Padres make first big splash of offseason but it's not what fans expected

The San Diego Padres are one of few contenders that don't need to do much heavy lifting this offseason. They could add a starter and a few bullpen pieces, but that's about it. They have their core and they don't have many players departing.

So what's there to do in the early stages following the 2024 campaign? Tighten up what you can! And it appears the Padres are following through on a report from a few weeks ago.

Per the San Diego Union-Tribune, the Padres and manager Mike Shildt are finalizing a two-year contract extension. Though we warned about this when we first heard the buzz, it looks like AJ Preller and the front office went about it in the right way.

Shildt led the Padres to the second-most wins in franchise history in 2024 after rebounding from a moribund 2023 with Bob Melvin at the helm. San Diego looked like a completely different team under Shildt, who found success with the St. Louis Cardinals before arguably being ousted abruptly.

Shildt was entering 2025 as a lame duck manager after signing a two-year deal last offseason, so Preller went ahead and tacked on another two years to the skipper's current deal, which will now run through 2027.

Padres News: Manager Mike Shildt gets two-year extension from San Diego

Kevin Acee, who reported the news, also revealed Shildt is expected to receive a considerable raise after being among the lowest-paid managers in the sport last season.

Although the Padres failed to make it out of the NLDS and blew a 2-1 lead to the eventual World Series champion Dodgers, there was a discernible shift in the clubhouse under Shildt, who captained the ship of the league's hottest team in the second half. After a 50-50 start, the Pads finished the year 43-19 and put pressure on LA down to the wire for the NL West crown.

A few missteps and a completely silent offense ended up dooming San Diego in the NLDS, but that doesn't take away from what the team was able to accomplish with low expectations. They won four playoff games and became a trendy World Series pick before being eliminated.

Now that the Padres created stability in the dugout with Shildt's extension, they can look to their other offseason to-do items as they work towards getting back to the postseason and capturing the first World Series in franchise history.