Who will replace Mike Shildt as Padres manager? Start with these 11 candidates

Mike Shildt announced his retirement on Monday, making the Padres arguably one of the most attractive managerial landing spots in baseball.

Among the teams still looking for managers, the Giants are the lone team to finish the 2025 season with a .500 record. The rest of them — the Rockies (43-119), Nationals (66-96), Twins (71-91), Angels (72-90), Orioles (75-87) and Braves (76-86) — all finished well below .500.

The Braves are an intriguing team given who returns to their lineup, but these Padres are looking for a manager to take over a team that’s made back-to-back postseasons for the first time in two decades, is in a win-now mode and employs arguably the game’s most inventive baseball ops chief.

Then again, history suggests working for Padres president of baseball operations A.J. Preller is not easy. Only Andy Green has lasted more than two seasons as Preller looks to hire a fifth manager since firing Bud Black months into the 2015 season.

The Texas Rangers have already taken a favorite off the board (Skip Schumaker), but Preller ought to have the best candidates lining up to interview.

Here’s a look at both internal and external options:

Internal options

A.J. Ellis: Clayton Kershaw’s former personal catcher has spent the entirety of his post-playing career with the Padres, latching onto the front office after playing his last season with the Padres in 2018. His latest role was as a special assistant to the major league staff and baseball operations, a job that allowed him to interact with both the big-league team and the minors.

Brian Esposito: A former catcher who reached the majors, the 46-year-old Esposito managed at different levels in the Pirates system before joining the Padres staff in 2022. He was Shildt’s catching coach and game strategy assistant before assuming bench coach duties in 2025.

Mark Loretta:  A current special assistant to Padres CEO Erik Greupner, the former Padres second baseman was a bench coach with the Cubs in 2019 before joining the Padres’ front office in 2022. His 15-year career included an All-Star season with the Padres in 2004 when he paired a .335 batting average and .886 OPS with 16 homers.

Ruben Niebla: The Padres’ pitching coach likely presents the best path to keep the current strengths a strength. The pitching has largely powered four playoff berths in the last six years. Niebla signed a multi-year deal last year, but he’s expressed interest in managing in the past. Niebla’s promotion could push bullpen coach Ben Fritz into the top pitching coach job and keep him from interviewing elsewhere.

Scott Servais:  Servais spent the 2025 season with the Padres as a special assistant in baseball operations and player development after he was fired by the Mariners in 2024. He went 680-642 but made the playoffs just once in nine years in Seattle. Servais was on the Padres’ radar when they hired Green for the 2016 season and was the Rangers’ senior director of player personnel when Preller was in Texas’ front office.

External options

Rocco Baldelli: A former top prospect who went on to play seven years in the majors, the 44-year-old Baldelli was fired after a 70-92 season after his seventh year as Minnesota’s manager. He went 505-511, won as many as 101 games in 2019 and took the Twins to the postseason three times.

Ryan Flaherty:  A big-leaguer for eight years, Flaherty began his post-playing career as an advance scout and development coach for the Padres. He advanced as high as a bench coach under Bob Melvin and interviewed for the job that ultimately went to Shildt in 2024. Flaherty has spent the last two seasons as Craig Counsell’s bench coach with the Cubs.

Nick Hundley:  The former Padres catcher began his post-playing career in baseball operations in the league office and moved to the Rangers’ front office as an assistant to the GM in 2022. He is currently a senior advisor to Chris Young’s baseball operations staff but has interviewed for the managerial opening in San Francisco.

Brandon Hyde:  He was fired in 2025 after a disappointing 15-28 start with the Orioles. The 52-year-old ultimately went 421-492 in seven years in Baltimore, winning the AL East once with a 101-win season in 2023 and going 91-71 in 2024. The Orioles, however, did not win a playoff game under Hyde. He previously coached in the Marlins system and was a bench coach for the Cubs under Rick Renteria.

Albert Pujols: He began serving a 10-year, $10 million personal services contract with the Angels after his retirement and is a top candidate for the opening in Anaheim. That deal would have to be worked through, but it would be easy for Pujols to command a clubhouse with stars like Manny Machado and Fernando Tatis Jr. Pujols led a Dominican winter ball team to a championship in January.

David Ross:  A longtime big leaguer and former Padres backup catcher, Ross went 262-284 in four years as the Cubs manager until he was swapped out for Counsell in 2024. A Georgia native, Ross spent most of his playing career with the Braves and is tied to that opening following Brian Snitker’s decision to step down after the season.