Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Jayce Tingler

Twins Hire Jayce Tingler As Bench Coach

By | at

The Twins have announced a pair of coaching hires, bringing on former Padres’ manager Jayce Tingler as their new bench coach and officially announcing the previously-reported hiring of David Popkins as hitting coach.

Tingler is coming off a tumultuous season in San Diego, his second campaign as the bench boss for the Padres. Things seemed to be going well after the first year, as 2020 saw the Padres go 37-23 and then qualify for the expanded 2020 playoffs, eventually falling to the rival Dodgers in the NLDS. The subsequent months only heightened enthusiasm for 2021, as the club made various high-profile additions, including Blake Snell, Yu Darvish and Joe Musgrove. The beginning of 2021 seemed to be going according to plan, as they hovered in the divisional race with the Dodgers and Giants through the first few months of the season. However, the second half saw the team undergo a precipitous slide, falling out of the playoff race and even below .500, along with reports that Tingler had lost the respect of the players and control of the clubhouse. Shortly after the season ended, Tingler was fired and eventually replaced by Bob Melvin, whom the Padres lured away from the Athletics.

It had been previously reported that the Padres offered him an opportunity to stay in some capacity, but he will instead head to the Twin Cities for 2022. It was announced in September that the previous bench coach, Bill Evers, would be retiring after the 2021 season, creating the vacancy that Tingler will now be filling.

Padres’ Chairman: A.J. Preller’s Job Is Safe

By | at

Padres president of baseball operations and GM A.J. Preller received a strong vote of confidence from ownership, reports Dennis Lin of The Athletic (subscription required).  San Diego Chairman Peter Seidler told Lin that Preller’s job is “as safe as a GM’s job can be.”  Seidler added: “I one-hundred percent believe in [Preller], one-hundred percent trust him.  And that’s not because I’m blindly loyal.”

That Preller is likely to continue leading the team for the long term hardly qualifies as a surprise.  It was just eight months ago that the club extended Preller’s contract through the 2026 season and added the PBO designation to his title.

The Padres, of course, are looking for a new manager after firing second-year helmer Jayce Tingler yesterday.  Last year, Tingler led San Diego to their first playoff appearance since 2006 and first postseason series win since 1998.  But the club’s second-half collapse in 2021, along with reports of tensions in the clubhouse, led to his dismissal.  Tingler was offered the opportunity to remain with the team in an as-yet-undetermined capacity, and Seidler said he hopes Tingler decides to stay. He added that the rest of the coaching staff has been given permission to look for opportunities elsewhere.

Seidler also told Lin that Preller alone will decide who the club’s next manager will be.  He said that while he and Preller recognize the value of major league managing experience, that won’t be a prerequisite for the new hire. “As we did when we hired Jayce, we put a premium on people with experience,” Seidler said. “But I would rather get the right 34-year-old than the wrong 64-year-old.”

Seidler’s comment regarding a new manager not needing prior big league managing experience is sure to raise eyebrows among at least some Padres fans.  Since being hired as GM in 2014, Preller has tabbed two permanent managers, Tingler and his predecessor Andy Green.  Neither had managed an MLB club prior to joining the Padres. There’s been plenty of speculation the Padres could zero in on a more veteran skipper this time around, but it doesn’t sound as if ownership or Preller consider that an absolute necessity.

Padres Fire Jayce Tingler

By | at

After days of rumors, the Padres have officially parted ways with manager Jayce Tingler.  The former skipper has been offered the chance to stay with the organization in another role.

“Jayce accomplished a great deal in his two seasons with the Padres, leading our team through an unprecedented pandemic and into the postseason for the first time in 15 years,” president of baseball operations A.J. Preller said.  “I have tremendous respect for him as a coach, colleague and friend.  After much thought and consideration over the last several weeks, we felt change was necessary at this time to ultimately reach our championship potential in San Diego.”

Reports surfaced over the weekend that Tingler was going to be replaced, and while the Padres announced in response that “no decision has been made on Jayce’s employment status at this time,” the writing seemed to be on the wall given the rather stunning nature of the team’s collapse.

At the end of June, the Padres were 49-33 for the season and winners of 11 of their last 12 games.  The question at the time seemed to be which of the three NL West powers (the Padres, Dodgers, and Giants) would capture the division title and which two would be destined for a showdown in the wild card game.  Instead, the Padres cratered to a 30-50 mark over their final 80 games, including a nosedive that saw the club win only seven of their final 28 contests.

The result was a 79-83 record and the Padres’ 10th losing record in 11 seasons — a bitter pill to swallow for a club coming off an NLDS appearance in 2020 and with the highest of expectations.  Despite the star-studded nature of the Padres roster, several of the big names were undone either by injury or a lack of performance, with the starting rotation being particularly hampered by injuries down the stretch.

It was clear the late-season struggle was creating friction within the team, as there were reports of clubhouse discord at Tingler’s decision-making and his ties to Preller.  The Padres’ brutal record in September and October might have well been all the evidence necessary for Preller and ownership to decide that Tingler had lost the team, and now a new manager will be needed to get the Padres on track.

Tingler finishes with a 116-106 record in his two years as San Diego’s manager, still a winning mark thanks to his success in 2020, leading the Friars to the playoffs for the first time since 2006.  The Padres’ 37-23 record was the third-best record of any team during the shortened season, and San Diego’s victory over the Cardinals in the wild card series was their first postseason triumph since the 1998 NLCS.

While a manager is usually the first to go when a team doesn’t succeed, there were enough issues with the 2021 Padres that Tingler was hardly the only one at fault.  The Padres’ next manager will be the third Preller has hired to run the club in his seven-plus years in charge of the front office, and though Preller recently signed a contract extension that runs through the 2026 season, there will certainly a lot of extra pressure on the PBO to finally turn the Padres into a consistent winner.

On the more optimistic side, a case can easily be made that the San Diego job is a prime opportunity for any manager.  There is plenty of talent on the roster, and the Padres could certainly find themselves back in contention with better health alone in 2022.  Both Tingler and previous skipper Andy Green were first-time managers, so it will be interesting to see if Preller again looks for a younger voice in the dugout or if he looks to hire a manager with past experience.

Padres Planning To Fire Manager Jayce Tingler

By | at

After a disappointing season with high expectations, the Padres are planning to part ways with manager Jayce Tingler after two seasons at the helm, per MLB Network’s Jon Heyman (via Twitter). The decision has not been confirmed by the club, who calls the news of Tingler’s fire “premature,” tweets AJ Cassavell of MLB.com. Still, expectations are that Tingler will be let go.

The Padres shocking collapse this year has been well-documented, and it appears that Tingler will be left holding the bag. Despite the frustrating season, Tingler will finish his tenure in San Diego with a winning record, sitting currently at 115-105, a .523 winning percentage.

The Padres were the “it” team of 2020, Tingler’s first season as manager. A relative unknown at the time of his hire, Tingler nonetheless led the Padres to the playoffs for the first time since 2006 and finished second in manager of the year voting. Though they were swept by the eventual champion Dodgers, it was a competitive and spirited three-game series, setting the stage for a tight divisional race in 2021.

The future looked bright for Tingler, who was hand-picked to manage the club by A.J. Preller, who himself was promoted to president of baseball operations and extended through 2026 in February. Preller’s promotion came amid a busy winter, after which the Friars were all but assumed to push the Dodgers for the NL West crown. The Padres extended Fernando Tatis Jr., locking in their star shortstop as the future of the franchise, and they overhauled their rotation with trades for Blake Snell, Yu Darvish, and Joe Musgrove, among other moves.

The 2021 season began on script with the Padres having a share of the best record in MLB as late as 54 games into the year, as MLB.com’s Sarah Langs recently tweeted out. They were 34-20 at that point in the season on May 30th. The injuries began to pile up, and from that point on, the rollicking-good-fun Padres have been nothing short of a disaster. They’ve gone 44-62 since, guaranteeing a losing campaign yesterday with their 82nd loss. The loss came at the hands of the Giants, who took the Padres’ Cinderella season right out from under them and wore it for themselves.

The Padres on-field failures are wide-ranging, though injuries no doubt played a role. The inflexibility of a roster weighed down with hefty contracts for under-performing veterans also played a part. It certainly seems a touch hypocritical for Preller to send Tingler packing, and yet it would hardly be a surprising development. There have been quite a few front office people let go, in fact, as repercussions of the difficult season have been felt throughout the organization. Recent weeks, as well, have been marred by rising tensions and in-dugout altercations that drew national attention, perhaps even providing cause for a Tingler dismissal.

Development failures have also been central to the Padres narrative. With that in mind, the futures of MacKenzie Gore, Adrian Morejon, and Ryan Weathers will be of particular interest for anyone in a leadership role moving forward. It wasn’t long ago that these young arms were the crown jewels of a deep farm system, but trades have depleted the system’s depth while their young hurlers have yet to establish themselves as difference-makers at the Major League level.

The spotlight will shine ever brighter on Preller in the days and weeks to come. Given his recent extension, it seems he’ll continue as the primary driver within the organization, though his next managerial hire will likely be his last unless the team can get itself back on track.

Latest On Padres’ Front Office

By | at

TODAY: Ryley Westman has been promoted from director of player development to farm director, according to ESPN’s Jeff Passan and Kiley McDaniel (Twitter link).  Amateur scouting director Mark Conner has also been reassigned to a special assistant role, as international scouting director Chris Kemp will now assume Conner’s old duties.

SEPTEMBER 21: The Padres have decided not to renew the contract of farm director Sam Geaney, reports Dennis Lin of the Athletic. Geaney departs the organization after spending nearly seven years leading the club’s minor league system.

Geaney was hired in October 2014, just a couple months after the Padres tabbed A.J. Preller to lead baseball operations. The team made an ill-fated attempt to contend in Preller’s first year at the helm before committing to a significant teardown and rebuild. That process involved trading established big leaguers for prospects and a significant financial outlay in the international amateur market, leading to the construction of a farm system that was perhaps the game’s best for a couple years.

That rebuild began to bear fruit in 2019, when players like Fernando Tatís Jr. and Chris Paddack made their big league debuts. The team still struggled, but that changed in 2020. The Friars went 37-23 in last year’s shortened season, making the playoffs for the first time in fourteen years. In addition to bringing aboard talented young players like Tatís, Trent Grisham and Jake Cronenworth, Preller and the front office aggressively pursued star players in free agency and trade over the past few seasons. Eric Hosmer and Manny Machado had been brought aboard on huge free agent deals, while San Diego built a star-studded rotation via trade, landing Blake Snell, Yu Darvish and Joe Musgrove (in addition to the since-injured Mike Clevinger) from other organizations.

That series of bold strikes had a few effects. It thinned out the once-vaunted farm system significantly. Luis Patiño, who went to the Rays in the Snell deal, was perhaps the only truly elite young talent sent away. But San Diego parted with a collection of generally well-regarded players, dealing a blow to the minor league depth. Still, that seemed a price worth paying to build a fantastic big league roster, and the Padres entered the 2021 campaign with extraordinarily high expectations.

Early in the season, San Diego looked well on their way to meeting those lofty goals. They won 32 of their first 50 games; by late May, their chances of making the postseason were approaching 99% in FanGraphs’ estimation. Things have changed dramatically since that high water mark, with the club particularly struggling coming out of the All-Star Break. The Padres have gone just 23-33 in the season’s second half, entering play tonight with a 76-73 record that places them four games behind the Cardinals in the race for the National League’s final Wild Card spot (with the Reds also a game above them in the standings). Their playoff chances — considered a near-lock a few months ago — have plummeted to 3.4%.

Given that collapse, there’s been plenty of speculation recently about potential staffing changes that would go beyond Geaney’s dismissal. Preller, who was promoted to president of baseball operations and extended through 2026 in February, doesn’t seem likely to be in much danger. But alterations to the coaching staff could be a more realistic possibility, and the team will at least have one notable coaching decision to make this coming offseason.

The Padres fired pitching coach Larry Rothschild on August 23, bumping bullpen coach Ben Fritz to the position on an interim basis. That hasn’t brought about any sort of immediate turnaround, as Padres hurlers rank just 22nd in ERA (4.90) and 15th in SIERA (4.20) since making the change. This winter, they’ll need to determine whether to hand the job to Fritz permanently.

Recent days have also brought about some speculation regarding second-year manager Jayce Tingler’s future in the organization. Over the weekend, Ken Rosenthal, Lin and Britt Ghiroli of the Athletic and Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune separately reported that Tingler, whose contract runs through 2022, is facing increased scrutiny within the clubhouse. Both outlets report that some members in the organization have questioned whether Tingler — a 40-year-old skipper in his first managerial job — has done enough to command the respect of the locker room.

Clubhouse frustration boiled over publicly on Saturday, when Tatís engaged in respective shouting matches in the dugout with bench coach Bobby Dickerson and Machado. Tingler had previously been ejected from the game, and development coach Ryan Flaherty intervened to break up the argument.

It’s certainly no surprise that frustration is mounting in the organization, given the manner in which the team’s play has fallen off. But Rosenthal, Lin and Ghiroli suggested some with the team see the spat as a microcosm of a broader leadership void. Acee, meanwhile, reported that some members of the clubhouse have desired Tingler’s dismissal for a while — and would continue to do so even if the team rights the ship and manages an improbable playoff push over the season’s final couple weeks. Both pieces present a detailed look into a seemingly messy situation and are worth full perusals.

Despite that reported discord, it’s by no means a fait accompli that Tingler’s managing his final few games in San Diego. Acee cautions that some players in the clubhouse still stick by the skipper, instead expressing frustration with what they believe to be other players’ excuses for the team’s underperformance. Both the Athletic and the Union-Tribune note that Preller and Tingler, who previously worked together in the Rangers’ front office, are very close personal friends, leading some to question whether Preller would be willing to dismiss Tingler.

It’s also impossible to pin down precisely how much blame Tingler actually deserves for the team’s struggles. As mentioned, the Padres were quite successful last season, Tingler’s first at the helm. This year, the roster has been hit hard by injuries, particularly on the pitching side. Clevinger was lost to a Tommy John surgery over the offseason. Fifth starter Adrián Morejón required the same procedure in April. Darvish, Paddack and Snell have all missed some amount of time due to injury; Paddack and Snell remain on the IL. Top prospect MacKenzie Gore, expected to be a potential big league option entering the season, struggled significantly in the minors and hasn’t proven ready for a call-up.

That’s led the Padres to look for buy-low pickups in recent weeks, with the team signing Jake Arrieta and Vince Velasquez after they’d been released by other clubs. That came on the heels of a trade deadline in which the front office failed to bolster the rotation, despite reported pursuits of Max Scherzer and José Berríos. (Arrieta was designated for assignment this evening after struggling over four starts).

The Friars weren’t completely inactive. They landed second baseman Adam Frazier and reliever Daniel Hudson only to see those players’ performances unexpectedly crater. But this extremely aggressive front office’s inability to land any rotation help was one of the more surprising takeaways immediately after the deadline, and it’s proven to be a significant storyline for the team in the second half.

For now, the Padres have tried to tamp down speculation about the future as they focus on the season’s final couple weeks. Tingler pushed back on the idea that he’d lost the respect of the clubhouse when speaking with reporters (including Bob Nightengale of USA Today) this evening. Machado and Tatís conducted a joint press conference tonight in which they claimed they’ve put Saturday’s incident behind them (video from Annie Heilbrunn of the Union-Tribune). It seems unlikely there’ll be any significant shakeup in San Diego while the season’s ongoing, but the Padres’ staffing decisions could prove to be one of the more important things to watch in the early portion of the upcoming offseason.

Latest On Padres Rotation

By | at

After a flurry of offseason acquisitions, the Padres entered the season with arguably one of the deepest pools of rotation candidates in the game. But just a month into the season, even the Padres are already looking at a bullpen game. Miguel Diaz will be the nominal starter today, but the 26-year-old right-hander has been working 3-4 inning stints at the Padres’ alternate site in preparation, writes Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune. He has appeared in 47 games for the Padres going back to 2017 and only three times as a starter.

In the near term, the Padres are holding out hope that either Ryan Weathers or Dinelson Lamet will be ready to start on Tuesday, adds Acee. Said manager Jayce Tingler, “Both of them were pretty aggressive with their bullpens today and came out reporting feeling well. We think that’s a good step for both guys. We’ll see how they respond tomorrow and go from there.”

Lamet has made just one start his year, going two scoreless before being removed because of forearm soreness. Weathers, 21, was the youngest starting pitcher in baseball, and he’d been nothing short of brilliant before leaving his last start with arm soreness. The young southpaw has a 0.55 ERA/3.23 FIP over 16 1/3 innings combined out of the pen and rotation.

There remains no word on Chris Paddack, who was placed on the injured list without an injury designation. Presumably, that points to something Covid-19-related (be it a positive test, close contact or self-reported symptoms). That could mean a quick turnaround for Paddack as we have seen with a few players this year, but only time will tell. If Paddack isn’t able to return shortly, the Friars hope that Lamet and Weathers could fill out the rotation. Otherwise, Diaz may be in for more than just a spot start.

Padres Hire Jayce Tingler As Manager

By | at

Oct. 28: The Padres have announced the signing of Tingler to a three-year contract.

“Jayce has extensive experience in virtually every aspect of coaching, player development and baseball operations, and our entire group believes that he’s the right person to lead our talented roster,” general manager A.J. Preller said within today’s press release. “His multi-faceted skill set, combined with his ability to develop talent and help players reach their potential at the Major League level, were key factors in his selection as our manager. We are excited for Jayce to build upon the foundation we’ve laid in San Diego as we set our sights on October baseball.”

Oct. 24: The Padres are set to hire Jayce Tingler away from the Rangers as their new manager, Jeff Passan of ESPN reports (via Twitter). Tingler, 38, is currently the Major League Player Development Field Coordinator on skipper Chris Woodward’s staff.

By all indications, this hiring promises to be a pivotal one. The Padres are, after all, an organization wrapping up a decade largely spent in rebuild, with the recent front office regime led by general manager A.J. Preller struggling to field a competitive roster despite several big-money roster reinforcements and a farm system generally regarded as one of the game’s best.

Andy Green was tabbed as Preller’s choice for the managerial seat in 2016 following Bud Black’s dismissal midway through an ill-fated 2015 campaign, but Green’s tenure in San Diego produced just a 274-366 record. Recent indications had pointed toward Ron Washington and Tingler — two former Preller associates from his time with the Rangers — being the final two candidates, but it appears that the Padres will go with the younger of those two options.

Indeed, the 38-year-old Tingler becomes the second-youngest manager in the majors, behind only Rocco Baldelli of the Twins. Baldelli’s early success in the managerial seat — as well as the success experienced by young managers like Alex Cora and AJ Hinch — demonstrates that a grey beard is hardly a job requirement when it comes to major league managing, but that certainly doesn’t mean Tingler is a conventional candidate. Tingler is neither a garlanded former big leaguer nor an up-the-ranks minor league manager, but a little-known former minor leaguer with a wide range of on-field and front office experience.

Tingler spent time as a skipper at the Rookie and Dominican Summer League levels before being named as Texas’ minor league field coordinator from 2012-14. He served as a coach on the staff of Jeff Banister in 2015 and 2016 before entering the front office as an assistant GM in 2017. Tingler served as bench coach for interim manager Don Wakamatsu at the end of 2018 and interviewed to be Rangers manager that offseason (he was ultimately passed over in favor of the aforementioned Woodward). More recently, Tingler has been serving as manager of the Leones del Escogido of the Dominican Winter League.

The Padres went 70-92 in their final season under Green’s command in 2019, following an offseason that saw them add third baseman Manny Machado on a club-record 10-year, $300MM deal. As Passan notes in a follow-up tweet, Tingler’s bilingual skills likely were an asset for him throughout the hiring process, as the club has several near- and long-term players for whom Spanish is a first language (link). Adrian Morejon, Michel Baez, Luis Urias, Fernando Tatis Jr., Manuel Margot, Dinelson Lamet, Francisco Mejia, and Luis Patino represent just a small sampling of the numerous young players in the Padres organization hailing from the Carribean, South America or Mexico, as Preller’s Latin American scouting emphasis continues to have a surface-level impact on the San Diego pipeline.

Padres Managerial Search Down To Ron Washington or Jayce Tingler

By | at

Braves third base coach Ron Washington and Rangers Major League development coordinator Jayce Tingler are indeed the final two candidates to fill the Padres managerial vacancy, per MLB.com’s AJ Cassavell.

Washington and Tingler have been the rumored final candidates for a couple of days now, but Cassavell has added a note of finality to the search that could reach a conclusion shortly. The common bond here between Tingler and Washington is their relationship to Padres GM AJ Preller. Both connect to Preller’s time as an assistant general manager with the Texas Rangers.

There remains an outside possibility that a third candidate could enter the fray, but the odds are in favor of either Washington or Tingler becoming the next manager of the Padres. The Padres appear hopeful that one might even serve on the coaching staff for the other, and though a “team of rivals” managerial team makes sense on paper, at least one team official thinks this possibility is unlikely.

The crux of the difference between these two candidates appears to be a question of experience versus ideology. Tingler is a well-regarded, forward-thinking contemporary of Preller’s, whose front office background and comfort with analytics make him a good fit from a synergy standpoint. His coaching experience, however, is limited.

Washington has a suspect history with analytics, but he is a two-time pennant-winning manager and one of the most highly-regarded infield coaches in the league. If Preller and the Padres value a weathered hand to steer the ship, as has been rumored, then Washington fits the bill.

Latest On Padres’ Managerial Search

By | at

TODAY: “Many folks around baseball believe” Tingler will be hired as the Padres’ next manager, according to MLB Network’s Jon Heyman (Twitter link).  While nothing is yet confirmed, “Tingler is seen as [the] favorite.”

OCT. 16: The Padres could be nearing the final steps in their search for a new manager, as two candidates will receive second interviews for the position.  Dennis Lin and Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic (Twitter link) report that Jayce Tingler is in San Diego today, while Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune reports that Ron Washington will also meet with the team later this week.  These secondary interviews will involve Padres ownership for the first time, as executive chairman Ron Fowler and general partner Peter Seidler will be meeting with Tingler and Washington.

It isn’t known if any of the other known candidates from the Padres’ first round of interviews will also be brought back for a second meeting, or if Tingler and Washington are the only two finalists for the job (or if any candidates could still surface in the future).  As per Acee, Fowler and Seidler will give their input but the final hiring is with GM A.J. Preller, which makes for an interesting dynamic given Preller’s connection to both candidates.

The expectation was that San Diego would go with an experienced former big league skipper with their new hire, after failing to find success with a first-time manager in Andy Green.  Of the five people interviewed for the job, however, only Washington and Brad Ausmus had any substantial MLB experience.  Tingler and Nationals third base coach Bob Henley have only managed minor league clubs, while Padres bench coach Rod Barajas served as the team’s interim manager for the final eight games of the season after Green was fired.

If experience is still seen as a key factor in the Padres’ decision-making, Washington would have the clear advantage, with a 664-611 record and two AL pennants on his resume as the Rangers’ manager from 2007-14.  This overlapped with Preller’s time working in the Texas front office, though Preller also worked with Tingler during this same period.  Tingler was a manager for the Rangers’ Dominican Summer League and Arizona League clubs, and also worked as the Rangers’ minor league field coordinator from 2012-14.  Tingler’s current role is player development field coordinator for Texas, after working in jobs ranging from assistant GM to interim bench coach over the last five seasons.

Latest On Padres’ Managerial Search

By | at

The Padres have made a fair bit of progress in their managerial search, though it remains unclear at this point which direction they’ll go. There’s now added clarity on the handful of serious candidates as well as the interviewing timeline.

It’s now clear that Braves third base coach and former Rangers skipper Ron Washington is a serious possibility. He interviewed today, as Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune reports. It was already known that Brad Ausmus had interviewed as well.

But those aren’t the only candidate to get a sit-down interview. Indeed, Scott Miller of Bleacher Report tweets that quite a few others have already been in to meet with GM A.J. Preller and company.

Rod Barajas and Jayce Tingler were already known to be candidates. They have in fact held interviews, according to Miller. Unlike the two men mentioned already, Barajas and Tingler are each looking for their first opportunity to helm a big-league team.

It may be that the list doesn’t extend beyond those four names. Miller reports that long-time MLB managers Buck Showalter, Joe Girardi, and Mike Scioscia appear not to be part of the ongoing Padres search. Whether there are more candidates still under consideration beyond those isn’t yet clear.

Show all

MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

hide arrows scroll to top