The underachieving San Diego Padres decided they couldn’t wait till the end of the season to make a change, so they fired manager Andy Green on Saturday.
The Padres are the first team to change managers this season. In the mean time, Rod Barajas takes over on an interim basis for San Diego’s final eight games.
“We feel like we’ve got a young talented group that has a chance to be competitive,” general manager A.J. Preller said, according to the Associated Press. “We made some progress in the earlier part of season, but as the second half went on we didn’t see the team getting into a spot where we could see continual improvement.”
The #Padres have relieved Manager Andy Green of his duties: https://t.co/cmiBM7wo1x pic.twitter.com/lqaWVs8BZc
— San Diego Padres (@Padres) September 21, 2019
A mixed bag
The Padres hired Green to manage a rebuild, so his 274-366 record in San Diego isn’t surprising. More concerning for the San Diego front office, perhaps, was the team’s freefall in the second half of this season.
Once 45-45, the Padres had slid to 69-85 under Green. Their record was an especially dismal after young star Fernando Tatis Jr.’s season ended with a stress reaction in his back Aug. 14. Since then, the Padres are just 12-21.
Green deserves some credit for bringing a young team through a rebuild, but ultimately, the front office decided he wasn’t the guy to help them turn the corner into a contender.
The reason for the timing of firing Green now, versus end of season, is due to players having meetings with Preller and manager during last week of season to discuss future. “It would have been disingenuous to include Andy in that,” a #Padres front office exec said.
— Annie Heilbrunn (@annieheilbrunn) September 21, 2019
Who’s next?
Candidates to replace Green, according to various reports, include retiring Giants manager Bruce Bochy — who started his Hall of Fame managerial career in San Diego — plus Mike Scioscia, Moises Alou, Ron Washington and Mark Loretta. Another possibility is Joe Maddon, if the Cubs don’t retain him at the end of the season. Barajas also could be considered for the permanent job.
That list has a veteran tilt to it, with Bochy, Scioscia, Washington and Maddon all veterans of 10 or more seasons managing in the Major Leagues.
“Overall when you look at our performance, we feel like we’re better than we’ve been playing,” Preller said. “Andy would be the first one to say that.”
The #Padres will hardly wait for the grass to grow. A list has been formed.
Among those on it:
Bruce Bochy, Mike Scioscia, Moises Alou, Ron Washington, Mark Loretta.— Kevin Acee (@sdutKevinAcee) September 21, 2019
