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San Diego Padres general manager A.J. Preller has hired a pitching coach before landing a manager. Preller hired Ruben Niebla away from Cleveland on Wednesday, saying a number of factors made the Guardians’ assistant pitching coach and Southern California native too good to pass up even as San Diego’s managerial search stretched to three weeks. Niebla, 49, has been Cleveland’s assistant pitching coach for the last two campaigns. Before that, he spent seven seasons as the Guardians’ minor league pitching coordinator. Overall, he spent 21 seasons in Cleveland’s organization. He is widely credited with helping develop starters such as Shane Bieber, former […]