Padres commit to Giants' rumored top managerial candidate

"Bob is our manager, and he's going to be our manager going forward," Preller told reporters during his end-of-season press conference. "Both he and I are very excited about the challenge of getting this group back to the postseason next year."

While Padres owner Peter Seidler had hinted that he wanted Melvin and Preller to return to the organization earlier this week, reports of a rift between Preller and Melvin still left significant uncertainty. Wednesday's press conference was the first time Preller directly committed to Melvin as manager beyond this season.

With that said, Preller did leave a small window open for a potential change. He was asked directly whether the Padres would use their rights over Melvin's contract to deny other teams, like the Giants, the right to interview him in their own searches for a manager. Rather than shutting that down completely, Preller simply restated that they view Melvin as the team's manager.

It's worth noting that the Padres are still expected to slash payroll this offseason, and Melvin has one of the higher managerial salaries in MLB, roughly $4 million. While Seidler may want both Melvin and Preller to return, he might not have fully closed the door on moving on from Melvin if he can be traded to another team and have his salary fully removed from the team's books.

Still, that remains far more unlikely. Whether the SF Giants' decision to fire Kapler was because he was a scapegoat for the team's mediocrity or a necessary first step toward turning things around, the franchise will have a new manager at the helm in 2024. After Padres president of baseball operations A.J. Preller committed to manager Bob Melvin beyond this season, San Francisco will likely target other options.