Shildt only informed the team of his decision on Saturday, so it’s far too early to make any judgements on who is -- and isn’t -- a candidate to replace him. The search begins imminently, and we’ll hear from Preller today. But here are five early names to keep an eye on:
Ruben Niebla: The Padres’ highly regarded pitching coach, Niebla has spent the past four seasons spearheading one of the best run-prevention groups in baseball. Niebla would seem to offer the best path to continuity for the Padres. He’s beloved by his pitchers, and a promotion to manager could allow San Diego to promote bullpen coach Ben Fritz to pitching coach.
Ryan Flaherty: A finalist for the job two years ago, Flaherty was the runner-up to Shildt. He’s since spent the past two years as bench coach for the Cubs (who knocked the Padres out of the playoffs). Flaherty, who is close with Machado from their time in Baltimore, spent four years as a coach with the Padres before leaving for Chicago.
Bruce Bochy: The winningest manager in Padres history, Bochy managed four playoff teams in San Diego and reached the 1998 World Series before his departure following the 2006 season. He’s since won four World Series. The Rangers announced last month that Bochy wouldn’t be returning and hired Skip Schumaker (who almost certainly would’ve been a favorite for the Padres’ job). Bochy’s level of interest in returning to a managerial job in ‘26 is unclear.
A.J. Ellis: The longtime catcher has spent the past seven seasons in the Padres organization working in the front office as an adviser. He finished his career with the Padres in 2018 and has been viewed as a potential future manager ever since his retirement.
Scott Servais: Similar to the path taken by Shildt, the Padres hired Servais in their front office after he was dismissed by his former club -- in his case the Mariners in 2024. Servais, who spent nine years at the helm in Seattle, has spent the past year as a special assistant in player development for the Padres.
Nick Hundley: One of the favorites for the managerial opening in San Francisco, Hundley was drafted by the Padres in 2005 and spent 10 seasons in the organization. He’s spent the past four seasons as an adviser with the Rangers.
Benji Gil: A Tijuana native who grew up in nearby Chula Vista, Gil has plenty of local ties. Currently the manager of Team Mexico for next year’s World Baseball Classic, Gil received an interview for the Padres’ managerial job the last time it was open.
