TATIS READY TO SHOULDER LOAD
Fernando Tatis Jr. laughed off questions about his nagging shoulder before Wednesday’s workout at Petco Park.
“It’s something that’s always been there,” said the Padres shortstop, who had two issues in spring training with his left shoulder, which manager Jayce Tingler then revealed had required maintenance since rookie ball. “Have you seen me play? Diving, swinging, a little bit of everything. It’s part of the game, but it’s a good taste at the same time. It makes you feel like you’re back in the field.”
The conversation, as it always does, ultimately steered toward whether Tatis believes he needs to dial back his style of play. Various injuries, as well as last year’s pandemic, have barred him from playing a full season since jumping from low Single-A Fort Wayne to Double-A San Antonio in 2017. The Padres insist they do not want to limit their budding superstar, nor does he.
But they expect him to learn to pick his spots, as does he.
Like not making a headfirst slide into home plate in a spring training game two days after returning from a weeklong bout with the flu.
“You keep learning through the years,” he said. “You keep learning about your body every single time. I think changing the way I play, I don’t think it’s a thing.”
As for that left shoulder, “it’s nothing I feel people should be worrying about or be concerned of. I feel in a great spot and I feel 100 percent.”
Number switch
After initial negotiations stalled, Blake Snell and Wil Myers have come to an agreement.
It was learned Wednesday that Myers will change to No. 5 after wearing No. 4 his previous six seasons with the Padres. That clears Snell to once again have the No. 4 he wore for five seasons in Tampa Bay.
The pair declined to elaborate on why they were finally able to make the switch other than to say it was a “mutually beneficial agreement.”
Snell wore No. 24 in spring training, during which he threw 141⁄3 scoreless innings over five
starts.
The Padres will exchange any Snell jersey bought at their team store that has No. 24 on the back.
Surgery for Baez
The Padres’ pitching depth continues to be tested.
Right-hander Michel Baez will miss all of 2021 to Tommy John surgery, further depleting a reserve corps that’s already expecting eight pitchers to open the season in the injured list, including two others — Mike Clevinger and Jose Castillo — missing the season due to elbow reconstructions.
Baez reported feeling discomfort after exiting his last Cactus League appearance March 22. He’d gone more than two weeks between appearances as the Padres attempted to shorten his arm path, then allowed two runs in one-third of an inning March 18 and another run in an inning of work in his last appearance.
Once one of the top pitching prospects in the organization, Baez appeared in only three games in 2020 (7.71 ERA) after posting a 3.03 ERA over 292⁄3 innings as a rookie in 2019.
Baez, 25, will miss at least all of
this season and likely a good chunk of 2022.
“It’s crushing for the team, but it’s crushing for him,” Tingler said.
Crossing his fingers?
On the eve of opening day, at least one person in the Padres’ clubhouse remained hopeful that Major League Baseball and the players’ association would strike an 11th-hour deal to add the designated hitter to the National League.
Yu Darvish, the Padres’ opening-day starter, isn’t any more informed than anyone else.
He’s just really hoping he doesn’t have to hit today.
He’s said all spring he doesn’t particularly enjoy stepping into the batter’s box, as evidenced by a .101 career batting average over 110 plate appearances. Darvish didn’t become a regular hitter until signing with the Cubs in 2018.
“I have all the trust in MLB,” he said through interpreter Shingo Horie, “to make that happen.”
Notable
RHP Pierce Johnson (groin)
threw a simulated game during Wednesday’s workout. OF Trent Grisham (hamstring) was among those taking swings against Johnson. Both are expected to start the season on the injured list, but are in San Diego for opening-day ceremonies along with several of the players on the injured list.
• Tingler said the team will indeed open the season with a fiveman rotation, but has not committed to an order beyond Darvish today and Snell on Friday. Tingler also did not say who will replace Grisham in center field on opening day — Tommy Pham, Jurickson Profar or perhaps Jorge Mateo — or who his preferred closer is to start the year. “We have guys that can do it,” Tingler said of the bullpen. “I don’t think it’s an advantage to come out and say one way or another.”
• Ahead of opening day, MLB released its most popular player jersey list, which includes Tatis as the youngest player to ever crack the top three. He comes in behind the Dodgers’ Mookie Betts and Cody Bellinger . No other Padre was listed in the top 20.