San Diego Padres’ Monthly Primer For August

Mandatory Credit:

-USA TODAY Sports

A New Front Office Boss?

Padres’ fans have been waiting anxiously for more than a month to find out who their next general manager is going to be. After firing Josh Bynes, a three-headed team led by former Expos’ and Mets’ GM Omar Minaya and A.J. Finch made most of the personnel decisions while ownership and executive staff, including Mike Dee and Ron Fowler interviewed multiple candidates and brought back several for a second round or final set of interviews. As of this writing, there is still no new general manager in San Diego, but A.J. Preller of the Texas Rangers is believed to be the guy for the job.

Preller was college friends with current Rangers’ GM Jon Daniels, and it was Daniels, who hired Preller, and gave him the opportunity to oversee the Rangers’ international scouting department, before promoting him to Vice President of Baseball Operations. Known as somewhat of an eccentric, Padres’ management has been highly impressed during both interviews with Preller. For a club that doesn’t have a huge payroll, knowledge of the international market could make Preller an intriguing hire for a team looking for a new direction.

Other candidates still being considered for the vacancy in San Diego includes: Billy Eppler, Assistant GM for the New York Yankees, Kim Ng, former Assistant GM for the both the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Yankees. If hired, Ng would become the first female GM in all of the four major professional sports. She currently works for Commissioner Bud Selig in the MLB offices as a Vice President. Finally, Mike Hazen, who has had a busy last few days, helping Red Sox’ GM Ben Cherington sell off several of his high-end pieces as the defending champs look to 2015 for another run at at title.