Griner, Mercury agree on contract

faces.

It’s a good feeling. The All-star closer is more comfortable these days than he was when he first joined the Padres in a blockbuster trade in August. That deal was completed during one of the most difficult stretches of his career, right in the middle of a pennant race, and it took a while for him to regain his form.

“You’re just familiar with how they run things. I think that’s the biggest thing, right?” Hader said. “When you’re coming over in the middle of the season, you have your routines, you have this and that . ... I think that’s the biggest thing is just like finding the comfort in your everyday stuff that you do.”

San Diego also acquired Juan Soto at last year’s deadline, and manager Bob Melvin said he thinks each player likely feels more at home this spring.

“Whether it’s he, whether it’s Juan, whether it’s anybody that came in last year, they’re going to be able to take a deep breath and relax a little bit and be able to go through a full spring and so forth with the team,” Melvin said.

Kopech on track in comeback attempt:

When Michael Kopech started throwing again after right knee surgery, he felt a sense of relief.

It was a real issue that prevented him from being himself for much of last season with the Chicago White Sox.

“There’s a little bit of relief knowing that I wasn’t just trying hard and it not coming out last year,” Kopech said. “There was something that I had to fight through, which take it with a grain of salt.”

The 26-year-old Kopech went 5-9 with a 3.54 ERA in a career-high 25 starts in 2022. But he left a June 12 game against Texas with right knee discomfort, and it became a lingering issue for the rest of the year.