SAN DIEGO — The San Diego Padres have agreed to terms with Mike Shildt on a two-year contract to become their new manager, President of Baseball Operations & General Manager A.J. Preller announced today.
“Mike is a proven winner as a manager at the Major League level, and he brings over two decades of experience in professional baseball to the position,” said Preller. “In his time here, Mike has displayed a strong baseball intellect, a passion for teaching the game, and has established relationships with players and staff at both the minor and Major League levels. We believe that Mike is the right person to lead the Padres forward in our continued pursuit of a World Series championship.”
In his previous four-year stint as a manager for the St. Louis Cardinals (2018–21), Shildt compiled a .559 winning percentage (252–199) in 451 games, including three consecutive postseason berths (2019–21). He spearheaded a 17-game winning streak in September 2021, the longest in franchise history and the longest in the National League since the 1935 Chicago Cubs. Shildt was voted NL Manager of The Year in 2019 by the Baseball Writers Association of America, joining Hall of Fame Managers Whitey Herzog (1985) and Tony La Russa (2002) as the only Cardinals managers to have won the award.
Prior to being named manager, Shildt served as senior advisor to player development & major leagues for the Padres (2023) as well as a player development consultant (2022). He also filled in as interim third base coach on several occasions over the past two seasons.
During his time in the Cardinals organization, Shildt held a variety of roles including bench coach (2018)and third base coach/quality control coach (2017) for the major league team. He also served as an area scout before logging eight seasons as a minor league manager. He compiled a managerial record of 471–432 (.522) in the minor leagues, winning league championships in each of his three career postseason appearances. Shildt was also an associate scout for the MLB Scouting Bureau from 1999–2003 and was head varsity coach at West Charlotte High School from 1994–96. Shildt has five years of collegiate coaching under his belt, working as the hitting coach and recruiting coordinator at both UNC-Charlotte and UNC-Asheville. A 1991 graduate of UNC-Asheville, Shildt holds a bachelor’s degree in business and was a three-year letter winner on the Bulldogs baseball team.
