1. What is Dinelson Lamet’s health status?
The Padres have rearranged their roster this winter by adding a deluxe starting trio and two versatile offensive pieces.
With spring practice around the corner, we can expect answers to the next four questions that the Padres still face, and the first involves the Dominican pitcher.
This is the question that could determine San Diego’s season, as explained by AJ Cassavell on the pages of MLB.com.
Adding Snell and Darvish was a way for the Padres to acknowledge that they are not optimistic about Lamet.
The Dominican was an ace in 2020, a campaign in which he had a 2.09 ERA and finished in fourth place in the vote for the National League Cy Young AwardEven on a team that has taken over Blake Snell and Yu Darvish, Lamet could be the most dominant of the group.
For some people, the decision to add Snell and Darvish was a way for the Padres to acknowledge that they are not optimistic about Lamet. That is exactly not true.
The Padres know the same about Lamet that they knew five months ago. The right-handed missed the postseason with an elbow and biceps injury in his right arm and received an injection of platelet-rich plasma in October. The team hopes Lamet doesn’t need surgery, but has privately acknowledged they won’t know for sure until he returns to action in a match.
Acquiring Snell and Darvish in the trade keeps the Padres looking well prepared in case Lamet’s elbow struggles again. But if the Dominican is healthy – and judging by his workouts so far, there’s nothing to indicate otherwise – the Padres could have the most dreaded spin in the major leagues. (And yes, including the one for the Dodgers.
2. Which infielders would you test in the outfield?
When San Diego signed Ha-Seong Kim Everything that had been declared was said in January. The team noted that it considered Kim an infielder. Kim stated he was willing to play where the Padres put him.
Not much thought was given to the details at the time. The Padres had acquired one of the best players in free agency. They could work out the rest later.
It’s time to tackle the topic of playtime. There is not much in the Padres inner box, frankly. First baseman Eric Hosmer, third baseman Manny Machado, and shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. stand firmly in their respective positions.
That means that Curaçao utility Jurikson Profar will return to play some of the time in the outfield. Kim or Jake Cronenworth may need to do the same.
Cronenworth, who hits left, and Kim, who hits right, could split second base. But it would be better for the Padres if that weren’t the only alternative. One of those two players – and maybe both – will see action in the outfield, where they can make their various skills more valuable.
3. What direction do the Padres see for their young leftists?
When Lamet is healthy, the rotation of the Padres is complete for the season. That would mean there isn’t much room for the 21-year-old left-handed trio to sneak in.
A MacKenzie Gore, Ryan Weathers and Adrián Morejón of Cuba were once seen as the future of the San Diego rotation. That’s still the case, except they don’t represent the whole future, just a part. The Padres will have quite a few good weapons on board in the coming years.
The team’s president of baseball operations, AJ Preller, said San Diego will come to practice with the idea of preparing Gore, Weathers and Morejon as starters. It is a sensible strategy and represents a strong contingency plan in case Lamet or another starter needs to be replaced.
But in the end, the Padres will have to make a decision: in what role can they get the most out of those three arms? In the rotation or the bullpen?
In Gore’s case, you already know the answer. It’s an appetizer and will be treated as such. Morejon and Weathers, for their part, have shown that they can make themselves felt from the bullpen. If no rotation spot is available, they can again serve as illuminators.
4. Do the Padres have enough arms in the bullpen?
The Padres are putting in a lot of effort this winter as for the bullpen. They’ve added impact pieces to the spin and attack, and on Friday they struck a deal with Mark Melancon against Trevor Rosenthal and Kirby Yates’ first leg.
Melancon joins two crucial pitchers: Austin Adams and the Venezuelan Jose CastilloThe two are expected to be healthy after both time lost in each of the past two seasons due to injuries.
There is no doubt that both have electrical equipment. If the parents can use them for the middle entrances, they can move to Emilio Pagán and Drew Pomeranz back and feel confident in the bullpen, especially with Melancon present.