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Blue Jays Claim Shaun Anderson From Padres

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The Blue Jays announced they’ve claimed right-hander Shaun Anderson off waivers from the Padres. Additionally, Toronto selected right-handers Hagen Danner and Bowden Francis, lefty Zach Logue and infielder Leo Jimenez to the 40-man roster to keep them from selection in the Rule 5 draft.

Now best known for his inclusion in a lopsided swap that sent LaMonte Wade Jr. from Minnesota to San Francisco, Anderson possesses a big slider and plenty of velocity that have piqued the interest of several clubs. Despite being torched for an 8.49 ERA in 23 2/3 innings this season, Anderson spent time with four different teams. He’s now failed to clear waivers four times in the past six months, demonstrating the quality of his raw arsenal. The 27-year-old still has a minor league option remaining, and the Jays will hope to tap into his raw talent and coax out some better results in 2022.

The 20-year-old Jimenez ranks 11th among Jays prospects at MLB.com and posted one of the more ludicrous lines fans will see, hitting .320/.523/.392 on the season. That’s not exactly a tiny sample, either; Jimenez tallied 262 plate appearances and reached base a comical 137 times. In addition to a ridiculous 20.6% walk rate, Jimenez was also plunked 25 times. He can play both middle infield positions but won’t realistically be an option until at least 2023, as he’s yet to even reach the Double-A level.

Bogh Francis and Logue rank on the back end of MLB.com’s Jays Top 30 and both posted sub-4.00 ERAs with promising strikeout rates. Francis joined the organization in the trade that sent Rowdy Tellez to the Brewers. Logue is a a former ninth-rounder who turned in an eye-opening 28.2% strikeout rate against a minuscule 5.2% walk rate.

As for Danner, he’s 2017 second-rounder who moved from catcher to the mound this season and posted a brilliant 2.02 ERA, 29.4% strikeout rate and 8.4% walk rate through 35 2/3 innings in High-A — his first pro experience on the mound. He’s still new to pitching, but with a debut like that, it’s understandable that Toronto had no interest in potentially losing him in the Rule 5 Draft.

Offseason Outlook: San Diego Padres

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The Padres went from a veritable playoff lock to a sub-.500 record on the heels of a catastrophic second-half collapse. President of baseball operations A.J. Preller will go back to the drawing board amid greater expectations and even more pressure.

Guaranteed Contracts

  • Fernando Tatis Jr., SS: $329MM through 2034
  • Manny Machado, 3B: $210MM through 2028 (Machado can opt out of contract after 2023 season)
  • Eric Hosmer, 1B: $59MM through 2025
  • Yu Darvish, RHP: $37MM through 2023
  • Blake Snell, LHP: $28.5MM through 2023
  • Ha-Seong Kim, INF: $23MM through 2024 (includes $2MM buyout of $8MM mutual option for 2025)
  • Wil Myers, OF: $21MM through 2022 (includes $1MM buyout of $20MM club option for 2023)
  • Drew Pomeranz, LHP: $16MM through 2023
  • Jurickson Profar, INF/OF: $15MM through 2023 (includes $1MM buyout of $10MM mutual option for 2024; Profar can opt out of contract after 2022 season)
  • Mike Clevinger, RHP: $6.5MM through 2022
  • Craig Stammen, RHP: $4MM through 2022
  • Pierce Johnson, RHP: $3MM through 2022
  • 2022 commitments: $140.5MM
  • Total long-term commitments: $752MM

Projected Salaries for Arbitration-Eligible Players (via MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz)

Non-tender candidates: Strahm, Castillo, Wingenter

Option Decisions

  • Exercised $4MM club option on RHP Craig Stammen
  • Exercised $3MM club option on RHP Pierce Johnson
  • Declined $4MM club option on OF Jake Marisnick
  • Declined $800K club option on RHP Keone Kela (Kela had Tommy John surgery in late May)
  • RHP Mark Melancon declined $5MM mutual option (received $1MM buyout)

Free Agents

On the day of the 2021 trade deadline, the Padres were 61-45 — still third place in a dominant NL West division but only five games out of first and also holding a commanding five-and-a-half-game lead on the NL’s second Wild Card spot. A postseason berth seemed overwhelmingly likely. The Friars appeared poised for another aggressive deadline, reportedly making a push to acquire Max Scherzer from the Nationals while also exploring trades to shed Eric Hosmer’s contract and improve an inconsistent offense.

Instead, the division-rival Dodgers won the Scherzer bidding, and no deals involving Hosmer materialized. The Padres acquired second baseman/outfielder Adam Frazier despite having various options at both positions, and their other big deadline takeaway was reliever Daniel Hudson. That was hardly a pair of inconsequential acquisitions at the time, but Monday morning quarterbacking was in full effect as the Padres almost immediately performed a swan dive in the Wild Card standings. San Diego astonishingly went 18-38 to close out the season — not only losing a playoff spot but falling below .500 on the year.

Amid that catastrophic fall from grace were reports of tensions in the clubhouse. Second-year manager Jayce Tingler reportedly lost the locker room late in the year, and public-facing spats involving star players like Fernando Tatis Jr. and Manny Machado only fanned the flames on that narrative.

It came as little surprise, then, to see the offseason begin with Tingler’s ousting. (He’s since joined the Twins as their new bench coach.) What was a surprise — to put things mildly — was the sudden hiring of longtime Athletics manager Bob Melvin, who agreed to a three-year deal to take the reins in San Diego. Melvin was under contract with the A’s through the 2022 season, but a cost-cutting A’s club let him interview and sign with the Padres on a reported three-year, $12MM contract — asking for no compensation in return.

It was a legitimate shocker and widely viewed as something of a coup for the Friars. While their 2021 season ended in disaster, the 2021-22 offseason kicked off on an immensely positive note. Those good feelings will only extend so long, however, and Preller & Co. must now look for ways to improve a roster that faceplanted in the season’s second half.

The first question, quite likely, is simply one of where to begin. The Padres have a remarkable 23 players either on guaranteed contracts or eligible for arbitration, presenting them with a nearly full active roster before even making a move. They’ll surely make some subtractions via non-tender and trade in the coming days, and it stands to reason that the team will again revisit some of those deadline-season trade endeavors.

The reported effort to move Hosmer, for instance, was surely fueled by a desire to improve upon his pedestrian offensive performance but was also borne out of a desire to curb a payroll that has increasingly soared to previously unseen levels in San Diego.  Both Hosmer and Wil Myers are slightly above-average hitters with salaries north of $20MM on the books in 2022. The urgency to move Hosmer’s deal is only heightened by the fact that he’d gain 10-and-5 rights (10 years of MLB service, past five with the same team) at the end of the 2022 season — which would give him full veto power over any trade.

The Padres’ 2022 payroll is already projected by Roster Resource’s Jason Martinez at a staggering $192MM — with nearly $209MM of luxury-tax considerations. That $192MM mark is already nearly $20MM higher than the prior franchise-record. While ownership may be comfortable taking the overall budget to new heights — it’s doubtful they’d have signed Tatis and Machado to those mega-deals were that not the case — the budget surely isn’t limitless. And considering the fact that this Padres club ranked 14th in each of total runs scored, combined wRC+, ERA and FIP, it’s obvious that improvements are needed on both ends of the roster.

Looking for creative ways to shed the contracts of Hosmer or Myers figure to again be revisited this winter, and the Padres have no shortage of square pegs currently being asked to fill round holes. Acquiring Adam Frazier was something of a curious fit in the first place, given the presence of Machado, Tatis and All-Star second baseman Jake Cronenworth, but Frazier’s projected $7.2MM salary now looks even more questionable on the Padres’ roster. He’s obviously a fine player based on his track record in Pittsburgh, but perhaps the lack of a defined role in San Diego didn’t agree with him.

That same logic, to some extent, applies to infielder Ha-Seong Kim. The Padres signed the former KBO superstar to a four-year deal despite lacking obvious infield playing time for him, and Kim struggled to find his footing as he adjusted to big league pitching with inconsistent playing time across multiple positions. Kim was viewed as the equivalent of an MLB-ready, top 100 prospect at the time of his signing but hit just .202/.270/.352 while averaging fewer than three plate appearances over his 117 games.

Between Kim, Frazier and Jurickson Profar, whose questionable three-year deal only looks even more dubious now, the Padres are set to pay upwards of $20MM to a trio of players who don’t even have a defined spot in the everyday lineup. Trading any of the three should be firmly on the table, as should the easier-said-than-done possibility of finally finding a partner in a Hosmer or Myers trade. From a purely speculative standpoint, the money remaining on the Hosmer and Aaron Hicks contracts are quite similar, and Hosmer’s contact-oriented lefty bat could be of some appeal to the Yankees if they don’t re-sign Anthony Rizzo.

If the Padres ultimately are able to shed some of the currently questionable fits for their lineup, they’ll look for ways to quickly reallocate any dollars saved and lineup spots that were vacated. With Tommy Pham reaching free agency and Myers standing as a viable trade candidate, a corner outfielder could be a sensible upgrade. The aforementioned Frazier can certainly handle left field, but alternatives on the market include the likes of Nick Castellanos, Kyle Schwarber, Michael Conforto, Starling Marte, Avisail Garcia and NPB superstar Seiya Suzuki. At first base, the open market has Rizzo, while the trade market will include Matt Olson, Luke Voit and others.

If the designated hitter is indeed added to the National League, as is widely expected, it’s likely Preller will look to old friend Nelson Cruz. Preller has shown a clear affinity for former Rangers players in past iterations of the Padres’ roster, and he even explored the possibility of acquiring Cruz at the trade deadline and playing him at first base. The addition of a DH would also make it easier for San Diego (or any other NL club) to put forth a long-term offer for either of Castellanos or Schwarber, who boast imposing bats but come with sub-par defensive grades.

On the pitching side of things, the Padres have a pretty strong group on paper. The combination of Yu Darvish, Blake Snell, Joe Musgrove, Mike Clevinger, Dinelson Lamet and Chris Paddack looks sound. The trio of MacKenzie Gore, Adrian Morejon (who had Tommy John surgery in May) and Ryan Weathers makes for an enticing and upside-laden series of depth options.

That said, the starting rotation was expected to be a strength in 2021 but turned into a glaring liability. Darvish melted down the stretch after a strong first several months, while the opposite was true of Snell. Lamet’s ongoing injury woes limited his innings and placed a large slate of red flags on him for the 2022 season. Clevinger, like Morejon, is coming back from Tommy John surgery and as we know, that’s hardly a lock. (Just look at Noah Syndergaard’s 2021 season.) Paddack, meanwhile, struggled throughout the season and has yet to recapture his brilliant rookie form. Weathers was hit hard after a promising start, and most confounding of all, Gore barely pitched in the minors — instead spending much of the season working through mechanical issues at the Padres’ Arizona facility.

By late in the season, the Padres were giving starts to reclamation projects like Jake Arrieta and Vince Velasquez as they clung to faint postseason hopes. The end result was a rotation that finished 29th in the Majors in innings pitched (741 1/3) and 18th in ERA (4.54).

Further compounding matters for the Friars is that the rotation is a rather expensive group. Darvish, Snell, Musgrove, Clevinger, Paddack and Lamet will earn somewhere in the vicinity of $55MM combined, but only Musgrove showed any real consistency in 2021. San Diego will hope that swapping out former pitching coach Larry Rothschild — who was fired in August — for Ruben Niebla will help to improve the results. That said, if the Padres are again looking for ways to shake up the roster, it’s at least feasible that one of Darvish or Snell could be moved as a means of freeing up payroll and opening a spot for a different acquisition.

The uncertainty surrounding several promising young arms — Weathers, Gore, Morejon, and Lamet — also raises the possibility of moving anyone from that group in a trade of note. Preller is routinely involved in all of the big names on the market, and it’s easy to imagine Oakland’s Olson and perhaps one of their available starters piquing the Padres’ interest. A shot at a high-ceiling wild card like Minnesota’s Byron Buxton, or perhaps an aggressive pursuit of a Cincinnati starter like Sonny Gray or Luis Castillo could seemingly be in the cards, too. It’s easy to write off the Padres as a team that doesn’t definitively “need” another starter, but Preller showed last year in acquiring Darvish, Snell and Musgrove that he’s unafraid to stockpile pieces in areas where the big league roster does not have a dire need. (See also: the signing of Kim and acquisition of Frazier.)

As far as relief pitching is concerned, the Padres generally appear to have a strong group, but that shouldn’t squarely rule them out from making some notable additions. Mark Melancon led baseball in saves this past season and is now a free agent. He came to the Padres on a bargain deal after his market failed to materialize last winter, so it’s unlikely he’d be re-signed at a premium rate. Waiting out the market and pouncing on a veteran arm again this offseason makes sense, though, particularly with standout southpaw Drew Pomeranz on the mend from a torn flexor tendon.

As is the case in the rotation and the lineup, however, the Padres can’t be ruled out if a big-name reliever becomes available via trade. Don’t be surprised to see them linked to Josh Hader or Craig Kimbrel in the weeks and months to come.

More than any team in Major League Baseball, the Padres have proven themselves difficult to predict. Preller’s “Rock Star GM” moniker, given to him by Matt Kemp after a dizzying flurry of transactions in his first offseason on the job, is often used in humorous fashion — but it’s also rooted in some truth. Preller has shown a repeated affinity to grab headlines with fearless trades, free-agent signings and extensions alike, often moving players who seemed unattainable or acquiring players despite a lack of obvious need. He is quite arguably the sport’s most aggressive baseball operations leader, and given the mounting expectations in San Diego and a shocking freefall from 2021 playoff contention, there’s more pressure than ever to find the right pieces.

Padres Notes: Clevinger, Lamet, Pham

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The Padres are planning to have a healthy Mike Clevinger ready for Spring Training, per MLB.com’s Shaun O’Neill. The 30-year-old made just four starts in the regular season after being acquired from the Guardians midway through the 2020 season. Clevinger underwent his second Tommy John surgery, missing the entirety of the 2021 season. Clevinger’s absence was one reason President of Baseball Ops A.J. Preller went out and acquired Joe Musgrove, Blake Snell, and Yu Darvish last winter, though even those additions ended up being insufficient as injuries took their toll on the Friars.

Dinelson Lamet’s inability to stay on the hill certainly played a part, as the right-hander could not stay healthy enough to hold a rotation spot. He came off the injured list on April 21st, but made just one appearance before landing back on the shelf. He later missed another 66 days with forearm inflammation. He ended up moving to the bullpen, making 11 appearances in relief and finished with a 4.40 ERA/3.94 FIP across 47 innings. Lamet’s role in 2022 will be undecided until the spring, notes O’Neill.

They’re open to re-signing Tommy Pham, per Preller, but it’s going to be a numbers game now. The 33-year-old put up 1.4 rWAR in 561 plate appearances, leaving room for an upgrade, should the Padres find the right player. Pham’s contributions were suitable, though a .229/.340/.383 at the plate leaves much to be desired.

The Padres have some flexibility in the outfielder corners, where Will Myers, Jurickson Profar, and Adam Frazier could all see time next season. Ideally, however, only one of those three lines up at an opening day starter. There are plenty of corner outfielders available in free agency, however, so the Padres don’t have to rush a decision on Pham. Eddie Rosario, Jorge Soler, Joc Pederson, Kyle Schwarber, Nick Castellanos, Starling Marte, Seiya Suzuki, and Avisail Garcia are just some of the corner outfielders available, as well as more versatile options like Kris Bryant and Chris Taylor.

Padres Select Adrian Martinez’s Contract

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The Padres announced that the contract of right-hander Adrian Martinez has been selected to the club’s 40-man roster.  The early move ensures that Martinez won’t be selected in the Rule 5 Draft, as teams have until November 19 to finalize their 40-man rosters in advance of the Rule 5 (which takes place in the second week of December).

Martinez’s early career was slowed by a Tommy John surgery, but he returned to action in 2017 and slowly built up innings before his progress was against stalled by the canceled 2020 minor league season.  Making his Double-A debut in 2021, Martinez looked excellent in posting a 2.34 ERA, 25.4% strikeout rate, and 7.3% walk rate over 80 2/3 innings in San Antonio.  The righty didn’t look as good in 44 1/3 innings of Triple-A ball (5.28 ERA), though most of that damage came in Martinez’s first two starts at the higher level.  After those initial two rough outings, Martinez settled down and delivered a 3.47 ERA over his final seven starts.

The breakout campaign got Martinez on the radar of prospect evaluators, as Baseball America ranks him 26th in the Padres’ farm system and MLB Pipeline slots him in the 29th spot on their listing.  More importantly, Martinez now looks like a candidate to make his Major League debut sometime in 2022.  He’ll get more seasoning at Triple-A to begin the season, and might then emerge as a relief candidate or perhaps as a rotation fill-in or spot starter in the event of an injury to one of San Diego’s regular starters.

Cardinals To Hire Skip Schumaker As Bench Coach

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Nov. 7: Katie Woo of The Athletic tweets that Schumaker’s deal is a one-year contract with options.

Nov. 6: Skip Schumaker is returning to the Cardinals. The former infielder will join new manager Oliver Marmol’s staff as the bench coach, per Rob Rains of stlsportspage.com (via Twitter). The agreement will be finalized this weekend, per Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Schumaker was thought to be a candidate to take over as manager after Mike Shildt was let go, and while that job ultimately went to Marmol, Schumaker returns to the Midwest anyway to serve as Marmol’s right hand. Schumaker was the Padres’ first base coach last season. He now steps into the role that Marmol himself filled for St. Louis last year.

The scrappy infielder/outfielder was a fan favorite of the Cardinals’ rabid fanbase during his playing days. He spent eight seasons in St. Louis, slashing .288/.345/.377 in 2,687 plate appearances.

Padres Announce Several Option Decisions

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The Padres have announced that they exercised their club options over right-handed relievers Pierce Johnson and Craig Stammen for the 2022 season. Johnson will be retained for $3MM while Stammen will return on a $4MM salary.

While the two relievers offer differing skillsets, it was an easy call to hold onto both players for similar salaries. In 2021 Johnson posted a solid 3.22 ERA and again mystified the opposition with a 31.6% strikeout percentage that ranks as firmly above average. While the right-hander gives up too many free passes (11.1 BB%) and doesn’t induce many groundballs (33.3 GB%) he has proven adept at avoiding home runs when opponents are actually able to put the ball in play against him.

Stammen, meanwhile, rebounded nicely from an uncharacteristically poor 2020 season where he sported a 5.63 ERA after 24 innings. It’s worth noting that his performance there was impacted by some bad BABIP luck, as the durable reliever’s underlying peripherals largely resemble this year’s successful campaign. Regardless, this recent season saw the BABIP pendulum swing the other way while Stammen’s strikeout rate ticked upward and his 55.1% groundball rate remained typically robust. The 38-year-old will look to replicate this year’s 3.06 ERA next season in what will be his sixth season of a very strong Padres tenure.

They’ve also declined their options over right-handed reliever Keone Kela and outfielder Jake Marisnick. San Diego could have paid Kela $800K and Marisnick $4MM to stay aboard next season, but clearly felt between their respective injury and underperformance neither was worth the entirety of that investment. Marisnick will receive a $500k buyout before heading to free agency.

The Kela decision registers as the greater surprise here, as a strikeout-happy reliever with a career 3.33 ERA on its face seems like a bargain with a sub-$1MM price tag. Still, the 28-year-old is recovering from Tommy John surgery and wasn’t thought to be available until midway through next season. After tallying just 42 1/3 innings over the past three seasons, and some declining bottom-line results, the Padres clearly didn’t feel the fiery right-hander was worth the half-season gamble.

Marisnick, meanwhile, was a no-brainer to have his option declined after an ill-fated midseason deal with the Cubs landed him on the west coast. As a glove-first, center field-capable player Marisnick provided adequate production at the plate in Chicago, delivering a .731 OPS. That number cratered following the trade however, as a subsequent .472 OPS contributed to the Padres year-end skid and negated a good deal of the value Marisnick had built for himself earlier in the year.

Additionally, the team confirmed that utility-man Jurickson Profar has exercised his $7.3MM player option for the upcoming season while right-handed closer Mark Melancon has declined his $5MM player option in favor of a $1MM buyout and trip to free agency. The result of both player options are largely formalities at this point, considering the platform years both players posted.

By measure of bWAR Profar was the definition of a replacement-level player in 2021. The one-time top prospect bounced around five positions and upped his walk-rate to a cool 11.9% across 137 games. Unfortunately, that versatility was undercut by generally poor reviews of Profar’s glovework across 4 of his 5 positions. Furthermore, an inability to hit the ball with much authority meant those 137 games worth of plate appearances led to a punchless .227/.329/.320 slash line. Profar will look to tap into some of the upside that he’s shown flashes of throughout his career before making a call on next year’s $8.3MM player option.

Lastly, the 36-year-old Melancon proved to be one of last offseason’s thriftiest pickups. In return for a $3MM guarantee the veteran gave the Padres outstanding production at the back of their bullpen, leading the league with 39 saves in his fifth All-Star campaign. Some batted ball luck worked in Melancon’s favor this season, suggesting his 2.23 ERA is due for some regression, but a very strong groundball and home run rate— plus a spike in strikeout rate from last season— indicate that Melancon remains a plenty serviceable option as a high leverage reliever.

Jurickson Profar Exercises Player Option, Will Remain With Padres

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Padres utilityman Jurickson Profar won’t opt out of his contract with the team, instead choosing to exercise his $6.5MM player option for the 2022 season, MLB Network’s Jon Heyman reports (Twitter link).

Profar’s free agent deal with the Padres last winter contains three guaranteed years, though Profar had opt-out clauses after both this season and the 2022 season.  Opting out would have allowed Profar to pocket a $1MM buyout and then test the open market, though he will now receive a $6.5MM salary from the Padres in 2022, plus $1.5MM in remaining signing bonus money.  Profar is set to earn $7.5MM in 2023 if he doesn’t opt out of that year, with another $1MM buyout attached.  The two sides also have a $10MM mutual option on Profar’s services for the 2024 season ($1MM buyout).

There wasn’t much suspense behind Profar’s decision, as leaving $15.5MM on the table wouldn’t have been advisable considering Profar’s lackluster 2021 numbers.  Profar hit .227/.329/.320 with four home runs over 412 plate appearances, and was a sub-replacement level player in the eyes of Fangraphs’ WAR metric (-0.7).  While Profar had strong walk and strikeout rates, he simply didn’t make much hard contact, finishing in only the seventh percentile in hard-hit ball rate and barrel rate.  Profar was further hampered by a pair of stints on the COVID-related injury list, which cost him around three weeks of action.

It seemed as if Profar was turning on the corner after a solid 2020 season, yet his struggles this year only added to his history of inconsistency at the big league level.  Once considered the game’s top prospect during his time in the Rangers farm system, Profar hasn’t been able to put everything together, and his progress hasn’t been helped by a number of injuries along the way.  After playing in parts of eight MLB seasons, Profar has only 4.6 fWAR and a .236/.320/.384 slash line to show for 2444 plate appearances.

This track record notwithstanding, Profar’s good 2020 season and his top-prospect reputation garnered him quite a bit of interest on the open market last year, and the Padres were willing to go to three years to retain him.  That investment doesn’t look great one season into the deal, as while Profar was intended for something of a super-utility role in the first place, he doesn’t have a clear path to regular at-bats on next year’s Padres roster.  There is still hope for a late breakout at age-29, and while Profar’s salary isn’t exorbitant by itself, San Diego is already pushing the luxury tax threshold even before making any offseason roster adds.

Padres Hire Bob Melvin As Manager

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The Padres have made their bombshell managerial hiring official, announcing on Monday a three-year contract with now-former Athletics skipper Bob Melvin to serve as their new manager. San Diego’s managerial post had been vacant since the firing of previous manager Jayce Tingler just over three weeks ago. Melvin’s option for the 2022 season was exercised by the Athletics back in June, but Oakland reportedly allowed Melvin to interview in San Diego and agreed to let him depart without receiving compensation from the Padres in return.

Melvin’s departure comes as a shocking development. There had been no prior indication that the Padres had their sights set on Melvin or that their pursuit of him had begun — let alone reached the finish line. Rather, the Padres had been tied to Atlanta third base coach Ron Washington, who wouldn’t have been able to interview until after the conclusion of the World Series. Instead, president of baseball operations A.J. Preller has already pounced upon his preferred candidate.

“Bob is one of the top managers in the game and brings a tremendous wealth of knowledge and a proven track record to win at the Major League level,” Preller said in a statement within today’s press release. “Throughout the process, Bob showed our group a true love of baseball and a natural presence to lead. It was immediately evident how he’s been able to bring out the best in his players throughout his managerial career. We believe that Bob is the right man to take our talented group and help them deliver a championship to the city of San Diego.”

Coming into 2021, after an extremely active offseason, the expectations were that the club would be in the running for the NL West division crown. Things seemed to be following that plan for a few months, as their winning percentage was just under .600 at the end of June. However, they floundered down the stretch amid reports that Tingler had lost the respect of the players in his clubhouse, and the team eventually finished the season below .500 and well out of playoff contention. After Tingler’s firing, various reports linked the club to managers with more experience in the skipper’s chair. The Padres’ last two two managerial hires, Andy Green and Jayce Tingler, were both first-time managers and both in their late 30s at the time of their hiring.

Melvin, who turned 60 years old last week, certainly fits the “more experienced” description. He has close to 20 years of managing on his resume at this point — his first coming with the Mariners back in 2003. Since then, he has been employed as a bench boss for at least part of every season except for 2010. After two seasons with Seattle, he was with the Diamondbacks from 2005 to 2009, and worked as a scout for the Mets in 2010.

In June of 2011, the Athletics fired manager Bob Geren and replaced him with Melvin. He was initially hired as an interim manager but stuck around for over a decade. In his time with Oakland, the club went 853-764, a winning percentage of .528. They made the playoffs six times out of those 11 seasons, including three division titles, most recently in 2020.

As to why the Athletics would allow such a successful manager to leave, Bob Nightengale of USA Today suggests a financial motive (Twitter links). He reports that Melvin was making “about 4MM a year” and that the club intends to slash payroll for 2022. Melvin’s new contract in San Diego guarantees him a total of $12MM, so he’ll now match or exceed his Oakland salary and do so over a longer term.

MLBTR’s Steve Adams recently looked into the fact that the Athletics have a tremendous arbitration class this winter that will push the organization into uncomfortable financial territory. The fact that the A’s are seemingly willing to let a fruitful decade-long partnership with their manager come to end for a few million in cash savings certainly casts an even darker cloud over that situation.

Melvin and the Padres will now turn their focus to getting that club to live up to their full potential in 2022 and trying to chase down the Dodgers and Giants, while the Athletics will now have to add a managerial search to their to-do list in an offseason that seems to have the potential for lots of turnover.

MLB.com’s AJ Cassavell broke the news that the Padres had agreed to a three-year deal with Melvin (Twitter links). ESPN’s Alden Gonzalez reported that the A’s had allowed Melvin to interview and accept the Padres’ job despite being under contract for the 2022 season (Twitter link).

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Padres Outright Five Players

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The Padres have outrighted five players off their 40-man roster after they went unclaimed on waivers, according to the transactions page at MLB.com. Catcher Webster Rivas, outfielder Brian O’Grady, infielder Ivan Castillo, right-hander Miguel Diaz and left-hander Daniel Camarena have all been removed from the roster. All five are now eligible to become free agents.

The 26-year-old Diaz has the most major league experience of the bunch, having thrown 108 2/3 innings for the Padres over four different seasons from 2017 to 2021. In 2021, he logged 42 innings with an ERA of 3.64, healthy 26.7% strikeout rate but a high walk rate of 11%.

Camarena, turning 29 next month, only got into six games this season but cemented himself a place in Slam Diego lore by hitting a grand slam off Max Scherzer in July. His ERA at the big league level was 9.64, but in a small sample size of just 9 1/3 innings. In 83 1/3 Triple-A innings, his ERA was a much more palatable 4.75, despite a low strikeout rate of 16.9%.

Rivas, 31, got 77 plate appearances for the Friars this year and slashed .221/.303/.338 for a wRC+ of 80. His Triple-A numbers were a smidge better, as he hit .252/.339/.393 for a wRC+ of 83 over 186 plate appearances.

The 29-year-old O’Grady got 61 MLB plate appearances with a palty line of .157/.267/.333, but his Triple-A numbers were much better. Over 329 plate appearances for the Chihuahuas this year, he hit .281/.366/.547 for a wRC+ of 120.

Castillo, 26, only got four MLB plate appearances this season. At Triple-A, he got to the plate 435 times and hit .287/.326/.366 for a wRC+ of 73.

When factoring in these outrights, as well as players heading into free agency and players coming off the 60-day IL, the 40-man roster will be sitting at 38 when the offseason begins, in the estimation of Jason Martinez and Roster Resource. But the Padres have club options on Pierce Johnson and Craig Stammen that could get that number back up to 40, as well as mutual options with Jake Marisnick and Mark Melancon.

Padres Notes: Washington, Fritz, Front Office

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11:01AM: The Padres have hired Rob Marcello as the new pitching development coordinator, according to The Athletic’s Dennis Lin (via Twitter).  Marcello has spent the last two seasons as the pitching coach for the Mariners’ Triple-A affiliate

8:18AM: After Ron Washington was initially linked to the Padres’ managerial search, reports from last week suggested that the Padres weren’t planning to interview the Atlanta third base coach.  However, “Washington remains a possibility,” according to Kevin Acee of The San Diego Union-Tribune, considering that the club has yet to make a hire as we approach November.

The Braves’ extended postseason run could be the reason for the delay, as the Padres have been forced to wait on Washington while other known candidates (such as Luis Rojas, Mike Shildt and Ozzie Guillen) were more immediately available for interviews.  It doesn’t seem like San Diego is on the verge of a hire, as Padres president of baseball operations A.J. Preller told Acee and other reporters that the team may not have their new manager in place for the start of the GM Meetings on November 8, which was Preller’s initial target date.

We now know the World Series will go at least five games, and thus through October 31.  November 3 is the scheduled date for a potential Game 7, so it could be another week before Washington is free to speak with the Padres.  (Or, conceivably, with the Mets about their managerial vacancy, though New York would likely first want to complete their PBO/GM search before turning to the manager job.)

Should another candidate wow the Padres in the interim, Washington could be out of luck.  But a source tells Acee that the Padres aren’t rushing to speak with Washington since he is already a known quantity — after all, Washington was a finalist for San Diego’s last managerial opening, as the Padres opted for Jayce Tingler over Washington in October 2019.  One interesting suggestion is the idea that another candidate (Rojas is mentioned for this possibility) could wind up as the bench coach on Washington’s staff.

In other coaching news, Preller said that interim pitching coach Ben Fritz will return to the team in 2022 and resume his former duties as bullpen coach.  Fritz was promoted to the pitching coach job in August when Larry Rothschild was fired, and San Diego now has a new full-time pitching coach in the newly-hired Ruben Niebla.

The Padres have also made two more organizational changes, as The Athletic’s Dennis Lin (Twitter links) was among those to report that the team parted ways with pitching development coordinator Steve Lyons and strength and conditioning director Dan Byrne.  Lyons and Byrne had both been with the Padres since 2013, making them the latest long-time employees to depart in recent weeks as the club has undergone something of a minor shakeup.  As reported last month, farm director Sam Geaney and coordinator of advance scouting Preston Mattingly also won’t be back in 2022.  Interestingly, Lin notes that the Padres seemingly decided to replace Lyons before Niebla was hired, though Niebla and Lyons previously worked together in the Guardians organization.

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