Padres finalize coaching staff under new manager Stammen
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SAN DIEGO -- The Padres finalized the coaching staff for new manager Craig Stammen on Wednesday, with Steven Souza Jr. set to assume the role of hitting coach and Randy Knorr taking over as bench coach.
As expected, pitching coach Ruben Niebla remains on board after he was a finalist for the manager role, which ultimately went to Stammen last month. Niebla has been given a promotion to the title of associate manager, along with his duties as pitching coach.
Here is the Padres’ staff, in full, with a large number of coaches set to return:
- Niebla: pitching coach/associate manager
- Knorr: bench coach
- Souza: hitting coach
- Ben Fritz: bullpen coach
- Bob Henley: third base coach
- David Macias: first base coach, outfield and baserunning instructor
- Mike McCoy: assistant hitting coach
- Pat O’Sullivan: assistant hitting coach
- Raul Padron: hitting instructor
- Vinny Lopez: field coordinator, outfield and baserunning instructor
- Nick Punto: infield coach
- Ryan Goins: infield instructor
- Kevin Plawecki: catching coach
- Peter Summerville: game planning and pitching strategist
- Heberto Andrade: bullpen catcher and coaching assistant
- Chris Apecechea: coaching assistant, pitching
- Allen Craig: special assistant, Major League staff and baseball ops
- A.J. Ellis: special assistant, Major League staff and baseball ops
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Even with the departure of manager Mike Shildt after the season, the Padres’ 2026 coaching staff features plenty of continuity, particularly on the pitching side.
Knorr takes over as bench coach after spending two decades as a coach and instructor in the Nationals' organization. That’s where he developed his close relationship with Stammen, whose pitching career started in Washington.
The same holds true for Souza, who takes over as hitting coach after Victor Rodríguez left for the same position in Houston. Of course, Souza’s coaching roots do not run nearly as deep. The 36-year-old saw his eight-year big league career come to an end in 2022.
Souza spent the ‘25 season as a special assistant with the Rays but has never served on a big league coaching staff. His transition should be eased by the returns of McCoy and O’Sullivan, who had spent the past couple of seasons in the same role, working with Rodríguez. (Notably, Souza occupies a small place in recent Padres history. He went from the Nationals to the Rays in the three-team trade that sent Wil Myers to San Diego -- one of A.J. Preller’s very first blockbusters as general manager.)
Niebla, Fritz, Macias, McCoy, O’Sullivan, Punto, Summerville, Andrade and Apacechea all return to roles that are largely similar to the ones they held last season. Same goes for Craig and Ellis, who remain as special assistants -- the very role Stammen himself filled alongside those two last season.
But there are a few other newcomers to the Padres’ staff. Henley, also a veteran coach plucked from the Nationals, takes over for Tim Leiper as third base coach.
Goins spent the past two seasons on the Angels’ coaching staff and was promoted to interim bench coach midseason last year. He will helm the infield instruction, alongside Punto.
Plawecki, meanwhile, finished his playing career with the Padres’ Triple-A affiliate in El Paso in 2024, before retiring and joining the team’s Minor League system as an instructor. He’s now on the big league staff as the catching coach.