Josh Byrnes interview with Coach Kentera (MP3)
- Andrew Cashner has picked up right where he left off last year. He's throwing a lot of pitches for strikes and getting weak contact out of the hitters. Byrnes also thinks he should win the Gold Glove, "he's an unbelievable fielding pitcher". Byrnes says coaches have to keep an eye on Cashner to make sure he doesn't over do it. "There's a lot of little kid in Cash." Byrnes says Cashner was a late bloomer physically and he's starting to get some "man-strength".
- Yasmani Grandal will probably catch 3 or 4 innings today. It'll be his first time playing since his injury. Byrnes says it's possible he starts on Opening Day but he needs to get some at bats first. It might be tough to carry him and expect him catch 4 or 5 games a week. It doesn't seem realistic at this point. There's a small chance the Padres might carry 3 catchers.
- Austin Hedges looks great. He looks like a big leaguer defensively. He's starting to pick up the craft by matching pitcher's strengths with hitter's weaknesses. "He swung the bat okay. I still think he's going to be a good hitter, but clearly the defense it a little bit ahead of his offense." He'll probably start in AA and finish the year in AAA. He needs more development this year.
- The Padres claimed OF Alex Castellanos off waivers from the Texas Rangers. Byrnes likes Castellanos versatility, he's played 5 positions professionally. He's got power, speed and a lot of AAA experience. He's still got an option left, so he'll probably see some big league time this year.
- Byrnes thinks that Rico Noel is the Padres best defensive center fielder, better than Cameron Maybin. Byrnes thinks it's possible that Noel could make the ball club, it depends if Buddy thinks he'll use him. Noel is not currently on the 40 man roster.
- Donn Roach has thrown well in his two major league Spring Training, but has had setbacks during the seasons. "He's in the mix too, he's on the 40 man roster."
- Chase Headley has made slow steady progress with his calf injury. He probably needs to play a week or 10 days worth of games ideally. They're not going to push him to come back early.
- Byrnes has some concern due Max Fried's arm injury. Fried feels a lot better, he'll probably start throwing in a week or so. He's responded well to rest and rehab. Fried says he feels great.
- Tommy Medica can really hit. He's had an interesting career with the shoulder injury right out of the shoot. Byrnes hopes he can figure out a way to get his bat in the line up.
- Alex Dickerson was a little nervous at first playing for the hometown team. They're moving him around defensively. He's a big strong left handed hitter with a lot of power.
- Alex Torres looked pretty good yesterday after his poor performance in his first outing. He threw really hard and was really sharp. He was using his secondary pitches really well.
- Byrnes and A.J. Hinch spend a lot of time in Bud Black's office going over players. "Were not in a hurry to make decision quite yet."
- Joaquin Benoit looks like he's ready to go right now. He's got a quality fastball that he can locate and a devastating change-up.
"There's a lot of little kid in Cash." -Josh Byrnes