Padres News: Mike Shildt Prioritized Continuity With Coaching Staff Hires

Mike Shildt kept some familiar faces on his coaching staff.

New San Diego Padres manager Mike Shildt finalized his coaching staff earlier this month after he was hired back in November to replace Bob Melvin, who left to take the San Francisco Giants open managerial position.

When selecting this staff, continuity was one of the main priorities for Shildt and the Padres. This played a role in assistant hitting coaches Mike McCoy and Pat O'Sullivan along with major league field coordinator Ryan Barba getting promoted from the farm system up to the Padres' MLB staff. The Padres have also retained other assistant coaches including pitching coach Ruben Niebla and first base coach David Macias.

"We talked a fair amount this offseason about organizational alignment, and we wanted to make sure we're putting our proverbial money where our mouth is," Shildt said. "We've got three exceptional guys that have done a tremendous job internally... Having some familiarity with Mac, Sully and Barbs ... when they come up, there's that continuity, familiarity and trust that's already established."

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AJ Cassavell of MLB.com

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Continuity makes sense for the Padres. Though they missed the playoffs during the 2023 campaign, they finished the year strong and will look to build upon that in 2024.

Shildt is also not just some manager the Padres brought in to replace Melvin, but someone who worked within the organization in an advisory role and as an interim third-base coach before he was promoted. Given that Shildt was already part of the organization, it tracks that he would keep some of their key staffers who were doing a good job. 

Of course, Shildt did bring in some new hires, as well, including hitting coach Victor Rodriguez, who was previously a coach for the Cleveland Guardians and Boston Red Sox before joining the Padres in December.