SAN DIEGO — Padres third base coach Matt Williams has colon cancer and is taking a leave of absence from the team.
He will undergo surgery Friday to remove the cancerous mass, which was discovered around three weeks ago.
"I'll fight to get back here as quickly as possible," Williams said.
"I've known him for over 35 years," Padres manager Bob Melvin said. "He might be the toughest guy I've ever come across in baseball. I know he is going to give this the fiercest effort of his life and is going to beat this."
Williams will be at Petco Park for opening day Thursday, but Mike Shildt will coach third in Williams' absence.
Williams, 57, was at Petco on Wednesday hitting grounders to infielders after spending all of spring training spring with the team.
He told the entire team of his diagnosis on Saturday. Some in the clubhouse and throughout the organization have known for weeks.
Williams said he is experiencing no symptoms.
"At this point, it's important we get it out of there," Williams said. "That's the plan for Friday. We'll see how it goes from there."
Williams said a low red blood cell count was discovered during his spring training physical. Further tests showed the mass in his colon. He said an initial scan did not show the cancer had spread. More will be known after lymph nodes removed during Friday's surgery are tested.
It is possible Williams can rejoin the team this season.
A five-time All-Star and four-time Gold Glove winner as a third baseman, Williams was Melvin's third base coach in Oakland in 2018 and '19 before managing in Korea in 2020 and '21. William was manager of the Washington Nationals in 2014 and '15.
"Matt Williams is a fantastic baseball coach — the respect he gets the minute he walks through a door is immense," Melvin said last week. "I've been lucky to have him."
Shildt, who managed the Cardinals from the middle of the 2018 season through 2021, joined the Padres before the '22 season as an advisor to the big-league staff and a roving consultant of sorts in the minor-league system. He ended up filling in as third base coach while Williams recovered from hip surgery, as first base coach when Dave Macias had COVID-19 and as bench coach when Melvin and bench coach Ryan Christenson were out with COVID-19. Shildt also coached third for the Cardinals for part of the '17 season.
