Padres’ rival poaching Ben Fritz leaves AJ Preller with crucial pitching staff decision

Arizona just added an assignment to the Padres’ offseason. By hiring Ben Fritz as their pitching coach, the Diamondbacks filled their own vacancy with someone San Diego now has to replace. A division rival gets a promotion-worthy member of our coaching staff, and we get another decision that deserves more attention than bullpen coach openings normally receive.

According to Dennis Lin of The Athletic, Fritz gets the opportunity to oversee a major league pitching staff after seven seasons as San Diego’s bullpen coach, including a stint as interim pitching coach in 2021.

To be fair, it’s an understandable career move. It also leaves the Padres responsible for replacing years of experience with their pitchers while the Diamondbacks put that experience to work further down south.

Ben Fritz leaves the Padres with more than an empty seat

Bullpen coaches rarely dominate the offseason conversation. Someone tasked with figuring out which reliever actually has another inning in him gets considerably less attention.

Then that person leaves, and the work becomes easier to appreciate. Craig Stammen offered an explanation of Fritz’s value in July. He credited him with recognizing body-language cues and knowing when pitchers needed additional rest.

The next bullpen coach will have to develop those relationships while helping Stammen manage the daily demands on his relief staff. The Padres should evaluate candidates with that responsibility front and center. 

Fortunately for the Friars, Ruben Niebla remains a major part of the Padres’ pitching operation. His presence gives San Diego continuity, but we shouldn’t treat it as permission to assume every other coaching position will take care of itself.

Diamondbacks’ hire raises the stakes for San Diego’s response

Fritz leaving for a division rival stings. The Diamondbacks identified someone in San Diego’s operation who they believe can handle a larger role. They get to find out what Fritz can bring to their entire pitching staff. 

We also don’t need to declare a winner before either team throws a pitch in 2027. Fritz is getting a bigger office and a longer list of problems.

Arizona finished 2026 with a 4.18 ERA and struck out just 18.7 percent of the batters it faced, averaging 7.12 strikeouts per nine innings. That’s a staff asking its defense to handle plenty of business. Finding more ways to finish hitters will be part of Fritz’s assignment.

The Diamondbacks hired someone they believe can improve that operation. We should expect the Padres to show the same conviction when choosing his replacement.

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