Padres finalize coaching staff under Tingler
SAN DIEGO -- In the weeks after his hiring, Jayce Tingler's inaugural Padres coaching staff slowly came into focus.
That staff -- bigger than any staff under previous manager Andy Green -- is now final.
On Thursday night, the Padres announced a nine-man lineup of coaches for the 2020 season, Tingler's first at the helm in San Diego. The most noteworthy bit of information from the announcement: Damion Easley has been promoted to the role of hitting coach.
Easley, who served as assistant hitting coach and infielders coach last season, moves into the role vacated by Johnny Washington. He will be the team's sixth hitting coach in the past seven seasons, tasked with turning around an offense that has slumped for a decade.
Easley had been the favorite for the job, but the club interviewed several other candidates before recently settling on the former 17-year big league infielder. Washington, meanwhile, is expected to remain with the organization, working with Minor Leaguers.
The remainder of the Padres' coaching staff had been settled upon for a few weeks. But the titles for some of those coaches were unclear. Here's the nine-man staff in full:
Manager: Tingler
Bench coach: Bobby Dickerson
Associate manager: Skip Schumaker
Hitting coach: Easley
Pitching coach: Larry Rothschild
Bullpen coach: Ben Fritz
Third base coach: Glenn Hoffman
First base coach: Wayne Kirby
Catching/quality control coach: Rod Barajas
Aside from Easley's promotion, the most interesting development is the addition of an "associate manager.” Schumaker is highly respected within the organization and had served as the team's first base coach over the past two seasons. He will essentially become a second bench coach on Tingler's staff alongside Dickerson.
Barajas, meanwhile, also returns to the staff in a new capacity. After serving as bench coach last season, he was promoted to interim manager when the Padres parted ways with Green in September. Barajas is expected to oversee the development of a young group of catchers while serving in a game-prep role.
The Padres also announced that former big league infielder Ryan Flaherty will be joining the organization as an advance scout and development coach -- yet another new role that will buoy Tingler. A first-time manager, Tingler has clearly followed through on this promise from his introductory press conference:
"I like a lot of information," he said. "I like a lot of information from our coaches and our staff. I really don't believe in hierarchy. So my goal is as the game's going -- and sometimes it goes fast -- I'm probably going to be drawing on a lot of different opinions and experiences in the dugout."