Former UD, Versailles pitcher named manager of Padres

Since the end of his playing career, Stammen has worked for the Padres as a special assistant to the general manager

“Craig has been a strong presence in our organization for nearly a decade,” Padres president of baseball operations and general manager A.J. Preller said in a press release. “He possesses deep organizational knowledge and brings natural leadership qualities to the Manager’s chair. As both a player and in his post-playing career, Craig has displayed an ability to elevate those around him. His strength of character, competitive nature and talent for bringing people together make him the ideal choice to lead the Padres.”

Stammen replaces Mike Shildt, who stepped down after the 2025 season. The Padres finished 93-69 and 90-72 in Shildt’s two seasons.

The Padres made the playoffs four times in the last six seasons and had three managers in that stretch.

According to Bob Nightengale, of The Sporting News, Stammen won the job over “future Hall of Fame manager Bruce Bochy, who had expressed interest, future Hall of Fame player Albert Pujols who interviewed for 9 ½ hours, Chicago Cubs bench coach Ryan Flanerty, Padres special assistant Nick Hundley and Padres pitching coach Ruben Niebla.”

Stammen graduated from Versailles in 2002. He played baseball, football and basketball in high school and got his start in baseball at age 6 in the North Star Little League system, according to a 2009 Dayton Daily News story.

Stammen is one of four University of Dayton pitchers to appear in the big leagues along with Garry Roggenburk (1963-69), Jerry Blevins (2007-19) and Mike Hauschild (2017-18). Stammen was UD’s all-time strikeout leader (185) when his college career ended and now ranks sixth in school history.

The Washington Nationals drafted Stammen in the 12th round in 2005 with the 354th overall pick. He was the highest-drafted player in UD history at the time.

Stammen made his big-league debut in 2009 and pitched for the Nationals until 2015 when he was limited to five appearances before undergoing surgery to repair torn flexor tendons in his right forearm.

Stammen returned to the big leagues in 2017 with the Padres.

“You never know when this baseball life is going to end,” Stammen told the Dayton Daily News in 2017. “It could end in a minute, or you could pick when it ends and you want to retire. There were times when I thought, ‘This might be it,’ but I kept going and said I was going to exhaust all my opportunities and try to get my arm back healthy and see if I could pitch again.”

Stammen compiled a 3.36 ERA in 333 appearances with the Padres over six seasons. He was 55-44 with a 3.66 ERA in his career.