• Extra time off likely aided righty Garrett Richards.
Garrett Richards’ reconstructed elbow is two years old this month. As far as mileage, the 32-year-old right-hander has only two big-league starts on the new ligament. The bumpiest part of the ride back to form just might be behind him, perhaps one silver lining during this Covid-19-delayed start to the season.
“I’ve talked to some guys that say the first year back it’s a roller coaster of feeling good for a little while and then maybe some tendinitis or flaring up and then having to deal with that,” Richards said Tuesday afternoon. “I’m getting close to the two-year mark. That’s kind of where they say it takes off and you don’t have to worry about it anymore. Maybe this is a blessing in disguise, but I feel great. I feel healthy.
“That’s something haven’t felt in a long time.”
To be clear, Richards was speaking of a six-year period in which various ailments — a patellar tendon tear, a UCL strain, a biceps injury and ultimately his Tommy John surgery — barred him from stringing together back-toback 200-inning campaigns, much less throwing more than 80 innings in any of the previous four years.
IHe’d also glowed about his health in spring training, when he allowed only an unearned run in 51⁄3 Cactus League innings before the COVID-19 shutdown. That line included a particularly strong effort in which Richards struck out four Dodgers in 31⁄3 innings, ran his fastball up to 97 mph and broke off sliders like he did at the height of his stay in Anaheim. His shutdown routine — which included throwing almost regularly with neighbor Zach Davies — has Richards feeling every bit as strong as he was in his last spring training start, perhaps ever given how much he believes he’s evolved mentally over the last few years.
“I’ve lost a lot of baseball,” Richards said. “I’ve learned from failures over the years and I’ve had some time off to really think about things and how I want to apply them when I get back. I just think I’m going to be a more well-rounded pitcher this time around.
“I think the better years of my career are ahead of me.”
One-track minds
Richards was 0-for-2 with a strikeout when he made his NL debut last year with the Padres (82⁄3 IP, 8 ER) and 0-for-13 previously during interleague play. His first bigleague hit will not arrive in 2020, but the arrival of the DH in the NL will allow the Padres pitchers to remain focused on their task on the mound between innings.
It was an aspect that Richards — the lone projected starting pitcher who did not come up in the NL — certainly appreciated during his eight years with the Angels.
“I think for some of these guys that haven’t experienced that,” Richards said, “it will be different for them to have that moment in between innings where they can evaluate what they want to do next inning instead of worrying about getting a bunt down or I’m up fourth and I have to pay attention to make sure I don’t come up this inning or if I do I have to be ready.
“I think some of these guys may experience a little less stress as far as in-game stuff.”
Notable
The Padres announced that OF Juan Lagares and RHPS Kyle Barraclough and Seth Frankoff have elected free agency. All three were in spring training on minor league deals but not included in the Padres’ summer camp player pool. Lagares was signed to boost center-field depth after the Padres traded Manuel Margot. Barraclough and Frankoff were viewed as Triple-a relief depth before the pandemic wiped away the minor league season.
• RHP Trey Wingenter remains sidelined with inflammation in his elbow but could work his way back into preparing for the season this weekend. “We were going to try to get through the weekend and see where he’s at,” manager Jayce Tingler said. … “If everything goes well, we’ll try to crank him back up and go from there.”
• LHP Joey Lucchesi was scheduled to throw between four and five innings in Tuesday night’s closed intrasquad game at USD. RHP Luis Patiño was slated for three innings or around 45 pitches. The Padres planned to play seven innings.
• The Padres will open the press box to the media for intrasquad games for the first time today and Thursday. Both start times are at 6:10 p.m. and will be streamed live on padres.com.
• RHP Cole Wilcox, the Padres’ third-round pick last month, turned 21 on Tuesday. Wilcox and firstrounder Robert Hassell III are participating in summer camp.
jeff.sanders@sduniontribune.com