Padres Add 2 Former Major Leaguers From NL West Rivals to Coaching Staff

Maren Angus-Coombs | 22 Hours Ago

August 12, 2013; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers third baseman Nick Punto (7) rounds the bases after hitting a solo home run in the seventh inning against the New York Mets at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images / Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

San Diego Padres manager Mike Shildt has made a couple of additions to his coaching staff in the form of Nick Punto and Robby Hammock.

Dennis Lin of The Athletic reported the news on Monday via X.

Some non-ownership news: The Padres are adding former major leaguers Nick Punto and Robby Hammock to their coaching staff, sources tell @TheAthletic. Roles TBA. Ryan Barba, Mike Shildt's field coordinator last season, recently left the organization to join the Cardinals.

— Dennis Lin (@dennistlin) January 7, 2025

Punto spent parts of two seasons with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2012 and 2013. He appeared in 138 games and batted .258 with 16 doubles, two home runs and 21 runs batted in.

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Punto officially retired from playing baseball in 2016. He had initially signed a one-year minor league deal with the Arizona Diamondbacks before the 2015 season but opted to back out of the deal and sat out the year instead.

Punto, a 21st-round pick by the Phillies in 1998, had a brief stint with the team from 2001 to 2003 before being traded to the Twins along with Carlos Silva and Bobby Korecky in exchange for lefty Eric Milton.

Initially a utility player for Minnesota, Punto took over as the team's primary third baseman in 2006, delivering his best season with a .290/.352/.373 line and stellar defense. That performance helped the Twins secure a playoff spot, one of four postseason appearances he made with the team.

However, it wasn’t until 2011, as a member of the Cardinals, that Punto finally reached the World Series and celebrated a championship victory.

Punto retired with a .245/.323/.323 slash line in 3734 plate appearances between the Phillies, Twins, Cardinals, Red Sox, Dodgers and Athletics.

Hammock spent the 2024 season managing the Altoona Curve, the Double-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates.

A former catcher, Hammock played 182 Major League games with the Arizona Diamondbacks across parts of six seasons (2003-04, 2006-08, and 2011). He made his MLB debut on April 11, 2003, notching a single off Milwaukee’s Wayne Franklin on the first pitch of his first at-bat.

However, Hammock’s career highlight came in 2004 when he caught Randy Johnson’s perfect game in just his 56th appearance behind the plate. Over his career, he hit .254 with 122 hits, 30 doubles, 12 home runs, and 48 RBIs.

After retiring in 2011, Hammock stayed with the Diamondbacks, starting as a hitting coach for the AZL Diamondbacks. He managed the Class-A Advanced Visalia Rawhide in 2014 and the Double-A Mobile BayBears in 2015-16.

In November 2016, Arizona added him to their Major League staff as a quality control/catching coach, a role he held through 2021. He spent 2022 with the Padres as the Triple-A El Paso bench coach before joining the Pirates in 2023 as the manager of High-A Greensboro.

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