The San Diego Padres and San Francisco Giants pulled off a rather unusual move, with the Padres allowing their NL West rivals to hire manager Bob Melvin away from them. A new detail shows just how willing and eager the Padres were to let the move happen.
Giants president Farhan Zaidi said at Melvin’s introductory press conference Wednesday that the Padres had not demanded any compensation for allowing Melvin to leave for San Francisco. As Melvin was under contract with San Diego, the Padres could have tried to negotiate a trade involving the manager but opted not to do so.
This pretty much sums up just how eager the Padres were to move on from Melvin. Reports late in the season suggested he had a strained relationship with general manager AJ Preller, and the decision to let Melvin speak with the Giants was a telling one in itself.
Melvin wound up managing two seasons with San Diego, leading them to the NLCS in 2022 before a hugely disappointing 2023. Both sides appear relieved to be moving on at this point.
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