Padres Add New Hitting Coach, Make First Hire to Mike Shildt’s Staff

They did well hitting for average.

The San Diego Padres have undergone major organizational changes this offseason. Among these changes, the organization brought in Mike Shildt to replace Bob Melvin as the manager of the club.

Shildt retained Ruben Niebla as the team's pitching coach, and on Friday, made his first new hire. Victor Rodriguez will join Shildt's staff as the hitting coach moving forward.

Victor Rodriguez will be the new hitting coach of the San Diego Padres, per sources.

Rodriguez, 61, served as an assistant hitting coach for the Boston Red Sox from 2013 to 2017 and with the Cleveland Guardians from 2017 to 2023. pic.twitter.com/ifJXynNIwm

— Francys Romero (@francysromeroFR) December 22, 2023

As the post above mentions, Rodriguez has spent the last four seasons as the assistant hitting coach in Cleveland under recently retired Terry Francona. In those years, the Guardians won the AL Central three times.

Known primarily for their pitching, the Guardians have had mixed results offensively. Those Guardians teams tended to hit well for average but struggled to produce extra-base hits.

Worth noting, the Guardians' lineup talent pales in comparison to that of the Friars - switch-hitting Jose Ramirez aside. So, with the talent of Manny Machado, Fernando Tatis Jr., Ha-Seong Kim, and others, Rodriguez has an opportunity to make some change at the plate. 

One welcome change would be some more production with runners in scoring position. The Guardians finished two spots higher than the Padres last year in regards to hitting with RISP. However, the two years prior, Cleveland hit 11th and 12th in baseball in scoring opportunities.

Tough to speculate exactly what this hiring will bring the club next year. However, almost anything would be better than what fans endured in 2023.