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It’s fair to say we were all surprised when the San Diego Padres hired Bob Melvin away from the Oakland Athletics this offseason and it seems like he’s going to surprise us with a couple of names on his 2022 coaching staff.
The Athletic’s Dennis Lin reported on Friday that Melvin and the Padres are going to announce the following names as coaches next week in an official announcement. All of these names you’ll read have professional baseball experience but some have more major league experience than others.
The Padres plan to announce Bob Melvin's coaching staff next week. The known/expected names: Ruben Niebla, Ryan Christenson, Ryan Flaherty, Michael Brdar, Matt Williams, David Macias, Ben Fritz, Francisco Cervelli, Heberto Andrade.
— Dennis Lin (@dennistlin) December 17, 2021
We already knew Ben Fritz (bullpen coach), Francisco Cervelli (catching coach), Matt Williams (third base coach), Michael Brdar (hitting coach), Ryan Flaherty (hitting assistant coach), Ryan Christenson (bench coach) and Ruben Niebla (pitching coach) were going to be on the staff prior to Lin’s tweet. David Macias and Heberto Andrade, however, are new names. It isn’t yet known what role Andrade will fill, though based on his background it’s expected to be as a bullpen catcher.
Macias is expected to be the team’s first base coach, replacing fan favorite Wayne Kirby. Macias served as an assistant coach at East Carolina University for the 2021 season after serving as a volunteer coach for college baseball powerhouse, Vanderbilt, who won two College World Series titles in his time there (2014 and 2019).
At ECU, Macias worked with the catchers and outfielders so I’d expect him to do the same in San Diego. Macias has some professional coaching experience as well, serving as a minor league manager in the Mariners farm system during the 2017 minor league season. He also played minor league ball with the Cubs for four seasons after being selected in the 19th round of the 2008 MLB Draft.
As for Heberto Andrade, he spent the last 19 years with the Pirates organization and for at least part of his tenure in Pittsburgh, he served as a bullpen catcher. Andrade played professionally for the Cubs before transitioning to international ball in Italy, Venezuela, and Colombia.