Mike Shildt signs 2-year deal to be 3rd Padres manager in 4 seasons
Former Cardinals skipper takes over from Bob Melvin, who left to guide Giants
The San Diego Padres have given Mike Shildt another chance to manage in the big leagues, just two years after his run with St. Louis ended abruptly despite him leading the Cardinals to three straight playoff appearances and winning the 2019 National League manager of the year award.
Shildt signed a two-year contract on Tuesday to replace Bob Melvin, who was hired away by his hometown San Francisco Giants on Oct. 25 with a year left on his contract with the Padres. That ended a fractured two-year relationship with general manager A.J. Preller.
"I'm really grateful for a second act," Shildt said at a Petco Park news conference. "Not everybody gets it. You take for granted there are only 30 of these jobs. I promise you I won't take this one for granted. I'm excited about our team."
Shildt takes over a big-spending team that flopped dramatically in 2023, a year after making a stirring run to the NL Championship Series and after increasing its opening day payroll to $258 million US, third highest in the majors.
Since 2022, Shildt had been a senior adviser to the major league staff and player development department with the Padres. His familiarity with the team's top minor league prospects could be a bonus in guiding a big-league roster led by stars Fernando Tatis Jr., Juan Soto, Manny Machado and Xander Bogaerts.
Shildt filled in as third base coach early in the 2023 season after Matt Williams had colon cancer surgery. The previous season, Shildt also stepped in as third base coach, first base coach and bench coach due to various medical situations.
He is San Diego's third manager in four seasons and the fifth full-time manager under Preller since midway through the 2015 season. Preller's teams have never won a division title, and Melvin was the only manager to guide the Padres to consecutive winning seasons under the GM.
Preller and Melvin said they could work together next year. But when the Giants asked for permission to interview Melvin, the Padres consented, and Melvin was hired soon after by his hometown team.
Shildt started as a scout with the Cardinals in 2003, switched to player development and worked his way through various levels of the minor league system. He was named interim manager in August 2018 then took over the permanent job the following season.
The Cardinals won 91 games that season, earning Shildt the NL manager of the year award, and advanced to the NL Championship Series before getting swept by the Nationals.
The Cardinals had a franchise-record 17-game winning streak in 2021 and reached the wild-card game before losing to the Los Angeles Dodgers on a walk-off homer. A week later, he was fired for what Cardinals president John Mozeliak said were "philosophical differences" between Shildt, the coaching staff and the front office.
Reports surfaced late last season the Padres were a dysfunctional organization with a lack of clubhouse leadership. After the season ended, Preller and Melvin said they could work together for another year, but the Giants asked permission to interview Melvin and then hired him.
"I look forward to the opportunity to work with A.J.," Shildt said. "I think it's really important right now that there's alignment, which there is, with what we're doing and how we're doing it. The functional teams win and I'm looking forward to stability and collaboration with what we're doing with the front office, with our club all the way vertically down the organization."
