Back from flu, Tatis clears the fence
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PEORIA, Ariz. -- Fernando Tatis Jr. returned to Padres camp on Wednesday after he spent several days away from the team while battling the flu.
Prior to the team’s workout Wednesday, manager Mike Shildt noted that Tatis’ workload on his first day back would likely be light -- predicated mostly on how he was feeling.
Sure looks like Tatis is feeling OK.
In his first live BP session, Tatis crushed a monstrous home run off of new Padres right-hander Nick Pivetta on a Peoria Sports Complex back field. After taking full batting practice, Tatis received three live at-bats against Pivetta. He struck out in each of the first two before crushing a homer to center field.
“I felt good,” Tatis said. “I was down with the flu, but it was nothing crazy. Just trying to be smart about it. I came out feeling good.”
The flu has been far too present at Padres camp this spring. Catcher Luis Campusano was also sidelined for a few days recently, though he made his return to the starting lineup on Wednesday afternoon. Campusano went 1-for-2 and caught four scoreless innings in the Padres’ 3-1 victory over the White Sox at Camelback Ranch.
“Knock on wood a little bit, it looks like everybody’s in camp now,” Shildt said. “And, hopefully, whatever’s going around is over.”
It remains unclear when Tatis will make his Cactus League debut, though the Padres’ trip on Thursday to face the A’s in Mesa is almost certainly off the table. It could come Friday night against Seattle, but that largely will be predicated on Tatis.
“We trust him,” Shildt said. “He’s going into his seventh year. He knows what he needs to do, knows his body. He’ll come back, get what he needs, and we’ll kind of build from there.”
Worth noting
• The back-field outing marked Pivetta’s first live action of the spring. He signed with the club on the morning of the first full-squad workout. Aside from the Tatis home run, Pivetta didn’t allow a hit across two simulated innings.
Shildt noted that Pivetta’s later start hasn’t impacted his buildup. The delay in getting into Cactus League games is merely part of the planned progression. All four of the Padres’ presumed rotation locks -- Pivetta, Yu Darvish, Dylan Cease and Michael King -- have pitched only on back fields this spring, as the battle for the fifth rotation spot has taken center stage.
• Right-hander Ryan Bergert was added to the Padres’ 40-man roster ahead of the November deadline to protect players from the Rule 5 Draft. He’s a longshot for that rotation spot. But he’s making a strong case.
Bergert is the only Padre who has made multiple starts this spring, and he has yet to allow a run across three innings. On Wednesday against the White Sox, Bergert pitched two perfect frames.
“Opening Day starter in Spring Training, and [he] didn’t back down,” Shildt said. “We don’t take that lightly. That’s a big deal for a new 40-man guy. He shows up, in control, throws quality strikes and everything’s hitting.”
• Padres radio analyst Tony Gwynn Jr. summed it up best: “Just like that,” Gwynn said after an impressive opposite-field home run, “Forrest Wall has entered the chat.”
Indeed. Wall was a longshot for a bench spot at the start of camp. But the non-roster invitee has turned in an excellent first week and suddenly seems to be in the mix, especially after his 2-for-2 afternoon on Wednesday, which included a tiebreaking, opposite-field homer in the eighth.
“He’s here, he’s competing, he’s doing well,” Shildt said. “He’s really had a great spring, played good defense. That was a big-boy home run the other way. That was driven. I also love the baserunning.”
The Padres seemingly have two non-catcher bench spots available, and they’ve already gotten solid performances from a number of contenders this spring. Add Wall to that mix.