The San Diego Padres announced have found their next manager, as the team hired Arizona Diamondbacks third base coach Andy Green.
B/R's Scott Miller initially reported Green's hiring, and the team confirmed on Twitter the new manager will be introduced at a press conference Thursday.
Miller added that former Minnesota Twins manager Ron Gardenhire and current Pittsburgh Pirates third base coach Rick Sofield both had two interviews with the Padres before they decided to go with Green.
"I am thrilled to be sitting here and couldn't be more proud to be in a city like San Diego," Green said, per the Padres.
General Manager A.J. Preller spoke about the hiring in the team's announcement:
"Andy has the combination of intelligence and feel for the game that we are looking for to lead this team. As a player, he displayed a strong work ethic and even stronger passion, earning everything he achieved. That passion has carried over into his managerial and Major League coaching career. We are excited to welcome him to the Padres family and look forward to the success he will help bring to San Diego."
Even though Green doesn't have Major League Baseball managerial experience, Miller did note he's had recent success as a skipper in the minors:
The Padres were one of the biggest disappointments in baseball last season, finishing 74-88 despite having a banner offseason in which they acquired Justin Upton, Matt Kemp, James Shields, Craig Kimbrel and Wil Myers.
The offensive firepower did, for the most part, payoff. San Diego finished eighth in MLB with 650 runs scored, the first time it has finished in the top 20 since 2007.
However, one problem moving forward for Green is that Preller has built a roster with Kemp being paid $21.75 million for each of the next four seasons, Melvin Upton owed $33.1 million for the next two seasons, Shields signed a backloaded contract that pays him $21 million per season through 2018.
Preller seemed to be primed for a lot of moves at the trade deadline in July, but opted to stay put with the roster he built. This isn't a big market franchise, yet they have six players under contract for 2016, not including players with options or eligible for arbitration making $71.9 million.
Assuming all seven of the arbitration-eligible players return, that leaves 12 roster spots open for a franchise that had never spent more than $100 million in total payroll since last season.
If ownership is confident in Preller's plan, the Padres could go well into nine figures next season hoping that it works in ways that it didn't this season. Green's relationship with Preller and what the two of them decide is best for the franchise will be critical for the immediate and long-term direction.
Bud Black, who had been San Diego's manager since 2007, was fired in June and replaced by interim Pat Murphy.
Speaking after the season, when it was announced Murphy wouldn't get the full-time job, Padres general manager Preller described the qualities he was looking for in his next manager, per the Associated Press (via ESPN.com).
"The biggest thing we're looking for is somebody that has presence, somebody that has energy, somebody to get our players to play at high level, somebody the players are going to respect and want to play for, somebody the organization can rally around and can establish a culture," he said.
Preller, who took over as Padres GM in August 2014, now has the manager he hired in place, and the focus can shift to the offseason.
The team's experiment to add marquee, expensive players to compete for a playoff spot didn't work last year. Green will have a lot of those players back, with Upton the biggest-name free agent, but Preller will have to do more roster tinkering this winter if he wants to help his manager be a success.
Salary and contract info via Cot's Baseball Contracts
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