San Diego Padres head coach announces retirement.
The San Diego Padres have announced their 2024 coaching staff, including Rueben Niebla as Pitching Coach, Ben Fritz as Bullpen Coach, Tim Leiper as Third Base Coach, David Macias as First Base Coach, Victor Rodriguez as Hitting Coach, Mike McCoy as Assistant Hitting Coach, Pat O’Sullivan as Assistant Hitting Coach, and Morgan Burkhart as Major League Coaching Assistant.
Padres pitching coach, Niebla, returns for his third season after guiding a team with the second-lowest earned run average in the Majors and the third-lowest hits allowed per nine innings pitched ratio. He helped guide Blake Snell to the Padres’ fifth Cy Young Award and earned All-MLB First Team honors. Niebla has 21 years of experience with Cleveland, including 21 years as assistant Major League pitching coach and as a pitching coach for Triple-A Columbus. He has also served as a pitching coach for the Mexican National Team and Águilas de Mexicali.
Leiper, a 57-year-old former Toronto Blue Jays first base coach, has joined the Padres coaching staff as third base coach, infield & base running instructor. He has a coaching career that began with the New York Mets in 1996 and has managed in various minor league systems. Leiper has also coached for Canada’s 2004 Olympic team and served on Team Canada’s coaching staff for each of the five World Baseball Classics. Macias, 37, returns for his third season as Padres first base coach, outfield & base running instructor. He has a history of helping Fernando Tatis Jr. win the Padres’ first-ever Platinum Glove Award in 2023. Macias has also served as an assistant coach at Vanderbilt University and was a player development/international scouting assistant with the Chicago Cubs. He has been named first team All-SEC and second team All-South Region/All-District 3 during his senior season.
