Former A's Manager Bob Melvin Cleared to Interview for S.F. Giants Managerial Opening
According to a report in The Athletic, Bob Melvin is the leading candidate to land the managerial job in San Francisco after the Giants asked for and received permission to interview the Padres skipper.
Melvin spent parts of 11 seasons in the East Bay managing the Oakland A's, taking over for Bob Geren in 2011 and holding the job until he was granted permission to interview for the gig in San Diego following the 2021 season. In that time the team went 853-764, good for a .528 winning percentage, which just so happens to be the exact winning percentage the Padres had with Melvin at the helm in two seasons.
There have been reports that Melvin and Padres GM A.J. Preller weren't on speaking terms, but Preller went on the record and said those reports were overblown. Regardless, San Diego underperformed in 2023, finishing with an 82-80 record and barely missing a postseason berth. This comes after the Padres added Xander Bogaerts to the roster during the off-season and were set to have full seasons from Fernando Tatís Jr. and 2022 Deadline acquisition Juan Soto.
Something went wrong, and it was a bit of a surprise that both Preller and Melvin were going to be back in San Diego for the 2024 campaign. Now it looks like the Giants managerial troubles fix that issue for the Padres, too. It's hard to get a more respected manager than Melvin, but San Diego could end up with one that has a better relationship with Preller.
If Melvin does end up in San Francisco, he would be able to visit the Oakland Coliseum at least one more time before the A's potentially move to Las Vegas. The A's lease at the site ends after the 2024 season and as of right now they have not announced where they plan to play in the interim while their proposed ballpark is built. If the A's move, that facility has a target date of 2028, which would leave three seasons for the team to find somewhere to play.
When the Padres visited Oakland in the middle of September, in what looked to be his last visit to the Coliseum, Melvin told reporters at the end of his nostalgic weekend, "I've thought about that, yeah. That's why I had this [series] circled on the calendar before we got here. Could be pretty sad in the fact that I might not be back here on the field. But, there is also the potential that the lease after next year could be extended too."
He also mentioned that he'd thought of some of the crowds that the teams he'd managed had drawn, particularly in the magical 2012 run the A's had, winning the AL West on the final day of the regular season.
It's unclear how much of a role one more visit to the Coliseum could play in his decision-making process, but with Melvin being from the area and so connected to the A's franchise, it may not be pushed to the side as a factor, either.
Melvin would also be reunited with Farhan Zaidi, who was with the A's from 2005-2014.