Report: Former Cardinals Manager Mike Shildt Expected to Interview for Padres' Job

It was somewhat surprising when the St. Louis Cardinals fired manager Mike Shildt after he helped lead them to the playoffs for the third straight season, and he is reportedly already on the radar of another team.

Dennis Lin and Britt Ghiroli of The Athletic reported the San Diego Padres "are expected to interview" the 53-year-old for their open manager position.

San Diego was on the shortlist of the most disappointing teams in all of Major League Baseball this season.

Expectations were sky-high after an offseason that saw it add Yu Darvish and Blake Snell to the pitching staff, and a quick start did nothing to quell them. In fact, the Padres were 18 games above .500 in August at one point before they stumbled down the stretch of the season and missed the playoffs.

They fired manager Jayce Tingler as a result.

While the collapse featured a shouting match in the dugout between Fernando Tatis Jr. and Manny Machado and poor play nearly across the board for stretches, the National League West club is still an enticing opening for potential managers.

After all, there is enough talent in place to compete for a World Series as soon as next season.

That Shildt is even available is surprising since he helped lead St. Louis to 90 wins and the second wild-card spot in the National League. While San Diego collapsed, the Cardinals caught fire and won 17 consecutive games at one point as they played their way into the postseason.

"We have determined we have a philosophical difference in the direction our major league club is going," president of baseball operations John Mozeliak told reporters when explaining the decision.

Shildt took over as manager during the 2018 season after Mike Matheny was fired and led the Cardinals to the playoffs in all three of his full seasons.