The San Diego Padres coaching staff is beginning to take shape. They hired Craig Stammen, the former San Diego reliever, as the new manager in a bit of a surprising move.
Stammen was teammates with players such as Fernando Tatis Jr. and Manny Machado, and he has earned respect from several in the organization despite being a first-time manager.
The padres saw hitting coach Victor Rodriguez leave for the Houston Astros job, and on Tuesday, Steven Souza Jr. was hired as the hitting coach with Randy Knorr as the bench coach.
Brian Esposito, who was the Padres' bench coach, is now looking for a new role, but Kevin Acee of The San Diego Union-Tribune reported that Esposito is staying with the franchise.
"Knorr replaced Brian Esposito, who will remain in the organization in a role that has not been announced. Souza takes over for Victor Rodriguez, who left to be the hitting coach for the Astros," Acee announced.
Esposito has been around quite a bit as a coach, including five years as the manager of the Pittsburgh Pirates Triple-A club in Indianapolis.
He then came to San Diego in 2022, and has been a minor league manager, catching coach and game strategy assistant, and most recently the bench coach in 2025 under recently retired Mike Shildt.
Esposito even landed an interview for the Padres manager job, as did others, including Albert Pujols and Ryan Flaherty, so there seems to be a high level of respect for Esposito in the front office.
While it remains to be seen what Esposito's role will be, all reports suggest that he is staying in San Diego despite the hiring of a new bench and hitting coach by Stammen.
As the months go on, Stammen's staff should begin to be rounded out amid the free agency period.