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Cubs To Hire Ryan Flaherty As Bench Coach

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The Cubs are expected to name Ryan Flaherty as their bench coach, reports Britt Ghiroli of The Athletic. Until recently, Flaherty had that same job with the Padres.

Flaherty, 37, played in the majors from 2012 to 2019 but then quickly transitioned into coaching. The Padres hired him as a quality control coach prior to the 2020 season and he subsequently became bench coach and offensive coordinator going into 2023.

He is clearly a respected voice around the league, as he has received plenty of attention around the league despite only finishing his playing career a few years ago. The Mets wanted to interview him for their bench coach gig prior to 2022 but the Friars denied that request. With manager Bob Melvin departing the Padres for the Giants this offseason, Flaherty was considered a candidate for the bench boss in San Diego but that job ultimately went to Mike Shildt. Per Dennis Lin of The Athletic, Flaherty had one year left on his contract but was given permission to interview with other teams after the Shildt hiring.

It seems that Flaherty has decided to make a change after four years in San Diego. He will now jump to the Cubs, who have shaken up their staff by hiring Craig Counsell to replace David Ross as manager. Counsell will have Flaherty as his top lieutenant while the Padres will now have to make yet another hire, finding Shildt a replacement for the bench coach role.

Padres Interviewed Adrian Gonzalez During Managerial Search

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Former Padres star Adrian Gonzalez was interviewed as part of the team’s recent managerial search, according to Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune and MLB Network’s David Vassegh.  Gonzalez made it deep into the process, with Vassegh describing him as one of three finalists for the job, along with bench coach and eventual hire Mike Shildt.

Among the known candidates, Shildt and Phil Nevin had managed at the MLB level before, while Flaherty, Carlos Mendoza (hired by the Mets as their manager) and Benji Gil had experience on Major League coaching staffs.  Gonzalez was an outlier in comparison, as he doesn’t have any experience as a manager or coach in the big leagues or even in the minors.  While most of San Diego’s candidates were former players, the 41-year-old Gonzalez brought perhaps a different perspective as not only a player, but as an established superstar during his 15-year MLB career.

This might be the first managerial search in baseball history to ever include two former first overall draft picks, between Nevin (selected first overall in 1992) and Gonzalez (in 2000).  Gonzalez lived up to that lofty potential by hitting .287/.358/.485 with 317 homers over his 8046 career plate appearances.  His resume included five All-Star appearances, four Gold Gloves, three finishes within the top seven of MVP voting, and just recently became eligible for the Cooperstown ballot since it has been five full seasons since his last Major League game.  While Gonzalez isn’t likely to receive induction to the Hall of Fame, just making the ballot is a notable recognition of an outstanding career.

This first-hand knowledge of what it takes to be a top-tier Major Leaguer might’ve had some appeal to the Padres, given the number of high-profile stars on the roster.  Given past rumblings about tumult within the San Diego clubhouse, the Padres might’ve seen Gonzalez as an interesting candidate as perhaps something of both a boss and a peer for San Diego’s players, given that Gonzalez’s playing career only recently wrapped.  President of baseball operations A.J. Preller also has a long history with Gonzalez, as the first baseman broke into the big leagues with the Rangers in 2004 just when Preller had been hired to join the Texas front office.

It makes for an interesting what-if within the Padres’ managerial hunt, and it remains to be seen if Gonzalez might seek out further coaching or managerial opportunities in the future, whether with the Padres or another organization.  This job had obvious specific appeal to Gonzalez because he was born in San Diego and because he played with the Padres from 2006-10.

With Shildt now hired, attention will turn to the coaching staff.  The Athletic’s Dennis Lin writes that pitching coach Ruben Niebla and bullpen coach Ben Fritz are likely to remain, though Fritz interviewed for the Angels’ pitching coach job that eventually went to Barry Enright.  The third base coach and associate manager’s position are both open after the departures of Matt Williams and Ryan Christenson, and it might be interesting to see how whether the “associate manager” role remains at all, or if it was somewhat unique to the division of duties between Christenson and Flaherty.

Shildt has been working for the Padres for the last two years, so it isn’t as if he is an entirely new skipper coming in and wanting to install his own staff.  That said, Lin isn’t sure if Flaherty (who is both the bench coach and offensive coordinator) could be back after coming up shy in the managerial search.  This uncertainty might also extend to first base coach David Macias, who Lin describes as close with Flaherty and possibly also a candidate to leave if Flaherty isn’t back in 2024.  Lin also notes that Shildt isn’t expected to make any coaching hires from the Cardinals, his longtime former team before his arrival in San Diego.

Padres Interview Phil Nevin In Managerial Search

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The Padres interviewed former Angels manager Phil Nevin yesterday, report Dennis Lin and Britt Ghiroli of the Athletic (X link). San Diego continues to search for Bob Melvin’s replacement in the dugout.

Nevin managed a season and a half in Anaheim. He took over on an interim basis when the Angels dismissed Joe Maddon in June 2022. The Halos signed Nevin to a one-year extension at the beginning of last offseason. After a second consecutive 73-89 finish, the Angels declined an option to retain him for 2024. They tabbed Ron Washington as their new skipper yesterday.

In addition to that managerial stint in Orange County, Nevin has a long track record as a coach. He spent a year as the third base coach for the Giants, held the same position with the Yankees for five seasons, and was the Halos’ third base coach before replacing Maddon. The Fullerton product has plenty of ties to the San Diego organization. He played for the Padres between 1999-2005, twice securing down-ballot MVP votes during that run.

While Nevin’s interview indicates he’s a legitimate candidate for the San Diego job, he may be behind a pair of internal options. Bench coach Ryan Flaherty and senior advisor Mike Shildt interviewed early in the process. Jon Heyman of the New York Post wrote this evening that Shildt is the favorite for the position.

Padres Considering David Ross For Managerial Opening

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With the shocking news that long-time Brewers manager Craig Counsell signed a five-year, $40MM contract with the Cubs, a new managerial free agent entered the fray: David Ross. The freshly fired former Cubs manager should be an intriguing candidate for those teams still in need of a skipper, and indeed, at least one club is already interested. Per Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune, the Padres are “considering adding Ross to their candidate pool” for the position left vacant by Bob Melvin, who recently traveled north for a job with the Giants.

Before the game of managerial musical chairs began on Monday, the Padres and president of baseball operations A.J. Preller had reportedly narrowed down their search to four finalists: senior advisor to player development and major leagues Mike Shildt, bench coach and offensive coordinator Ryan Flaherty, Angels infield coach Benji Gil, and Yankees bench coach Carlos Mendoza. According to Acee, the team wasn’t planning to interview any further candidates; their next manager would be one of Shildt, Flaherty, Gil, or Mendoza.

However, with Ross now available, along with the news that the Mets have hired Mendoza to be their next manager, the Padres could be inclined to reconsider their options. After all, Preller has a well-documented history of changing his mind. Acee mentions several surprise hires the executive made during his tenure with the Padres, including former managers Andy Green and Jayce Tingler.

Of Shildt, Flaherty, and Gil, only Shildt has genuine managerial experience; he took over from Mike Matheny as the Cardinals manager in 2018, steering the team for the next four years. St Louis had a winning record in all four of his seasons at the helm, making the playoffs in the final three. Shildt was fired due to “philosophical differences” with president of baseball operations John Mozeliak, but he seems to be on the same page with the front office in San Diego. He has spent the past two years working in the organization, and evidently, they are happy with the work he has done. 

Still, if the Padres are looking for a seasoned manager to replace Melvin, one of the most experienced skippers in the game, Ross presents an intriguing alternative. He has spent the past four years with the Cubs, leading the team through a mini-rebuild and out the other side. By all indications, the Cubs were largely happy with his performance. At his end-of-season presser, president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer praised his then-manager for the clubhouse culture he fostered. Indeed, if it weren’t for Counsell hitting the open market, the Cubs would almost certainly have stuck with Ross in 2024.

Ryan Flaherty, Mike Shildt Receive Interviews For Padres’ Managerial Vacancy

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The Padres recently gave manager Bob Melvin permission to pursue a job with the Giants, which quickly resulted in Melvin making the switch and signing a three-year deal. Now the Padres have their own managerial vacancy to deal with.

It was immediately speculated that bench coach Ryan Flaherty and senior advisor Mike Shildt were the top internal options and that seems to have been borne out this week. Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune reports that Shildt was interviewed Wednesday, with Flaherty scheduled to have his own interview on Friday. But it won’t be just those two getting consideration, as Acee says it’s likely pitching coach Ruben Niebla will be in the mix, in addition to external candidates.

“I think we’ll sit down with some internal candidates the next few days, but we’re going to make sure we exhaust all the different possibilities to get the right choice. There’s no real timeframe,” president of A.J. Preller tells Acee. “It’s a big offseason for us. We’ve got a lot of decisions to make. This is the first one. We want to try to get it right.”

Flaherty, 37, joined the Padres in November of 2019 as quality control coach. In January of 2022, the Mets were interested in him for their vacant bench coach position, but the Padres denied that club permission to interview him. That perhaps indicates the Padres are quite fond of Flaherty and they made him bench coach in San Diego a year later. He doesn’t have managerial experience but is clearly well respected around the game, having garnered plenty of interest since retiring as a player.

Shildt, 55, managed the Cardinals from 2018 to 2021 but was surprisingly dismissed after clashing with the front office. He then joined the Padres in a player development role but has expressed an interest in returning to the dugout at some point.

Niebla, 51, has been around the game for some time, having served as a coach in the minor leagues for many years. He was hired by the Padres to be their pitching coach after the 2021 season. It’s unknown if the club is interested in interviewing him but Acee relays that Niebla has previously expressed an interesting in managing.

It’s unknown which external candidates will be considered or how long the Padres plan to take to make a hire, but it seems they don’t have a strict timeline based on Preller’s comments. It’s a key offseason for the club, who will be looking to bounce back from a disappointing 2023 season. The club had a run differential of +104, which was actually third best in the National League and miles better than the -15 of the pennant-winning Diamondbacks. But the Padres went 9-23 in one-run games and 2-12 in extra innings, causing them to fall just shy of the playoffs.

Reports emerged after the season of discord between Preller and Melvin. While they initially planned to work together again in 2024, the Giants came calling and it seems the Padres did little to stand in the way of Melvin jumping to the Giants. They received no compensation for Melvin’s departure, apparently content to get his $4MM salary off the books and start fresh with a new skipper. The Friars have a number of high-priced veterans and will surely be motivated to win while those players are still in/near their primes. It’s also their final season before Juan Soto departs via free agency, though other teams figure to call and talk trades, especially with the Padres looking to cut some costs.

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 Promote Ryan Christenson To Associate Manager

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The Padres announced their coaching staff for the 2023 season this afternoon. There are a few shakeups for Bob Melvin’s second season leading the San Diego dugout.

Ryan Christenson has been given the title of associate manager. The 48-year-old joined Melvin in making the jump from the A’s to the Padres last offseason. Christenson had been Melvin’s bench coach in Oakland from 2018-21 and took on that same role for his first season in San Diego. He now earns a bump in title to associate manager, though his position as Melvin’s top lieutenant seems unchanged.

Filling the role of bench coach is Ryan Flaherty, who’s going into year four on the San Diego staff. He also gets the title of offensive coordinator, essentially taking on the hitting coach duties vacated when Michael Brdar was poached by the Tigers at the start of the offseason. San Diego will go without anyone assuming the traditional “hitting coach” title.

The 36-year-old Flaherty has spent the past two seasons as a quality control coach. He drew interest from the Mets in their bench coach search last offseason, but the Friars denied New York’s interview request. One year later, the former Orioles infielder gets both that title and the lead hitting responsibilities in San Diego.

He’ll be joined on staff by assistant hitting coaches Scott Coolbaugh and Oscar Bernard. The 56-year-old Coolbaugh joins the Friars after two years as the lead hitting instructor with the Tigers. He’d also previously served as hitting coach in Baltimore and Texas and an assistant role with the White Sox. He brings plenty of coaching experience to help Flaherty in his first crack as offensive coordinator.

Bernard, meanwhile, gets promoted to the MLB staff after seven years as San Diego’s minor league hitting coordinator. The 39-year-old spent some time as a player and instructor in the Cubs’ minor league system before joining the Friars in 2016. It’s the first big league staff job for the Dominican Republic native. Also joining the group is catching coach Brian Esposito. The 43-year-old spent last season managing the Friars’ Low-A affiliate in Fort Wayne.

The rest are holdovers from last season. Ruben Niebla is back for a second year as pitching coach, pairing with bullpen coach Ben Fritz. Matt Williams and David Macias will coach the bases and defense — Williams the infield, Macias the outfield — with Peter Summerville and Herberto Andrade as coaching assistants. Former big league managers Bryan Price and Mike Shildt will reassume the advisory roles they manned in 2022.

Tigers Hire Michael Brdar And Keith Beauregard As Hitting Coaches

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The Tigers announced a batch of additions to their coaching staff, including Michael Brdar as major league hitting coach, Keith Beauregard as major league hitting coach, James Rowson as assistant major league hitting coach, Robin Lund as assistant major league pitching coach and Ryne Eubanks as head athletic trainer.

Brdar, 28, has proven to be a popular name for coaching positions in his young career. As a player, he was drafted by the Cardinals in 2017 and got some action at rookie ball that year. That was the end of his playing days, with Brdar then joining the University of Michigan, where he played college ball, as a coach. He followed that up by getting hired as the Giants’ minor league hitting coordinator.

One year ago, he was hired away from the Giants by the Padres, who made him hitting coach at the major league level. After one season in San Diego, he’ll now head back to the state of his alma mater. The Tigers’ new president of baseball operations Scott Harris was general manager of the Giants until recently, meaning he presumably was aware of Brdar’s work in that organization. Joining Brdar as hitting coach for the Tigers will be Keith Beauregard, who had previously been coaching in the Dodgers’ system. Those two will be joined by James Rowson, who had been working as bench coach for the Marlins and has had some interest for managerial openings in recent years.

Hitting will likely be a key focus for the club after that was a huge weakness for them in 2022. Just about every player in the lineup underperformed at the plate, from veterans to prospects. As a collective, Detroit hitters produced a batting line of .231/.286/.346. The resulting 81 wRC+ indicates they were 19% below league average, the worst such mark in the majors. Their 110 home runs were also dead last by a significant margin, as the Guardians were 29th with 127. For a team that entered 2022 with aspirations of ending their rebuild and competing for a playoff spot, those results were disappointing to say the least.

The Padres will now have a vacancy in their own hitting coach position, though Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune reports that Ryan Flaherty is expected to take over the role. Flaherty played in the big leagues from 2012 to 2019 but has since transitioned into the coaching side of the game. The Padres hired him as quality control coach going into 2020 and he has remained with the club since then. The Mets tried to pry him away to be their bench coach a year ago, though the Padres denied their request to interview him.

Padres Deny Mets’ Request To Interview Ryan Flaherty

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The Mets have been one of the busiest teams this offseason, as they hired Billy Eppler as general manager in mid-November, then quickly signed Max Scherzer, Starling Marte, Eduardo Escobar and Mark Canha before the lockout began in early December. Since major league transactions are not allowed during the lockout, their attention has shifted to their coaching staff, with Buck Showalter being named their new manager just before the holiday break.

In recent days, details about who would be filling out Showalter’s staff have started to emerge, with Wayne Kirby, Joey Cora and Eric Chavez reportedly lined up to be the first base coach, third base coach and hitting coach, respectively. One position yet to be filled is the bench coach, but one name that can apparently be crossed off the list of contenders is Ryan Flaherty. According to a report from Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, the Padres have denied the Mets’ request to interview their quality control coach for the position.

As noted by Rosenthal, teams usually allow their employees to interview with other clubs if the open position represents a promotion for the individual. Although the Mets’ bench coach job is considered a promotion for Flaherty, the Padres apparently decided to deny the request for timing reasons. Although the lockout could push everything back, spring training is still tentatively scheduled to begin in about a month. If Flaherty were allowed to interview for the position and ultimately landed the job, it would leave the Padres in the awkward position of having to scramble and make another hire in a narrow window of time.

This is a fairly logical decision from the Padres’ perspective, as they lined up their coaching staff early in the offseason and seemingly didn’t want to get dragged back into another search. However, whenever a team blocks one of their employees from seeking greater opportunities elsewhere, there is risk of creating resentment in said employee, reducing their ability to be retained. Flaherty isn’t quoted in the report, making his feelings on the matter unknown. But Rosenthal reports that he was involved in the process of filling out the coaching staff after Bob Melvin was hired, which included his former Vanderbilt teammate David Macias being brought aboard as first base and outfield coach.

After a playing career that spanned 547 games in eight seasons, Flaherty was hired by the Padres to be a quality control coach prior to the 2020 season, the same offseason that saw Jayce Tingler brought aboard as manager. Tingler was recently fired and replaced with Melvin, with several other positions on the staff seeing turnover as well. Flaherty, 35, seems to have survived the cull, however, and will stick with the club for 2022 and beyond, as Rosenthal reports that he received a three-year deal at the start of the offseason.

Padres Finalize Coaching Staff, Hire Bryan Price As Senior Advisor

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The Padres on Monday announced manager Bob Melvin’s staff for the 2022 season, revealing within that former Reds skipper Bryan Price has joined the organization as a senior advisor to the Major League coaching staff. Price, according to today’s press release, “will work alongside the Major League coaching staff throughout Spring Training and the 2022 season, serving as a both an on-field instructor and a mentor within the clubhouse.”

Price’s hire was not previously reported and comes as something of a surprise, given that he’d announced his retirement following the 2020 season. Price spent that year as the Phillies’ pitching coach and also managed the Reds from 2014-18, though the 59-year-old comes with decades of experience beyond those most recent roles.

An eighth-round pick out of UC Berkeley by the Angels back in 1984, Price pitched in parts of five minor league seasons before setting out on a coaching track that would make him one of the more successful and well-regarded coaches in recent memory. He spent 11 years as a minor league pitching coach and/or pitching coordinator in the Mariners’ system from 1988-99 before joining their Major League staff as pitching coach. Price held that role through the 2005 season, working as pitching coach under Melvin there for two of those seasons (2003-04).

Price was named the D-backs’ pitching coach prior to the 2006 season — again serving under Melvin — and remained there through the 2009 season. At that point, he was hired by the Reds as pitching coach, holding that post until being promoted to manager in the 2013-14 offseason.

Aside from Price, there are no new surprises included within San Diego’s announcement, as the entirety of the staff’s composition had already been reported. Ryan Christenson will follow Melvin from Oakland to San Diego, reprising his role as bench coach. Ruben Niebla heads over from Cleveland after serving as an assistant pitching coach there last year. Matt Williams will also reunite with Melvin as third base coach after spending the past two seasons managing in the KBO. (He’d previously been Melvin’s third base coach in Oakland, in addition to a two-year stint managing the Nationals.) David Macias, who formerly managed in the Mariners’ system and was on the East Carolina University staff, is the team’s first base/outfield coach. Recently retired catcher Francisco Cervelli is the team’s new catching coach.

The Padres are also welcoming back a few coaches from former skipper Jayce Tingler’s staff. Quality control coach Ryan Flaherty (best known for his six-year stint as an Orioles utilityman), bullpen coach Ben Fritz and game-planning/coaching assistant Peter Summerville are all on the staff again under the newly hired Melvin.

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