The San Diego Padres will hire former St. Louis Cardinals manager Mike Shildt as their new manager, the team announced Tuesday.
Shildt, who worked for the Padres for the past two seasons in a consultant role, will replace departing manager Bob Melvin.
“Mike is a proven winner as a manager at the Major League level, and he brings over two decades of experience in professional baseball to the position,” Padres president of baseball operations and general manager A.J. Preller said in a statement.
“In his time here, Mike has displayed a strong baseball intellect, a passion for teaching the game, and has established relationships with players and staff at both the minor and Major League levels. We believe that Mike is the right person to lead the Padres forward in our continued pursuit of a World Series championship.”
Shildt, 55, managed the Cardinals from 2018-21 and was named National League Manager of the Year in 2019.
The hire comes less than a month after Melvin left the team and was swiftly named the new manager of the San Francisco Giants
During Melvin’s first year as Padres manager in 2022, the team advanced to the National League Championship Series for the first time in 24 years.
But in 2023, the team fell well below expectations, finishing 18 games out of first place in the National League West division.
Media reports detailed apparent friction between Melvin and Padres president of baseball operations A.J. Preller, though Preller told reporters earlier this month that Melvin would remain the team’s manager going into 2024.
– City News Service