The San Diego Padres will have a new look to their coaching staff next season, at least in one area. Long-time bullpen coach Ben Fritz has agreed to become the pitching coach for the Arizona Diamondbacks, which no doubt hurts San Diego and will likely help Arizona.
Fritz had been a mainstay in the Padres’ organization despite numerous managers taking the head position in the locker room. He worked through the San Diego minor league system after joining the organization in 2015. He took over as the bullpen coach in 2019 and has held that role for many years. It only makes sense that when given an opportunity to promote to a pitching coach that Fritz would take the job, but its another tough bit of news for an organization that learner ace pitcher Michael King was opting out of his contract earlier this week.
San Diego has a growing list of players who have elected to or have become free agents other than King and that list includes:
There are other players who could join them who have either a player option, club option or mutual option and that list includes:
It is obvious with changes like Fritz and players leaving or potentially leaving, the Padres will look much different in 2027. There are many holes to fill and essentially a non-existent pitching rotation so it will be a critical first offseason for new owners Jose E. Feliciano and Kwanza Jones.