A familiar face returns. Newly hired hitting coach Steven Souza Jr. connects the Padres to a pivotal trade that reshaped their roster years ago.
The San Diego Padres coaching staff is slowly beginning to take shape.
They hired Craig Stammen as the new manager. The former Padres reliever replaced Mike Shildt, who surprisingly retired shortly after the NLDS loss to the Chicago Cubs.
Stammen has the respect of players such as Manny Machado and others, and he was teammates with some of the current Padres stars, which bodes well given he is a first-year manager.
On Monday, Dennis Lin of The Athletic reported that the Padres hired a bench coach and a hitting coach.
"The Padres are hiring Randy Knorr and Steven Souza Jr. as bench coach and hitting coach, sources tell @TheAthletic. Both men spent time with Craig Stammen in the Nationals organization."
Ironically enough, Souza was part of the multi-team trade that sent Wil Myers from Tampa Bay to San Diego and sent Trea Turner from San Diego to Washington.
Souza was dealt from Washington to Tampa Bay, and now he comes to San Diego as the new hitting coach.
Souza was a third-round pick by the Nationals in 2007, and he spent time with the Nationals, Rays, Diamondbacks, Cubs, Dodgers and Mariners across his MLB career.
While he wasn't an All-Star, Souza has been a Special Advisor for Pro Scouting/Hitting Development with the Tampa Bay Rays organization, and he has earned a lot of respect.
Knorr has a lot of experience, including time with Davey Johnson and Matt Williams with the Nationals, so he also brings a lot to the table for Stammen.
They are familiar faces for Stammen, and it is an interesting move by San Diego as it begins to round out the new-look coaching staff.