The San Diego Padres fired manager Jayce Tingler, who was in command during the biggest collapse in franchise history, the year after finishing second in the National League Manager of the Year voting.
General manager AJ Preller announced the firing on Wednesday, three days after the Padres finished with a negative 79-83 record and in third place in the NL West, 28 games behind San Francisco, which conquered the pennant. Preller indicated that Tingler will receive the opportunity to remain with the organization.
Tingler’s fate was thrown with the collapse of the Padres, who went from leading by one game for the second wild card in the NL on Sept. 9 to being eliminated with seven games remaining on the season. The Padres closed with an unfavorable win-loss record for the 10th time in 11 seasons.
Tingler was 116-106 in two seasons.
He had no prior managerial experience beyond the rookie level and several stints in the Dominican leagues before Preller hired him on October 28, 2019. They had been friends since they were together with the Texas Rangers.
He led the Padres to a 37-23 record in the 2020 season, shortened by the pandemic. That led to San Diego’s first playoff appearance in 13 years.
The Padres beat the St. Louis Cardinals in the wild-card series before being swept away in the divisional phase by the Los Angeles Dodgers, eventual World Series champions.
Led by superstars Fernando Tatis Jr. and Manny Machado and with a payroll of $ 175 million, the Padres started the season with World Series aspirations and played well until several problems emerged in the second half, on the field of play. and the clubhouse.
Although the Dominican Tatis remains as a candidate for the MVP of the National League, he suffered from a recurring problem in his right shoulder.
The Padres were unable to acquire a pitcher at the trade limit and saw their rotation decimated by injuries to Yu Darvish, Blake Snell and Chris Paddack.
Reports surfaced that some players were upset after the Padres attempted to trade first baseman Eric Hosmer. Other reports subsequently emerged that players had come to Preller to express their dissatisfaction with the work Tingler was doing.
In a surprising dugout dispute on September 18, Machado insulted Tatis and his teammates and a coach had to separate them.
Tingler is the fourth manager Preller has fired in just over seven seasons.
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