The San Diego Padres plan to fire manager Jayce Tingler due to a disappointing 2021 season and second-half collapse, according to Jon Heyman of MLB Network. Tingler, 40 years old, was in his second season as Padres skipper. He posted a winning record overall, and even guided the Padres to a postseason series victory in the shortened 2020 campaign. Nevertheless, the Padres made the move after San Diego collapsed down the stretch this season — largely for reasons, it should be noted, that were beyond Tingler’s control, including injuries and rotten luck in one-run contests.
The Padres are 78-82 heading into Saturday’s action. They were 67-49 after a win on Aug. 10.
Prior to becoming San Diego’s manager, Tingler had served in a variety of roles with the Texas Rangers, such as field coordinator and assistant general manager. It was during his time with the Rangers organization that he became familiar with now-Padres general manager A.J. Preller. That relationship, however instrumental it was in landing him the position originally, wasn’t enough to spare him here.
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Tingler isn’t the first notable change the Padres have made to their staffing over the past month. Preller has also dismissed farm director Sam Geaney and rearranged his scouting department, moving longtime scouting director Mark Conners into an assistant role and promoting Chris Kemp. (Kemp, it should be noted, was alleged by a USA Today report to have run astray from Major League Baseball’s rules on the international free agent market.)
The Padres will have a slew of big decisions to make this winter, beginning now with the identity of their next manager. Teams tend to hire the opposite of their most recent skipper, meaning the Padres could seek a veteran manager. It wouldn’t be surprising if former Padres manager Bruce Bochy’s name surfaces in relation to the position, though it’s unclear if he would return from his retirement.
Of course, Preller has violated that rule of thumb once before: when he hired Tingler two offseasons ago after pulling the plug on Andy Green.
