The Padres' mound was dominate and the lineup was on fire today in Mesa, Arizona.

The third-straight game with at least five runs was a healthy collective offensive effort. Third base starter potential Will Middlebrooks led the charge with a slew of hits and ribby's. Andrew Cashner took the mound for his second spring training start and did Cashner stuff. Then the replacement crew came and put in some good work. Overall a great outing by the Padres.

Cash went three full innings striking out three and only walking one, giving up a fat zero in earned runs. He threw a hearty amount before walking off the field with a trainers, giving everybody a good spook. Padres chatter burst with fear of injury, but as of right now both Bud Black and Ted Leitner have relayed an "all-good" status on Cashner's health. Most likely a combination of slight soreness and being overly cautious.

The fun started in the second inning, though, with a three-run Middlebrooks jack. His first HR of the spring, Will went 1-4 after knocking Derek Norris and Yonder Alonso in for the quick lead. Alonso, the star of yesterday's offensive bout, went 1-3 with a home run of his own.  Abraham Almonte and Alexi Amarista both squirted out RBI-singles today keeping the Padres on top of the Cubs 6-3.

Justin Upton, who has been out for a few games due to a pestering illness picked up earlier in the week, connected early in the game for a warning-track fly out. Eventually he came back around, smashing a double for the day. Jedd Gyorko upped the Upton with two doubles, going 2-3 and contributing to the 12-hit Padres afternoon.

The subs came out and Kevin Quackenbush, Nick Vincent, Chris Rearick, and Jose Valverde popped in to all pitch some scoreless innings. Everybody had solid production this afternoon, with the help of some gross Cub errors early in the game. Other than a slightly-sloppy outing from Jason Lane, the Cubbies didn't do much to match the Padres' flexing.

Tim Federowicz was reportedly propped up on crutches awaiting an MRI after some concerning joint discomfort in his right knee. More information, along with some details on Cashner's retreat into the facility, will roll in later this afternoon or early tomorrow.

UPDATE: Cashner's curious removal was regarding a personal matter back in Texas.

Andrew Cashner is fine, no health issues whatsoever, says manager Bud Black. More soon.

— Corey Brock (@FollowThePadres) March 9, 2015

Federowicz's knee is all torn'd up.

MRI on #Padres C Tim Federowicz's right knee revealed a lateral meniscus tear. Will likely lead to arthroscopic surgery, timeline TBA.

— Corey Brock (@FollowThePadres) March 9, 2015

A bit more difficult to get people watching baseball in the middle of a Monday. Regardless, the same fresh faces showed up to play. london_balling lead the discussion with the most comments, and KPWest won the rec award.

Today's game was not televised so you're not allowed to see any of what happened. Sorry.

Edwin Jackson's pitching line wasn't good today... but he didn't pitch all that badly. And Mike Olt was awesome.

MESA, Arizona -- Edwin Jackson's first appearance of spring 2015 resulted in four Padres runs, three of them on a home run by Will Middlebrooks.

That sounds bad, doesn't it? I'm here to tell you that it really wasn't as bad as it sounds.

Jackson retired the side 1-2-3 in the first inning. Two of the outs were on fly balls, but both were routine, and he threw only eight pitches. Good start, Edwin!

In the second, Derek Norris hit an easy ground ball to Starlin Castro, which Castro booted for an error. That was followed by an easy comebacker to Jackson. Inning-ending double play coming, right?

Uh... no. Jackson threw the ball into center field for the second straight Cubs fielding error, and as sometimes happens when pitchers do this, he seemed to lose focus. He did get Jedd Gyorko to hit an easy popup to Mike Olt for the first out... which should have been the third out, and if that had happened, Jackson would have had a very nice outing.

Instead, Middlebrooks homered, and that was followed by two more singles, another popup, and a run-scoring single by Alexi Amarista. When he finally got Justin Upton to end a batting-around inning for San Diego, Jackson had thrown 27 pitches in the inning.

You know what, though? Until the errors, he looked pretty good. His mound presence was better than usual. He was throwing strikes, even through all the hitting -- he didn't walk anyone. As is usual for Jackson, he made no excuses:

#Cubs EJackson: "I know if I go out and throw like I can throw, I can be just as good as anyone in the game"

— Carrie Muskat (@CarrieMuskat) March 9, 2015

More #Cubs EJackson: "Where do I stand? I don't know. We'll see. Time will tell"

— Carrie Muskat (@CarrieMuskat) March 9, 2015

I joked on Twitter about scouts leaving after the home run, but in reality, I think scouts might have seen something in Jackson today that could interest their GM's. They will probably want to see him throw again.

Meanwhile, the Cubs couldn't do anything with Andrew Cashner, who threw three no-hit innings with a walk and three strikeouts. They got a baserunner when Abraham Almonte dropped a fly ball in right field and Anthony Rizzo hustled into second base in the fourth, but he was stranded.

Olt, who has been a revelation so far this spring, broke up the no-hitter (and don't think it can't happen in the spring, as the Braves did it on Sunday with nine different pitchers) with a long home run to the opposite field. Olt also walked and nearly made an amazing play on a bouncer by Amarista in the fourth inning; he fell to his knees and flung the ball in the general direction of first base, where Rizzo caught it. Too late anyway, but it was impressive to see Olt get anywhere close to first on that play.

I'd say, given what I've seen so far, if Olt continues playing like this he will be the Opening Night third baseman. Kris Bryant, who replaced him in the sixth (and likely would replace him as the starter in mid-April), walked and hit a pop fly that fell among three fielders in short center field. Bryant hustled into second with a double. We know Joe Maddon likes seeing that.

Cubs relievers did a pretty good job Monday. Kyle Hendricks (actually not a reliever, but getting time in as he heads toward the No. 4 rotation slot) followed Jackson and threw his typical game -- grounder after grounder. He allowed a double and a pair of harmless singles, one of which was the Olt play described above. The Padres' final two runs scored off Jason Motte, who allowed a home run to Yonder Alonso and two other hits in his inning. Pedro Strop, Hector Rondon, C.J. Edwards and Justin Grimm gave the Padres just two baserunners over the last four innings and combined for seven strikeouts. The Cubs pitching staff struck out 12 overall.

So there were plenty of positives in the Cubs' fifth straight loss, 6-3 to San Diego. That's what spring training is about, not wins and losses. The Cubs share their winless status with the Brewers, also 0-5 after Milwaukee lost to the unbeaten (6-0) Royals today. Does that mean anything? Not really.

I have one final note and clarification on Sunday's food kerfuffle. According to Cubs spokesman Julian Green, there was no change of policy. He told me, "Personal food items have always been allowed. This was just a case where the policy was misinterpreted." That's good to know.

Tomorrow afternoon at Goodyear, Travis Wood will make his second spring start against Cleveland's Trevor Bauer. Other Cubs scheduled tomorrow: Pierce Johnson, Blake Parker, Corey Black and Joseph Ortiz. I'm not going to this game as I need a day to catch up on some things, so I'll be listening and/or watching (the game will be on MLB.tv via Sports Time Ohio) along with you.

If you're in the Houston, Texas area Padres starting pitcher Andrew Cashner is asking you to donate blood for his mother.

He left the game early during his start yesterday after he was informed of what manager Bud Black called a personal matter.

Padres right-hander Andrew Cashner leaves field because of personal matter, not injury | UTSanDiego.com

The cause for Cashner's departure, Black said after the Padres' 6-3 victory at Sloan Park, was not injury, as had been widely feared on social media.

"He's doing fine baseball-wise. Threw the ball well health-wise, " Black said. "There's a personal matter back in Texas that I had to inform him of, so that's why I went in with Cash."

Asked if the Conroe, Tex., native would be in camp Tuesday, Black said he wasn't sure.

This morning Cashner posted a plea for blood donations for his mother on his Instagram account.

If you your in Houston and can donate blood please stop by for my mom. Give them her number #0926498 so she can get the blood! Thanks for all the prayers everyone!

If you your in Houston and can donate blood please stop by for my mom. Give them her number #0926498 so she can get the blood! Thanks for all the prayers everyone! @aimeebchrist

A photo posted by Andrew Cashner (@a_cash34) on Mar 10, 2015 at 6:04am PDT

More information became available this afternoon.  It turns out that Cashner's mother has Leukemia and had her leg amputated recently.  Cashner will fly to Houston tomorrow to be with her.

#Padres Cashner's personal matter Monday had to do with his mother, Jane, who is battling leukemia and had her leg recently amputated.

— Corey Brock (@FollowThePadres) March 10, 2015

Cashner concerned for ailing mother | padres.com

"It kind of turned into an infection and we just found out yesterday it was E. coli," Cashner said. "We don't really know what's going to happen. [We hope] she wakes up here in a few days."

Andrew Cashner left the field Monday because of news about his ailing mother, Jane. He will fly to Houston tomorrow. http://t.co/Ccd5LJQmvy

— Dennis Lin (@dennistlin) March 10, 2015

Padres' Andrew Cashner thinking of ailing mother | UTSanDiego.com

"She's on a breath machine, she's on a dialysis machine, she's on a feeding tube," Cashner said. "Things aren't very good, but there's a chance that she can fight through all of this. It's just yesterday wasn't a good day."

Our thoughts and prayers go out to the Cashner family.

After a 6-3 win yesterday over the Chicago Cubs in Mesa, the Padres return home to Peoria this afternoon to play host to the Giants. Ian Kennedy gets the ball today, making his second appearance and first start of the Spring. Last Thursday, in relief of Andrew Cashner, Kennedy went two innings and gave up two runs on three hits (including a home run), a walk, and a hit batsman. IPK is slated to go three frames today against San Francisco.

On the offensive side, we'll get to see Matt Kemp and Justin Upton hit back-to-back in the 3- and 4-spots in the lineup, which should be exciting. Carlos Quentin will hit in the DH spot after Upton, which is awkward. But hopefully they, and the rest of the guys who come to the plate for the Padres today, will combine for like a billion runs and help the Padres stay undefeated against the Giants this Spring.

Yusmeiro Petit will take the mound for the Giants to start this afternoon, but eyes will likely be on another pitcher in the team's camp. Kyle Crick, who is regarded as one of the top pitching prospects in the Giants organization, will make his second Spring outing in relief of Petit today. Petit tossed two scoreless innings without allowing a hit last Friday. Crick also pitched that day, pitching 2 2/3 shutout frames.

Lineups:

#Padres face the #Giants at Peoria this morning with #IPK on the mound. Here is today's starting lineup: pic.twitter.com/T4koUuyaH2

— San Diego Padres (@Padres) March 10, 2015

Today's #SFGiants Lineup @ SD: Aoki RF Panik 2B McGehee 3B Ishikawa 1B Sanchez C Crawford DH Blanco CF Maxwell LF Adrianza SS Petit RHP

— World Champs (@SFGiants) March 10, 2015

How to watch/listen:

No TV or traditional radio again today. You can listen to the audio webcast on padres.com or MLB At-Bat at 1:05 pm PT.

Last year Solarte's hot spring earned him a spot on the roster and sent Eduardo Nunez packing. Who will be this season's Solarte?

Last season, previously unknown journeyman Yangervis Solarte had such a tremendous spring training (.429 batting average) that he ended up making the team instead of longtime favorite Eduardo Nunez. Solarte was able to stay hot until June, then he slumped significantly and was eventually traded to the Padres. Now that we're a couple of weeks into spring training, some prospects are starting to standout. Who will be this season's version of Yangervis Solarte?

Early signs point to Jose Pirela, who's off to a nice start. In just five games, Pirela is hitting .455 (5-for-11) with three RBIs. One advantage is that besides second base, Pirela also has experience playing nearly every other position, which would make him a useful utility man. The closest competition could be between himself and Rob Refsnyder, but Refsnyder hasn't been doing himself any favors with his glove so far, as he's already made a handful of errors since games started last week. There could be some truth to all the rumors that he needs more work at second base. Plus, it would be easier to go with Pirela over Refsnyder since the former is already on the 40-man roster.

Speaking of the roster, if anyone should be worried about losing their spot it should be Brendan Ryan. For the second year in a row, Ryan is dealing with an injury that has occurred during spring training. Last season it was his neck, this season it's his back, which he hurt doing bicep curls, of all things. He's expected to resume normal baseball activities sometime this week, but last year's neck injury went on way longer than originally anticipated, so we'll have to wait and see if that happens. He's clearly a waste of a roster spot when injured, but even when healthy Ryan has very little purpose. He is a good defender, but his defense hardly makes putting his bat into the lineup worth it. With the way things currently stand, Ryan could block Pirela from making the 25-man roster if the Yankees opt to add another arm to the bullpen instead of another bat to the bench.

There's still plenty of spring training left for someone else to throw their hat into the ring. Refsnyder has been hitting well, so maybe he'll be able to show the team that his bat makes up for his glove. At this point, I'm just hopeful that someone (anyone) will have a good enough spring training to force the Yankees to cut Ryan. Plus Solarte was part of the reason that April was so fun to watch last year, so it'd be nice to see someone take spring training by storm and sneak onto the roster, if only so we don't have to depend on the rotation and bullpen for all of our excitement.

Who do you think will be this year's version of Yangervis Solarte? Does Refsnyder stand a chance? Will it be someone besides Ref or Pirela?

The Padres' big offseason could get even bigger.

The San Diego Padres are the closest of several teams interested in signing Cuban free agent Hector Olivera, according to Antonio Puesan of ESPN Radio in the Dominican Republic.

The Atlanta Braves and Miami Marlins reportedly are also heavily in the mix for Olivera. The Marlins aren't interested if the price is in the $70 million range, per MLB.com's Joe Frisaro. But if the Padres' rumored offer of $50 million is accurate, Miami could match San Diego's figure. At that point, the Marlins might have a leg up considering their location, notes Frisaro.

Olivera, a 29-year-old infielder, is considered major league ready and appears healthy following a blood clot that recently cost him a full season in Cuba.

Olivera was recently rumored to have damage to the ulnar collateral ligament in his throwing arm, but people close to him have denied the report. Olivera has since parted ways with his trainer and agent, according to Baseball America's Ben Badler.

The Padres and Braves have each held several workouts for Olivera, and both of those clubs -- as well as the Dodgers -- sent high-ranking officials to visit him in the Dominican.

San Diego was interested in Yoan Moncada and Yasmany Tomas but ultimately failed to sign either of the prospects.

San Diego had interest in Yasmany Tomas and Yoan Moncada, but after losing out on the latest Cuban prospects, may be close to landing another. According to Yahoo! Sports' Jeff Passan, the Padres are "positioning themselves" as the favorite to sign Cuban infielder Hector Olivera.

Although the club had a notably active offseason and increased its payroll, Passan notes the Padres reportedly made Olivera an offer worth more than $50 million. General Manager A.J. Preller has sought to upgrade the roster this offseason, and has added a handful of major league pieces with the intention of competing in the National League West in 2015. James Shields, Justin Upton, Matt Kemp, Wil Myers, and Derrek Norris were all added this winter, however the Padres are still not satisfied with their infield depth. Jedd Gyorko and Will Middlebrooks are expected to start at second and third base, respectively, for the Padres.

Olivera, who has experience playing all four infield spots, may not necessarily provide the Padres with the infield stability they need because of his health. A blood clot in his non-throwing left arm has led to skepticism on the part of some major league scouts, with the status of his ulnar collateral ligament in his throwing arm unclear.

When he first became a free agent, Olivera initially sought a $70 million deal. However, after major league teams were hesitant to offer a contract in that range because of the state of his health, Olivera fired agents Rudy Santin and Manny Paula on Monday night. MLB.com's Jesse Sanchez reported that since Olivera hired Greg Genske of Legacy Agency, he has received a notable amount of interest from a handful of teams.

Both the Dodgers and the Padres have done physicals on Olivera, according to FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal. The Dodgers will likely be the wild card to land Olivera, although signing him could be logical with regard to the club's future plans. Juan Uribe will be a free agent after the season, creating a need for a third baseman. Cory Seager could be developed as a third baseman, though, allowing Los Angeles to attempt to sign Ian Desmond, who has not made significant progress on a possible extension with the Nationals.

Atlanta has remained interested and made an offer to Olivera, however the Braves have yet to decide if he can have success at the major league level. David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported the Braves are not considering signing Olivera a "high priority," and that while he was impressive during his workout, there are questions with regard to how he will adjust to major league pitching.

Miami may not be willing to spend over $70 million on Olivera, although according to MLB.com's Joe Frisaro, the club remains interested. Unlike the Braves, the Marlins feel Olivera could adjust and thrive at the major league level immediately, and could play several infield positions if he signs with Miami.

The team that signs Olivera would ideally like to have him report to camp as soon a possible. While the Padres are the early favorite, larger market teams could get involved in the coming days.

I like to seeing MLB.com and the Padres putting Corey Brock in front of the camera more often.  Although I like reading his stories well enough, I find I prefer him when he appears on the Darren Smith Show and on Padres Social Hour.  It seems like they haven't been taking advantage of his talents until recent years.  They've got a guy with real solid baseball knowledge, likeable personality and he's well spoken to boot.

Since Ted Leitner left Channel 8 decades ago, he's seldom seen in front of the camera.  Of course I hear him speak all the time on the radio broadcasts, but his personality seems so much more over the top when you see his facial expressions and hand gestures.  Even in this quick video when Ted is relatively calm, he looks like a crazy person next to Corey.  I love it.

I especially like the end of this piece when they talk about what Jerry Coleman would think of the team.  Here, watch for yourself.

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Kemp, Upton, Middlebrooks, and Quentin. It took a lot to have to sit through a radio-only game with Padres hitting homers left and right. Here's the gist of what happened today.

Most of the staff here at Gaslamp Ball got home late, and things got a little bit crazy in Arizona today. For the first time in 2015's Spring Training season the lineup got to see newcomers Matt Kemp and Justin Upton at the same time. Ian Kennedy returned after being ruffled a bit in his last 2-inning appearance, and the rest of the lineup was experimented with.

Unfortunately Kennedy's expected 3-inning outing was cut short just below two. He gave up 3 runs in 5 hits, only striking out two. His last start he allowed two runs in two innings. Kennedy's stumble will make way for a start from Brandon Morrow tomorrow, as spring training starts to progress into clearing up strengths and weaknesses. But things didn't get much worse today than it did for Yusmeiro Petit.

If you thought the past couple days have been active offensively; today was a parade. Matt Kemp, Justin Upton, Carlos Quentin, slotted in the 3-4-5 spots, all hit home runs. With Kemp and Upton's back-to-back, we also got to see Will Middlebrooks smash one out in his fight for the 3B starting spot.

Our lineup spit hot fire

Will Venable drew two walks in three at-bats, scoring on Kemp's home run in the bottom of the third. The Wi with one L, Wil Myers, subbed in later in the game to also draw a walk and be left on base. Yangervis Solarte also drew a walk and went 1-2 with a crisp liner into right, also scoring as part of Kemp's 3-run blast. Before all that jazz, Kemp popped a basic single; eventually going 3-3 for the day with three batted in on his HR.

Going.

The next inning featured a two-out full-count starring a W-i-doublehockeysticks. Middlebrooks crunched a bomb into left field, a part of the ballpark that would eventually be peppered with more Padres home runs. Will #2 also went 3-3 with his self RBI.

Going.

Part of the home run party was obviously Justin Upton. Hitting his only moments after Kemp, and to his favorite spot in left-center field. Upton's day showed a healthy 2-3 with an additional RBI-double into left field. Currently in ten at bats, most of Justin's hits are home runs.

Gone.

The other fellas in the starting lineup, (Derek Norris, Clint Barmes, Cory Spangenberg) all went hitless with at least Barmes drawing a walk. I'm guessing by the time they were pitched to all of Mike's Secret Stuff was out. Not to be forgotten, Carlos Quentin hit a two-run home run of his own. He topped out at 1-4 for the day.

Our pitching didn't blow a ten-run lead

After Kennedy's less-than-sexy start, some friendly faces showed up to keep things a million to one. Jay Jackson, Robbie Erlin, Marcos Mateo, and Colin Rea all had scoreless appearances. The Giants had some abysmal defense to help with the Padres' hot bats, with three errors allowing a few runs. But nothing detracts from the spring training bloodbath all of us hope to see achieved in the regular season.

News also came in about Andrew Cashner's curious removal yesterday. Cashner's mother, who has been battling leukemia and had her leg recently amputated, is currently being hospitalized. Cashner put out a hopeful request for blood donations from residents in the Houston area where his mother is staying. He will be flying out of Arizona to go be with her.

This is where you can learn more about that.

Despite a hump in SB Nation's comment system and the fact that we were forced to only listen to the game via Teddy's quick silky-smooth voice; the turnout was great. london_balling lead the discussion again, and Timmah73 went green superstar status.

Wednesday morning's baseball includes Marcus Stroman fallout, Hector Olivera's market, and Cliff Lee's busted elbow. Subscribe for your daily Say Hey!

Listen, we know it's tough to catch up on everything happening in the baseball world each morning. There are all kinds of stories, rumors, game coverage, and Vines of dudes getting hit in the beans every day. Trying to find all of it while on your way to work or sitting at your desk just isn't easy. It's okay, though, we're going to do the heavy lifting for you each morning, and find the things you need to see from within the SB Nation baseball network as well as from elsewhere. Please hold your applause until the end, or at least until after you subscribe to the newsletter.

★★★

Marcus Stroman is out for 2015 thanks to a torn ACL suffered during a bunting drill, and this is terrible news for the Blue Jays. They aren't doomed from the start or anything like that -- the season is too long and full of too many unknowns to say that -- but Stroman represented a hope that no other pitcher in their rotation had. Mark Buehrle and R.A. Dickey's days of leading a rotation are likely behind the aging vets. Drew Hutchison and Aaron Sanchez and Daniel Norris don't project to be that kind of arm. Stroman, though, had the stuff to be a front of the rotation hurler, and while whether he realized that potential or not is an entirely different story, the chance to do so has been taken away from him and the Jays for this season.

So, what now for the Jays? They added Marco Estrada to their rotation this winter in the Adam Lind trade, but he's no real answer, as he's never thrown more than 150 innings and isn't likely to give up fewer home runs in everyone's favorite Canadian bandbox. Kyle Drabek still exists, but he hasn't made a big-league start since 2012 and wasn't all that impressive in the minors in the two years since his return from Tommy John. A trade sounds good in theory, but the Jays have made a point of letting the media know they are short on available funds. If Johan Santana is healthy, then there might be a silver lining to this Stroman injury after all, but betting on Santana to actually be healthy is something only a gambler with a problem would do.

Luckily for the Jays, Buehrle and Dickey should at least be league-average arms who soak up 400 or more innings between the two of them, and the pair of Hutchison and Sanchez do have potential, even if it can't match Stroman's. The lineup is also looking great, as Josh Donaldson and Russell Martin were added to a group that already included Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion. If the Jays were considered the AL East favorites, that might have changed, but they're still in the mix for both the division crown and a wild card, for sure. It's a long season, folks, and even someone with Stroman's potential is just one guy.

• Stroman's injury is a reminder that baseball hates you. Yes, you especially.


• Infielder and free agent Hector Olivera changed agents on Tuesday, and more concrete offers started to come in. The Braves made an offer with an unknown dollar figure attached to it, while the Padres are now considered potential favorites since they are reportedly willing to go to $50 million for the Cuban veteran. For what it's worth, both clubs have given Olivera a physical already, so maybe that busted UCL rumor was off-base.


• Will Ferrell is going to travel around the Cactus League via helicopter in order to play all nine positions in one day. He's doing it for your attention, yes, but that attention is supposed to be focused on a cancer awareness special that will air on HBO.


• Sorry, National League fans, but you are eventually going to get the designated hitter. Will you still claim baseball with a DH isn't actually baseball, or will that argument seem silly when you have no alternative to devote your summers to?


• Jon Daniels has tough decisions to make as the general manager of the Rangers. Let's all pretend we're Daniels for a moment, and figure out whether the Rangers should buy, sell, or whistle loudly while sitting on their hands now that Yu Darvish is hurt.


• MLB still has not decided what the punishment for Josh Hamilton will be. This piece on dealing with addiction in a sport that wants to punish drug use should help shed light why this is such a complicated matter for Baseball.


• Cliff Lee has a torn flexor tendon, but since surgery means his 2015 will be over, his 2016 option won't vest, and his career could be at its end, Lee is going to attempt to pitch through the injury.Ruben Amaro wants everyone to know this doesn't change the plan with Cole Hamels, though, and he actually makes some good points as to why that's the case.


• 30 baseball parks in 30 days. Will Leitch is a man with a plan.


• Yasmany Tomas: not a third baseman after all! It's not his fault, he just has the feet of an outfielder, okay?

With Tim Federowicz out indefinitely, the Padres have a sudden opening at backup catcher. Should the club go with internal options or bring in outside talent to back up All-Star Derek Norris?

Knee injuries are all essentially varying degrees of catastrophic for professional athletes.  When new Padre Tim Federowicz tore his meniscus amidst a buddingly impressive spring it elicited a collective whince from the Padres fanbase and catchers everywhere.  With no current timetable for his return and a primary catcher who has never started more than 93 games, the Padres must find ways to fill out the catching position before the season starts.

Internal Options

Journeyman minor league free agent Wil Nievesactually caught Trevor Hoffmanwhile with the Padres in 2002.  While this really makes me want to press his mitt gently against my face and breathe in the lingering changeup molecules, it doesn't speak too highly of his prospects for contributing at the big league level.  The 12-year veteran actually did see emergency action in 36 games for the Phillies last season and he wasn't THAT bad (if you choose not to look at his bb%.... seriously don't look unless you are Brian Giles).  Nieves shares a profile with many career AAA vets - extremely iffy bat, but a good reputation for defense and pitcher-handling.  In a sense he is living the life of alternate-reality Rene Rivera who never had a breakout season.  Word out of the front office is that GM AJ Preller is currently exploring a way to go back in time and give Wil a 2015 sports almanac and experimental plate discipline-inducing drugs.

Let me say the name I know you're thinking.  Let me whisper it seductively.  Austin Hedges.  You know his story.  Defensive demi-god.  Offensive demi-Wiki Gonzalez.  At just 22 years old, his once-promising bat has lost some of its prospect shine, but still has some untapped potential.  Unfortunately, he is still hitting just .225 in the upper minors for his career.  While it is tempting to plug Hedges onto the 25-man roster as the defensive foil to Derek Norris' offensive potency, it threatens to stunt Hedges' development against hopelessly advanced pitching.  With Hedgemaster still a possible centerpiece in the Padres' future plans it would seem shortsighted to force Hedges into an MLB role before he has made good on his potential.

Because I love wildcards, I'd like to toss one borderline meaningless name in here - Cody Decker.  The former UCLA catcher has never been much of a prospect (or much of a catcher), but he has performed admirably all through his minor league career in the Padres system.  He tried strapping on the gear again last season in order to improve his viability as a big leaguer, but time will tell if that transition will "take." Decker's one meaningful tool is power.  He has abused minor league pitching in his pro career (more minor league home runs than any Padres farmhand ever), but his power is tied to strikeout rates that would make Ruben Rivera shake his head solemnly.  As we know, minor league strikeout rates, like purely physical relationships, get worse a lot more often than they get better.

The list for Fed-X's replacement is relatively short.  Looking back to the offseason, Federowicz was probably plan-B for the backup gig after David Ross spurned the Padres to be with his bro Jon Lester in Chicago.  GM AJ Preller also briefly held onto veteran grit-master Ryan Hanigan, but sent him to Boston in exchange for Will Middlebrooks.  With Federowicz down, the Padres are likely down to their plan-C or D for internally filling the important backup-catcher position.

External Possiblities

Officially, the two remaining free agents with recent MLB experience are offensive disaster Jeff Mathis and defensive cataclysm Ryan "No-mitt" Doumit.  With his skillset, Mathis doesn't seem to provide any upgrade over incumbent Wil Nieves.  Doumit is a bit more intriguing since he is left-handed and has more of a history of success at the plate - particularly against right-handed pitching (career .266/.326/.447 line).  However, he offers 0 defensive value and caught just two games amidst a painful offensive season in 2014.  Plugging him in as a regular backup might be a little optimistic, but the front office has shown willingness to think outside the box.  Note to front office: consider auditioning bloggers.

Steve Adams of MLBTR opines that the Padres could explore out-of-options catchers on the trade and upcoming minor league free agent market.  He suggests names like Austin Romine, Steve Clevenger, or one of the six (!) catchers in White Sox camp.  The possibilities are seemingly endless, perhaps even a reunion with the team's longtime emergency catcher.