Craig Stammen hasn’t managed a single game yet, but he’s already leaning into the Padres-Dodgers rivalry like a seasoned veteran. The newly minted San Diego skipper, stepping in after Mike Shildt’s sudden retirement, made it clear: the Padres aren’t backing down from the defending champs.
“We’re going to compete,” Stammen said, with the kind of conviction you want from a guy leading a team into a division that’s been dominated by Los Angeles. “They’re a great team, two-time defending World Series champions, a lot of great star players, future Hall of Famers… but we feel good about our roster too. We feel good about our team, we feel good about the attitude.”
That’s the tone Padres fans want to hear. Respect for the Dodgers?
Sure. But fear?
Not a chance.
Stammen knows what his team is up against - and he’s not sugarcoating it. The Dodgers have been the class of the NL West, and frankly, all of baseball, for the past two seasons.
They took 9 of 13 from San Diego in 2025 and have only gotten stronger this offseason, adding All-Star closer Edwin Díaz to a bullpen that already had plenty of firepower. That’s on top of a core that includes names you’ll probably be seeing in Cooperstown someday.
But Stammen’s message isn’t about what the Dodgers have - it’s about what the Padres still believe they can be.
“We’ve definitely had a lot of battles with them,” he said. “We know what it’s like to play in Dodger Stadium. We know what it’s like to play them at Petco and how exciting that atmosphere is… There’s nothing better in the big leagues than playing against the best.”
And there’s no doubt - when it comes to rivalries, Padres-Dodgers has been one of the most intense in baseball over the last few years. We’ve seen it all: playoff fireworks, benches clearing, and enough tension to power a stadium. But heading into 2026, the Padres are facing an uphill climb.
San Diego’s roster has taken some hits. All-Star closer Robert Suarez is gone.
So is Dylan Cease, who anchored the rotation, and Ryan O’Hearn, a key bat in the lineup. To make matters worse, Yu Darvish is expected to miss the entire season due to injury.
That’s a lot of talent out the door, and so far, the front office has only made one notable move to stop the bleeding - bringing back Michael King on a three-year deal.
Meanwhile, the Dodgers are running it back with most of their championship core intact and added Díaz to the mix. That’s a scary thought for the rest of the NL West, especially considering how dominant they were in 2025.
The next chapter of this rivalry won’t begin until May 19, when the Padres and Dodgers meet for the first time in the regular season. By then, we’ll have a better sense of whether Stammen’s squad can hang with the juggernaut up north - or if LA is on its way to a historic three-peat.
But one thing’s for sure: Craig Stammen isn’t blinking. He’s stepping into the fire with eyes wide open, ready to test his team against the best. And in a division that doesn’t hand out second chances, that mindset might be the Padres’ best weapon of all.