Recently signed Nick Castellanos made his first base debut on the first day of spring games and looked like he had been there his whole career. By all reports, he had been doing extensive work at the position since arriving in camp with the San Diego Padres in Arizona. It helps that he claims to enjoy the position as well as all the work he has been doing to get up to speed at his new position.
“I find it fun. Again, I only have four innings. But I love all the work there.” Castellanos was quoted as saying after Friday’s game in MLB.com’s article by AJ Cassavell.
Castellanos has been working with infield instructors Ryan Goins and Nick Punto as well as working on his own during the offseason to get ready for the position.
The projected approach is to have a platoon for first base with a right-handed bat sharing time with left-handed hitting Gavin Sheets, who came up as a first baseman. There will probably be two or three other players getting looks during the spring, with Sung-Mun Song, Miguel Andujar and Ty France all in the loop for time there.
It should be a spot to watch for fans and the coaching staff with multiple players trying to make the roster and break camp with the team. The competition also could favor a more versatile performer.
Pitchers progress
Pitchers working for spots in the rotation appear to be progressing slowly toward their debuts. Manager Craig Stammen highlighted Germán Márquez’s work with pitching coach Ruben Niebla, stating they are working on all aspects of his game while Griffin Canning has thrown batting practice and live BP but has not done infield work yet while recovering from his Achilles surgery.
Joe Musgrove made an appearance on the Friar Territory podcast, detailing his journey back from Tommy John surgery. He acknowledged he is not 100 percent and is willing to slow-play his approach to the new season. His goal is to be ready to be a normal pitcher and complete the whole season, including the postseason.
Reliever Jason Adam has also thrown off the mound with live BP and bullpens. He is not yet doing infield work and states he feels great and believes he will be ready for Opening Day. Stammen has emphasized caution but has not ruled out Adam starting the season on time.
Right-hander Logan Gillaspie was slated to start the first game of the spring but was scratched when his wife went into labor and he left for paternity leave. Stammen detailed a flexible role for Gillaspie this spring. He could start, go in long relief or even in a high-leverage situation. Stammen termed him a “Jack-of-all-trades” pitcher.
Lefty starter Jagger Haynes took the start on Friday, allowing four hits and two runs over two innings. He allowed a home run and had a strikeout. The only pitcher on the day to not allow a hit was new Padre Garrett Hawkins, getting two strikeouts in his o.2 innings pitched.
When Márquez and Canning were added to the roster, outfielder Tirso Ornelas was designated for assignment and pitcher Jhony Brito was placed on the 60-day IL.
Reliever Yuki Matsui threw live BP on Thursday and was pulled when he felt tightness in his adductor muscle. He is officially day-to-day and his involvement in the WBC with Team Japan could be affected.
Tatis may not lead off this season
Fernando Tatis Jr. has stated that he doesn’t care where he bats in the order. Last season he was the primary leadoff hitter and ended up with an .814 OPS with 25 HR and 71 RBI. Tatis and everyone in the organization knows that he is capable of achieving more despite those being good numbers for most players. Leading off last year, with Luis Arraez behind him in the batting order, most likely stole some RBI opportunities away as well as stunting his power opportunities. If Tatis lands at a position other than leading off, run production and power production could be an added benefit of moving him down in the order. Hitting third or fourth also gives the other hitters around him more opportunities. It seems line up construction will be a running experiment this spring.
WBC preparation
Manny Machado and Tatis Jr. will be leaving the team next Sunday to join their WBC team. Xander Bogaerts will also be leaving around the same time. All WBC players will be gone by March 1. Stammen will be putting all of them in the line up more than what you would normally see this time of the year. Getting them reps to get ready for real games and getting teamwork in with their Padres teammates will take precedence.
Powering up
Although the Friars lost their first spring game, non-roster invites Jose Miranda and Padres prospect Romeo Sanabria got the home run totals started, accounting for three of the four runs scored in the game by the Padres. Miranda also hit a solid double and ended up with two RBI.
In Saturday’s game, Miranda went off again, going 3-for-3 with four RBI and another solid double. The third baseman is fighting for a bench job and is making a really good first impression.
Knuckleballer Matt Waldron started Saturday’s game, throwing two innings and allowing one hit and no runs. He was caught by Freddy Fermin and they had no issues. Fermin had an ABS challenge go his way, making three successful challenges for Padres catchers in two games.