SAN DIEGO -- The Padres have parted ways with first-base coach Tarrik Brock and infielders coach Eddie Rodriguez, while the rest of the staff will remain in place for the 2017 season.
The club has begun looking to fill those two vacancies already -- and could potentially add an assistant hitting coach, as well, to round out the '17 staff.
Mark McGwire (bench coach), Darren Balsley (pitching coach), Alan Zinter (hitting coach), Glenn Hoffman (third-base coach) and Doug Bochtler (bullpen coach) are set to remain on skipper Andy Green's staff next season. As for Rodriguez and Brock, Green noted neither decision was easy.
"Both those guys are tremendous human beings, worked diligently at their craft, and wish them very well going forward," Green said Wednesday. "We're just going to look for guys that are going to take us to the next level and felt like that change was for the long run and where we want to be as an organization. The interview process begins tomorrow for us."
After serving as Astros first-base coach, the Padres hired Brock in 2015 to be the organization's baserunning and outfield coordinator. In '16, he was promoted to the first-base job -- where he was also in charge of the team's outfield and baserunning.
"We were good, baserunning," Green said. "I think we can be substantially better. Honestly, I think the bar in baseball to have a competitive advantage baserunning is incredibly low. But if you do it exceptionally, I think it can be worth a lot of wins, and I think we can be a lot better."
As for Rodriguez, he served as the organization's infield coordinator in 2014 and '15, before being promoted to the Major League staff this season. Rodriguez's duties included working with the infielders, as well as helping Hoffman position the team's infield defense.
The Padres are also looking to fill the role of former staff coordinator Casey Myers, who left the team in September to return to his prior job as assistant softball coach at Auburn. The Padres will likely change the specifics of the role Myers held, making it more of an assistant hitting coach job.
For the returnees, 2017 will represent Green's second year as manager of the Padres; Balsley's 15th as pitching coach; Bochtler's second as bullpen coach; Hoffman's 12th as third-base coach; McGwire's second as bench coach and Zinter's second as hitting coach.