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USATSI

The San Diego Padres have fired manager Jayce Tingler after a disappointing 2021 season and second-half collapse, the team announced on Wednesday.

The San Diego Padres have relieved manager Jayce Tingler of his duties, President of Baseball Operations and General Manager A.J. Preller announced today. Tingler has been offered an opportunity to remain with the organization.

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"Jayce accomplished a great deal in his two seasons with the Padres, leading our team through an unprecedented pandemic and into the postseason for the first time in 15 years," Preller said. "I have tremendous respect for him as a coach, colleague and friend. After much thought and consideration over the last several weeks, we felt change was necessary at this time to ultimately reach our championship potential in San Diego."  

Tingler, 40, just completed his second (and final) season as Padres skipper. He posted a winning record overall, and even guided the Padres to a postseason series victory in the shortened 2020 campaign. Nevertheless, the Padres made this move after San Diego collapsed down the stretch  -- largely for reasons, it should be noted, that were beyond Tingler's control, including injuries and rotten luck in one-run contests. 

The Padres finished the year with a 79-83 record. They were 67-49 after a win on Aug. 10. 

Prior to becoming San Diego's manager, Tingler had served in a variety of roles with the Texas Rangers, such as field coordinator and assistant general manager. It was during his time with the Rangers organization that he became familiar with now-Padres general manager A.J. Preller. That relationship, however instrumental it was in landing him the position originally, wasn't enough to spare him here.

Tingler isn't the first notable change the Padres have made to their staffing over the past month. Preller has also dismissed farm director Sam Geaney and rearranged his scouting department, moving longtime scouting director Mark Conners into an assistant role and promoting Chris Kemp. (Kemp, it should be noted, was alleged by a USA Today report to have run astray from Major League Baseball's rules on the international free agent market.)

The Padres have a slew of other big decisions to make this winter, possibly beginning here with the identity of their next manager. Teams tend to hire the opposite of their most recent skipper, meaning the Padres could seek a veteran manager. It wouldn't be surprising if former Padres manager Bruce Bochy's name surfaces in relation to the position, though it's unclear if he would return from his retirement.

Of course, Preller has violated that rule of thumb once before: when he hired Tingler two offseasons ago after pulling the plug on Andy Green.