NewsNew GM could be in place by end of October
Three to mind baseball ops; Hoyer and Eppler rumored as candidates
By Corey Brock / MLB.com
10/06/09 1:46 PM EST
The Padres' search for a new general manager pushes on, though that doesn't mean the team is uncovered in the front office in the interim.Manager Bud Black, executive vice president Paul DePodesta and assistant GM Fred Uhlman Jr. have been asked by CEO Jeff Moorad to watch over the baseball-operations department until a replacement for Kevin Towers is found.
Towers, the longest-tenured GM in the Major Leagues, was dismissed on Saturday after spending the past 14 seasons as the Padres' GM. No interim GM was named.
"Between [Black, DePodesta and Uhlman], I am convinced there is ample experience and ability to react and respond to any baseball issues that occur during the interim period," Moorad said on Tuesday.
Moorad hopes to have a GM by the end of the World Series, though he qualified that by saying, "potentially sooner."
"I think we're close. We still have another couple of interviews scheduled, which will take place next week," he said. "I would guess the next couple of weeks."
Moorad has interviewed three candidates, and there could be more sometime this week.
"It's a fairly narrow group," said Moorad, who indicated that the narrow pool of candidates includes at least one minority candidate. "We have built our profile. We're looking at those who fit the position. We want someone with strong leadership and management skills."
The Padres are rumored to be interested in Jed Hoyer, assistant GM of the Boston Red Sox, as well as Billy Eppler, the director of professional scouting for the Yankees. Eppler is from San Diego and graduated from University of San Diego High in 1993.
Moorad restated that he has no intention of involving any candidates from Arizona, where Jerry DiPoto has been a finalist for GM openings in Seattle and Washington in the past year. Moorad also reiterated that no internal candidates within the Padres' ranks exist.
Corey Brock is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
