It looks like A.J. Hinch will take over as manager of the Diamondbacks.

Director of Player Development A.J. Hinch is expected to be named as Melvin’s replacement Friday at 3 p.m. news conference. KTAR-AM was the first to report Hinch’s promotion.

In addition, hitting coach Rick Schu was fired, and pitching coach Bryan Price resigned.

Hinch was a backup catcher in the majors who couldn’t hit a lick. It’s interesting, according to Wikipedia, Hinch was on a GM track, not a road to the field:

Hinch retired after the 2005 season, and was hired by the Arizona Diamondbacks as their manager of minor league operations.[1] Even while playing, he was planning his post-playing career. He went so far as to go to the 2003 General Manager’s winter meetings to look for future job opportunites and contacts. In July 2006, Baseball America named him one of baseball’s “10 to watch” in the next 10 years for his promise as a Farm Director and future General Manager. In August 2006, the Diamondbacks named Hinch director of player development.

He did go to Stanford, the Harvard of the west,* so he may indeed be a very bright fellow.

*There’s some confusion about this. Stanford students tend to think Harvard is the Stanford of the East. The closest anything comes to being the Stanford of the east is Stamford, CT.