The San Diego Padres are heading into the second half with a .500 record, a crowded playoff chase in front of them, and growing pressure on Craig Stammen in his first season at the helm.
San Diego sat at 48-48 at the All-Star break, a mark that leaves the club 3.5 games behind the final National League wild-card spot. The Padres opened the year well enough, but the momentum has faded, and the standings now put them in a fight just to stay in the postseason mix.
That kind of slide has put Stammen in an uncomfortable spot. He was an unusual hire from the start, given that he had never managed at any level before being handed a team expected to contend for a World Series title. The Padres backed the move during the offseason, but the results on the field have made the decision look far riskier.
According to MLB insider Bob Nightengale of USA Today, Stammen may already be facing heat because of the team’s uneven season.
"It’s not as if Stammen can be blamed for all of their offensive troubles and battered starting rotation, but someone is going to have to take the fall, and it’s not going to be general manager A.J. Preller, who has already hired six different full-time managers," Nightengale wrote.
That reality only adds to the tension around a franchise that has cycled through managers over the years. If the Padres do decide to move on from Stammen, it would be another major shakeup for an organization that has struggled to find stability.
There’s also the larger front-office picture to consider. With a new ownership group almost in place, the possibility of a broader reset is there, and president of baseball operations A.J.
Preller could be part of that conversation too. Preller and Stammen both enter the second half carrying real pressure to get the season back on track.
The roster came into the year with obvious questions, especially in the starting rotation, and those concerns have shown up in full. For now, Stammen’s job is to steady the club and keep it pointed toward the playoffs. If that doesn’t happen, the offseason could bring more changes to San Diego.
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