The San Diego Padres are getting a theoretical jump-start on their search for a new manager after firing Andy Green, and here are five candidates to take the job in 2020.
The San Diego Padres fell short of even reasonable expectations this season, with a 69-85 record entering Saturday. Manager Andy Green’s status was going to be a question at season’s end, and on Saturday the club announced his firing. Bench coach Rod Barajas will take over as interim manager for the rest of the season.
Over nearly four seasons as Padres’ manager Green had a 274-366 record with no better than a fourth place finish in the NL West. He was at the helm of a rebuild, but after signing Manny Machado last offseason and Eric Hosmer the offseason before, the Padres have not taken any of the expected steps forward.
The Padres have a very appealing situation for managerial candidates, with the No. 1 farm system in baseball that has started to bear Major League fruit (Fernando Tatis Jr., Chris Paddack), a beautiful city and ballpark and an ownership group that has been willing to spend. The main issue is finding a way to threaten the now seven-time reigning division champion Los Angeles Dodgers.
The Padres are, at least theoretically, getting a head start on their search for a new manager. Here are five candidates to take the job looking toward 2020.
5. Rod Barajas
Barajas is stepping in as interim manager for the final eight games this year, but he would seem to have a shot at the permanent post.
The former Major League catcher stepped in as Green’s bench coach just this year. But he was manager and a hitting coach in the Padres’ system for five seasons prior to getting promoted to the Major League staff, including 2016-2018 as the manager at Triple-A El Paso. So he surely has some familiarity with the young talent that’s coming up through San Diego’s system.
Barajas isn’t the most exciting candidate. But it’s easy to see him as the best fit with the possibility of earning endorsements from multiple players.