Padres Press Clips Wednesday, February 22, 2017

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Former Padres reliever Akinori Otsuka to serve UT San Diego Lin 2 as Triple-A bullpen coach

Manfred, Clark tussling over rule change proposals UT San Diego Sanders 4

Padres' Jon Edwards looking forward to healthy spring UT San Diego Lin 6

Padres' 32-player ping pong tournament had a Cut 4/MLB.com Cassavell 8 'championship game atmosphere' from the start

Padres considering new way to use SP depth MLB.com Cassavell 9

Rule 5 picks have legit shot of making Padres MLB.com Cassavell 10

Padres set with current crop of players MLB.com Cassavell 12

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Former Padres reliever Akinori Otsuka to serve as Triple-A bullpen coach

BY: DENNIS LIN

San Diego Union Tribune

February 21, 2017

A few beads of sweat were still visible on Akinori Otsuka’s face as he stood in the shade of the bullpen area at the Peoria Sports Complex. The same, wide smile that endeared him to teammates, coaches and fans across two continents was more obvious.

“This is for my growth and experience,” Otsuka said Tuesday. “This is my challenge, to become a major league coach. And I want to help the players. Everybody helped me a lot when I was a player, so now I want to give back.”

Otsuka, who pitched for the Padres from 2004-05, has returned to the organization with an unprecedented title: Triple-A El Paso’s bullpen coach. The job, created over the winter, brought the gregarious right-hander back to San Diego’s spring-training site over the weekend. By Monday, Otsuka was roaming the complex’s fields in uniform, assisting friends old and new.

A little past noon Tuesday, he was still shagging fly balls on the main field as the Padres wrapped up their workouts. He would be one of the last to leave.

“I don’t know how many years I can be here,” Otsuka, 45, said, “but I’m going to be here a long time.”

A trade sent Otsuka to the in 2006. Elbow surgery ended a brief but memorable big-league career in 2008. Not ready to call it quits, Otsuka returned to his native Japan, where more surgeries derailed hopes of a comeback and where he later served as a player-manager for an independent-league team. He eventually dove into the second act of his career as a pitching coach for the , one of the country’s preeminent clubs.

Now, Otsuka has rejoined his first major league organization, another link in a bridge across an ocean. In October, he called Acey Kohrogi, the Padres’ director of Pacific Rim operations, to ask about potential coaching opportunities. The front office brainstormed a position in which Otsuka will assist El Paso pitching coach Bronswell Patrick and manager Rod Barajas, whom Otsuka played with in Texas.

“The Chunichi Dragons gave me a good opportunity to coach here,” Otsuka said. “I want to learn everything — coaching style, meetings. I want to be a manager or coach.”

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Traditionally, many minor league affiliates employ just three coaches: a manager, a pitching coach and a hitting coach.

“He brings a lot to the table,” General Manager A.J. Preller said. “We try to have good relationships with different teams and different organizations, try to learn from in Latin America, try to learn from baseball in the Far East. Aki’s obviously had success both in Japan and here in the States.”

A successful in Japan, Otsuka signed a three-year deal from the Padres before the 2004 season and quickly established himself as a for a franchise great. Pitching ahead of Trevor Hoffman, Otsuka recorded a 2.57 ERA and three saves over two seasons. Though he originally spoke limited English, his assimilation impressed those around him.

“Aki’s always been a ferocious learner of the game, not that he hadn’t had a clear understanding of it before coming over here,” Hoffman said. “He’s a very humble human being, a hard worker.”

Said longtime Padres pitching coach Darren Balsley: “He wanted to learn the American game, which is basically the same, but he asks a lot of questions. And he’ll ask anybody. He’ll ask Trevor, he’ll ask me, he asked our bullpen coaches back then. So he’s gathered a lot of information.”

The outgoing Otsuka also brought levity to the Padres’ clubhouse. Accepting an invitation from broadcaster Mark Grant, he appeared in a Corky’s Pest Control television commercial that became part of franchise lore; in the 30-second spot, Otsuka, dressed in full uniform for a turkey picnic, defends against an invasion of cartoon ants with a baseball bat.

“I don’t regret it,” Otsuka said, laughing. “I want to make more funny commercials.”

Prior to the 2006 season, the Padres pulled off their best trade to date, sending Otsuka and to Texas in exchange for Adrian Gonzalez and . Otsuka, for his part, continued performing, saving 36 games over two seasons with the Rangers.

“Aki actually came in and performed really well,” said Preller, who was in the Rangers’ front office at the time, “but obviously, (the Padres) got two pretty good players. One outstanding player.”

Otsuka continued to maintain friendships in San Diego. In the spring of 2006, Hoffman received a voicemail that, owing to the language barrier, he interpreted as a request involving one of his sons. The closer called Otsuka, seeking clarification.

“No, no,” Otsuka told Hoffman. “Song. I want to use your song.”

During the final of that year’s , played at Petco Park, Otsuka came in from the bullpen to “Hells Bells”; Hoffman had happily granted permission to use his entrance music. Otsuka recorded five outs, sealing Japan’s victory over Cuba.

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“He’s just not full of himself, and he’s just a good dude,” Hoffman said. “He’s a really good dude.

“That,” Otsuka said of his homage to Hoffman, “is one of my favorite memories.”

He hopes to create many more stateside. Otsuka’s son, Tora, will be a freshman on USD’s baseball team next season. His daughter, Hikaru, plays softball for Rancho Bernardo High. Compared to Japan, El Paso is a quick flight from San Diego. Otsuka, of course, will spend plenty of time around the rest of the .

“I think (the Dragons) wanted him to have an opportunity to come here and serve a dual purpose — hopefully help our prospects but, probably more importantly for them, scout and see players in the PCL,” Preller said. “So he’s going to wear a couple different hats this year, working for Chunichi but he’ll be around our group, which is a nice association for us.”

El Paso is expected to field one of the PCL’s best bullpens in 2017; relief prospects Phil Maton, Jason Jester, Kyle McGrath and Brad Wieck all could open the season there if they don’t make the Padres’ roster.

“It’s kind of a unique role to have,” Padres farm director Sam Geaney said of Otsuka’s new job. “’It’s a chance to go through the preparation and spend a lot of time with someone who’s had a career like Aki has.”

Added Balsley: “It’s hard not to have a good relationship with Aki; he’s just such a great dude. But he can be intense when he needs to be. He’s going to be a good coach. There’s no doubt in my mind. A very, very good coach.” Manfred, Clark tussling over rule change proposals

BY: JEFF SANDERS

San Diego Union Tribune

February 21, 2017

For now, baseball puritans can relax: No new, substantive rule changes will be crammed in before Opening Day.

Next year could be a different story.

Citing a “lack of cooperation” with the players’ union, Commissioner Rob Manfred delivered the update ahead of a Q&A with reporters Tuesday afternoon. The tone was as frustrated as he’s sounded since replacing Bud Selig two years ago.

No pitch clock. No strike zone changes. Not even a limit on time stoppages.

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Nothing.

“There were points in the conversation where we thought we were going to get an agreement on some changes and it didn’t turn out to be the case,” Manfred said. “I will say that Tony’s statements over the weekend probably were the most emphatic statement on where they were going to land on this topic.”

Tony, of course, is Tony Clark, the former San Diego sports star-turned-15-year-baseball-veteran and now the 44-year-old head of the Players Association.

What happened was a general dismissal of a number of rule proposals in consideration, the most radical being the intent to test starting extra innings with a runner at second base in the low minors later this summer.

Would players go along with such a radical change?

“No,” Clark said with a laugh at a similar jam session with reporters Sunday. “No.”

Clark talked that day about the new bargaining agreement. He addressed ongoing concerns about veterans in the open market, the standardization of medical record-keeping and lots of chatted about rule changes, from raising the strike zone to quirks designed to cut into baseball’s inherent “dead time.”

The first former player to lead the union, the latter is of specific interest to the former .

Whether cameras catch it or not, there’s always something going on in a baseball game. His hope is that fans learn to appreciate a game that is “chess, not checkers,” especially for the players who grew up in the current version of the rules.

Fundamental changes, Clark said, have a chance to adversely affect players with minimal windows to establish career and “that’s something we’re very concerned with.’’

Manfred’s concern is simple: Keeping the game relevant, fresh and appealing to younger generations with attention spans pulled in a multitude of directions.

With a one-year notice, the new collective bargaining agreement will even give his office the jurisdiction to implement rule changes as soon as the 2018 opener.

The agenda includes raising the strike zone, installing pitch clocks and limiting trips to the mound.

Manfred’s hope is that the union is a willing participant, although the relationship could hit a rough patch if Tuesday’s back-and-forth is a true barometer of the current water temperature.

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Specifically, Clark took exception with Manfred’s characterization of talks that failed to produce much movement on even limiting the number of timeouts – mound visits, etc. – in a game.

“It doesn’t seem earth-shattering enough,” Manfred said, “that we couldn’t even make progress on something like that.”

Clark fired back, offering pace-of-game warnings, two-minute replay limits and no-pitch intentional walks as changes still in play for 2017. (ESPN on Tuesday night reported a signal will be used to signify an intentional walk starting this season.)

“Unless your definition of ‘cooperation’ is blanket approval,” Clark said in statements provided to the Union-Tribune, “(then) I don’t agree that we’ve failed to cooperate with the commissioner’s office on these issues.”

He added: “I would be surprised if those discussions with MLB don’t continue, notwithstanding today’s comments about implementation. As I’ve said, fundamental changes to the game are going to be an uphill battle, but the lines of communication should remain open.”

On that, both sides agree.

The line in the sand also appears to be drawn. Padres' Jon Edwards looking forward to healthy spring

BY: DENNIS LIN

San Diego Union Tribune

February 21, 2017

Jon Edwards entered last spring with a spot on the Padres’ 40-man roster and, manager said, “a chance to pitch in the seventh inning and play a pivotal role in the bullpen.”

That chance quickly evaporated. Edwards made seven Cactus League appearances before right elbow tightness wiped out the rest of his camp. After an MRI revealed UCL wear, he received a platelet-rich plasma/stem cell injection in June, then underwent weeks of rehab. He never pitched in a game all season.

“It was tough at times, being there at the ballpark,” Edwards said. “You want to be a part of it and compete. Especially when you see games you lose, you want to be out there trying to help the team win.”

One year later, Edwards is looking forward to an uninterrupted spring, even as the degree of difficulty has climbed. Non-tendered in December, he re-signed with the Padres on a minor league deal. Brad Hand, Ryan Buchter, Brandon Maurer and Carter Capps are expected to form

6 the back end of the bullpen. Edwards will vie with a host of others, some already on the 40-man roster, for one of the few remaining jobs.

“We just felt like our opportunity was here,” said Edwards, who has a young son with wife Katelyn. “Connected with Andy really well, see a lot of opportunity here and really like the direction things are going. Would love to be a part of it.”

Edwards, who was acquired from Texas in 2015, said he felt back at 100 percent near the end of last season. He opted against pitching in winter ball, a route that, in addition to allowing him to spend more time with his family, enabled him to be fully prepared for spring training. With Cactus League games beginning this weekend, Green said Edwards will debut before the end of the month.

At 29, Edwards remains an interesting option. The converted made his major league debut as a in 2014. He has posted a 4.31 ERA through 31 career appearances. His 6-foot-5 frame and mid-90s suggest room for improvement.

“He feels really good,” Green said. “He’s excited that he feels freedom in that elbow that he didn’t last year. The PRP/stem cell injection seems to have really helped him. He’s on a normal progression; we haven’t held him back at all.

“Obviously, last year didn’t go the way he wanted to or we wanted to for him. But he’s going to throw his name into consideration real quickly if he shows who he was the previous season.”

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The Padres should end camp with a pitching surplus, given that at least eight arms are competing for two openings in the rotation. That said, a couple of those arms could wind up in the bullpen.

Green said youngsters Luis Perdomo and Cesar Vargas are starting-only considerations; if they don’t make the rotation, they likely would start for Triple-A El Paso. Trevor Cahill, Paul Clemens, Jarred Cosart and Christian Friedrich would become bullpen candidates if they fall out of the rotation race.

Left fielder Alex Dickerson (lower back stiffness) was held out of workouts for a second consecutive day. Right-hander Andre Rienzo (tweaked left hamstring) also was limited. Rienzo, a non-roster invitee, is among those competing for a rotation job.

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Padres' 32-player ping pong tournament had a 'championship game atmosphere' from the start

BY: A.J. CASSAVELL

Cut 4/MLB.com

February 21, 2017

Imagine Duke and Kentucky squaring off in the first round of the NCAA tournament.

Evidently the Padres clubhouse reached that level of intensity during Monday's team meeting.

Earlier in the day, manager Andy Green unveiled a 32-player ping pong tournament set to take place in the Padres clubhouse. Matchups are drawn at random with one game per day until a champion is crowned.

Green began the festivities by reaching into a hat and drawing No. 27, the number for the newest Padre, right-hander Jered Weaver. Seconds later, Green pulled a "4," belonging, of course, to All- Star first baseman .

Baseball pedigrees aside, Myers and Weaver were considered throughout the clubhouse as favorites to win the entire tournament. Yet there they were, with the entirety of the Padres' roster watching in earnest, squaring off in the first game.

"It was crazy -- like a championship game atmosphere on day one," said second baseman Cory Spangenberg.

Ultimately, Weaver came out on top in a hotly contested match to 15. On Tuesday, Hunter Renfroe took down Allen Cordoba in a showdown between a pair of rookies.

But the results aren't exactly the point. Afterward, the Padres resumed their team meetings in high spirits, before heading to their workout with a spring in their step.

"It's great," said Spangenberg. "Any time you can put some fun competition in the locker room it's better for the team, to see everyone cheering like they're 10-year-old kids."

Even in defeat, Myers praised the event -- though he wasn't appreciative of the pitching staff vociferously cheering on Weaver.

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"It's good for the whole team to be in one room, having fun, pulling for two different sides," Myers said. "It's good team chemistry to have something like that and take some shots at each other all in good fun."

Last week, Green hinted at a few team-bonding exercises this spring, and this appears to be the first.

"What we have in that clubhouse is a lot of really good people," Green said. "And really good people tend to bond really quickly. I feel good about the culture that's being created, that I've been charged with safeguarding."

Why ping pong? Well, Green himself is a known ace.

"I might challenge the winner at the end," he said.

One reporter pointed out that it might not be fair for Green to give himself a five-round bye.

"When you make the rules, you can do whatever you want," he quipped.

Padres considering new way to use SP depth

BY: A.J. CASSAVELL

MLB.com

February 21, 2017

PHOENIX -- The Padres are already tinkering with a few outside-the-box ideas to try this season.

They entered camp with Christian Bethancourt as a pitcher//outfielder hybrid. They're going to try putting their two best defensive in the corners during Cactus League play.

And they could be on the verge of a new experiment as well.

Here are the basics: The Padres have about 11 competing for rotation spots in camp. A handful of them have experience in the bullpen as well.

During the season, the Padres might plan to go through an opposing lineup approximately once with a certain starting pitcher. Then they might replace him with another starter -- preferably of a different handedness -- in the early innings.

The goal is simple: to quickly negate any matchup advantages in the opposing lineup, or at least force the opposing manager to go to his bench earlier than usual. 9

Padres skipper Andy Green didn't explicitly say that he's going to do so. But he noted that the Padres are open to the idea.

"It's well within intelligent thinking to say, you know what, let's flip this and take advantage of it," Green said. "Let's force them to make a decision. At least it's something else they've got to think about."

The concept certainly fits within the constructs of the Padres' roster. It's very possible they'll carry seven pitchers who are capable of starting, with two serving in the bullpen. Green mentioned lefty Christian Friedrich and righty Paul Clemens as an example of two starter/reliever types capable of piggybacking because of their different styles. Both pitchers looked sharp at times last season but were susceptible to big innings later in their starts.

Of course, there are drawbacks.

"What you've got to watch, too, is how many innings we have to eat during a season," Green said. "If you start putting that much on your bullpen, now you're really starting to crush your bullpen arms and have to use your high-leverage arms in bad situations sometimes. It hurts the depth very, very quickly."

It's unclear how extensively -- if at all -- the Padres would utilize such a strategy this year. For now, it's mostly conjecture -- but still worth noting because Green didn't shy away from the topic.

So why haven't other teams attempted it?

"My perspective would be it's a little bit more counter-cultural than anything else," Green said. "It hasn't really been done before. But matchups are becoming more and more prevalent."

Rule 5 picks have legit shot of making Padres

BY: A.J. CASSAVELL

MLB.com

February 21, 2017

PEORIA, Ariz. -- A week into Spring Training, youth has become the theme at the Peoria Sports Complex. But even by Padres clubhouse standards, Miguel Diaz, Luis Torrens and Allen Cordoba stand out.

Among the three Rule 5 Draft selections, none has played a game above Class A, and Diaz, who turned 22 in November, is the oldest.

But inexperience hasn't hindered the trio thus far, and there's a legitimate chance all three will make the big league roster out of camp. 10

"We took them for a reason," said Padres general manager A.J. Preller. "I don't think we took all three guys saying we have to only keep one. ... We're going to go with the guys that earn it, and there's definitely a scenario where all three guys end up making the club."

There's plenty of incentive for the Padres to find room on the roster for the three high-ceiling youngsters. Per Rule 5 Draft stipulations, they must remain with the big league club for the duration of the season or be offered back to their original team.

In that regard, Diaz, the team's 22nd-ranked prospect, would appear to be the likeliest keeper. The Padres plan to stash the right-hander in their bullpen, much like they did with Luis Perdomo early last year.

Perdomo earned himself a place in the starting rotation by mid-June, and while they don't expect quite so quick a progression from Diaz, the Padres view Diaz as a starter long-term.

It might be trickier to find space on the roster for Torrens, a catcher, and Cordoba, an infielder. But the duo will be given chances to showcase their talents.

"Torrens is going to catch innings, and he's going to be out there with an opportunity to compete," manager Andy Green said. "Cordoba will as well. They'll be playing early and consistently and receiving opportunities to prove who they are."

Torrens, the Padres' 23rd-ranked prospect, might have the toughest road ahead, given the nature of his position. The Padres, who traded infield prospect Josh VanMeter to the Reds for Torrens' rights, have done their best to prep him for the challenge.

Catching coordinator Ryley Westman and bullpen instructor Justin Hatcher went to Venezuela this offseason to work with the 21-year-old backstop. They covered receiving, blocking and even knowledge of the individual pitchers on the Padres' staff.

"All the stuff he's done connecting with pitchers, he's been really impressive," Green said of Torrens. "It's a lot of work. It's a steep, steep learning curve. He has not shied away from it."

It's been a whirlwind for Torrens, who was mid-workout when he learned -- via Twitter -- that he was heading to San Diego.

"I was definitely surprised," Torrens said. "At first, I was really kind of in shock because it's not something I was expecting. But once I found out, I got really excited, just because of the opportunity."

Cordoba and Diaz have impressed as well. During Tuesday's workout, Cordoba, the 21st-ranked prospect, hit a rocket off the left-center-field wall during live batting practice on the main field. A few minutes later, Diaz took the mound and whiffed Cordoba on five pitches.

The three players already feel as though they belong.

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"Everyone here is really good in terms of relationships and camaraderie," Torrens said. "You can learn from the young guys and the guys with experience, too. It's a good atmosphere." Padres set with current crop of players

BY: A.J. CASSAVELL

MLB.com

February 21, 2017

PHOENIX -- There's already plenty of competition for roster spots in Padres camp. But don't expect more names to be added to the mix before Opening Day.

Speaking at Tuesday's Cactus League Media Day at the Arizona Biltmore, general manager A.J. Preller said he doesn't foresee any Major League transactions in the near future.

"For the most part, we're going to go in as is and try to find our 25-man group from our team that's in camp right now," Preller said.

It appears as though Jered Weaver, who finalized a one-year deal Sunday, will be the Padres' last addition of the offseason. But Preller added his usual caveat: "You never say never."

More than anything, Preller said he's eager to watch the spring competitions unfold. He noted that Yangervis Solarte and Wil Myers have their places on the roster locked in, but the remainder is wide open.

"Those two guys are going to have spots," Preller said. "From that point forward, it's going to be: Who else wants to earn an opportunity? It should be a fun camp to watch."

Options for the bullpen

Manager Andy Green added a bit of clarity to the Padres' pitching situation Tuesday, noting that a few starters might be up for bullpen roles if they don't crack the rotation.

The Padres' skipper mentioned Paul Clemens, Jarred Cosart, Christian Friedrich and Trevor Cahill as potential relief candidates.

Meanwhile, it appears to be rotation or bust for Luis Perdomo, Cesar Vargas and Tyrell Jenkins. The Padres view them as starting options only. And if they don't make the big league club, they'll most likely open the year as starters for Triple-A El Paso.

Otsuka returns

Former Padres reliever Akinori Otsuka has returned to the organization and will serve as the Triple-A bullpen coach. 12

"He's got great energy," Green said. "It's great to have him around. He's going to be in the bullpen in Triple-A this year, and you just immediately see what quality of a person he is. Obviously I remember him well as a pitcher, but to have him around, it's another great presence in Triple-A for our guys."

Otsuka posted a 2.57 ERA in 139 appearances for the Padres in 2004 and '05.

Back still hampering Dickerson

Left fielder Alex Dickerson missed his second consecutive workout due to back stiffness, though Green downplayed any long-term concerns.

Meanwhile, right-hander Andre Rienzo was again limited because of a slight tweak to his left hamstring.

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