Why Bob Melvin just might fit as SF Giants’ next manager

Melvin and the Padres can rid themselves of their ‘unfixable’ situation while the Giants benefit

When the San Francisco Giants fired manager Gabe Kapler with three games remaining in the season, Farhan Zaidi stated that they planned to “cast a wide net” and look beyond candidates with ties to him, the organization, or the Bay Area.

They’ve looked all the way to Boston and a candidate who has spent his entire baseball career there, on the opposite coast and in a different league. They have expanded their search to include ground-breaking criteria, becoming the first team in MLB history to formally interview a woman for the position of manager. One candidate recently completed his 36th season with the organization, while another will turn 39 next week.

All roads, it turns out, lead back to the most obvious candidate all along, the one who was in the opposite dugout for Kapler’s 543rd and final game as Giants manager, which would be announced almost 48 hours later.

As The Athletic first reported, the Padres granted the Giants’ request to interview Bob Melvin, and the three-time manager of the year immediately became the front-runner to succeed Kapler in San Francisco. Melvin’s Bay Area ties run deep, as does his relationship with Zaidi, in addition to his eight playoff appearances and more than 1,500 wins in a 20-year managing career.

Melvin, who turns 62 this week, grew up in Palo Alto and Menlo Park. Melvin was the first inductee into Menlo-Atherton High School’s Hall of Fame in 1994, for his two-sport accomplishments. He took those skills across the Bay to Cal, where he played for a season before turning professional. Melvin met Roger Craig and Mike Krukow during his 10-year playing career in San Francisco before spending more than half of his managerial career in Oakland.

The Giants are in desperate need of stability and credibility after missing the playoffs for the fourth time in five seasons under Zaidi. Zaidi confirmed he is in the final year of his contract and may not get a third chance after firing his hand-picked manager.

“Some of our candidates may be people I’ve had past relationships with, and maybe that helps provide some reassurance there,” Zaidi said of the appearance of instability as a lame-duck president of baseball operations while interviewing prospective managers.

Melvin played in Oakland for 11 years, making six playoff appearances and overlapping with Zaidi for parts of four seasons.

While Melvin’s relationship with Padres general manager A.J. Preller has been described as “unfixable,” he established a reputation with the A’s for handling Billy Beane’s analytically inclined front office. Zaidi was one of Beane’s top deputies at the time, but he left after the 2014 season.

Zaidi acknowledged that the next manager, whoever it is, may benefit from more autonomy than Kapler, who moved in lockstep with the front office. Melvin has demonstrated the ability to balance analytics and instinct, and he has the credibility to push back when necessary.

Zaidi also stated that the Giants were looking for a “effective recruiter” as they look to replenish their roster and reverse their repeated failures on the free-agent market. Few available managers have a better reputation in the game than Melvin, whose laid-back style has proven popular and successful during stints in Seattle, Arizona, Oakland, and San Diego.

The Giants are expected to be active in the international market this winter, and Melvin could be useful there as well.

With 25-year-old Japanese right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto, the two-time reigning winner of Nippon Professional Baseball’s equivalent to the Cy Young Award, and 25-year-old Korean outfielder Lee Jung-Hoo, the reigning KBO MVP, expected to be posted by their respective clubs, it’s worth remembering where Melvin’s managerial career began — with Ichiro Suzuki, with whom The Athletic reported he is still close to today.

While the Padres were a huge disappointment this season, missing the playoffs despite having the league’s third-largest payroll at the start of the season, one bright spot was Korean infielder Ha-Seong Kim, who blossomed into a 5.8-WAR player once Melvin put him in a full-time role. Juan Soto, another key member of that team, is set to become a free agent after next season after failing to reach an agreement with San Diego.

If Melvin has a flaw, it’s a lack of postseason success. While his teams have made the playoffs eight times, only two have advanced to the league championship series, and his most recent trip to the World Series was in 2001 as the Diamondbacks’ bench coach. Then there’s the question of what to make of his time in San Diego: How much of their decline in 2023 can be blamed on the simmering dysfunction beneath the surface after Melvin led them to the NLCS in his first year?

It’s not uncommon for a manager to switch teams while still under contract, as Melvin is for another year at $4 million.

Clubs will sometimes work out some sort of compensation in these situations. In fact, Melvin’s managerial career began in this manner. The Tampa Bay Rays traded outfielder (and future Giant) Randy Winn to the Seattle Mariners in exchange for the opportunity to hire Lou Piniella, allowing Melvin to fill the position.

However, this is not always the case. Melvin had a year left on his contract in Oakland when he was hired in San Diego, but the A’s demanded no compensation, content to free themselves of the salary. The Padres were also pleased to see Bruce Bochy flee to San Francisco after 12 seasons with the team.

If the Melvin-Preller dynamic in San Diego is truly untenable, this may be the simplest solution for all parties. Melvin is released from the final year of his contract and permitted to return home. The Padres are released from their financial obligations. Preller avoids firing his fourth manager in ten years. And the Giants finally get the player they wanted all along.

Also …

— If Melvin is hired, his coaching staff will most likely include some holdovers from the previous regime as well as some newcomers. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, among the coaches he could bring with him from San Diego is third base coach Matt Williams, who spent 10 seasons with the Giants from 1987 to 1996. Pat Burrell and Ryan Vogelsong, both former players who currently hold positions within the organization, are among those being considered for other roles.

— In an ideal world, the Giants would have a presumed successor lined up behind Melvin, who has not committed to staying in charge past next season. Melvin is now the fifth-oldest manager under contract, following the departures of Terry Francona and Buck Showalter. Stephen Vogt, who played under Melvin and has already been interviewed by the Giants for the open position, is an obvious candidate.

If Vogt is available, the Giants will need to obtain additional permission from the Mariners, where he was the bullpen and quality control coach last season. Vogt has emerged as a “serious candidate” for the job in Cleveland, according to ESPN’s Jeff Passan.