True to A.J. Preller’s pattern, there has been another twist in the Padres’ manager search.
And it might lead to a prominent former Padres player coming back home full-time.
It turns out the team did not press pause on its manager search, as had been stated. Some of the team’s decision-makers spoke Wednesday with former Angels manager Phil Nevin, who played for the Padres from 1999-2005 and has lived in the same Poway home for almost two decades.
Nevin, whose 156 home runs rank third in Padres history, took over as manager of the Angels in June 2022. He was let go after this season having gone 119-149.
Two people said Wednesday’s interview with Nevin, who was among those interviewed by the Padres in 2015 before Andy Green was hired, went well and that Nevin is scheduled to meet with others in the organization Thursday.
Wednesday’s interview, first reported in a post on X by The Athletic, differed from others conducted by the team.
Previous candidates met with an array of front office members, including Padres CEO Erik Greupner and Eric Kutsenda, a partner at Seidler Equity Partners who is acting as a sort of surrogate while Padres Chairman Peter Seidler recovers from a medical procedure. Those two men and others involved in the previous interviews were not present for Wednesday’s meeting with Nevin.
Preller, the Padres President of Baseball Operations, said Wednesday the Padres were “focused on players” and would get back to the process of deciding on a new manager after the general manager meetings, which concluded Thursday.
Phil Nervin ranks third in Padres history in home runs.
(LENNY IGNELZI/Associated Press)
Multiple sources said the Padres had been focused on three candidates — Mike Shildt, Ryan Flaherty and Benji Gil — and that Shildt and Flaherty were still the favorites.
Shildt, who managed the Cardinals from 2018-21, served the past two seasons as an adviser in player development and filled in on the major league staff over the past two seasons. Flaherty has worked with Padres hitters since 2020. Gil, a Castle Park High School alumnus, served on Nevin’s Angels staff as infield coach over the past two seasons.
However, Preller’s penchant for exhausting all avenues is well-documented. Often, he spread a wide net wit the purpose of gathering intel for future hires or acquisitions. But his talking to numerous people even after a process is considered all-but-finished has also led to changes in course.
Preller’s hiring of Green before the 2016 season came after a last-minute decision to talk with the then-Diamondbacks third base coach.
The Padres, who allowed manager Bob Melvin out of his contract a year early so he could become Giants manager, are still mulling whether to reach out to former Cubs manager David Ross. That could depend on how the next 24 hours go in the vetting of Nevin.
