’t revealed, though it makes sense that the pitching-needy Rockies would’ve at least checked in with Seattle, given how rumors swirled last winter that the M’s were open to moving one of Marco Gonzales or Chris Flexen.  Given how the Rox ended up signing Flexen as a free agent back in July, it is fair to wonder if he was perhaps the particular name under discussion.  Purely speculatively, the Rockies also might’ve aimed higher in their pitching goals, perhaps dangling Brendan Rodgers to the Mariners (who needed second base help) as part of a trade package involving George Kirby or Logan Gilbert.  Colorado had some degree of talks with the Marlins last offseason about a Rodgers-for-Edward Cabrera swap, and Saunders suggest that Rodgers “might be a trade candidate again” in the coming months.  It would be something of a sell-low move for the Rockies at this point with Rodgers, as while he has two remaining years of arbitration control, he only played 46 games last season due to a dislocated shoulder.

Giants Interested In Jason Varitek For Manager Position

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The Giants are looking for a new manager to replace Gabe Kapler and Joel Sherman of The New York Post adds a new name to the list of candidates, reporting that they have asked the Red Sox for permission to speak with Jason Varitek about the vacancy. The Red Sox, who currently employ Varitek as player information coach, have given Varitek to permission to talk to the Giants. The two sides will have an “informational” phone call in the coming days before deciding whether or not to move the process along.

Varitek, 51, played for the Sox from 1997 to 2011 but has transitioned into other roles in his post-playing days. The Sox hired him as a special assistant to the general manager back in 2012, just a few months after his retirement as a player. He got a uniformed coaching role prior to the 2021 campaign, initially with the title of game planning coordinator before becoming player information coach.

He is clearly respected around the league as his name has been connected to various job openings in the past decade. He has been floated as a fit for various managerial positions over the years but he has stayed with Boston that whole time. It was reported in November of last year that Varitek signed a three-year deal to stick with the Sox, but teams generally don’t stand in the way of their staff pursuing external promotions, so it’s not surprising that the Sox are letting him talk to the Giants to see how it goes.

It doesn’t seem like a decision on the job will be made soon. At least one of their known candidates, Rangers bench coach Donnie Ecker, is preoccupied with the ongoing postseason. Per Andrew Baggarly of The Athletic, president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi recently made a trip to Japan as part of the club’s ongoing interest in right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto. Part of the reason he had the time to do that is that they are waiting to speak to some managerial candidates who are not currently available.

Varitek joins Ecker and current Padres manager Bob Melvin as external candidates known to be on the Giants’ list, while Stephen Vogt has already been interviewed. The Giants have also interviewed internal candidates such as bench coach/interim manager Kai Correa, assistant coach Alyssa Nakken and third-base coach Mark Hallberg.

It was reported earlier today that the Giants interviewed Kapler about their front office vacancy, making it possible that he and Varitek end up swapping employers.

Giants Interested In Bob Melvin As Manager

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As recently-fired manager Gabe Kapler interviews for the top baseball operations job in Boston, the Giants have put their search for his replacement on hold temporarily, per The Athletic’s Andrew Baggarly. While the club still hopes to have a new manager in place by the time free agency opens next month, Baggarly notes that the club is waiting for clearance to interview a final set of candidates.

Chief among those potential candidates mentioned is Padres manager Bob Melvin. Melvin, 61, is under contract with the Padres for the 2024 season, meaning that San Diego would have to grant their division rival permission to interview their manager. As unlikely as such a scenario may seem on the surface, it’s well known around baseball that Melvin and president of baseball operations A.J. Preller have a contentious relationship and have been at odds throughout much of Melvin’s tenure with the organization, a wrinkle that could make the Padres more amenable to allow Melvin to interview for the role.

While the club indicated that both Preller and Melvin would return to the Padres in their current roles for the 2024 season earlier this month, Baggarly relays that Melvin is “expected” to be open to the opportunity to interview with the Giants, if granted permission to do so by the Padres. Melvin, of course, has significant ties to the Bay Area after managing the Oakland A’s for eleven seasons, from 2011 to 2021. During his tenure with the A’s, Melvin won the AL Manager of the Year award in both 2012 and 2018, while finishing in the top four on three other occasions with the club. The A’s ultimately had a combined record of 853-764 with Melvin at the helm, an impressive feat considering the club’s consistently low payroll numbers.

Prior to his tenure in Oakland, Melvin served as manager of the Mariners from 2003-04 and managed the Diamondbacks for five seasons, from 2005-09. Melvin won NL Manager of the Year in 2007 with Arizona, making him one of just eight managers in the history of the award to win in both leagues. For his managerial career, Melvin’s record is 1517-1425, good for a winning percentage of .516.

Melvin is far from the only candidate the Giants are looking into as they search for their next manager, of course. Baggarly notes that former Giants hitting coach Donnie Ecker, who is currently the offensive coordinator for the Rangers, is another name the Giants are currently waiting on with the Rangers still in the midst of a postseason push, while Mariners bullpen and quality control coach Stephen Vogt is already known to have interviewed for the role. San Francisco has also interviewed several internal candidates, including interim manager Kai Correa and assistant coach Alyssa Nakken, who became the first known woman to interview for a big league managerial job.

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