While the San Diego Padres are chasing down superstar managerial possibilities like Hall of Famer Albert Pujols, one of their in-house options, infield coach Nick Punto, is receiving interest from the Minnesota Twins as their potential new manager. According to a story written by Dan Hayes and Dennis Lin of The Athletic, the Twins have asked for and received permission to talk to Punto about the job.  

Punto is an intriguing option. He was a versatile dirt-dog of a player, the kind of guy who knew situational baseball and was always a thorn in the side of opponents. He also had a knack for coming through in the clutch, and Punto always played hard. 

Sometimes ex-players like Punto end up making better managers than former stars like Pujols, simply because they had to struggle to get by. They end up knowing the game from the lower levels as journeymen and ham-and-eggers, and that can also result in a better feel for clubhouse dynamics, not to mention the subtleties involved in putting together a lineup. 

Is Punto one of those guys who would work as a manager? There’s no way to know for sure, but he did spend seven years in Minnesota as a player, so there’s mutual knowledge there, and that matters, too. We’re at the point in the offseason where managerial rumors are flying fast and furious, and it’s at least interesting that Punto has been barely been mentioned as a potential Padres candidate. 

The lack of mention also speaks to the fact that the Padres are behind the curve in their managerial search right now. GM A.J. Preller said the sudden resignation of manager Mike Shildt was a shock, not a surprise, but it feels like Preller might be fudging a bit there. 

Punto’s absence from the San Diego’s manager conversation also speaks to some of the uncertainty about who exactly is making the call for the Padres. Albert Pujols doesn’t seem like a Preller guy at all. He may be a brilliant manager based on his success in the Dominican Republic, but he could also be a bit of a figurehead who gets the job based on reputation, then ends up struggling because he can’t relate to players like Punto who had to make the best of it with less talent.

It’s all a game of manager musical chairs right now, and there are still multiple open seats. The Padres opening is one of the most intriguing ones, and there are a lot of eyeballs on the candidates as the team's interview process starts to rev up.