Phil Plantier, a former major leaguer known for his pronounced crouch, will be named the Padres’ hitting coach, according to major-league sources.

Plantier, 42, will be the Padres’ fifth hitting coach since the opening of Petco Park – an extreme pitcher’s park - in 2004.

The move is a promotion; Plantier spent last season as the hitting coach and then manager for the Padres’ Class A Lake Elsinore affiliate.

Prior to that, he was an instructor and manager for three years in the Mariners’ system, serving as minor-league hitting coordinator in 2010.

Plantier played eight seasons in the majors, including his splashy rookie year for the Red Sox in 1991. He was a lifetime .243/.332/.439 hitter with 91 career home runs.

-Ken Rosenthal