Looking for a steady hand to stabilize their franchise, the San Francisco Giants will reportedly hire Bob Melvin, poaching the soon-to-be 62-year-old Menlo Park native from the San Diego Padres to become the 17th manager in the club’s West Coast history.
The Athletic was first to report the news, which hasn’t been formally announced by the club.
The process has moved quickly since the Padres granted the Giants permission to speak to Melvin last week. According to The Athletic, Melvin, who had one year left on his contract in San Diego, was given assurances that he would be a serious candidate upon accepting the interview and did nothing to dissuade the Giants from hiring him in a lightning round of interviews over the past 48 hours.
After firing Gabe Kapler with three games left in the season, the Giants’ search seemed to hinge on San Diego granting permission to speak to Melvin. He was in the opposite dugout for Kapler’s 543rd and final game in San Francisco and had been at the top of their list to replace him ever since.
It’s possible there are details still to be sorted through as one of the game’s top managers departs for a division rival with a year remaining on his contract, charting the same path Bruce Bochy did to great success 17 years ago. The Giants paid no compensation to the Padres then, and it’s possible that San Diego will be satisfied with shedding Melvin’s $4 million salary and blowing up a reportedly toxic situation between him and general manager A.J. Preller.
Melvin arrives with more than 1,500 wins, a .516 career winning percentage, eight playoff appearances and four division titles to his name over a 20-year managerial career spent between Seattle, Arizona, Oakland and San Diego. But the star-studded Padres, loaded with the third-largest payroll in the game, massively underachieved in 2023, and the reported dysfunction between Melvin and Preller apparently proved too much to overcome.
However, San Diego won 14 of its final 16 games to leapfrog the Giants in the standings. And now, Melvin will hop from a roster headlined by Manny Machado, Juan Soto, and Fernando Tatis Jr. to one whose biggest stars are Logan Webb and … Camilo Doval? Thairo Estrada? Wilmer Flores?
It’s not only that the Giants have missed the playoffs in four of their five seasons under Farhan Zaidi’s leadership. In a season where attendance spiked across the league, it stayed flat at the Giants’ waterfront ballpark. Melvin himself may not be a box office draw, but regularly announcing his probable starting pitchers well in advance and maintaining a steadier starting lineup might be.
Moreover, the Giants are expected to be active this offseason to that end, and having a reputable manager such as Melvin at the helm could help alleviate concerns about stepping into a situation where the president of baseball operations is entering a lame-duck year. Zaidi confirmed he is entering the last year of his contract, and Giants ownership will likely be seeking results in 2024 to determine whether to extend him beyond next season.
Melvin, with two decades of experience, an easy-to-like demeanor and relationships within the game domestically and globally, checks the box of what Zaidi described at the outset of their search as an “effective recruiter.”
This is a breaking news story. Check back for updates.