The Padres are the latest team to roll the dice on an untested manager.
San Diego will announce the hiring of Diamondbacks third base coach Andy Green as manager on Thursday. It was first reported by Bleacher Report's Scott Miller. Without confirming the hire, the Padres said they would introduce their new manager at 6 p.m. ET.
MORE: Every team's worst manager the last 50 years | MLB's winningest skippers
Green, 38, was a utility infielder who played in 140 big-league games, and he was stellar in three years as a minor-league manager before joining Arizona's big-league staff for this season. Green led Missoula to a Pioneer League championship in 2012, then won back-to-back Southern League Manager of the Year awards with Mobile the next two seasons.
Still, the hire qualifies as a surprise, since most speculation had centered on former Twins manager Ron Gardenhire and Pirates third base coach Rick Sofield. Green is 20 years younger than both, but Padres general manager A.J. Preller has demonstrated his willingness to take chances before.
Green will replace Bud Black, who was fired in June and is expected to be named manager of the Nationals after the World Series. The team announced after the season that interim manager Pat Murphy would not be considered for the full-time job; he reportedly will join the Brewers as bench coach.
