There’s a natural instinct, when a marquee job opens in San Diego, to zoom straight to the celebrity names and splashy rumors. But the Padres don’t actually need a headline — they need a fit. They need someone who can drop into a complex roster with Cy Young-level pitching, star-level expectations, and then turn all of that into everyday rhythm and postseason resiliency. That’s why the most sensible move may also be the quietest one: looking inward at a candidate who already knows the building, has managed high-leverage baseball for nearly a decade, and has the scars (and wins) to prove he can steer through noise.
Padres manager search signals pivot to under-the-radar in-house proven winner
