After two consecutive Wild Card berths, San Diego Padres manager Mike Shildt decided to retire a few days ago. At one point this past season, the Padres' playoff hopes were dim. Yet, once again, San Diego's president of baseball operations/ general manager A.J. Preller made multiple moves ahead of the trade deadline to bolster the team's lineup and pitching staff. Those trades helped the Friars once again clinch a playoff spot. While discussing the open managerial position, Preller shared his goal for the team's next manager. San Diego radio station 97.3 the Fan posted Preller's thoughts on the hiring process via X, formerly Twitter.
“AJ Preller says that many in the Padres organization have been together for a long time when asked about building on the org.'s continuity in the wake of searching for a new manager,” posted the San Diego radio station. “AJ said the goal is to have a manager that's here for 10 years like many others in the org.”
Preller is looking for the sixth full-time manager of the Padres since he took over in August 2014. Longtime big-league skipper Bud Black was the manager when Preller took over, but he fired him less than a year later. Since then, Andy Green, Jayce Tingler, Bob Melvin, and Shildt were Preller's picks. Will his fifth managerial selection be the one that will lead San Diego for the next ten years, like Preller hopes? Or will the Friars' baseball head strikeout once again?
Can AJ Preller and the Padres find a long-term manager?
Preller's first two managerial hires in Green and Tingler were first-time bench bosses. Neither of them worked out too well. Green is the longest tenured Padres manager under Preller, lasting almost four seasons. Tingler was expected to take the Padres back to the postseason on a perennial basis. While he did so in the COVID-shortened 2020 season, he was out after the next campaign.
Melvin and Shildt were expected to be the missing pieces to accompany star-studded rosters. While both veteran managers were able to take the Padres to the postseason, they didn't make it back to the World Series. San Diego hasn't competed for the top trophy in Major League Baseball since 1998. Can Preller and whoever he hires as the next manager get the Friars back there? If not, then perhaps the Padres' ownership needs to ask itself some hard questions.
