San Diego Union-Tribune (Sunday)
Grisham continues hot hitting from spring.
No stranger to slow starts, Trent Grisham has attempted to preempt those trends by starting his prespring routines in mid-december the past few seasons.
The 23-year-old outfielder was as hot as anyone in Arizona, too, collecting 11 hits in his first 34 Cactus League plate appearances and reaching base at a .394 clip. The challenge that Grisham had to meet head-on when the COVID-19 pandemic shut down baseball in mid-march was maintaining his head of steam. Mission accomplished. Grisham homered last week off right-hander Michel Baez in intrasquad action and has been highlighted by first-year manager Jayce Tingler as an early standout in summer camp.
“Essentially, for me, it’s all routine-based,” Grisham said of his shutdown work. “I’m going to do the same thing every day because I know it translates. So that’s all I really do, is be the best at that routine every single day and have the right mentality … and let it translate.”
Although Tingler said there were no “lockdown” spots in the outfield with Tommy Pham starting camp in COVID-19 isolation, Grisham was viewed as the favorite to start in center field after Manual Margot was traded in February.
The Padres certainly paid a hefty price for Grisham, giving up second baseman Luis Urias and lefthander Eric Lauer in a late November swap with the Milwaukee Brewers that also netted right-hander Zach Davies.
Wil Myers and Franchy Cordero are also candidates to see action in center field, as is Jorge Mateo and Taylor Trammell if they find their way to San Diego this season. The most likely scenario, of course, is Grisham in center field on an everyday basis with Pham in left field and Myers getting the first crack at sticking in right field.
With Pham cleared to return to the team Friday, Grisham said he was eager to begin to see just how the Padres outfielders meshed. Pham was limited to DH duty in spring training as he returned from an elbow injury and served as the designated hitter Friday.
“This will be really our first chance to all get together,” Grisham said. “I never had a chance to play with Tommy in the outfield in spring, other than drills. This will be a first day of getting to play together and get familiar with one another. I’ve played with Wil a few times and (he’s a) real easy, good outfielder to play with. Always heads up, always looking for me, looking for the next thing to do, thinking about the next hitter. It’s been really fun so far. I’m excited to play and get more familiar with Tommy.”
Notable
The Padres granted second baseman Brian Dozier his release. Dozier signed a minor league contract with the team shortly before spring training was suspended in March.
Fernando Tatis Jr. returned to practice after missing two days with at least one symptom (headache) that is on the list of those experienced by people with COVID-19. Tatis tested negative for the virus, and no one around Tatis or with the team had expressed concern. The Padres were acting with an abundance of caution to protect others.
The Padres did not hold an intrasquad game Saturday for the first time since camp started July 3. They will play at 1 p.m. today. Among the pitchers working will be left-handers Ryan Weathers and Joey Cantillo, who are respectively the organization’s fifth- and sixth-ranked pitching prospects.