In a year where the Padres were on the short list of teams expected to contend for a World Series title — a year in which they set a franchise record with a $270 million-plus payroll — they missed the playoffs. Reports abounded about dysfunction up and down the organization.
The morning after the Friars' season ended, team chairman Peter Seidler put an end to speculation about potential changes in the front office by issuing a statement lending a vote of confidence to the current structure of the organization:
“We entered 2023 with expectations that we would build on last year’s NLCS appearance and contend for a World Series championship. 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.”
So that means the higher-ups, including Preller and CEO Erik Greupne,r are going to get a chance to fix what went wrong in 2023. What we don't know?
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Is manager Bob Melvin a part of the "leadership team?" And if he is, does he want to keep that position?
This has been a trying year for one of the most respected skippers in the game. While he and Preller publicly say their relationship is workable there are plenty of folks around the organization who believe they simply can't get along well enough to keep working together and yield positive results. Melvin is under contract for one more year, and it's not common practice to allow a "lame duck" coach to enter the final year of a deal, meaning the Padres are very likely going to have to either extend him or fire him.
The Giants are likely hoping for the latter.
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San Francisco has already dismissed their manager Gabe Kapler, and every indication under the sun suggests they would leap at the chance to hire Melvin, a Bay Area native who went to Cal and played multiple seasons for the Giants. For Padres fans, this might be a serious case of deja vu. After the 2006 season, the club let Bruce Bochy go, then watched him win three World Series title with the Giants.
Bochy had a fantastic working relationship with then-Giants-GM Brian Sabean. Melvin gets along well with current Giants GM Farhan Zaidi, who was with the A's front office when Melvin was winning against all odds in Oakland.
The next few days will very likely reveal the exact nature of the relationship between Melvin and Preller, and whether both men feel like they have a winning formula in America's Finest City.
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