{"id":121620,"date":"2026-05-10T00:14:56","date_gmt":"2026-05-10T04:14:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/?p=121620"},"modified":"2026-05-10T00:14:56","modified_gmt":"2026-05-10T04:14:56","slug":"craig-stammen-tenure-padres","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2026\/05\/10\/craig-stammen-tenure-padres\/","title":{"rendered":"Evaluating Stammen’s Padres Tenure Amidst Their Second Difficult Stretch"},"content":{"rendered":"

Immediately after the conclusion of the 2025 season, the San Diego Padres were rocked by the news that manager Mike Shildt<\/a> would be leaving the team in the middle of his contract. Shildt cited major issues with the job having taken a toll on his mental and physical health. That, along with reports of turmoil between Shildt and the rest of the coaching staff, seemed to suggest that there was more going on behind the scenes.<\/p>\n

With that, the Padres’ skipper, who had guided them to consecutive 90-plus win seasons, was gone. Thus came immediate questions from the Friar Faithful about who would be chosen to lead the San Diego roster. Three names came forward as finalists: pitching coach Ruben Niebla<\/a>, future Hall of Famer Albert Pujols<\/a> (who managed the Dominican Republic in the World Baseball Classic<\/a>), and former Padres catcher Nick Hundley<\/a>.<\/p>\n

However, none of those three would be chosen. The Padres announced on November 6 that former reliever and then-special assistant Craig Stammen<\/a> had been hired to a three-year contract to manage the Friars. It was a surprise to San Diego fans, who had been expecting one of the aforementioned names to be selected. Where did Stammen come from?<\/p>\n

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Craig Stammen’s MLB Career: A Tale of Durability<\/h2>\n

In case you missed it, Craig Stammen pitched in relief for the Padres from 2017 until his retirement in 2022. Before that, he pitched for the Washington Nationals for seven years. His tenure as a major-leaguer was solid, with some years of elite relief pitching sprinkled into his career. But his time with the Padres was his best.<\/p>\n

From 2017 to 2021, Stammen pitched to a 3.49 ERA (353 2\/3 IP). His time with the club ended with his retirement from MLB after the 2022 season. Immediately after his retirement, he was hired by Padres General Manager A.J. Preller to be a special assistant in the front office. That role is one that has traditionally been an “as involved as you want to be” position. But Stammen has been cited as being incredibly involved with the club. Preller consistently cited him as a level-headed leader whose energy inspires people to follow and listen to him. That recommendation was one of the major reasons that Stammen was hired to manage the Friars.<\/p>\n

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“They love his communication skills, they love his familiarity with the organization.”@jonmorosi<\/a> and Harold react to the Padres’ announcement of Craig Stammen as their new manager. pic.twitter.com\/fVXm73rANA<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) November 6, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n