Padres hire Mike Shildt ExCardinals manager takes over in San Diego after Bob Melvin departs

The San Diego Padresare hiring Mike Shildt as their new manager, CBS Sports HQ's Jim Bowden confirmed Tuesday. Shildt was hired by the Padres in January of 2022 and has served as their senior advisor to player development since, though he also served as the interim third-base coach for a stretch in 2022 while Matt Williams was recovering from hip surgery.

After a disappointing 82-80 record, one year after getting to the NLCS, the Padres and manager Bob Melvin parted ways as he took the manager job with the San Francisco Giants. This left a vacancy in San Diego that has now been filled by Shildt.

Shildt, 55, took over as Cardinals manager for Mike Matheny in the 2018 season and went 41-28 the rest of the way, earning the full-time job before the end of that season. The Cardinals then won 91 games and the NL Central in 2019, making the NLCS. In 2021, only Shildt's second full season as manager, the Cardinals won 90 games and lost the NL Wild Card Game to the 106-win Dodgers.

There's a good opportunity for Shildt to have a great season with the Padres, too, depending upon how the offseason goes, of course. The Padres were a major disappointment in 2023, sure, but they still only missed the playoffs by two games and were a dreadful 9-23 in one-run games. They were 2-12 in extra innings.

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