Giants get permission to interview Melvin for managerial opening (sources)

SAN DIEGO -- Padres manager Bob Melvin has emerged as a candidate to manage the Giants in 2024, sources said, after Melvin was recently granted permission to interview with San Francisco.

Neither team confirmed the news, which was first reported by The Athletic on Sunday afternoon.

Melvin, a three-time Manager of the Year Award-winner, spent the past two seasons in San Diego after the previous 11 in Oakland. He reached the postseason in 2022 with the Padres, but the team underperformed expectations in '23 finishing 82-80 and outside the playoff picture.

Earlier this month, Padres general manager A.J. Preller indicated that Melvin would return as skipper in 2024. Now it appears possible that Melvin will manage a division rival instead.

The Giants are searching for a manager after their decision to part with Gabe Kapler following his four seasons at the helm. Farhan Zaidi, San Francisco's president of baseball operations, worked with Melvin during his time as assistant general manager in Oakland.

Melvin, a Bay Area native, was born in Palo Alto, Calif., and attended the University of California-Berkeley. He played for the Giants as a catcher for three seasons from 1986-88.

According to a source, the Giants recently approached the Padres with their request to interview Melvin. The Padres decided to grant Melvin permission, and Melvin is expected to embark on the interview process in the coming days. Neither Preller nor Melvin was available for comment.

It's a somewhat stark reversal after Preller touted Melvin's return to the Padres in his end-of-season press conference earlier this month. When asked explicitly whether Melvin could be granted permission to interview elsewhere, Preller answered thusly:

"Those are all personal matters and private matters. We never really comment on those, in terms of other clubs and interest in any of our employees. Again, with Bob, he's under contract. He's our manager."

Melvin has one year remaining on the initial three-year contract he signed with San Diego. If he were to depart, it's unclear whether the Padres would seek compensation from the Giants in return. (San Diego did not receive compensation from Oakland when it hired Melvin after the 2021 season -- also with one year left on his contract.)

There is, of course, a bit of a history of a Padres manager departing for San Francisco. After the 2006 season, Bruce Bochy left San Diego and went on to win three World Series at the helm of the Giants.

The 2023 season was Melvin's 20th as an MLB manager. He has compiled a 1,517-1,425 record while also leading the Mariners (two seasons), D-backs (five seasons) and A's (11 seasons). He was named NL Manager of the Year while with Arizona in 2007 and was the AL Manager of the Year with Oakland in '12 and '18.

If Melvin were to depart, Preller would be tasked with hiring a fourth manager in his 10 seasons with the Padres, as Melvin followed fellow Preller hires Andy Green and Jayce Tingler. Internal candidates might include Mike Shildt, who spent parts of four seasons at the helm of the Cardinals from 2018-21 and has since served as an adviser with the Padres. Bench coach and hitting coordinator Ryan Flaherty is believed to be another option.

For the Giants, assistant coach Alyssa Nakken, bench coach Kai Correa, third-base coach Mark Hallberg and special assistant to baseball operations Ron Wotus are among the internal candidates, with two former big league catchers -- Stephen Vogt and Jason Varitek -- also reportedly garnering consideration for the job.