A little more than three years after returning to the team, San Diego Padres president and CEO Mike Dee has been relieved of his duties.
“My goal and our organization’s objective is to have stability and long-term tenure in our front office, but sometimes these changes are inevitable,” Padres managing partner Peter Seidler said, per Dennis Lin, The San Diego Union Tribune. “Mike is no longer with the Padres, but I know our organization is strong and on the right path. (Padres executive chairman Ron Fowler) and I set forth the vision for the ballclub and lead the strategic planning, in collaboration with our senior executives. We have a skilled group of professionals in the front office who will take on extra responsibility as we look to fill this position.”
Lin also added that the suspension of general manager A.J. Preller didn’t directly lead to this action, but might have been “a tipping point.” He also stated that Preller’s job is not in jeopardy.
Dee had worked with the Padres from 1995-2002. He then followed Larry Lucchino to the Boston Red Sox, where he stayed through 2009. Dee then went to the NFL’s Miami Dolphins, serving as their CEO from 2009-2013. Midway through the 2013 MLB season, he rejoined the San Diego organization.
Anyone defending Dee would have to look beyond the team’s on-field success. In the three full seasons where Dee ran the show, the Padres went 219-267, never finishing better than third place in the National League West. In 2016, the Friars were 68-94, dead last in the division.
The 2015 season would certainly be the most notable failure to occur under Dee’s watch. To gear up for that season, the Padres acquired a new starting outfield of Matt Kemp, Justin Upton and Wil Myers. They also revamped the pitching staff by signing starter James Shields and trading for star reliever Craig Kimbrel.
After 65 games, San Diego sat at 32-33 and fired manager Bud Black. At season’s end, the team was 74-88, finishing five games behind the third place Arizona Diamondbacks. Myers is the only key acquisition from that season to remain with the team.
Whoever does take over the reigns in San Diego will take over an organization with some decent building blocks for the future. Outfielders Manny Margot and Hunter Renfroe both had strong Minor League seasons and came up to the big club in September. Both will likely become full time Major Leaguers in 2017. Starting pitcher Anderson Espinoza was graded as baseball’s 13th best prospect prior to the 2016 season.
So, while Dee’s teams didn’t enjoy a lot of on-field success, he didn’t leave the cupboard bare.