The Orioles are bringing former Padres manager Mike Shildt aboard in a minor league player development role, a source confirmed. Shildt, who recently departed San Diego after two seasons with 90 wins or more, will be Baltimore’s new minor league upper level coordinator of instruction.

Baltimore is also promoting Samuel Vega from Latin American field coordinator to become the club’s lower level minor league coordinator of instruction. Vega has been with the Orioles since 2021. Both hirings were first reported by MASN.

Shildt, who also managed the St. Louis Cardinals from 2018 to 2021, opted to leave his role in San Diego following a second consecutive playoff exit. He told The Athletic last month that the decision to leave the Padres was his own. And in Shildt’s own words, he was “worn down” by the job.

“I don’t want people to think I checked out or wasn’t engaged or wasn’t doing my job,” Shildt told The Athletic. “No, that’s not the case. I tell myself, and I have done it since day one of this job, regardless of level … I’m going bell to bell. I’m going to give it everything I got. Because I owe it to the team and the players. So, I did that.

“But I can tell you I was sick a lot. I just wasn’t feeling good. I was run down. And I wasn’t sleeping. And it’s nobody’s fault. It’s just day-to-day stress. But, you know, just unhealthy, man, and sometimes you’ve just got to take care of you, you know?”

Shildt is now stepping back into a minor league player development role, only a month after announcing his retirement. He said last month to The Athletic that he wouldn’t pursue another major league job, and he stuck to that by accepting a minor league position.

“Never say never,” Shildt told The Athletic. “But I have no desire to be in that big chair anytime soon. I’m going to enjoy a quality of life that I haven’t been enjoying my entire life.”

Vega earned the Cal Ripken, Sr. Player Development award in 2024 for his work with the Latin American prospects. Vega played a large role in working with the organization on their new Dominican Republic player development center.