Oct. 28 (UPI) -- The San Diego Padres are hiring Oakland Athletics skipper Bob Melvin as their new manager.
League sources told ESPN, MLB Media and the San Diego Union-Tribune on Thursday that Melvin agreed to a three-year contract with the Padres. According to ESPN, the A's previously granted him permission to interview for the vacancy in San Diego.
The 60-year-old Melvin captured three American League West titles during his 11 years as the Athletics' manager. He had previous managerial stops with the Seattle Mariners and Arizona Diamondbacks, posting a 1,346-1,272 career record in 18 years as a manager.
The Padres fired former manager Jayce Tingler earlier this month after the club stumbled to a 79-83 finish in the 2021 campaign. San Diego entered the season with aspirations of competing with the Los Angeles Dodgers for the National League West crown.
The Padres, however, experienced a historic collapse in the second half of the season and faded out of the playoff hunt, leading to Tingler's firing after just two seasons at the helm. Tingler guided the Padres to a 37-23 record and a second-place finish in 2020.
Melvin inherits a talented Padres team led by young shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. and five-time All-Star third baseman Manny Machado. The club returns the majority of its core next season, which includes Jake Cronenworth, Adam Frazier and Trent Grisham.
The Padres also are set to bring back a strong starting rotation that consists of Blake Snell, Yu Darvish and Joe Musgrove.
