San Diego Padres Spring Notebook Day 4: A New Friar & An Old Friar

The San Diego Padres enter their fourth day of spring workouts with a familiar face in camp, as well as a new one. We also have some news from Friars manager Andy Green.

Speaking with the San Diego Padres press corps yesterday, manager Andy Green had a few notable notions regarding a few different areas. One of the subjects he touched on was the potential of adding a backup to shortstop Freddy Galvis.

We spoke yesterday about a potential, low-cost, utility infielder the Padres could possibly explore bringing in. Yesterday Green made a half-cryptic/half-obvious statement regarding a potential hole in the roster behind Galvis.

"“If someone is just a phone call away, sometimes your roster construction allows you to do other things if you’re going to run out that guy at shortstop every single day.”Padres manager Andy Green, Friday"

Earlier this week, from an article by Kevin Acee of The San Diego Union-Tribune, when asked about the potential of the team looking outside the organization for a utility-infielder, Green had this to say:

"“There’s a lot of really good names out there. I was on the phone with a major league utility guy (Tuesday), talking at length about the opportunity here”Andy Green, Wednesday"

Other San Diego Padres News

San Diego Padres manager Andy Green also had an update on the finger injury Jose Pirela suffered towards the end of last season, generally saying that everything was OK and it was not a concern for him anymore (“a non-issue”).

More from Friars on Base

• Padres News: Fernando Tatis Jr. trade rumors, Seth Lugo chase, Manny Machado
• Padres barely missed out on high-end veteran starting pitcher
• This veteran DH target seems ideal for contending Padres roster
• Padres got steal with Xander Bogaerts after Carlos Correa’s mega-deal
• Failed Padres top prospect makes stunning return with minor league deal

Pirela is slated to play in left-field for the Friars this season, but also could play behind Carlos Asuaje, the projected starter, as a replacement against left-handers, as per Jeff Sanders’ article this morning in The San Diego Union-Tribune.

A brief detour if you’ll allow it. I’ve been spelling Jeff’s last name wrong for weeks, as Saunders. My sincere apologies to Jeff. We appreciate all the hard work you do.

In more Friars’ news, the team did make one roster addition yesterday. No, not the big one we’re all waiting for. Another, more low-key one.

The Padres claimed outfielder-turned-pitcher Rowan Wick off waivers from the St. Louis Cardinals, as initially reported by Dennis Lin of The Athletic San Diego.

Wick is a former outfielder (originally drafted as a catcher) that became a reliever before the 2016 season. He was designated for assignment earlier this week after the Cardinals signed free-agent hurler Bud Norris. He figures to compete for a position in the Padres bullpen, but will most likely spend the majority of his time in Triple-A El Paso.

Wick was a slugger in his time in the Cardinals minor league system, and reportedly had one of the most powerful arms in the entire St. Louis system.

Next: Padres Projected 25-Man Roster

Along with the new face in camp today, there will also be an older, much more familiar face there as well. Soon-to-be Hall of Famer, San Diego Padres legend Trevor Hoffman arrived in camp yesterday and has been making the rounds. I’d imagine the Friars’ young pitchers will try to soak up as much knowledge as they can from him.