A.J. Hinch lands in Padres front office

A.J. Hinch, fired as the Diamondbacks’ manager earlier this season, has taken a job as San Diego’s vice president of professional scouting, according to the team’s media notes. Hinch, 36, may have flopped as a manager, but he was very well regarded in Arizona’s front office before former Diamondbacks GM Josh Byrnes took a chance and put him on the field. The former major league catcher became Arizona’s director of player development in Aug. 2006, which wasn’t even a year after he took off his shin guards for good. He spent 2 1/2 years in that role before replacing Bob Melvin in May 2009. The Diamondbacks fired him after he went 89-123 in 212 games through this July. The move from Arizona to San Diego comes at an interesting time, as the Diamondbacks are believed to be very interested in hiring longtime Padres GM Kevin Towers as their new general manager.