San Diego landed on Craig Stammen as its new manager this week. The 41-year-old doesn’t have any prior coaching experience, but he’ll be able to lean on a familiar face for at least a couple of seasons. Dennis Lin of The Athletic reported that pitching coach Ruben Niebla has two years left on his contract. Lin also noted that Niebla was the other finalist for the skipper job.
Niebla has been the Padres’ pitching coach since 2022. Stammen was actually a member of Niebla’s first pitching staff. The pair crossed paths in the right-hander’s final season in the league. Niebla was one of three known finalists for the managerial position, along with Albert Pujols and Nick Hundley. Shortly after news broke of Stammen’s hiring, Alden González of ESPN reported that Niebla was expected to remain on the staff.
The revelation that Niebla is under contract for the next two seasons provides further confirmation that he’ll be around to help the inexperienced Stammen. He isn’t the only holdover that will be on the staff beyond 2026, either. Lin noted that while teams had expressed interest in bullpen coach Ben Fritz, he recently received a new multi-year deal. He has been on San Diego’s staff since 2020.
Retaining Fritz gives Stammen another former coach in his corner. Fritz was the bullpen coach for Stammen’s final three seasons in San Diego. He also briefly served as pitching coach, taking over for the fired Larry Rothschild to close the 2021 season, before returning to his bullpen coach role. Fritz has been in the organization since 2015.
Stammen will also have to deal with some departures. Hitting coach Victor Rodriguez is expected to go to the Astros. He’d served in the role with San Diego for the past two seasons. Third base coach Tim Leiper is expected to take the same position with the Mets. Leiper had also been in the position for the past two years.
The personnel on the roster may factor into future hiring decisions, as Lin noted that “some around the team believe the Padres need to add a coach who can naturally connect with Machado, Tatis and other Latin American players in the clubhouse.” Lin added that bringing on a bench coach who’s managed at the MLB level would also be valuable.
Image courtesy of David Frerker, Imagn Images.
I wonder if they try to bring Puljos on as either a hitting coach or third base coach.
I seriously doubt Pujols would accept a coaching role.
Stuart
I agree, unless there was a deal that he definitely became the manager the next year taking over for a long-tenured incumbent on a successful team.
Padres losing streak is on the Fritz…
What an incredibly poor coaching staff.
why
Don’t expect a response, Mr. Schmidt. Another bonehead opinion, with nothing to back it up.
Preller hiring more puppets to jerk stings.
If he is a puppeteer, he is a master puppeteer. The team has been in the playoffs 4 out the last 6 seasons.
It speaks volumes to the type of baseball mind and the type of person that Stammens is, that people who coached him in the past are staying to be coaches under him as manager.
It’s not a revelation that Niebla is under contract for 2 more years. It’s been talked about on this website both by writers and by fans commenting on articles for quite some time. Lin didn’t reveal it. He commented on it. Niebla was one of the 4 finalists for the managerial job.
Did I miss something and Brian Esposito left the Padres? If he stayed, that would mean they still have their bench coach.
Why would the Padres need someone to “connect with … the Latin American players.”. They need someone as a hitting coach and 3B coach that can connect with ALL the players they are responsible for and help them maximize their skills. That whole line of thinking is BS.
Web I agree it’s a pretty dumb comment. They just need a good hitting coach regardless of race.
Fredi Gonzalez or Dave Martinez might make sense for bench coach. Long time Padres coach Rick Renteria maybe too but he left before Preller or Stammen were with the team. Hopefully get someone from the James Rowson tree for hitting coach. Need a new approach.