MLB rumors: Leading candidates for now-available Padres job already clear

In one move, the San Francisco Giants found their new manager, while the San Diego Padres have a vacancy. That's because, on Sunday, the Padres reportedly allowed manager Bob Melvin to interview with the Giants for their opening.

One day later, The Athletic's Andrew Baggarly reported that the Giants are expected to hire Melvin as their new manager. With that, the Padres will now have to find someone to fill the void left by Melvin.

As it turns out, the team is consdering two options.

According to The Athletic's Dennis Lin, the Padres are expected to hire either bench coach Ryan Flaherty or senior advisor to player development and major leagues Mike Shildt to replace Melvin, even if they interview candidates outside of the organization.

Padres expected to hire Ryan Flaherty or Mike Shildt as next manager

When it comes to who will be the favorite between the two, The San Diego Union-Tribune's Kevin Acee says that Shildt is the leading candidate to get the managerial job. But, Acee notes that Flaherty is highly thought of inside the Padres organization, with one of the main figures being general manager A.J. Preller.

Out of the two, Shildt does have managerial experience. Midway through the 2018 season, Shildt was hired to be the St. Louis Cardinals' manager after they fired Mike Matheny on an interim basis before being promoted full-time. In his first full season in 2019, Shildt was named NL Manager of the Year after leading the Cardinal to a 91-71 record, an NL Central title, and a trip to the NLCS. But after the 2021 season, despite leading the team to a 90-72 record, a historic 17-game winning streak, and a postseason berth, the Cardinals fired Shildt due to "philosophical differences."

In his four years as Cardinals manager, Shildt accumulated a 252-199 regular-season record and a 4-9 postseason record.

As for Flaherty, he is a former infielder for the Baltimore Orioles, Atlanta Braves, and the now-Cleveland Guardians. He joined the Padres organization in 2020 as a scout. In 2022, Flaherty was the team's quality control coach. This season, he was promoted to bench coach. Also interesting to note, Flaherty is a former teammate of current Padres third baseman Manny Machado during their playing career in Baltimore.

From the sounds of it, the person who gets the job in San Diego will be one who is in lock-step with Preller. That appears to be why the Padres allowed Melvin to interview for the Giants job, with various reports indicating the relationship between the two was "beyond repair." But Padres fans, Shildt and Flaherty are the two likely candidates to be your next manager.