Ex-Padres manager abruptly ends supposed retirement with new Orioles' role

A common rule of thumb for a team with a first-year manager is to bring along someone on his staff who has gone through the act before. New Baltimore Orioles' manager Craib Albernaz has wasted no time filling out his staff, and there will be a lot of new faces in the clubhouse next season. However, as Albernaz learns the ropes of being a manager, the Orioles brought in some much-needed experience for his staff.

A month after "retiring' as the manager of the San Diego Padres, Mike Shildt is joining the Orioles' coaching staff and will serve as an upper-level coordinator of instruction. In other words, Shildt will be a shoulder for Albernaz to lean on throughout next season.

Shildt's sudden return to a Major League coaching staff will only fuel the speculation that he was forced out of his role with the Padres. Shildt was adamant that it was his decision to retire, citing the strain it had on his family life. But the cash-strapped Padres may have pushed him to that belief. Especially when you consider the fact that the Padres hired Craig Stammen, a former player with no coaching experience, as Shildt's replacement instead of ascending managerial candidates Ryan Flaherty or Albert Pujols.

Weeks after retiring with the Padres, Mike Shildt is joining the Baltimore Orioles' coaching staff.

Shildt managed the Padres to the playoffs in each of his two seasons in San Diego, and during his four-year run as the St. Louis Cardinals' manager, the 57-year-old reached the playoffs three times. Regardless of the circumstances surrounding his exit with the Padres, Shildt will be a valuable presence for the Orioles moving forward.

One of the biggest pitfalls of Brandon Hyde's final season in Baltimore was the lack of accountability within the clubhouse. Albernaz's hire was the first step for the Orioles to correct that hire, and bringing in Shildt should only further their cause.

Shildt wasn't the only coaching hire the Orioles made this week; they also added Samuel Vega as the lower-level coordinator of instruction.