Big splash brewing: Padres GM hints at…

The San Diego Padres checked off the first item on their to-do list and are now looking ahead at the next.

Manager Mike Shildt agreed to an extension, the team announced Wednesday morning, and now, general manager A.J. Preller wants to sign pitching coach Ruben Niebla.

“We’ll have more to say over the next few days,” A.J. Preller said of the coaching staff. According to the team’s MLB.com beat writer AJ Cassavell, Preller didn’t want to comment on specifics of who’ll be back but was asked directly about Ruben Niebla.

“We’re looking forward to him being a big part of the Padre organization,” Preller said.

Preller told reporters in late October that he wanted to keep the coaching staff intact.

“That’s going to be something that we look to do here over the course of the next couple weeks, is trying to see if we can line up with Mike and the coaching staff,” Preller said, “and having a group that’s shown that they can get results and did a good job … and making sure that people feel rewarded. … We have some people that are together in that area, and from a coaching standpoint, that are able to come back and kind of build and grow on what we did this year.”

Niebla and bullpen coach Ben Fritz should both be considered for a new deal.

It’s unclear whether both have already re-signed, as their contracts expired at the end of the season, but Niebla and Fritz, who served as the pitching and bullpen coaches, have consistently maximized the potential of new pitchers each year. Seth Lugo, Michael Wacha, Michael King, and Jeremiah Estrada are just a few examples of their success in developing talent. over the last few years.

Niebla, a Calexico native, signed a three-year contract to lead the pitching staff before Bob Melvin was brought in as manager in 2023. Having risen through the coaching ranks with Cleveland, Niebla harbors managerial aspirations, which didn’t come to fruition this offseason with the White Sox already announcing their new hire and the Marlins’ announcement coming soon.

“He’s capable of doing a lot,” Preller said. “We’re hoping it’s with the Padres and I feel confident he likes his time (here). He really loves the organization, loves it here, loves the city. And that’s conversations for the next couple of weeks. And my guess is we’ll line up on something there.”