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The San Diego Padres have agreed to terms with Mike Shildt on a two-year contract to become their new manager, the team announced Tuesday.

Shildt, former manager of the St. Louis Cardinals, replaces Bob Melvin, who left San Diego for division rival San Francisco.

Shildt, 55, served as senior adviser for the Padres after the Cardinals surprisingly let him go following the 2021 season, and was seen as the favorite to take over after San Diego granted Melvin permission to talk with the Giants about their job despite having one year remaining on his contract.

“Mike is a proven winner as a manager at the Major League level, and he brings over two decades of experience in professional baseball to the position,” President of Baseball Operations & General Manager A.J. Preller said in a statement. “In his time here, Mike has displayed a strong baseball intellect, a passion for teaching the game, and has established relationships with players and staff at both the minor and Major League levels. We believe that Mike is the right person to lead the Padres forward in our continued pursuit of a World Series championship.”

The Padres entered the 2023 season with World Series aspirations — and wound up in a season-long tailspin that left them at 82-80. Despite a record payroll approaching $250 million and a team laden with stars, the Padres faltered, finishing behind the National League West champion Los Angeles Dodgers and the Arizona Diamondbacks, who made it to the World Series out of a wild-card spot.

Shildt inherits a team that could be in transition. Ace Blake Snell, closer Josh Hader and right-handers Seth Lugo, Michael Wacha and Nick Martinez all are free agents, and the team is looking to cut payroll, potentially considering a trade of star outfielder Juan Soto a year before he’s due to hit free agency. Still, there’s enough talent in San Diego to envision a playoff-caliber team, and Shildt’s duty will be to find it as he did with St. Louis.

After taking over the Cardinals in the middle of 2018 following Mike Matheny’s firing and going 41-28, Shildt managed St. Louis to playoff appearances in each of his three seasons. The Cardinals advanced to the National League Championship Series in 2019, when they were swept by eventual World Series champion Washington, and lost in the wild-card round in 2020 and 2021.

Shildt’s firing, which came after a year in which the Cardinals won 17 consecutive games in September to sneak into the playoffs, was due to “philosophical differences,” Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak said at the time.

After eight successful seasons managing in the Cardinals’ minor league system, Shildt was promoted to the major league staff in 2017 as quality-control coach. He was Matheny’s bench coach in 2018 before taking over the big league job.

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Kansas extends offer deadline for Chiefs, Royals

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Kansas extends offer deadline for Chiefs, Royals

A Kansas legislative committee has extended a deadline for the Chiefs and Royals to take advantage of a stadium financing plan from the state.

The Kansas Legislative Coordinating Council on Monday unanimously approved the extension to use bonds to cover 70% of a new stadium’s cost if the teams decide to relocate to the state. The new deadline is June 30, 2026, although the committee indicated it is seeking an answer from the teams by Dec. 31 of this year.

Chiefs president Mark Donovan requested the extension late last month in a letter to Kansas Senate president Ty Masterson. The Royals verbally requested an extension around the same time. The deadline expired on June 30 but was retroactively extended Monday.

“Together, we have the opportunity to bring the National Football League to Kansas, anchored by a world-class domed stadium, new team headquarters, a state-of-the-art practice facility, and a vibrant mixed-use and entertainment district,” Donovan wrote in his letter to Masterson.

The Chiefs and Royals have played for more than five decades at the Truman Sports Complex on the east side of Kansas City, Missouri, where Arrowhead Stadium and Kauffman Stadium share parking facilities. But leases with Jackson County are due to expire in January 2031, and the two franchises have been trying to plot a course forward for years.

Last year, Jackson County voters defeated a sales tax extension that would have helped to finance an $800 million renovation of Arrowhead Stadium — the home of the Chiefs — and a $2 billion ballpark district for the Royals in downtown Kansas City.

Last month, however, Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe called lawmakers into a special session to approve a stadium financing deal that included disaster relief for the St. Louis area, where a series of devastating tornadoes caused widespread damage. The legislation authorizes bonds covering up to 50% of the cost of new or renovated stadiums in Missouri, plus up to $50 million in tax credits for each stadium and unspecified aid from local governments.

If they choose to stay in Missouri, the Chiefs have floated plans for a $1.15 billion renovation of Arrowhead Stadium. The Royals have insisted all along that they intend to build a replacement for Kauffman Stadium.

Chiefs owner Clark Hunt has long professed his affinity for Arrowhead Stadium, which was built by his father and team founder Lamar Hunt. But he also is keenly aware of the revenue streams available by building a new domed stadium, including the chance to host the Super Bowl, the Final Four and other marquee sporting events.

Donovan commented Monday on the Chiefs’ looming stadium decision.

“Now, it’s literally getting down to the final points and making sure that everybody’s in agreement on what we need to do, and that we have all the pieces lined up,” he told reporters. “Because our job is to go to the Hunt family and suggest, ‘Here are your two options; they both make sense.'”

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

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Twins’ Buxton to take part in Home Run Derby

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Twins' Buxton to take part in Home Run Derby

Minnesota Twins outfielder and Georgia native Byron Buxton was announced as the fourth participant in the Home Run Derby on Monday.

The Derby will take place July 14, the night before the All-Star Game, at Truist Park in Atlanta.

Buxton joins Washington Nationals outfielder James Wood, Atlanta Braves outfielder Ronald Acuna Jr. and Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh in the eight-man competition. Buxton, who has 20 homers this season, is from Baxley, Georgia, and was taken by the Twins with the second pick in the 2012 draft.

In discussing his second All-Star selection with reporters on Sunday, Buxton beamed as he described the excitement of his 11-year-old son, Brix, who regularly plays the Home Run Derby on the MLB: The Show video game at home.

“He always is like, ‘Dad, if you do this, I want to bring you a towel!’ and I’m like, ‘All right.’ That’s all he cares about. He wants Dad to do it so he can bring me a towel and a Gatorade. And for me, that’s special,” Buxton said. “Out of everybody there, all the people he’s going to see, that’s what he wants and cares about. So, it’s the small things that add up to the big ones.”

The 31-year-old Buxton will be the eighth Twins hitter to take part in the Derby. Justin Morneau won the event in 2008.

New York Mets slugger and two-time winner Pete Alonso joined Philadelphia Phillies designated hitter Kyle Schwarber in electing to skip the event. Both told reporters Sunday about their decisions.

Alonso was named a National League reserve for the All-Star Game in a season when he has hit 20 homers. He won the Home Run Derby in 2019 and 2021. It wasn’t held in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I’m not necessarily called this year to do it,” Alonso said, according to MLB.com. “I love the event. It’s a sick event. I just didn’t really feel motivated to do it this year. I just figured I’d take a break, use the break as recovery and get back at it, help the team win in the second half.”

Although he’s not participating this summer, Schwarber left the door open to taking part next season when the All-Star Game will be held in Philadelphia. Schwarber has 27 homers this season and made his third All-Star team.

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Nationals pick ‘diligent’ Cairo as interim manager

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Nationals pick 'diligent' Cairo as interim manager

The Washington Nationals have named bench coach Miguel Cairo as their interim manager, the team announced Monday.

Cairo, a native of Venezuela who played for nine teams over 17 MLB seasons from 1996 to 2012, replaces Dave Martinez, who was fired along with general manager Mike Rizzo on Sunday.

Cairo, 51, joined the Nationals in 2024 after spending the previous season as the minor league infield coordinator for the New York Mets. He also served as bench coach for the Chicago White Sox during the 2021 and 2022 seasons, being named active manager after Tony La Russa stepped aside in 2022 because of an undisclosed medical condition. The White Sox went 18-16 down the stretch under Cairo but failed to reach the playoffs.

“Miguel is well-respected in our organization and around baseball,” Nationals interim general manager Mike DeBartolo said in a statement. “A diligent worker and student of the game, he has a proven track record of showing strong leadership in a variety of situations, and I believe that his voice and energy will serve as a catalyst to our team and our fan base in the second half of the season.”

Cairo played all positions except catcher, center fielder and pitcher during his playing career. He was a career .264 hitter with 41 home runs and 394 RBIs in 1,490 games.

DeBartolo, the club’s senior vice president and assistant general manager, was named interim GM on Sunday night and will oversee all aspects of baseball operations, including the MLB draft.

The Nationals are 37-53, last in the National League East standings after getting swept by the Boston Red Sox this weekend at home. Washington hasn’t finished higher than fourth in the division since winning the 2019 World Series.

Washington has a 325-473 record since the start of the 2020 season, only better than the Colorado Rockies.

Field Level Media contributed to this report.

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