For San Diego Padres fans, this winter has been a struggle. They’re used to seeing GM A.J. Preller make big moves, and while Preller has had some quiet offseason, this one has been almost exclusively crickets so far even thought the team could use some upgrades.
But new front office hires Bud Black and Will Myers don’t see it that way at all. Black and Myers are returning to an organization that’s far more successful than it was when they managed and played, respectively, and they still believe in Preller’s ability to field an excellent team this year with new manager Craig Stammen.
“He came out hot,” Black said last week when he was asked about Preller in a piece written by AJ Cassavell of MLB.com. “And, really, he hasn’t stopped. That’s the thing that’s been impressive.”
Black’s manageiral stint with the Padres ended in 2015, and it was Preller who ended up firing him. He’ll be serving as special advisor in baseball operations this season, and part of his role will undoubtedly be to help Stammen adjust to the demands of being an on-field manager.
The former Padres manager can also add a different perspective to this Padres season. He served as manager of the Colorado Rockies for nine seasons, which is probably baseball’s ultimate managerial version of trying to do more with less.
Preller is trying to adapt and find success in a situation where he can’t really make moves because the team’s up for sale and there are payroll limitations, and the hope is that Black can add a unique front-office perspective to the Padres’ current situation as well.
As for Myers, he ended up being the lone holdover from that 2015 team that failed badly, and he has a unique take on the team’s current situation. He went on to be a role player on some good teams, and a star on some teams that struggled.
“To see what [the Padres] have become, it’s really cool,” Myers said after his hire was first announced.
Both of those perspectives could be useful for the Padres this season, and Myers also thinks he can help some of the team’s current players deal with the emotional struggles that come when issues occur with a game that comes with built in failures.
“I think every player, when they’re done, thinks about some things that could have helped them in a time where they were struggling,” Myers said. “I think it would be cool to be able to express those things to some of the players.”
Myers’ impact on the major league roster will probably be limited at first, however. He’ll start his coaching career working with minor leaguers, traveling to Padres affiliates and talking to young hitters. Hopefully he can make an impact that will help recharge the Padres prospect pipeline, which could definitely use it.
Black will also serve as a backup option is Stammen can’t handle the job for some reason. The Padres situation is difficult for a rookie manager to step into, so it’s fair to expect some issues along the way.