Bob Melvin’s return to the East Village means important truths must be pointed out.

The biggest one is this:

Melvin’s replacement as Padres manager, Mike Shildt, has been a much better fit with Padres president of baseball operations A.J. Preller.

If Preller and Shildt were a dubious coupling, we’d know it by now. The two have been together almost two years, about the same amount of time Melvin spent in San Diego.

Unless he’s the best actor in baseball, Shildt seems a good match with Preller.

“I wouldn’t trade him, pun intended, for any general manager in baseball,” Shildt said last month, one day before baseball’s trade deadline. “He’s really brilliant.”

Shildt also said: “I love the way we work together. I manage the club that he gives us and I know that he’s always working hard to

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