Mike Shildt’s decision to step down as San Diego’s manager opens an eighth vacancy around the game. Cubs bench coach Ryan Flaherty could be in the mix for at least a couple of those positions.
Joel Sherman of The New York Post listed Flaherty and Padres pitching coach Ruben Niebla among those to keep an eye on as potential options to replace Shildt. Meanwhile, The Post’s Jon Heyman writes that Flaherty could be among the top choices for the Orioles position. (Heyman adds that Baltimore still hasn’t closed the door on giving the full-time job to Tony Mansolino, who held the role on an interim basis after Brandon Hyde was fired in May.)
Neither Flaherty nor Niebla is confirmed to have scheduled an interview. The Padres are surely in the very early stages of the process. Kevin Acee of The San Diego Union-Tribune reported that Shildt informed the team he was stepping down on Saturday.
Flaherty has ties to both the Padres and Orioles. He spent the majority of his playing career with the O’s, appearing in six seasons between 2012-17. Even though neither owner David Rubenstein nor president of baseball operations Mike Elias were part of the organization at that time, Flaherty surely has some connections to the club.
He’s also a known commodity to the San Diego front office. The 39-year-old began his coaching career with the Padres and quickly worked his way up to bench coach. He and Shildt were the top internal candidates for the managerial job after the Friars parted ways with Bob Melvin two years ago. Flaherty interviewed but was granted permission to explore other opportunities once the Padres hired Shildt. He took the bench coach role under Craig Counsell in Chicago, a job he has held for the past two seasons.
Niebla, 53, has built a reputation as one of the sport’s top pitching coaches. He was an assistant in Cleveland until landing the pitching coach job with San Diego over the 2021-22 offseason. His hiring came a few days before the Padres tabbed Melvin, and he has held the role under a pair of managers. The Friars signed Niebla to a multi-year extension last offseason.
It’s not all that common for pitching coaches to jump into managerial roles. The bench coach position is typically more of a springboard to the top gig. Still, that’s not entirely unheard of — former Cincinnati manager Bryan Price was a pitching coach both before and after his managerial stint, as one example — and the Padres’ front office clearly values Niebla’s work with the pitching staff.