The Padres are on a youth movement. That is not news.
In case you needed another reminder of that, last Friday the Friars traded starting catcher Derek Norris to the Nationals in exchange for another teenage pitcher prospect. A few days before that veteran outfielder Jon Jay left for a free agent deal with the World Series champion Cubs.
Jay was regarded as one of the best clubhouse guys in baseball, a mentor to San Diego’s stable or outfield prospects. Norris was a hard-nosed clubhouse presence who brought toughness to a position that absolutely needs it. The moves suggest the 2017 Friars will be one of the most inexperienced yet intriguing teams in baseball.
“I think Andy (Manager Andy Green) and the staff understand it’s going to be a younger club,” said Padres General Manager A.J. Preller. “It’s going to be a club that should be fun to watch. There’s going to be some development for our coaching staff at the big league level. We’ll keep looking for some of the veteran guys that can come in and set a tone for these guys, as well.”
That is interesting. Before you thinking it’s going to be a bunch of 20-somethings running around learning on the job next season I should tell you that Preller sees the importance in older guys on the roster and will be looking to add a veteran presence.
“With Jon and Derek leaving I think there’s definitely a void there. I think, on the free agent market we’ll keep looking at that in the next couple of weeks to see if there are some guys to come in and kind of help fill that void or just work with the young kids to make sure they know how to play winning baseball and what they need to do to be quality Padres.”
The Padres also non-tendered Tyson Ross, a bit of a surprising move since he was their Opening Day starter in 2016. That first start was the only one he made, though, and his recovery from thoracic outlet surgery is expected to extend in to Spring Training at the least.
The Friars also said good-bye to Alexi Amarista, Jon Edwards, Erik Johnson, Jose Pirela and Hector Sanchez but Preller did not rule out bringing any of them back on minor league contracts and allowing them a chance to earn a spot during Cactus League play.
That leaves seven spots on the 40-man roster. However, any veterans that come in also need to understand that they are not just going to be handed a starting spot. The Padres have a bevy of youngsters they want to make sure get MLB playing time.
“The centerfield spot we’ve got Travis Jankowski and Manny Margot,” said Preller. “We think they’re two Big League centerfielders so we’ll let those guys compete. At the catching spot we’ve got Austin Hedges, so if you’re going to let some veteran players move along you want to make sure you have some other guys coming along the pipeline to fill their spots. We feel good about the guys we have at those spots.”
The Padres are going to add some guys with decent Big League resumes. The big question is how much will they be asked to play … and how much will they be asked to teach?
