PEORIA, Ariz. -- Manny Machado might hit a dozen Cactus League homers over the next three weeks. He might not hit any. Frankly, who cares? When the season begins, so long as he's healthy, he's Manny Machado.
Feel free to tune in to watch him, of course. He's worth it -- and we’ve all been without baseball for far too long. But for players of Machado’s ilk, spring performance can mean very little.
That isn't true for every Padre, however. There are a handful of players worth keeping an eye on in Cactus League play, whether they're returning from injury, looking to bounce back or challenging for a roster spot. Here are five of them:
Mike Clevinger
Remember him? Shortly after Clevinger underwent Tommy John surgery late in 2020, the Padres went out and traded for a trio of aces -- Yu Darvish, Blake Snell and Joe Musgrove. Those moves were made, in part, to mitigate the loss of Clevinger. But they were also made with an eye on '22 when, ideally, those four would anchor the rotation.
Well, here we are. Clevinger is back and expected to be part of the team's Opening Day rotation, manager Bob Melvin said earlier this week. He faced hitters on Thursday and he is likely get into game action for the first time next week.
"It's all trending upwards," Clevinger said. "I'm feeling more and more like normal. I don't feel like a guy that's had injuries. It feels like a normal Spring Training, and I actually feel healthier than I have for a lot of my career."
MacKenzie Gore
It's easy to forget Gore is only 23. Once the game's top pitching prospect, Gore struggled over the past two seasons, sending his stock plummeting. He's yet to earn his big league breakthrough.
But the Padres seem optimistic that Gore's leap is coming. When he was done pitching in the Arizona Fall League last year, Gore returned to San Diego to work extensively with new pitching coach Ruben Niebla. The two prioritized cleaning up Gore's mechanics in the lower half of his body. Those changes, they hope, will lead to better efficiency and command.
It's finally time to put that offseason work to the test against big league competition. And the Padres are wasting no time. Gore, an outside contender for a rotation spot, gets the ball Friday in San Diego's Cactus League opener against Seattle.
"I'm looking forward to it," Gore said. "Some game action. ... It's important [to take that next step] with everything that's happened. I've just got to continue working and getting better."
Ha-Seong Kim
Kim's first year in the big leagues was a roller coaster. He excelled defensively, and he authored his share of memorable moments at the plate. But on the whole, he batted just .202/.270/.352. During the offseason, Kim geared his drills heavily toward two things:
"I worked on velocity, through hitting off the machine a lot," said Kim through a team interpreter. "And I tried to get in shape to match the 162 games, to try to stay sharp."
Suddenly, it's quite imperative that Kim's offseason work pays off. With Fernando Tatis Jr. set to miss about three months, Kim is projected to open the season as the team's starting shortstop.
Nick Martínez
With a healthy Clevinger, the Padres already have a formidable starting rotation. But if Martínez's recent success in Japan pays off, the Padres might have one of the deepest groups of starting pitchers in the league.
Martínez last played in the Majors for Texas in 2017. After four seasons in Japan, he’s clearly a different pitcher. He posted a 1.62 ERA in 23 starts last season. Notably, he says he's honed his delivery to be more efficient than it was during his first stint in MLB. He’s also tinkered with his pitch mix.
Now, Martínez gets to test those changes against big leaguers.
"Different hitters, so there's going to be a little bit of an adjustment period for that," Martínez said. "Maybe a different philosophy of hitting. But, again, the amount of work I've put in, and my preparation and what I do to make me successful, I feel ready."
CJ Abrams
The Padres don't really have any questions about whether CJ Abrams will impact their big league club. They simply aren’t sure when.
It’s more than likely that Abrams will open the season in the Minor Leagues. He's only played 76 professional games, and his first season at Double-A was cut short in June when he broke his left leg and sprained his MCL.
Then again, the Padres aren't usually shy about promoting standout prospects. Abrams -- a speedster with excellent bat-to-ball skills -- bulked up a bit during the offseason. As a result, he's grown into some pop. He's steadier defensively, too.
There is, of course, an opening at shortstop with Tatis on the injured list. Lest we forget the last time the Padres had an opening at shortstop, when a top prospect clearly won the job in spring?