The San Diego Padres don’t know what will happen next now that they’ve lost the person who built the team’s most successful stretch in its history. The team is looking for its sixth manager since 2014, just weeks after making the playoffs and winning 90 games in a row. This makes it hard to believe that they still have a chance to win it all next year.

Mike Shildt told the Padres on Saturday that he was quitting right away, even though he had two years left on his contract extension. The 57-year-old manager said that 34 years of coaching had taken a toll on his mind, body, and emotions. The news shocked the baseball world, especially since Shildt had just led San Diego to back-to-back 90-win seasons and playoff appearances for the first time since 2005–06.

“The grind of the baseball season has taken a severe toll on me mentally, physically, and emotionally,” Shildt said in a statement provided to the San Diego Union-Tribune. “While it has always been about serving others, it’s time I take care of myself and exit on my terms,” he said. He had a record of 183 wins and 141 losses over two seasons, which is the best winning percentage (.565) in franchise history. But both of their postseason runs ended in losses on the road that determined the winner. The first was to the Dodgers in the 2024 NLDS, and the second was to the Cubs in the 2025 wild-card series.

Shildt has the best winning percentage of any non-interim manager in franchise history at .565. His 183-141 record got the team into the playoffs for the first time since 2005-06. “I gave every fiber of my being to help achieve Peter Seidler’s vision of bringing a World Series Championship to San Diego,” Shildt stated.

For the Padres, their current situation is trickier than finding a new manager, as the team will also have to address the contractual situations of some players. According to ESPN, Manny Machado made $17.1 million this year. His pay will go up to $39 million in 2027, and he is under contract until 2033. Xander Bogaerts only hit 11 home runs this season, but he still makes $25 million a year until 2033. In 2025, Fernando Tatis Jr. is expected to earn $20.7 million, and by 2029, he is projected to earn $35.7 million. The team still owes Joe Musgrove money for two more years and Yu Darvish money for three more years.

General manager A.J. Preller thanked the players for their hard work and promised to find a replacement right away. He also said that the goal was to win a championship in 2026. The new manager will be the 24th in Padres history. He’ll take over a team that is under a lot of pressure and has a lot of question marks.

The search for a new manager is just the latest change in leadership for a franchise that has had more than its fair share of coaches leave and come back. But strangely, this instability has happened at the same time as San Diego’s most competitive stretch in franchise history.

San Diego Padres navigate managerial turnover despite recent success

This new managerial opening is just another chapter in the San Diego Padres’ revolving door at the top, but the franchise’s path hasn’t changed because of all the changes. Since Preller fired Bud Black in June 2015, the Padres have had seven managers. Now they are looking for their eighth. This is the longest time the team has had a manager in decades.

In November 2023, Shildt took over for Bob Melvin, who left for San Francisco. Last month, the Giants fired Melvin, which made the situation even more ironic because it opened up another spot in the division. San Diego has done well on the field, even though the managers have changed a lot. The team made it to the playoffs four times in six seasons with Shildt, Melvin, and Jayce Tingler as managers. They made it past the wild-card round several times and made it to the 2022 NLCS.

When owner Peter Seidler died in November 2023, the team kept going despite the huge loss. Seidler had changed the team by spending a lot of money and really wanting to bring championship baseball to San Diego. John, his brother, took over as chairman and promised to keep that ambitious vision alive.

The managerial instability is very different from the Dodgers’ on-pitch stability. Dave Roberts has been in charge of the Los Angeles Dodgers the whole time that San Diego has been looking for its eighth manager since 2015. The Padres are one of eight MLB teams looking for new leaders this offseason. The Angels, Braves, Orioles, Twins, Giants, Nationals, and Rockies are also looking. Texas has already hired Skip Schumaker.