Despite heading into the All-Star break with a .500 record, it has felt as though no team’s coaching staff has been more scrutinized than the San Diego Padres. Manager Craig Stammen and hitting coach Steven Souza Jr. of the San Diego coaching staff have had their heads called for more than once this season. The club has been mired in a slump despite multiple productive win streaks throughout the year. Their biggest problem is that the organization hasn’t gotten any consistent success from their offense or starting rotation.
An Underwhelming Lineup
The former has been their biggest problem (hence Souza’s troubles). The Friars rank dead last in team batting average (.226) and on-base percentage (.302), 29th in slugging percentage (.370) and 22nd in home runs (99). That final ranking has improved infinitely since their 27th-place finish in 2025. The organization has lacked serious pop and still struggles to win by the long ball, but it’s been better.
The trade-off for that is the dip in batting average. The organization ranked seventh across all of baseball in team batting average (.252). Compare that to dead last this season, and it has been a steep fall off for the San Diego offense. Part of that has been the superstars’ underwhelming performance. In the first few months of the season, Manny Machado, Jackson Merrill and Fernando Tatis Jr. struggled mightily. They’ve since turned things around significantly. Entering the All-Star break, Machado has 19 homers, Merrill is hitting .286 in his last seven games, and Tatis has raised his batting average and OPS to .277 and .714, respectively.
Stammen in the Manager’s Chair
None of these are particularly mind-boggling, but they are a much-needed return to normalcy for the superstar trio. The calls for Souza’s head only increased as the Padres went on an abysmal eight-game losing streak. After that streak ended last Sunday, the club went 5-3 in its last eight games before the All-Star break. That, thankfully, put the Friars at an even .500 before the break.
The problem is that the club’s aspirations were much higher than that before a dismal June put them 12.5 games back from first place in the National League West. The Friars were just 5.5 games back of the Los Angeles Dodgers with a 32-26 record on May 31. At the end of June, the club had seen that dwindle to 12 games back after an 11-15 run in June.
It’s hard to pin responsibility on just one party, but Stammen certainly has struggled to find his footing. To be fair, the club has dealt with injuries, but none so major that it should have derailed them this severely. Stammen has made decisions that have actively hurt the team’s chances of winning games. In particular, his decision-making regarding the pitching staff has felt haphazard at best. That may be due to poor communication between Stammen and the pitching coach and assistant manager Ruben Niebla.
Time For a Comeback
Stammen has certainly had his struggles. But he’s been transparent about his inexperience and quick to point out that he’s learning on the job. But that kind of candor only helps for so long. If the Padres continue to flounder, the Friar Faithful’s calls for the team to sell at the Deadline will only get louder. Following the All-Star break, San Diego has a 10-game road trip (with no off days) before returning to Petco Park on July 28. How that road trip turns out will very likely determine the remainder of the Friars’ season.
It’s felt for weeks like the Friars’ season is over. The fans have been crying out for the team to sell, and the losing streak didn’t help matters. It was a struggle for a while. But with the team heading into the second half of the season with some momentum, it seems plausible that San Diego could turn things around. This is a team that has pulled off some incredible feats in recent years. It’s not worth ruling them out just yet.
Main Photo Credit: Chadd Cady-Imagn Images
