MLB Rumors: Surprise rival emerges as lead candidate for SF Giants job

The San Francisco Giants didn't wait until the end of the season to move on from manager Gabe Kapler, doing so ahead of their final series. With that, the Giants had to find a replacement that could help bring the team to the postseason, a goal that has become an infrequent occurrence since winning the World Series in 2014. The search has been much talked about, with the team looking into internal hires.

Now, there is a new surprise candidate for the job, and Giants fans should know them well.

According to Dennis Lin and Andrew Baggarly of The Athletic (subscritpion required), the San Diego Padres have given permission to manager Bob Melvin to interview for the Giants opening. This comes after two seasons with the team.

Per Lin and Baggarly, Melvin is viewed as the leading candidate for the job

Padres' Bob Melvin now the leading candidate to become Giants manager

This is certainly an intriguing situation in the NL West. Could the manager of the Padres jump ship and join the Giants to lead their clubhouse? Based on the fact that he received permission to interview with the rival team, it's hard to imagine Melvin going back to San Diego.

Melvin is no stranger to switching managerial jobs. After the 2021 season, Melvin signed a contract with the Padres despite being the manager of the Oakland Athletics since 2011. The Padres had the talent to be a legitimate World Series contender, and in his first year with the team, Melvin led them to the NLCS. But, they fell three wins short of making the Fall Classic, as they fell to the Philadelphia Phillies in five games.

This past offseason, the Padres were in on nearly every top free agent. After missing out on Aaron Judge and Trea Turner, San Diego signed Xander Bogaerts away from the Boston Red Sox on a lucrative contract. Even with the additions, the Padres underperformed this year, finishing third in the NL West with an 82-80 record. With that, they missed out on the postseason.

Even though Melvin and the team announced that he would be returning as manager in 2024, he appears to be swayed by leaving San Diego and general manager A.J. Preller and jumping to San Francisco. There is a link to San Francisco for Melvin in president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi, who was the Athletics' assistant general manager during his first four years as manager. So, there's a working relationship right there.

As for where the Padres will turn to, Bob Nightengale of USA Today noted that their bench coach Ryan Flaherty and senior advisor to player development Mike Shildt, are considered the top candidates to replace Melvin. Shildt has managerial experience, as he was the Cardinals' manager from 2018 until 2021.