Padres BREAKING NEWS: Andy Green Hired as New Manager

At this point A.J. Preller doing unsurprising would be the surprising move. In that vein, Arizona Diamondbacks third base coach Andy Green will be named the Padres new manager as reported by Corey Brock. It was largely suspected that former Minnesota Twins manager Ron Gardenhire was a front runner or Pirates third base coach Rick Sofield. Yet with Preller, we have quickly learned to expect the unexpected.

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Green spent last season as the third base coach, but before that he did spend four years as a minor league manager in the system. Green played in the major leagues for the Diamondbacks from 2004-’06 with the Diamondbacks and a handful of games with the Mets in 2009.

The Padres had explored a multitude of options, from managers with years of managing experience like Ron Gardenhire to several without any prior managing experience like Scott Servais and Alex Cora. In the end, he ended settling somewhere in the middle.

With the Marlins filling their managing position with Don Mattingly and the Nationals settling things up with Bud Black as their next manager, it appears that despite his own high hopes Gardenhire might not be a major league manager to start the 2016 season.

This could also set off a bit of a chain reaction with the Padres own coaching staff. Some reports have hinted that Black could bring longtime Padres pitching coach Darren Balsley to DC with him, and questions marks also surround hitting coach Mark Kotsay and bench coach Dave Roberts. Roberts had interviewed with the Mariners open spot and Roberts for the Padres spot after already being surpassed last season when the Padres picked Pat Murphy as their interim manager.

It is unknown whether Green brings with him any restrictions on who he can or cannot bring from the Diamondbacks to fill out the Padres coaching roster. I do have a feeling that Preller would be more than happy to see incumbents Kotsay and Roberts leave so that he can get a full revamped coaching staff for the Padres. Whether Glenn Hoffman will last is also up for debate.

At any rate, I’m glad the new Padres manager has at least some managing experience and I hope he can bring a fresh attitude to the Padres for the new season. I’m also glad the manager search is over and now Preller and the Padres can focus on making changes to the players on the field this winter.

Next: Bud Black Hired in DC