San Diego Padres manager Craig Stammen has already tinkered with the lineup more than Mike Shildt did during his tenure with the team.
The San Diego Padres saw manager Mike Shildt retire this offseason, and they surprised a lot of people by hiring former reliever Craig Stammen.
The Stammen experiment has been an interesting one through the first few weeks of the season.
Stammen has a lighter energy about him, and he is a more upfront guy than Shildt.
And, remember when fans pounded the table for Shildt to move Luis Arraez out ot the No. 2 spot in the lineup? That never happened.
However, Stammen made waves with a wonky lineup in his first-ever Cactus League game as a manager.
Stammen insisted it wasn't anything to look too deep into, but the regular season began with 13 different lineups in the first 13 games.
The first game with the new City Connect uniforms saw more changes to Stammen's lineup.
So, what do we make of it? Well, Padres beat writer AJ Cassavell of MLB.com answered that question in a few ways.
For starters, Cassavell isn't too big on a starting lineup making a huge difference, and Stammen changing things up is likely a sign of his first time being a manager.
“Once we find that rhythm of: ‘This is our lineup, and this fits pretty well,’ that’ll be what it is,” Stammen said, via Cassavell. “I think we’ve got certain people where we feel comfortable in certain spots, and those spots haven’t moved a ton.
“But it’s also based on … what starting pitcher we’re facing. Maybe past at-bats or anything we come up analytically that says this profile swing fits this profile pitcher. All those things are on the table," Stammen added.
One of the biggest surprises was giving Manny Machado a day off early, and the third baseman played every game until September in 2025.
Stammen has also now sat Ramon Laureano for two games, and the outfielder has been the best hitter early on, so it's an interesting turn of events for the first-time manager.
Stammen is also likely trying to get the bench guys regular playing time as much as possible, with Miguel Andujar, Nick Castellanos, Luis Campusano and Gavin Sheets alternating time and time again early on this season.
The leadoff spot was a big question, too. For years, Fernando Tatis Jr. was the staple atop the order, but Stammen's first Cactus League lineup didn't have Tatis at No. 1, although his first lineup of the regular season.
Each of Tatis, Jake Cronenworth, Ramon Laureano and Xander Bogaerts have hit leadoff this season, but none of them have excelled when placed at the No. 1 spot.
Cassavell describes the leadoff spot as the biggest concern, and who knows what Stammen has up his sleeve.
But, one thing is certain: This is a complete 180 from the stubbornness that Shildt showed regarding changing the lineup the previous years, and that alone is a breath of fresh air for Padres fans.