A’s GM Forst walks through thinking that shipped Melvin to Padres
When details of the Padres acquiring Bob Melvin emerged, the head-scratching approached criminal scalp abuse. How did San Diego scoop up Melvin, a successful and veteran manager under contract, without coughing up so much as an Amazon gift card?
Melvin won, even without the payroll. Melvin won, despite a dinosaur of a park. Melvin won, no matter the empty seats.
What is that worth? Whatever it is, the answer isn’t “nothing.”
Consider it borderline miraculous in the world of modern professional sports where, once conversations began, the wheels enthusiastically greased from both sides.
Oakland could have asked for cash, prospects or both. If A’s General Manager David Forst requested the Padres repaint the team’s spring training facility, his San Diego counterpart A.J. Preller would have reached for a paint brush. But, Oakland didn’t.
What in the name of Abner Doubleday? Well, that says everything, megaphone loud, about Melvin.
“We felt it was only fair to allow Bob to pursue an opportunity that, you know, provided longer term security than Oakland,” Forst said of the A’s, a franchise in payroll and ballpark flux. “When the Padres called, that was clearly a chance to win in the short term and go to an organization that was built for now.
“There was no need to complicate this for Bob. It was about what’s best for him. And ultimately, a conversation about compensation was going to make it more