The San Diego Padres made the bold decision to hire a first-time manager in Craig Stammen — one of the few former relief pitchers to take over a clubhouse.
Padres pitching coach Ruben Niebla was a finalist for the job and will retain his role with the Padres, something Stammen said will be crucial to the team’s success. Niebla could even see his responsibilities increase, according to president of baseball operations A.J. Preller.
“We’ll be talking about that over the course of the next couple days,” Preller said when asked about Niebla being named an “associate manager.”
“When we make like the staff announcements … we’ll make sure that we have a lot of different areas covered and Ruben’s going to cover a lot of those areas,” Preller added. “He’s going to have a big-time voice in it. He’s going to continue to get more opportunity, not just to help the pitchers and the pitching staff. I think Craig mentioned it. He’s a good coach. It’s not just a good pitching coach. And he’s got a lot of good perspectives that we even saw in this process … that we want to make sure we get through to that big-league clubhouse. Craig’s going to use him a lot.”
Stammen and Niebla’s relationship dates back to 2016, but they did not work together officially until 2022, when Niebla joined San Diego and Stammen was in his final season as a player. During that time, Stammen saw how impactful Niebla is as a coach, and looks forward to their new relationship on the staff together in San Diego.
“Honestly, he’s the guy I’m going to rely on the most — his experience,” Stammen told reporters. “I think he’s one of the best coaches in our entire sport, not just pitching coaches, but coaches overall. And we’re going to put a lot on his plate. I’m going to put a lot on his plate, but I’m excited to work with Ruben. It’s going to be an extension of our relationship that started with me as a player and now we get to work hand in hand as manager (and) pitching coach.”
