Padres News: Mike Shildt Loves New Coaching Staff for 2024

San Diego is hoping to turn the page on what was a disappointing last year

There's a new sheriff in town for the Padres -- and he goes by the name of Mike Shildt.

Former manager Bob Melvin had been a bit of a traditionalist. He relied on gut instinct and strong interpersonal skills. In short, he was a player's manager who at times eschewed a more progressive approach when it came to analytics and the like. 

With Melvin now in San Francisco, Shildt is going to do things a bit differently. Whether you call it democratic in nature, or collaborative in practice, this year's team appears to be headed for a different mindset in terms of operation. 

We have announced our 2024 Major League coaching staff.

Details: https://t.co/4rILoSOqiL pic.twitter.com/DbKJUxYdCt

— San Diego Padres (@Padres) January 3, 2024

When speaking with reportera including AJ Cassavell of MLB.com, Shildt broke down his new staff, along with the method behind his choices: 

"Man, I am super pumped about this group. What I like about all of them ... is the approach to how to actually win baseball games. Situational hitting is important, grinding out tough at-bats, being prepared, having to have an understanding of what they're going to see, how to execute it."

- Shildt

per MLB.com

One atypical facet of Shildt's staff is the fact he won't have a bench coach. Those responsibilities will instead be divided between multiple coaches. 

Shildt referred to this decision as "untraditional" -- and emphasized the "holistic fashion" as being representative of the respective strengths each coach personally has. 

Mike Shildt was asked how he went about putting together his coaching staff: pic.twitter.com/JobuvckeGH

— 97.3 The Fan (@973TheFanSD) January 3, 2024

In short, Ruben Niebla has been tasked with being the go-to guy for all things pitching. Shildt's in-game decision-making will be aided by Brian Esposito (with the official title as a game-strategy assistant). 

Shildt had been hired initially two years ago as an advisor within the inner workings of the club. During this time, he's been able to foster relationships with plenty of people, including coaches from within the Padres' minor league system. 

As such, it's not a total surprise that Shildt promoted three of those coaches (Mike McCoy, Ryan Barba, Pat O'Sullivan) to the big leagues. The word 'continuity' was a keyword highlighted by Shildt in the interview above. 

Essentially, Shildt is aiming to institute a collaborative feel within this ballclub. After disappointing a year ago, it appears as if the team is stripping back some of the reliance on star power -- and is instead reverting to the basics. 

While Fernando Tatis Jr., Xander Bogaerts, and Manny Machado still will all play prominent roles within the franchise, the development of younger players appears to be more of a focus compared to last year -- where the pressure to compete for a World Series title left the team flat and ultimately underachieving.