There will be a new manager when the Padres are wearing their new brown uniforms next season.

Andy Green was fired Saturday morning, two years before his contract was due to expire and after four seasons with a 274-366 record.

Bench coach Rod Barajas was named interim manager and served in that role Saturday against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

“When you look at the way the last two months … and what improvements are being made and how things were playing out on a daily basis, it just didn’t feel like we were going to get there with Andy as our manager,” said General Manager A.J. Preller, who several times called Green a friend. “That’s a tough thing to say. Ultimately, we hire a manager and it’s my job to put players on the field. I’ve been beating myself up a lot over the course of the last few months. It just didn’t feel like this was going to work for the long-term.”


Several team sources, who on the condition of anonymity have spoken on the topic over the course of the season, said Green was charged with improving communication with his staff, players and primarily with Preller. Green had also acknowledged his work in the area of communication and delegation.

There was agreement Green had made improvements in all facets. The differences of opinion Green and Preller regarding personnel and implementation of philosophy have been characterized by several people as similar to those that occur in many organizations. However, Preller and his bosses concluded in recent weeks that Green was not going to ever fully come in line with Preller’s thinking.

“That wasn’t the only reason for the decision,” Preller said. “It came down to looking at a group we feel like can play better.”


Reached Saturday, the 42-year-old Green said he preferred to comment at a later time.

The team made the decision to move on before the season ended in the interest of not wasting anyone’s time.

“With a week left, as we’re looking toward next year,” Preller said. “If he’s not the manager — and I’ve had that in mind — I want to have the week to have conversations with our players and coaches. … We have a lot of important conversations with coaches, with staff, with players — things geared to toward the future. I didn’t want to go through that process, look them in the eye and say something different in a few days. I felt like it was important to sit down with the players and staff and have an honest conversation.”

The Padres are seeking “a different voice” as they head into what they expect to be a window of contention in 2020 — on the heels of what has been a team-record tying nine straight losing seasons.


They have compiled a list of potential replacements that includes former Padres manager Bruce Bochy, who managed the Giants to three World Series titles. Bochy has announced his retirement but, according to people with knowledge of his thinking, has said he would consider managing again and would be interested in the Padres job. The team will also give strong consideration to Barajas and is interested in speaking with former Angels manager Mike Scioscia, former Rangers manager Ron Washington and former players Moises Alou, Mark Loretta and Phil Nevin, among others.

They are open to candidates of all experience levels and backgrounds, but the criteria the Padres are prioritizing, according to team sources, are a veteran manager with a “presence” and a manager they believe is committed to collaborating with Preller and the player development department in implementing an organizational philosophy. Ability to communicate effectively with the team’s large contingent of Latin players would be a plus.

Despite the Padres’ struggles, the job is widely considered desirable. The Padres have several highly touted prospects in the minor leagues and a major league roster that includes veterans Manny Machado and Eric Hosmer, rookie standouts Fernando Tatis Jr. and Chris Paddack and major league saves leader Kirby Yates.


“You’ve got to get a manager who can get those guys to play at their level and overachieve,” Preller said.

Green, hired to his first managerial job before the 2016 season, has been one of the chief personnel decision makers in what has been a massive rebuild. It could be argued he was more of a de facto player development coordinator than a major league manager.

That reality became a source of consternation for some veteran players, who were frustrated with losing and not always understanding of the limitations placed on Green due to the abundance of young players promoted from the minor leagues to develop while playing in the majors.

Several people have acknowledged a handful of players were not responding to Green’s style. Preller and Fowler made it clear in a clubhouse meeting Saturday afternoon that players and the personnel department bore significant responsibility in the team’s struggles in the season’s second half.


“To say we’re not playing for him, that’s not fair to him,” pitcher Matt Strahm said. “As far as the second half, it’s pretty obvious we’re run down. We look tired. I think a lot of that has to do with our youth. A lot of guys haven’t played baseball into September ever and haven’t played in April.”

The Padres spent 2016 dismantling the remnants of what had been an attempt at a quick fix the year before. In 2017, they carried three Rule 5 players on their roster — players pilfered from other organizations who had never competed above Single-A and had to remain on the major league roster the entire season.

The signing of Hosmer to an eight-year, $144 million deal in 2018 was a sign expectations were changing. Bolstered by the February signing of Machado ($30 million a year for 10 years) and the spectacular start to Tatis’ career, the Padres began this season by being above .500 at the end of April for the first time since 2010.


They spent more days with a winning record than a losing one in the first half and entered the All-Star break with a 45-45 record.

A 7-16 start to the second half dropped them from two games back in the National League wild card race to 6½ games back with six teams in front of them on Aug. 7.

They could never recover.

While Preller and the team’s two primary owners, Fowler and General Partner Peter Seidler, were evaluating Green all season and it was unequivocally known by late July that Green’s job was in jeopardy, recent results helped seal his fate.


There was growing discouragement with the listless play of late. The Padres went 1-6 on a road trip to Colorado and Milwaukee, have lost eight of nine and entered Saturday’s game 6-13 in September.

Green’s final game was a dreary 9-0 defeat Friday at home to Arizona, though the decision to dismiss him was made before then.

“Looking at the performance, looking at it from an improvement standing, we haven’t seen the team respond in the last few months,” Preller said. “When you get to the point where you’re questioning where things are headed we have to make that call. ... We felt like if we’re going to get to where we need to, get into the playoffs, get this franchise where we’re a perennial contender into October, we felt like we needed to make a change in the manager’s seat.”