SAN DIEGO – Mike Shildt, a former Manager of the Year winner with the St. Louis Cardinals, will take over as the next skipper of the San Diego Padres.
The Padres officially announced the deal Tuesday after losing their previous manager, Bob Melvin, to a division rival in the San Francisco Giants.
Shildt spent the last two seasons in various coaching roles with San Diego. He managed the Cardinals from 2018 to 2021 to the tune of a 252-199 (.559 winning percentage).
Though Shildt led St. Louis to the postseason in each of his last three seasons, the Cardinals parted ways with him after the 2021 campaign. Cardinals lead executive John Mozeliak cited “philosophical differences” behind the departure, and Shildt once said the break-up left him with a “broken heart.”
Shildt has hoped for a MLB manager’s job since leaving the Cardinals. With the Padres, he has a team with some of the game’s best young stars in Fernando Tatis Jr. and Juan Soto. That said, Shildt will also be tasked with building off an 82-80 season in which San Diego largely underperformed, plus with stiff competition in the Los Angeles Dodgers and the defending NL champion-Arizona Diamondbacks.
Oli Marmol has served as the Cardinals manager since Shildt’s departure. He led St. Louis to the postseason in his first season (2022) with a 93-69 record, though the Cardinals finished 71-91 in his second season this past year, one of their worst records in decades.
Shildt is now the second former Cardinals coach or manager with a lead job. Skip Schumaker just finished his first year with the Miami Marlins, leading them to a Wild Card berth with an 84-78 record and earning NL Manager of the Year honors.
