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Padres Spring Update: A Tale of Two Shortstops

By Billy Brost |

As promised, we here at Friars On Base will continue to bring you news and notes about your San Diego Padres, and their activities in Peoria, AZ as we inch closer to full team workouts just around the corner in the next day or so. Pitchers and catchers have been in camp for just under a week now, and as is the case just about every day, Padres’ skipper Bud Black spoke with the media regarding a multitude of things. As of this writing, all position players have reported to Padres’ spring training camp. 

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One of the stranger sites in Padres’ spring training thus far, is to witness former first round selection Trea Turner taking infield and hitting. Turner was the centerpiece that brought Wil Myers to the Padres from the Tampa Bay Rays. Turner will be headed to Washington after June 1st, part of the agreement that recently drafted prospects have to spend at least one year with the organization that drafted them prior to getting dealt. Once Turner’s deadline has passed, he will pack up and leave for wherever Washington assigns him. Black has this to say: “He’s going to take grounders, he’s going to hit, he’s going to do what every other player is doing here.”

With Turner being the property of another organization, that leaves the Padres focusing on the progression of slated starter Alexi Amarista. The skinny infielder had an active off-season, participating in the Caribbean World Series, where he played extremely well. Shortstop will be a battle for he and free agent acquisition Clint Barmes this spring. When asked by media if he was concerned about Amarista’s workload during the winter heading into the spring and the regular season, he added: “That’s what Alexi does. He’s conditioned to do that. We’ll watch him this spring probably more than in past springs in regard to his total volume.”

Other news and notes from Padres camp:

–Casey Kelly is improving, but is still a few days away from being able to throw. He suffered a groin injury a couple of days ago, and was shut down for a few days.

-Prospect Jose Rondon is expected to see some game action towards the end of spring training.

-Multiple candidates will be battling for the fifth and final starting rotation spot this spring including: Odrisamer Despaigne, Robbie Erlin, Brandon Morrow, and Matt Wisler. Josh Johnson and Cory Luebke are not healthy enough yet to be considered viable candidates, and Kelly is losing ground the longer he is out with the aforementioned injury.

Next: Padres Off-Season Pursuits End On Strange Note

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