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.
