The Padres have hired a new manager.
The choice is outside the box but from inside the organization. He is relatively unknown by many who follow the game but highly respected by many in the game.
Craig Stammen, who spent six years as a Padres relief pitcher, has agreed to a three-year contract to become the team’s next manager.
The team announced the hire Thursday morning.
The 41-year-old Stammen will be learning on the job, but he is already familiar with the franchise.
After pitching in the major leagues for 12 seasons, including 2017 through 2022 with the Padres before his retirement in March 2023, Stammen served as a special assistant in the player development department the past two years. In that role, he alternated between working with minor leaguers and spending time with the big-league club.
In his six seasons pitching for the Padres, he grew to possess a leadership role that was extremely rare for a middle reliever, serving as a mentor and sounding board in all corners of the clubhouse. Among those who revered him and were swayed by his counsel in various instances was Manny Machado.
Stammen had a 3.36 ERA in his 333 games for the Padres, and on Oct. 2, 2020, played a pivotal role in one of the most iconic games in franchise history. The decisive victory in Game 3 of the Wild Card Series against the Cardinals is known to many Padres fans as “The Stammen Game,” as he worked 1⅔ scoreless innings as the first of nine pitchers used in a 4-0 victory that completed the team’s first postseason series win since 1998.
Stammen, who kept a home in Coronado even after retiring during spring training in 2023 due to a shoulder injury, has never coached or managed at any level.
None of the four candidates the Padres brought in for in-person interviews, following an initial vetting via Zoom calls, had managerial experience.
A tight circle of team officials led by chairman John Seidler, president of baseball operations A.J. Preller and CEO Erik Greupner, chose Stammen over future Hall of Famer Albert Pujols, former Padres catcher Nick Hundley and current Padres pitching coach Ruben Niebla.
The plan is for Niebla, who has two years remaining on his contract, to be retained.
The Padres are expected to retain most of their coaching staff. They will be searching for a new hitting coach and third base coach, as hitting coach Victor Rodriguez has accepted a job with the Astros and third base coach Tim Leiper has been hired by the Mets.
According to people familiar with the interview process, Stammen impressed Padres officials in his interviews with the genuine manner in which he communicated, his conviction about how a team should be run and his knowledge of the organization.
Preller has long held Stammen in high regard for his leadership skills and straightforward way of communicating. Preller had spoken several times over the years about Stammen having a future in the game in “whatever (role) he wants.”
That role is now as the 19th full-time manager in franchise history and the fourth since 2020.
After Andy Green was fired with nine games remaining in the 2019 season, his fourth as manager, the Padres have had three managers in six years.
All three left under different circumstances.
Jayce Tingler was fired after the 2021 season, Bob Melvin left to become manager of the Giants after the ‘23 season and Mike Shildt retired in October.
Stammen inherits a team that has won 183 games over the past two seasons, most in franchise history in consecutive campaigns, and returns most of its core position players.
A half-dozen players remain from Stammen’s last season — Machado, Jake Cronenworth, Yu Darvish, Adrian Morejón, Joe Musgrove and Fernando Tatis Jr.
