SAN DIEGO -- Jhoulys Chacin spent 10 seasons in the Rockies organization, where he pitched 124 Major League games and nearly 700 innings. In his own words, the Rockies "are the team that taught me everything I know about baseball."
On Saturday, for the first time, he gets to show them what he learned.
Chacin has faced 28 teams in his nine-year big league career, excepting only the Rockies and Blue Jays.
"It's going to be exciting and maybe a little emotional to be facing the team I played for for 10 years," Chacin said. "That's the team I signed with. I know a lot of the guys. But when I get on the field, I just want to pitch well and give our team a chance to win."
Chacin left the Rockies after the 2014 season and has pitched for four teams since. He inked a one-year deal with the Padres during the offseason and has seen mixed results over the season's first two months.
He says he's most eager to face Carlos Gonzalez, his teammate for six years and a fellow native of Maracaibo, Venezuela.
"CarGo is one of the guys I was most close to," Chacin said. "Also, [Nolan] Arenado came up a couple years after me. I was rooting for them to get hits my whole career. Now I'm facing them, competing against them. It's going to be really exciting for me. ... I know they have a lot of new people now, and things might be a little bit different with them. But it was a really good time that I spent with the Rockies."
It's been a bumpy road of late for Chacin, who has struggled away from Petco Park this season. He's posted a 10.27 ERA in seven road starts, while allowing just two runs on 12 hits in 27 home innings.
"It starts to play itself out by a self-fulfilling prophecy, where you expect him to pitch really well at home," said Padres manager Andy Green. "Good news, he's pitching at home. ... We'll try to figure out the road thing after his next two outings at home."
Worth noting
• Alex Dickerson will get at-bats as a designated hitter in some extended spring games at the Padres' complex in Peoria, Ariz., beginning this weekend. Dickerson is recovering from a bulging disk in his back, and the Padres are hopeful he will progress toward a rehab stint in the next week or two.
• The Padres will have a decision to make with rookie Franchy Cordero when center fielder Manuel Margot returns from a strained right calf. Cordero, Margot's replacement in center field, was 5-for-16 entering play Friday and has impressed defensively. Green said it's possible Cordero could shift to one of the corner outfield spots. But he wouldn't delve too deeply into the issue, with Margot's timetable still uncertain.
"You don't want to limit the opportunities for Franchy," Green said. "I think it's premature to discuss what we'd do at that point in time, when Manny's back. But Franchy is making a nice impression."