The Padres have not yet mentioned a valve. As they see it, they have four.
Still, manager Jayce Tingler has said he would rather settle for one man for the ninth inning at the end of the camp, and the Padres skipper has considered the race for that spot “an open competition” this spring.
“In an ideal world, you’d like to have a man in the ninth inning,” said Tingler. “Are we open to committee? Are we open to matchups? We are. But we like to get out of here feeling, ‘Well, this is our ninth inning man,” and we can move forward.
“We’re open to a lot of things. So early in Spring Training I don’t think we’re interested in announcing anything or giving someone that title. We have an open competition and we would like to do that. coming weeks until we get a little more clarity. “
That group has more than 250 saves among them (the majority of which are from Melancon, entering its 13th season). Pagán – arguably the favorite for the role – spoke to the media on Saturday, meaning all four spoke to reporters this spring and all four offered a similar chorus.
“I definitely want a shot at that role, but we have four guys who’ve done it before and probably four or five more who have the opportunity to do it,” said Pagán. “Yes, of course I would really like to be the close. I would like to have a 40-save season. But I could have a zero-save season – we win a World Series, and I’m happy.”
Of the four closer options, it was Pomeranz who had the best season in ’20 – a 1.45 ERA with 14 K / 9. But with those two lefties on the shelf, the Padres may need the left Pomeranz to be a bit more flexible. If, for example, Corey Seager, Max Muncy and Cody Bellinger are in seventh, it might not be the best idea to stick with Pomeranz to ninth.
“I don’t care when I pitch,” said Pomeranz earlier this week. “I’m here to help the team win. It doesn’t matter what inning that is for me. … We have so many guys here who can finish matches. I’m personally not tied to a role. They want me to do that. “Close, that’s fine. They want me to pitch sixth, seventh, eighth, that’s fine too.”
It’s been a while since the Padres entered the camp with a legitimate closer competition. Kirby Yates and Brad Hand had locked that role for the past four seasons. Given the illustrious history of closers in San Diego, this could be the first time in history that the Padres have started a season as contenders without a clear man from the ninth inning.
General manager AJ Preller, in his quintessential freewheeling fashion, kicked the tires earlier this winter on a possible trade with Milwaukee for Josh Hader. According to sources, Hader’s high price tag was prohibitive, and those conversations never progressed seriously.
Here’s what to read in there: The Padres are open to another bullpen upgrade. But they don’t see it as a necessity. Preller, sources said, would feel completely comfortable going into the season with its current close options.
Now the Padres just have to assign that title to one of their four options. After two weeks of play, Melancon and Pagán have shown mixed results, while Pomeranz and Kela – in limited action – seemed dominant. Don’t read too much into those renditions, Tingler cautioned.
“Of course we’re not going to make a decision on that right now,” said Tingler. “We will start having a lecture in the next two weeks as we start to see these guys go out, kick some rust off and start looking like their A-game.”
Worth nothing
• Right fielder Wil Myers was a late scratch from Saturday’s game with pain in his right knee. He participated in the team’s entire training session on Saturday morning, but was banned as a precautionary measure, Tingler said, in part because of the cold temperatures.
“We’re now at the point of Spring Training, where unless we’re really feeling good, we’re not going to be going through some minor aches and pains right now,” Tingler said.
• Righthanded Dinelson Lamet threw another simulated inning on a Peoria Sports Complex-backfield on Saturday. He used all of his throws, including five or six sliders, and a 95-96 mph fastball.
Lamet, who missed the postseason last October after sustaining an elbow injury in his last start of the regular season, has yet to appear in the Cactus League and remains a question mark for the Opening Day-roster. The Padres are understandably slow to build it up, but Lamet has passed every test so far.
• If Lamet isn’t built up in time for Opening Day, his spot in the rotation could fall to left-handed Adrian Morejon – who certainly made a strong case for an opening day on Saturday.
The 22-year old lefthanded handed over a lead-off homerun to D-backs’ Ketel Marte. But he bounced back nicely and worked three sharp innings without giving up another run, while striking out five batters.
“I loved what I saw,” said Tingler. “That was as sharp, as sharp as I’ve seen him. He was really good with all his throws.”