What is the story about?
The San Diego Padres handed new manager Craig Stammen his first win in his new position with a 10-3 romp over the Kansas City Royals on the road on Saturday. The Padres will have a chance to repeat their success against much stiffer competition on Sunday when they take on the Los Angeles Dodgers at the Peoria Sports Complex. Jose Miranda has been the breakout player for San Diego after the first two games and is making a push to be added to the Padres roster as a depth option off the bench. There
are still plenty of games to be played this spring before San Diego has to make a decision.
Padres News:
- Lincoln Zdunich of Gaslamp Ball takes a look at how the Padres will use the new ABS system. After two games, the Padres have had three successful challenges with the system from their catchers. Zdunich thinks the ability for catchers to know and understand the strike zone gives them the best chance to be successful.
- Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune has gathered news and notes about the Padres while spending his time in Peoria, Ariz. He touches on several topics including Miranda and the recovery of reliever Yuki Matsui. Acee added in a separate story that the Padres feel more prepared than they were in the 2023 season to deal with the impending absences for the World Baseball Classic.
- One of the reasons the Padres feel like they are in a better place to deal with absences of players created by their WBC appearances is third-year star Jackson Merrill. In a report from Dennis Lin of The Athletic, Merrill does not feel snubbed by not being asked to play for Team USA, adding he will get there someday. However, Merrill is going to make the most of his time in Peoria and work on becoming the leader he and the team believe he can be.
- Tom Krasovic of the San Diego Union-Tribune says the team has two options as the Padres progress this offseason, success or failure (not in those word).
- Nick Castellanos has played third base and the outfield in his major league career, but the new Padres slugger is being asked to play first base in San Diego. Castellanos showed some promise with some difficult plays against the Seattle Mariners according to AJ Cassavell of Padres.com.
Baseball News:
- Former Pittsburgh Pirates legend Bill Mazeroski died Friday and the team announced his passing on Saturday.
- Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees hit two home runs in his first Spring Training game. As impressive as it was, Spencer Jones may have topped Judge’s feat with a homerun of his own that left the stadium.
- The Dodgers claimed former Pirates outfielder Jack Suwinski off waivers. He adds another outfield depth piece to their already loaded roster. Kike Hernandez was assigned to the IL to make room for the addition.
- The St. Louis Cardinals and infielder Ramon Urias agreed to a deal Saturday.
- Minnesota Twins starting pitcher Joe Ryan was scratched from his start with back tightness, but the news came approximately 15 minutes before the start of the contest, which had many wondering if he was being traded.
