San Diego Union-Tribune (Sunday)
DEEP BULLPEN GETTING SHALLOWER
The Padres’ bullpen depth has sustained another hit, as reliever Trey Wingenter underwent Tommy John surgery Friday.
The tear in his UCL surfaced last week, and the right-hander was shut down due to the irritation in his elbow. Wingenter received a second opinion, and the procedure was performed in Dallas by Dr. Keith Meister.
The 6-foot-7 Wingenter struggled with mechanical issues and a shoulder strain last season, posting a 5.65 ERA and 1.22 WHIP (walks and hits per inning pitched) in 51 innings. He had a 3.79 ERA and 1.26 WHIP in 19 innings in ’18 after making his major league debut that August.
Wingenter was expected to make a run at the opening-day bullpen but was more likely going to be counted on for depth.
The Padres also will be without left-hander Jose Castillo for at least the first half of the season due to a lat strain suffered in the first week of camp.
The team on Thursday traded for lefty Tim Hill, sending outfielder Franchy Cordero and pitcher Ronald Bolaños to the Royals. Hill was expected at Petco Park on Saturday.
The Padres have 15 potential relievers in camp with big-league experience. They are expected to carry at least 10 relievers.
Paddack’s curve stands out
Chris Paddack looked even more ready Saturday afternoon than he had six days earlier.
The Padres’ presumptive opening-day starter struck out eight and threw 87 pitches to get through six innings of an intrasquad game Saturday at Petco Park while facing a semblance of the team’s openingday lineup.
He allowed two runs, one on Fernando Tatis Jr.’s monster home run to right-center field leading off the sixth inning and the other after Eric Hosmer reached on an infield “single” that bounced off the ball bag behind the mound.
Paddack, who took 71 pitches to get through six innings Sunday against a team mostly made up of the team’s top minor league prospects, had his fastball leak a little in the final two innings, as he walked Austin Hedges in the fifth and allowed Tatis’ homer and hard singles to Jurickson Profar and Tommy Pham in the sixth.
He was still throwing 94 mph in his final inning, though it was a 92 mph fastball that Tatis sent on the fly to the second deck of seating above the Craft Pier and bouncing into Gallagher Square for his second homer in two days.
What stood out Saturday was Paddack’s use of his curve ball, the pitch that was essentially an offering for show in his rookie season and hadn’t been particularly sharp previously in camp. He threw it in virtually every count and often threw it two times in a row. At least twice, he threw three straight curves.
Utilizing Mateo?
Infielder Jorge Mateo has still not joined the team, and when he does clear the protocols required after a positive COVD-19 test, he won’t be able to participate fully right away.
Mateo, acquired in a trade from Oakland on June 30, is out of minor league options and must be on the active roster or placed on waivers, though the Padres anticipate the league will grant extra time for teams who have players in Mateo’s situation. Even if that relief isn’t given, the Padres might be able to employ Mateo’s talents immediately.
“He’s probably going to need some baseball work,” manager
Jayce Tingler said. “At the same time, he brings a lot of speed to the game. How quick, if we want to use that asset of his game, can we use that? Can we use that right away? Probably. But we’ll wait and see.”
Angel angle
Garrett Richards will start Monday’s exhibition against the Angels, the team for whom he pitched from 2011 to ’18 and made two openingday starts.
That likely positions Richards to pitch Saturday or Sunday, the season’s second or third game, depending on how the Padres go about lining up their rotation. It seems likely Dinelson Lamet pitches Saturday.
While the club has not announced Paddack as their openingday starter, that has been discussed as the plan internally for a couple weeks.
In ’n’ out
The Padres will play the Angels in Anaheim on Wednesday. Their plan is bus to Angel Stadium, take batting practice and play. They will have access to a training room but will not use the visiting clubhouse. The Angels will do the same for Monday’s game at Petco Park.
Both teams are using their visiting clubhouses for their own players until camp breaks.
The Padres will just be grateful to play their only two exhibition games.
“We’ve been banging heads for a while,” Tingler said in reference to the team’s almost-daily intrasquad games. “Some of our hitters, counting pre-summer camp, they’ve faced guys 25-30 times. It’s going to be good getting to see another team.”
kevin.acee@sduniontribune.com