Padres have hired a new manager

The San Diego Padres have hired a familiar face to be their new manager.

Former Padres relief pitcher Craig Stammen has agreed to a deal to become the manager of the team. Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune was the first to report the news.

Stammen, 41, pitched in the majors for 12 seasons. He was first with the Washington Nationals from 2009-2015 and then finished his career with the Padres from 2017-2022. The former sinkerball pitcher had a career ERA of 3.66 and a 3.36 ERA for San Diego across 333 appearances.

Stammen was known for being a leader during his six seasons with the Padres, which is a rare quality for a relief pitcher. That is a big reason why he was hired by the organization after he retired. Stammen has served as a special assistant in San Diego’s player development department over the past two years and has split time working in the minors and with the MLB team.

Stammen is now the Padres’ fourth different manager in the last five years. Mike Shildt resigned unexpectedly from the role last month after winning 90-plus games in each of his two seasons at the helm. The Padres lost to the Chicago Cubs in the NL Wild Card this year and the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NLDS a year ago.

A much more high-profile candidate was said to be among the favorites to land the Padres job, but the team instead decided to promote from within.