Padres third base coach Matt Williams will be retiring from the team indefinitely following tomorrow’s Opening Day celebrations. Skipper Bob Melvin briefed reporters (including ESPN’s Alden González) on Wednesday that Williams was recently diagnosed with colon cancer. He will undergo surgery on Friday to fix the problem.
Williams said he was first made aware of the problem a few weeks ago after a standard test showed a low red blood cell count. Fortunately, the 57-year-old showed that he is doing well physically. “I have no symptoms, I have no issues,” Williams told reporters. “It’s important at this point now to get it out of there. That’s the plan for Friday and we’ll see how it goes from there. They’re going to test, and they’re going to do all the pathology and all of that at this point. But the first scans were positive in that they didn’t see any spread anywhere else on the first CT scan. That’s good. We will see how it goes on.”
A five-time All-Star during his playing days, Williams has spent most of the last decade in the coaching ranks. He was in charge of the Nationals for two seasons in 2014/15 and clinched the NL Manager of the Year award in his debut season. Williams later spent time on the A’s coaching staff, following Melvin to San Diego in the 2021-22 offseason. He is entering his second season with the Friars.
Mike Shildt, a former Cardinals manager and current senior advisor, will temporarily assume third base coaching duties. MLBTR sends our best wishes to Williams and his family on his recovery.