The San Diego Padres have fired manager Andy Green, general manager A.J. Preller announced Saturday.

"I want to thank Andy for his tireless work and dedication to the Padres over the last four seasons," Preller said in a statement. "This was an incredibly difficult decision but one we felt was necessary at this time to take our organization to the next level and expedite the process of bringing a championship to San Diego. Our search for a new manager will begin immediately."

Bench coach Rod Barajas will serve as interim manager for the rest of the 2019 season.

Green was 274-366 in four seasons as Padres manager. They won no more than 71 games in any of his three full seasons in charge and are 69-85 this year.

In August 2017, the Padres gave Green a contract extension that ran through the 2021 season.

San Diego's .428 winning percentage with Green is the fourth worst in the majors since 2016, ahead of only the Detroit Tigers (.406), Baltimore Orioles (.408) and Miami Marlins (.427), according to ESPN Stats & Information. The Padres' 4.0 runs per game, .236 batting average and .695 OPS since 2016 are all MLB worsts.

The big offseason signing of Manny Machado to a 10-year, $300 million contract couldn't turn the Padres' fortunes, as San Diego will miss the playoffs for the 13th straight season.

The new manager will inherit a lineup that includes Machado, Fernando Tatis Jr. and Chris Paddack as well as one of baseball's best farm systems.