The Fathers have not yet named a closer one. As they see it, they have four.
Still, manager Jayce Tingler said he prefers to settle for a man for the ninth entry by the end of the camp, and the Padres captain called the race for that place “an open competition” this spring.
“In an ideal world, you would like to have a definite ninth inning guy,” said Tingler. “Are we open to a committee? Are we open to confrontations? We are. But we would love to get out of here feeling, ‘Well, this is our player from the ninth inning’, and we can move on.
“We are open to a lot of things. At the beginning of Spring Training, I don’t think we are interested in announcing anything or giving that title to anyone. We have a few open competitions and we would like to play this in the coming weeks until we have a little more clarity. . “
This group has more than 250 defenses between them (most of which belong to Melancon, who is entering his 13th season). Pagán – perhaps the favorite for the role – spoke to the media on Saturday, meaning that the four talked to reporters this spring, and all four offered a similar refrain.
“I definitely want a chance in this role, but we have four guys who have done it before and probably four or five more who have the ability to do it,” said Pagán. “Yes, obviously, I would love to be closer. I would love to have a 40 save season. But I could have a zero save season – we won a World Series and I am happy.”
Among the four closest options, it was Pomeranz who posted the best season in 20 – scoring an ERA of 1.45 with 14 K / 9. But with those two southpaws on the shelf, the Fathers may need the southpaw Pomeranz to be a little more flexible. If, say, Corey Seager, Max Muncy and Cody Bellinger are scheduled for the seventh, it may not be the best idea to have Pomeranz tied to the ninth.
“I don’t care when I shoot,” said Pomeranz earlier this week. “I’m here to help the team win. No matter what inning is for me … We have so many guys here who can finish games. I personally am not tied to a role. They want me to do it close, okay. They want that I launch the sixth, the seventh, the eighth, that’s fine too. “
It has been a while since the Fathers entered the camp with more legitimate competition. Kirby Yates and Brad Hand had blocked that role for the past four seasons. Considering the illustrious history of closings in San Diego, this could mark the first time in history that the Fathers have entered a season as contenders without an obvious player at the ninth inning.
General manager AJ Preller, in his typical freestyle, kicked the tires in a possible exchange with Milwaukee for Josh Hader earlier this winter. According to sources, Hader’s high price was prohibitive and these negotiations never progressed seriously.
Here’s what to read about it: The Fathers are open for another bullpen update. But they don’t see it as a necessity. Preller, the sources said, would be completely comfortable entering the season with his current options closer.
Now, the Fathers simply have to assign that title to one of their four options. After two weeks of games, Melancon and Pagán showed mixed results, while Pomeranz and Kela – in limited action – seemed dominant. Don’t put too much importance on these performances, warned Tingler.
“Obviously, we are not going to make a decision on this right now,” said Tingler. “We will start reading in the next two weeks, when we start to see these guys get there, kick some rust and they start looking like their best game.”
worthless
• Right field player Wil Myers suffered a late scrape in Saturday’s game with a pain in his right knee. He participated in all of the team’s training on Saturday morning, but was prevented from participating in the game as a precaution, Tingler said, in part because of the cold temperatures.
“We are at the point of spring training right now, where unless we are feeling really good, we are not going to force some minor pain and suffering now,” said Tingler.
• Right-handed Dinelson Lamet launched another simulated inning in the back field of the Peoria Sports Complex on Saturday. He used all of his pitches, including five or six sliders and a fastball that sat 95-96 mph.
Lamet, who missed the postseason last October after suffering an elbow injury in his last start to the regular season, has yet to play in the Cactus League and remains a question mark for the Opening Day squad. The Fathers are understandably building it slowly, but so far, Lamet has passed all tests.
• If Lamet is not built in time for Opening Day, his place in the rotation could fall to southpaw Adrian Morejon – who certainly made a strong case for an opening day on Saturday.
The 22-year-old southpaw kicked off an initial home run for Ketel Marte, of the D-backs. But he recovered well, working three clear entries without allowing another run, while hitting five.
“I loved what I saw,” said Tingler. “It was as sharp, as sharp as I saw it. With all his shots, he was really good.”