Matt Stairs will be rejoining his former team as their new hitting coach, a source told MLB Network Insider Jon Heyman. The Padres have yet to confirm the report.
Stairs, who spent one of his 19 Major League seasons in San Diego, began his coaching career last season as the Phillies' hitting coach. Under his guidance, Philadelphia improved across the board with a 10-point or greater uptick in batting average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage over the previous year.
The Padres relieved hitting coach Alan Zinter of duties on Sept. 1 after two seasons with the club, a stretch in which San Diego ranked last in MLB in runs (1,290), average (.