The San Diego Padres are locking in on hiring Ruben Niebla to be their next pitching coach, sources told ESPN's Buster Olney.
Niebla has served as the Cleveland Indians' assistant pitching coach over the past two seasons and has been with the organization since 2001.
The Padres have yet to name a new manager after firing Jayce Tingler following a late-season collapse that left San Diego with a losing record.
San Diego entered the season with a vaunted starting rotation that was eventually decimated by injuries to Yu Darvish, Blake Snell and Chris Paddack.