Padres fire Bud Black

The Padres have relieved manager Bud Black of his duties, according to a team announcement. The team will immediately begin its search for an interim manager, with bench coach Dave Roberts taking over as manager for the near future.

Black, 57, was the Padres' manager since 2007, and posted a 649-713 record (.477 winning percentage) in that span. He never made the postseason in that span despite a 90-win season in 2010 in which he was named National League Manager of the Year, and averaged just over 77 wins in eight full seasons at the helm. San Diego is currently 32-33, sitting in third place in the NL West despite an extremely aggressive offseason in which new general manager A.J. Preller added Matt Kemp, Wil Myers, Justin Upton, Melvin Upton Jr., James Shields, Derek Norris and Craig Kimbrel to a revamped Padres' roster.

Black is the third manager fired this season, joining Ron Roenicke (Brewers) and Mike Redmond (Marlins), who were immediately replaced with long-term solutions in Craig Counsell and Dan Jennings. San Diego seems ready to appoint an interim manager for the rest of the season before conducting a full search this winter and finding a permanent solution.

In addition to Roberts, who may be a candidate for the position, the team seems to have a handful of worthy candidates available to choose from. Hitting coach Mark Kotsay, ex-Padre Phil Nevin and Triple-A manager Pat Murphy are all potential fits for San Diego, as well as Red Sox special assistant Jason Varitek, who was reported to be of interest to the team last summer. According to a report from Fanduel's Will Carroll, Murphy is on his way to San Diego now, presumably to become the team's bench coach while Roberts manages. Murphy was previously a candidate to join Counsell's staff in Milwaukee, but the Padres refused to let him go, fueling speculation about Black's fate.