Holidays extra special for new dad Gyorko

This promises to be a special -- and certainly a more hectic -- holiday season for Padres second baseman Jedd Gyorko and his wife Karley, as their twin sons, Brody and Kadin, will be experiencing their very first Christmas at the family's home in West Virginia.

Brody and Kadin were born on April 28, not long after the start of the regular season. Gyorko has been able to catch up for time away during the season this offseason, including during the holidays.

And while Gyorko said his sons are still too young to truly enjoy Christmas, that won't stop him and his wife -- and certainly their families -- from spoiling the twins.

MLB.com caught up with Gyorko shortly before Christmas to check in on his holiday plans and what he thinks of the flurry of trades the team has made recently.

MLB.com: How will Christmas be different for you this year?

Gyorko: Not too much, because they (Brody and Kadin) are still pretty young. So we are not really changing anything at all. We'll get up in the morning and head over to Karley's parents' house … all of her siblings will be there, with some of them driving in for Christmas. We'll then come back to the house and then head over to my parents' house in the late afternoon for dinner. As for gifts, I'm pretty sure the parents will go crazy with the kids.

MLB.com: What was the best present you ever received?

Gyorko: I was probably 6 or 7 years old and I was just at the point where I was beginning to get into football. I asked for a field-goal post that year so I could work on kicking the ball through it. So my dad made me one and had it all set up for me in our yard when I got up on Christmas day. That was pretty neat.

MLB.com: What's the best gift you ever gave?

Gyorko: Well, I'm pretty sure there's a few ornaments on my parents' Christmas tree I made when I was younger that I was proud of at the time. Now I'm not so sure. Looking at some of the ornaments now … I would think I'd put those on the back of the tree.

MLB.com: You've got a lot of family there in Morgantown and I'm sure you're busy, especially during this time of year. How do you find time to balance family and workouts for the upcoming season?

Gyorko: It's been pretty easy, actually. Take today [Monday]. I worked out and hit early. And I will end up getting a workout in on Christmas Eve. A guy I know has the keys to a place, so I'll go in to get my workout in about 6:30 a.m. before heading home. Then I'll probably take a couple of days off before starting back up again.

MLB.com: What do you make of the many trades and changes to the roster?

Gyorko: I've actually been going around joining with everyone about how I think we're going to have to wear name tags during Spring Training to tell guys apart. But really, I think it's exciting. Looking at what management has done, especially being able to keep the pitching , it's exciting. I know that I'm really looking forward to playing with all those guys.

MLB.com: With the many new faces, there will be some notable subtractions. Anyone in particular that you'll miss?

Gyorko: I think about a guy like Rene [Rivera] as one who sticks out because of the person that he is, someone who brings such a different energy level to the field every day. That will be missed. I don't think people realize that we spend as much time with these guys during the season as we do our family. At the end of the day, though, it's [trades] all part of the business.