One year into his managerial tenure with the San Diego Padres, Mike Shildt is about to be rewarded.
The 56-year-old skipper and the team are finalizing a two-year contract extension, multiple media outlets reported Tuesday. The new pact would tie Shildt to San Diego through 2027.
The Padres went 93-69 this year, finishing five games behind the eventual World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League West and claiming the top NL wild card.
San Diego swept a two-game wild-card series against the Atlanta Braves, then took a two-games-to-one lead on the Dodgers in the best-of-five NL Division Series. Los Angeles bounced back to win the final two games 8-0 and 2-0.
According to the San Diego Union-Tribune and The Athletic, most of Shildt’s coaching staff is likely to be back next year.
The Padres tied for first in the majors with a .263 batting average this year and ranked sixth with a .745 on-base-plus-slugging percentage. Their 3.86 team ERA rated 12th, and their pitching staff’s total of 1,453 strikeouts came in sixth.
Shildt previously managed the Cardinals from 2018-21, logging a 252-199 regular-season record and guiding St. Louis into the postseason in three of his four seasons. He was voted the NL Manager of the Year in 2019.