The Padres are hiring longtime big leaguer and former Cubs bench coach Mark Loretta as a special assistant to CEO Erik Greupner, reports Jon Heyman of MLB Network. This is a homecoming for Loretta, as he had previously spent a decade working for the Padres, from his retirement from playing in 2010 until joining the Cubs in 2019.
Loretta, 50, played in the majors for 15 seasons from 1995 to 2009. He made his debut with the Brewers and played parts of eight seasons with Milwaukee, before also spending some time with the Astros, Padres, Red Sox and Dodgers. Overall, he played 1,726 MLB games, hitting .295/.360/.395 with a paltry strikeout rate of just 9.2%. He was worth 18.9 wins above replacement in his career, according to FanGraphs. He was selected to participate in the All-Star Game in both 2004 and 2006.
He retired from playing after the 2009 season and joined the Padres as a special assistant to the baseball operations staff, staying in that role until taking the bench coach job with the Cubs in 2019. After that season, Joe Maddon departed as manager of the Cubs, with Loretta rumored to be in the running to be Maddon’s replacement, as well as being a candidate for the Padres’ managerial opening. Those jobs eventually went to David Ross and Jayce Tingler, respectively. As Ross was a first-time manager, Andy Green was brought on as the bench coach to give Ross an experienced bench boss by his side, leaving Loretta as an odd man out.
Loretta will now return to the Padres, an organization that he spent time with both as a player and a special assistant. Erik Greupner was the team’s president of business operations until general manager A.J. Preller was extended and promoted to be president of baseball operations almost a year ago, with Greupner also getting bumped up the ladder from president to CEO.
Good hire, lots of experience with Brewers, Cubs and Padres.
I don’t remember his stint as Cubs bench coach. It was quicker than a hiccup.
Older Red Sox fans might remember the day in 2006 when Loretta was named to the All Star team, and, as he approached 2B in the first inning, all 4 of the umpires stood around the bag and applauded. Jerry Remy called it the damdest thing he had ever seen in baseball.
Pretty well known as a class act. Hope he does well in Padre land.
That’s a name I’ve not heard in a long time… long time.
Mark Loretta is a guy who would not be able to have a 15 year career if he broke in today.
neither would rod Carew..
A .300 hitter who had great middle infield defense and clutch hitting? Lots of teams could use that today
Get back Loretta ooh, ooh
youtube.com/watch?v=IKJqecxswCA
Such a serious picture!
Thanks for the Baseball Reference link. Too often missing in these types of stories…..
Love Mark Loretta but working for someone like Greupner not a good call. Always better to surround yourself with honest people Mark
Interesting that Loretta is moving into the business side of the team, not the baseball operations side. Does he have an accounting degree?
Duties will be getting CEO’s lunch and dry cleaning lol
He has a degree in organization studies (Northwestern).
Mark Loretta is a great hire for the Padres. He was a Padre from 2003-2005 and was an All Star 2B as well as a Silver Slugger Award Winner. Safe to write, he has history with the Padres and will be an asset to the organization.
Loretta will NOT be involved in any baseball operations.
Odd.