SAN DIEGO – The San Diego Padres announced today that they have hired former Major League catcher Brad Ausmus as Special Assistant to Baseball Operations. Executive Vice President/General Manager Jed Hoyer made the announcement.

“We are extremely excited to add Brad to our staff,” said Hoyer. “He brings a tremendous amount of experience from his long and successful playing career. We look forward to having him help with the development of catchers throughout our system.”

Over parts of 18 Major League seasons with the Padres (1993-96), Detroit Tigers (1996, 1999-2000), Houston Astros (1997-98, 2001-07) and Los Angeles Dodgers (2009-10), Ausmus hit .251 (1579-for-6279) with 80 home runs, 270 doubles, 34 triples, 607 RBI, 718 runs scored and 102 stolen bases in 1,971 games played. A three-time Rawlings Gold Glove winner and an All-Star with the Tigers in 1999, Ausmus threw out 30.2 percent of base stealers in his career. With the majority of his career played in Houston, he is the Astros all-time leader among catchers in nearly every offensive category, including games (1,259), hits (970) and runs scored (415).

Ausmus was acquired by San Diego from the Colorado Rockies on July 26, 1993 and made his Major League debut with the Padres that year. During his time with San Diego, Ausmus hit .255 (246-for-964) with 18 home runs, 40 doubles, 83 RBI and 123 runs scored in 303 games played.  He ranks among the club’s all-time catchers in games played (5^th), hits (4^th) and stolen bases (2^nd).