Mike Shildt, Padres finalizing extension

SAN DIEGO — The Padres and manager Mike Shildt are finalizing a two-year extension that will keep Shildt at the helm in San Diego through 2027, sources told MLB.com on Tuesday. The team has not confirmed the news.

The move was largely expected after Shildt’s successful first season in San Diego. He was slated to enter the 2025 campaign with only one year remaining on his contract, but general manager A.J. Preller had previously stated that coming to a longer-term agreement with Shildt was his first priority of the offseason.

Shildt led the Padres to 93 wins in 2024, the second-highest total in franchise history, which included a 43-19 stretch to end the season, before San Diego’s National League Division Series exit at the hands of the Dodgers.

Shildt arrived in San Diego in 2022, serving as an adviser in the organization and working with the team at multiple levels. He spent two years in that capacity before taking over for Bob Melvin entering the ’24 season.

In the previous campaign, a star-laden Padres team had missed the playoffs after turning in a disappointing 82-80 season. Shildt inherited a roster that had cut payroll from that group and revamped its depth around several key stars.

The 2024 Padres spent most of the first four months as a .500 team before their red-hot finish. Most notably, under Shildt’s purview, San Diego took a step forward situationally in 2024, with much better results in close games.

“Mike and the coaching staff, again, [we have] a group that’s shown that they can get results and did a good job,” Preller said at his end-of-season media availability two weeks ago. “It’s making sure that people feel rewarded and that we have some people that are together in that area, from a coaching standpoint, that are able to come back and build and grow on what we did this year.”

Next up for the Padres: solidifying that coaching staff. In particular, the Padres must retain pitching coach Ruben Niebla, who is widely regarded as one of the best in the sport. After three seasons in that role, Niebla’s contract is now up.

“Ruben’s done a really good job here,” Preller said two weeks ago. “He’s been a really big part of it over the past three seasons. … I feel confident he really loves the organization, loves it here, loves the city. Those are conversations for the next couple weeks, and my guess is we’ll line up on something.”

It’s unclear where those conversations currently stand with the GM Meetings informally kicking off the offseason this week in San Antonio.

As for Shildt, he had previously spent parts of four seasons as manager in St. Louis after taking over for Mike Matheny in 2018. The Cardinals missed the playoffs that year, but they reached in each of Shildt’s three seasons as full-time skipper. He’s now reached the postseason in every full year he has spent as a big league manager.

It’s a trend the Padres hope will continue for three more seasons at least.