Fastball

San Diego Padres Name Former St. Louis Cardinals Skipper as New Manager

Former St. Louis Cardinals manager Mike Shildt has been named the newest manager of the San Diego Padres.

Brady Farkas

San Diego Padres Name Former St. Louis Cardinals Skipper as New Manager
San Diego Padres Name Former St. Louis Cardinals Skipper as New Manager /
In this story:

After a lengthy search process, Mike Shildt has been named the newest manager of the San Diego Padres. He had been serving in player development for the last two years with the organization.

The Padres needed a new manager because they decided to let Bob Melvin go to become the manager of the San Francisco Giants. He was not fired but there were clear differences between him and management that they felt comfortable letting him walk.

Shildt had also been rumored as a candidate for the Milwaukee Brewers job, but that eventually went to Pat Murphy.

The 55-year-old Shildt spent parts of four seasons as the manager of the St. Louis Cardinals prior to joining the Padres. He went 252-199 over those four years, which included the shortened 60-game COVID season. He also managed only part of the 2018 season after taking over for Mike Matheny. He was over .500 in each portion of his tenure and went to the playoffs three times. His only playoff series win came in the 2019 season. 

As for the Padres' job, it's certainly appealing. While the team is expected to lose Josh Hader and Blake Snell in free agency and could reduce payroll by trading Juan Soto, they are still armed with Fernando Tatis Jr., Xander Bogaerts, Jake Cronenworth, Yu Darvish, and Joe Musgrove. They should be very competitive again in the National League West.

As for the Cardinals, they are looking to get out of the basement in the National League Central. They finished in last place after a dreadful 2023 but have already gotten to work on their offseason needs, signing pitcher Lance Lynn on Monday.

Follow Fastball on FanNation on social media

Continue to follow our Fastball on FanNation coverage on social media by LIKING us on Facebook and by following us on Twitter @FastballFN.You can also subscribe to "The Payoff Pitch" podcast on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Check out more St. Louis Cardinals coverage at Sports Illustrated and FanNation's Inside the Cardinals.

Published
Brady Farkas
BRADY FARKAS

Brady Farkas is a baseball writer for Fastball on Sports Illustrated/FanNation and the host of 'The Payoff Pitch' podcast which can be found on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Videos on baseball also posted to YouTube. Brady has spent nearly a decade in sports talk radio and is a graduate of Oswego State University. You can follow him on Twitter @WDEVRadioBrady. 

Home/News