A wave of nostalgia swept Padres Nation amid rumors that Craig Stammen might fill out his staff with two familiar personalities from his past.NL
If you have concerns about new San Diego Padres manager Craig Stammen’s lack of experience at the position, your fears may be tempered a bit with the recent hires to the coaching staff.
The Padres named Steven Souza Jr. as the hitting coach and Randy Knorr as the bench coach for the 2026 season. Both hires are expected to assist Stammen in making a smooth transition from a front office executive role to the field manager position.
Souza Jr.’s approach to hitting
Souza Jr. begins his first season as a major league hitting coach, and everyone is wondering what his approach will be to working with the Friars’ veteran lineup. He has a very simplistic hitting philosophy, as Souza teaches his hitters to trust their skillset at the plate. He learned this approach as a special advisor to hitting development with the Tampa Bay Rays last season.
His philosophy encourages hitters to mentally visualize the situation before stepping into the batter’s box. The process includes studying the defensive alignment and identifying who is on base. Souza Jr. wants to eliminate overthinking and chasing bad pitches outside the strike zone.
It is a strategy that counters former Padres hitting coach Victor Rodriguez’s approach at the plate, a high-contact philosophy designed to reduce the lineup’s strikeout percentage. But it comes at the cost of sacrificing a hitter’s power potential during at-bats.
Souza Jr.’s success hinges on his ability to translate the analytic data into accessible, impactful talking points that resonate with the players.
Regardless of which approach you support, the Friars need to put together more productive at-bats in 2026.
Knorr has the experience to be an asset in the dugout
Successful managers rarely follow the same script each night. If they do not acknowledge the failures from the day before, then the results will never change. The Padres hired Knorr as the bench coach because he is known for his ability to make a suggestion that impacts the game.
Stammen is hoping Knorr can provide a lending voice with in-game decisions. It could be reshuffling the lineup or making a pitching change. But Stammen must take ownership of every move made during a contest. He must learn how to move the chess pieces that mirror his expectations of what should take place in that moment.
Knorr’s extensive experience spans nearly every baseball front office role, including development coach, minor league manager, player development executive, and major league coach. His personality has helped to develop a rapport with young players. He cherishes building a relationship that goes beyond the struggles of playing baseball. They gravitate toward Knorr, who provides insight from his playing days that allows them to reach their full potential.
The connection with the two new hires and Stammen is their time together with the Washington Nationals. Souza Jr. was a teammate in 2014, and Knorr was the bullpen and bench coach during Stammen’s time with the Nats from 2009 to 2015.
He is facing an uphill climb in becoming an outstanding manager. Trusted voices can help him make sound decisions and surpass the Friar Faithful’s expectations.
