The Fathers have not yet named any closer ones. As you can see, they have four.
Still, manager Jayce Tingler has said he would rather agree with a man for the ninth inning at the end of camp, and the Padres skipper has considered the race for that spot to be “an open competition” this spring.
“In an ideal world, you’d like to have a new ninth,” Tingler said. “Are we open to the committee? Are we open to confrontations? Are we. But we would love to get out of here feeling, ‘Well, this is our ninth start’ and we can move forward.
“We’re open to a lot of things. Since the beginning of Spring Training, I don’t think we’re interested in announcing anything or giving anyone that title. We have some open competition and we’d love to play it over the next two weeks until we get a little more of clarity “.
This group has more than 250 savings among them (most belong to Melancon, which is entering its 13th season). Pagan, perhaps the paper’s favorite, spoke to the media on Saturday, meaning all four have spoken to reporters this spring and all four have offered a similar saying.
“I definitely want to play a role in that role, but we have four guys who have done it before and probably four or five more who have the ability to do it,” Pagán said. “Yeah, obviously I’d love to be closer. I’d love to have a season of 40 savings. But I could have a season of zero savings: we win a World Series and I’m happy.”
Among the four closest options, it was Pomeranz who posted the best season on the 20th, with an ERA of 1.45 with 14 K / 9. But with these two left-handers on the shelf, it is possible that the Padres need the left Pomeranz be a little more flexible. If, for example, Corey Seager, Max Muncy and Cody Bellinger reach seventh, it might not be the best idea to have Pomeranz tied for ninth.
“I don’t care when I throw,” Pomeranz said earlier this week. “I’m here to help the team win. No matter what entry is in for me … We have so many guys here who can finish the games. Personally I’m not tied to a role. They want it close, it’s okay. They want it. throwing the sixth, seventh, eighth is fine too. “
The Fathers have long since not entered the camp with tighter legitimate competition. Kirby Yates and Brad Hand had blocked that role for the past four seasons. Given the illustrious history of locksmiths in San Diego, this could mark the first time in history that the Padres have entered a season as aspirants without an obvious ninth-entry man.
General Manager AJ Preller, in his typical freewheel mode, suffered tires in a possible trade with Milwaukee by Josh Hader earlier this winter. According to sources, Hader’s high price was prohibitive and these talks never progressed seriously.
Here’s what to read: Parents are open to another bullpen update. But they don’t see it as a necessity. According to sources, Preller would be totally comfortable entering the season with his current closest options.
Now, parents only have to assign this title to one of their four options. After two weeks of play, Melancon and Pagán have given mixed results, while Pomeranz and Kela – in limited action – have seemed dominant. Don’t read these performances too much, Tingler warned.
“Obviously we won’t make a decision on that at this point,” Tingler said. “We’ll start reading over the next two weeks when we start to see these guys come out of the house, start to rust, and start to look like their A game.”
It should be noted
• Right-back Wil Myers was a late scorer from Saturday’s game with pain in his right knee. He participated in all of the team’s training Saturday morning, but was withheld from the game as a precaution, Tingler said, in part because of the cold temperatures.
“We’re now at the point of Spring Training, where unless we feel great, now we won’t go through some minor pains,” Tingler said.
• Right-hander Dinelson Lamet launched another simulated entrance to the Peoria sports complex on Saturday. He used all his throws, including five or six sliders, and a fast ball of 95-96 mph.
Lamet, who missed the postseason last October after suffering an elbow injury in his final start to the regular season, has yet to appear in the Cactus League and remains a question mark for the Opening Day roster. . It is understandable that the Fathers build it slowly, but so far Lamet has passed all the tests.
• If Lamet doesn’t accumulate in time for Opening Day, his place in the rotation could fall to left-back Adrian Morejon, who no doubt defended a firm position for a place on the Opening list on Saturday.
The 22-year-old left-hander made a home run in front of Ketel Mars from the D-backs. But he bounced back well, working three sharp innings without allowing another run, while eliminating five.
“I loved what I saw,” Tingler said. “He was as sharp, as sharp as I’ve seen him. With all his throws, he was really good.”