The San Diego Padres have hired former St. Louis Cardinals manager Mike Shildt as a player development consultant, the team announced Wednesday. Shildt joins a player development advisory staff that includes familiar names like Moises Alou, Allen Craig, Ian Kinsler, and Hall of Famer Trevor Hoffman.
San Diego interviewed Shildt for their managerial opening early in the offseason, though they eventually hired Bob Melvin away from the Oakland Athletics to be their new manager. Shildt took a job with the commissioner's office soon thereafter, and he will work both jobs moving forward. He'll remain with the commissioner's office while also consulting with the Padres.
Shildt, 53, has a long history in player development. He broke into pro ball as a scout and joined the Cardinals as a minor league coach and manager in 2004. Shildt worked his way up the ladder, winning several league Manager of the Year awards in the minors along the way, before joining the MLB staff in 2017, and then taking over as manager in 2018.
Despite qualifying for the postseason for the third consecutive year, the Cardinals cut ties with Shildt following last season, with president of baseball operations John Mozeliak citing a "philosophical difference." Some took that to mean Shildt was not onboard with the club's use of analytics, though it's basically impossible to stay in baseball without embracing analytics these days.
"All the philosophies that were shared over the many years -- most of which together -- allowed us to part ways as professional friends," Shildt said after getting fired. "What differences there were will be left unsaid publicly by me ... Let's move forward. Let's take care of the integrity and future of the organization."
The Cardinals went 252-199 (.559) in parts of four seasons with Shildt at the helm. St. Louis replaced Shildt with bench coach Oliver Marmol earlier this winter. The Padres went a disappointing 79-83 after entering 2021 as a potential World Series contender.
