SAN DIEGO (AP) — Manager Bob Melvin's job appears to be safe with the underwhelming San Diego Padres after owner Peter Seidler said in a statement Monday morning that the current leadership team “continues to have my full support.”
The announcement came less than 24 hours after the Padres finished the most disappointing season in franchise history at 82-80. They were eliminated from playoff contention on Friday night, a bitter result for a team that came into the season with World Series expectations after making a stirring run to the NL Championship Series last fall and then increasing their payroll to around $250 million, the third highest in baseball.
There have been numerous reports of a fractured relationship between Melvin, who finished his second season with San Diego and 20th overall as a big league manager, and general manager A.J. Preller, who has had just two winning records in a full season since being hired in August 2014.
“We entered 2023 with expectations that we would build on last year's NLCS appearance and contend for a World Series championship,” Seidler said in the statement. "We fell short of that goal. The Padres organization will learn from this season and emerge in 2024 with the pieces in place to compete for San Diego's first World Series title.
“Our current leadership team continues to have my full support, and I have asked them to perform a thorough assessment of our organization, beginning today. We will make the changes necessary to play championship-caliber baseball for our extraordinary fans in 2024," the statement concluded.
Seidler, who recently had an unspecified medical procedure, wasn't available for further comment, the team said. Neither Melvin nor Preller immediately returned calls seeking comment.
It took a strong run during the final 2 1/2 weeks, mostly against four of the worst teams in the majors — including three 100-loss teams — for the Padres to get back above .500 for the first time since early May.
The Padres struggled offensively despite having a lineup highlighted by stars Manny Machado, Fernando Tatis Jr., Juan Soto and Xander Bogaerts.
Melvin was hired away from the Oakland Athletics on Nov. 1, 2021, less than a month after Jayce Tingler was fired following a brutal September collapse that cost the Padres a playoff spot. Tingler, a friend of Preller's from when they were both in the Texas Rangers organization, lasted only two seasons. He replaced Andy Green, who was fired after the Padres collapsed down the stretch in 2019.
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