It would appear the Padres are close to signing Ruben Niebla, long time pitching coach in the Cleveland organization, to take the over those same duties in San Diego. While Niebla appears to be an excellent choice, signing him before naming a manager shows that GM A.J. Preller has trouble sticking to a plan.

The Padres general manager, A.J. Preller, has publicly stated that the new manager will have full say in who joins his coaching staff. Currently, there are no indications that the Padres are close to naming a new manager, so this is a clear deviation from Preller’s statement.

EastVillageTimes.com

I suspect Preller would say that this was an opportunity they could not let pass, but if this happens, they will need to make sure the manager and coach are on the same page.