Cardinals Rumors: Mike Shildt interviewing with Padres

Former St. Louis Cardinals manager Mike Shildt is interviewing with the San Diego Padres for the same position.

Mike Shildt is already getting interest from other teams.

Just a few days after being fired by the St. Louis Cardinals, Shildt is interviewing with the San Diego Padres for their managerial opening, according to Britt Ghiroli and Dennis Lin of The Athletic.

It’s little surprise that the Padres are interested in Shildt. After all, he is known as a very player friendly manager and someone who can bring people together. After what the Padres experienced with Jayce Tingler, where the clubhouse turned against him and there were star players verbally attacking one another in the dugout, Shildt could be exactly what the team needs to right the ship.

Shildt, however, is one of many candidates the Padres are going to consider. They have been linked to Ron Washington, Bruce Bochy, Buck Showalter and many other veteran candidates. But Shildt has the most recent managing experience, having just spent four seasons in St. Louis.

In those four seasons with the Cardinals, Shildt led them to the playoffs in three of those seasons. There was perhaps no postseason run more impressive than this season, when they won 17 consecutive games to secure a wild card spot. They came within one pitch of beating the Los Angeles Dodgers, something that seemed impossible after July.

With the Padres, Shildt would step right into playoff expectations. It’s something he’s used to and would surely embrace as he’d have a roster that features Fernando Tatis Jr. and Manny Machado. General manager A.J. Preller will surely supplement the roster this winter to get them back into contention – perhaps even into the World Series discussion – which would appeal to Shildt or any candidate.

As stated above, Shildt is one of many candidates the Padres will consider, but if they want to get this decision right and repair a fractured clubhouse, he may be the best candidate to do it.