UPDATE: The Padres' hiring of Andy Green is now official.
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After rumors suggested both Ron Gardenhire and Rick Sofield were the frontrunners for the manager position in San Diego, the Padres seemingly came out of nowhere on Thursday and are set to hire another candidate.
According to Scott Miller of Bleacher Report and Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune, the Pads will name Andy Green the next manager of the club. Green was one of the peripheral candidates during the interview process, although he was one of the first the Padres expressed interest with.
"In a stunning development, the Padres will name Arizona third-base coach Andy Green their next full-time manager, according to multiple sources familiar with the situation. Green will be officially introduced at Petco Park on Thursday afternoon," Lin wrote.
"The Padres offered the job to Green on Wednesday night. Padres General Manager A.J. Preller is known to be an admirer of the Diamondbacks' offense."
Lin also noted that it was Green and Gardenhire that were the finalists the whole time, which refutes previous reports that suggested Sofield was the other finalist alongside Gardenhire.
Green, 38, managed in the Arizona Diamondbacks' farm system from 2011-2014 and won Southern League Manager of the Year in both 2013 and 2014 with Double-A Mobile. He moved up to the MLB and served as the D-Backs' third base coach in 2015.
Green also played four MLB seasons, three of which were with the Diamondbacks.
Based on rumors revealing other candidates the Padres interviewed - Phil Nevin, Alex Cora, Mark Kotsay, Scott Servais and Tom Gordon - Green is certainly a surprise hire. San Diego also let interim manager Pat Murphy join Craig Counsell's staff in Milwaukee as bench coach of the Brewers.
Green's lack of coaching at the MLB level obviously did not alarm Preller, who has made many bold moves since taking over as GM last year.
Stay tuned for an official announcement.