Padres optimistic despite rash of injuries
If everything went right this spring, the Padres optimistically believed they could make a run
for a playoff berth.
Things are not going right.
Just over a week before the season opener, the Padres learned right-handed starter Josh Johnson -- who was shaping up as the No. 2 man in the rotation, would miss at least the first month of the season while another pitching hopeful, Joe Wieland, would have arthroscopic surgery on his surgically rebuilt right elbow.
That raises to four the number of serious injuries suffered by the Padres since the opening of
spring training. And catcher Yasmani Grandal is still an uncertain component of the Opening Day
roster while left fielder Carlos Quentin has struggled hitting this spring with a new batting
stance designed to relieve pressure on the right knee that has been surgically repaired three
times over the past 24 months.
Plus, the Padres weren't hitting at all well this spring until this past weekend.
Still, the Padres approach next Sunday night's season opener against the Dodgers at Petco Park still believing they have the makings of their best ballclub since the 2010 team -- which
surprised everyone by going 90-72 and missing the playoffs by a single game.
On paper, these Padres might be better.
"I legitimately believe we have a shot at doing something special this season," said third
baseman Chase Headley, who will be trying to rebound from a disappointing 2013 season as he
approaches free agency.
"We need to get off to a better start than the past couple of seasons and stay healthy. If we
do that, I like our chances."
But those are major ifs.
The Padres were 5-15 after 20 games of the 2013 season and that was a better start than they
had in 2012.
But a bigger concern are the injuries. Even before Johnson and Wieland were eliminated from the Opening Day roster, the Padres had lost center fielder Cameron Maybin and left-handed starter Cory Luebke.
Maybin, who played only 15 games in 2013 due to wrist (surgical repair) and knee injuries, will
miss at least the first month of the season with a ruptured left biceps tendon. Luebke, meanwhile,
has already had his second round of Tommy John surgery in a span of less than two years.
But neither Maybin nor Luebke are the most pressing health issue.
The Padres need Grandal, Quentin and first baseman Yonder Alonso to stay healthier than they
did in 2014.
After missing last season's first 50 games while serving a suspension for violating Major
League Baseball's policy prohibiting performance-enhancing drugs, Grandal played only 28 games before he was eliminated for the rest of the season by a torn ACL in his right knee.
Quentin has been limited to a half season each of the past two years due to recurring problems
in his right knee.
And after being on an 18-homer, 80-RBI pace early in the season, Alonso was never the same
hitter after breaking a bone in his right wrist when hit on the back of the hand by a pitch on May
31.
If the Padres are healthy, manager Bud Black thinks his club will score enough runs to back
what should be a solid rotation and an improved bullpen. But, can they stay healthy? Recent
history says there are going to be issues.
Meantime, the Padres need to have the Headley of 2012 (.286, 31 homers, a National League-
leading 115 RBIs) over the Headley of 2013 (.250-13-50). So does the 29-year-old Headley if he
wants to cash in as a free agent next winter.
NOTES, QUOTES
--RHP Josh Johnson will miss at least a month of the regular season with soreness in the flexor
pronator muscles in his right forearm. Johnson complained of pain the day after his start last
Tuesday (March 18). Johnson had allowed five runs on 10 hits over 13 1/3 innings this spring.
Johnson, who had Tommy John surgery in 2007, was on the disabled list twice last season with
inflammation in his triceps as well as a strained forearm. The Padres signed the former National
League ERA leader to a one-year contract for the 2014 season at $8 million. The contract contains a club option for the 2015 season at $4 million if Johnson fails to make at least seven starts this season.
--RHP Joe Wieland will have arthroscopic surgery Tuesday (March 25) to remove bone spurs and eliminate irritation in the back of the right elbow that had Tommy John surgery in 2012. Wieland hopes to return by the All-Star break. The injury is not in the same area of the Tommy John surgery he had in 2012. This problem is in the triceps area, the same area where Wieland had a stress reaction late last season while rehabbing from the Tommy John surgery.
--3B Chase Headley played his first exhibition of the spring on March 20 after being sidelined
since the second day of full-squad practice with a strained calf muscle. Headley suffered the
injury in a rundown drive. Headley, who is eligible for free agency after the end of the 2014
season, was 3-for-10 with two doubles and three RBIs in his first four exhibition games.
--RHP Andrew Cashner has been named the Padres' Opening Day starter March 30 against the
Dodgers at Petco Park. RHP Ian Kennedy will face the Dodgers in the second game of the opening series on April 2 while RHP Tyson Ross will face the Dodgers in the third game of the season.
--The last two spots on the Padres' pitching staff look to be going to minor league products
LHP Robbie Erlin and RHP Donn Roach. Erlin, 23, who was 3-3 with a 4.12 ERA in 11 games (nine
starts) for the Padres last season, looks set to take the injured Johnson's spot in the rotation. The sinker-baller Roach seems to have the inside track on the final spot in the bullpen (he could also be used as a spot starter). Because the Padres won't need a fifth starter until April 9 in Cleveland, Erlin could open the season making a start for Triple-A El Paso.
--If Erlin opens the season at Triple-A, the Padres might carry a 14th position player. They
could carry a third catcher if Yasmani Grandal isn't quite 100 percent, a spare infielder or a
second first-baseman-outfielder (both Kyle Blanks and Tommy Medica).
QUOTE TO NOTE: "He's really frustrated. In his words, he's devastated. He felt great up until
his last outing. He felt great in December and January. He felt great coming into spring training.
He looked great. Hopefully, this is nothing more than a strain. Josh had worked exceptionally hard since we signed him." -- Padres manager Bud Black, on the loss of right-handed starter Josh Johnson with what was explained as a flexor strain in his right forearm.
