Cardinals News: St. Louis fires manager Mike Shildt

The St. Louis Cardinals have fired manager Mike Shildt in a move that no one saw coming.

In the stunner of all stunners, the St. Louis Cardinals have fired manager Mike Shildt, according to Jeff Passan of ESPN.

All indications were that Shildt’s job was safe. The players had publicly backed him, he seemingly had the support of ownership and a 17-game winning streak — and then a stunning wild card surge — would have seemed to secure his job status at least through 2022.

Evidently not. In each of his three full seasons as Cardinals manager, Shildt led the team to the postseason. They won the division on the final day of 2019, secured a playoff berth in the COVID-shortened 2020 season and netted the second wild card spot in the final week of the 2021 season. The 53-year-old had worked in the Cardinals organization since 2004, starting as a scout and coach in 2004. He was a minor-league manager for eight seasons before being promoted to the major-league coaching staff in 2017.

The decision to fire Shildt figures to not be popular in the Cardinals’ clubhouse. Just days ago, Katie Woo of The Athletic quoted star first baseman Paul Goldschmidt that “Shildt’s positivity and steadiness as manager helped give the team a chance to be successful, and that the team’s coaching staff deserved a lot of credit.”

It’s unclear what caused the Cardinals to make such a stunning change. Did Shildt refuse to let go of one of his coaches? We will find out during a press conference to announce the move, but for now, it’s easily the most stunning news of the offseason.

The job should be heavily coveted, considering that the Cardinals should contend in 2022 and beyond. But replacing Shildt, who was beloved in the clubhouse, will be no small task.