Padres make surprising managerial hire 

The San Diego Padres announced that they have signed former big leaguer Craig Stammen to a three-year deal to serve as their new manager. Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune reported Stammen’s hiring before the official announcement.

“Craig has been a strong presence in our organization for nearly a decade,” president of baseball operations A.J. Preller said in the press release. “He possesses deep organizational knowledge and brings natural leadership qualities to the Manager’s chair. As both a player and in his post-playing career, Craig has displayed an ability to elevate those around him. His strength of character, competitive nature and talent for bringing people together make him the ideal choice to lead the Padres.”

It’s yet another out-of-the-blue development from San Diego. Shortly after the Padres were eliminated from the postseason, initial reporting indicated that manager Mike Shildt was likely to stay for the 2026 season. A few days later, he surprisingly stepped down, amid reports that Shildt’s relationship with other club employees was relatively poor.

Now the news of Shildt’s replacement also comes as a surprise. Before the news of Stammen’s hiring, there had been no public indication that he was even a candidate for the job. Names like Ryan Flaherty, Ruben Niebla, Albert Pujols and Nick Hundley were connected to the job over the past month. Last week, reporting from Acee indicated that there were “no more than four” finalists, with Pujols, Niebla and Hundley being three of them. It would now appear that Stammen was the mystery fourth candidate.

It’s also a surprising development, as Stammen has no prior managerial or even coaching experience. He pitched in the big leagues from 2009 to 2022. The first seven of those seasons came with the Nationals and the final six with the Padres. He signed a minor league deal with the Padres going into 2023, but then suffered a major shoulder injury during spring training. He announced his retirement a few months later. In January of 2024, the Padres hired him in a player development role.

Despite the lack of dugout experience, apart from his time as a player, the Padres seem to feel that Stammen is the man for the job. They obviously know him well, as their relationship with him goes back at years at this point, combining his playing days with his recent player development role.

Still, it’s a notable gambit for the team to take, as the wobbly manager’s chair in San Diego has been a topic of conversation for years. Preller was hired back in 2014, when the Padres were rebuilding. Going into 2020, as they hoped the rebuild was over, they hired Jayce Tingler to be their new skipper. At the time, Tingler had a few years of coaching experience but was just 38 years old and had never been a manager. The Padres performed well in the shortened 2020 season but disappointed in 2021 amid reports that Tingler lost the clubhouse.

Going into 2022, they went for a more seasoned manager. They hired Bob Melvin, who was 60 years old and had almost two decades of managerial experience. The Friars made the playoffs in 2022 but disappointed in 2023. There were whispers that Melvin and Preller didn’t get along. The Padres allowed Melvin to interview with the division-rival Giants, and he jumped ship before the 2024 season.

Shildt, another baseball lifer with lots of coaching and managerial experience, was hired two years ago. The Padres won at least 90 games in each of their seasons, but, as mentioned, recent reports have indicated that things weren’t pretty behind the scenes. It was also recently reported that Preller preferred to hire Ryan Flaherty over Shildt but he may have been overruled by ownership. Flaherty was 37 years old and barely removed from his playing days at the time.

Stammen, 41, is seemingly more towards the Tingler/Flaherty end of the spectrum than the Melvin/Shildt side. Perhaps that may not matter, and the Padres feel that, as an individual, he is the best man for the job. Stammen will have to jump right to the helm and try to steer the Padres forward. The club has had a lot of success in recent years and is surely hoping for more. The roster is filled with expensive veteran star players, and all signs point to them continuing to attempt to contend.

For those who missed out on the gig, they are mostly out of chances for a managerial job. There were several managerial vacancies this winter, but this was one of the last ones to be filled. The Rockies are the last club without a skipper, though a decision for that job is not imminent. The Rockies are first planning to hire a new front office leader. Whoever gets that job will then start the search for the club’s next manager. Dennis Lin of The Athletic relays that Niebla was the other finalist for the Padres’ job. Alden González of ESPN says Niebla is expected to return to the Friars as pitching coach next year.