[SDUT] Myers will help young hitters’ pregame swing work. Job begins with a 3-week spring stint covering a top-prospect camp and minor league camp. He hopes to find a window to return to SD, recalling pouring shots. “It was $1000, which is nothing compared to being able to celebrate with the fans.”

Myers played eight of his 11 years in the majors with the Padres, seeing time in center, right and left field, first base and even some third base. He was an All-Star in 2016, represented the team in the home run derby at Petco Park that year and was a .254/.330/.451 hitter with 134 homers as a Padre. The six-year, $83 million extension signed in January 2017 was for a time the richest contract in franchise history.

Myers departed as a free agent after the 2022 season — after buying drinks for fans at a local bar after besting the Dodgers in the NLDS that year — and played one year in Cincinnati (.541 OPS) before retiring. He’s now a father of two and an avid golfer, but his desire to be around the game again was reinvigorated when he caught up with former teammates in Atlanta last May.

“I’ve enjoyed my time away; I’ve enjoyed being a dad,” Myers said. “But I went down and saw the Padres in Atlanta (and) I got to the field early, I hung out in the training room, I hung out in the clubhouse, I talked to A.J. I missed being around the guys. I missed being around the game.”

That encounter led to attending a pre-draft workout near Myers’ home in Charlotte, N.C., and later the Padres’ fall instructional league in Peoria, Ariz.

“I never envisioned myself throwing BP in the cage, flipping balls and picking up balls,” Myers said. “I never saw myself doing that until I put myself in that situation and (I) really enjoyed it.”

Myers expects his focus to be on offense and helping young hitters make the most of their pre-game swing work. The new job will begin with a three-week stint in spring training that will cover a top-prospect mini camp and the start of minor league spring training. During the season, Myers expects to travel once a month for weeklong stays with the Padres’ minor league affiliates. He hopes to find a window that will allow him to return to Petco Park for the first time since 2022, when he suspects the bar cut him a break on all the shots he poured for fans after besting the Dodgers in four games in the NLDS.

“It was $1,000, which is nothing compared to being able to celebrate with the fans,” Myers said. “It was a ton of fun. That was the biggest game I was part of there in San Diego. It was a really great series and a cool win and a cool atmosphere and to be able to go out and celebrate with the fans that were right there at the ballpark, it was a ton of fun.”

https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/2026/01/14/wil-myers-bud-black-rejoining-padres-as-assistants/