Spotlight turns to baseball and Padres' weighty expectations - MLB

Just hours after confetti fell on the NFL champion Kansas City Chiefs in Glendale, Arizona, the sports spotlight shifted to pitchers and catchers who began reporting to spring training complexes Monday ahead of the World Baseball Classic

A few miles up the freeway from Glendale, San Diego Padres skipper Bob Melvin spoke about managing expectations with his star-laden club, which has its long-suffering fans whipped into a frenzy after a stirring run to the NL Championship Series last fall.

Once Fernando Tatis Jr. rejoins the active roster on April 20 following a drug suspension, Melvin will roll out a lineup that figures to include Manny Machado, who finished second in NL MVP voting; Juan Soto, who came over in a blockbuster trade with Washington on Aug. 2; and Xander Bogaerts, who signed a $280 million, 11-year deal on Dec. 8.

“We have a lot of star players here. We seem to bring another one in every few weeks or so,” Melvin quipped. “It’s been neat to see because the fanbase has really followed it and embraced it. When you have this many household names, it just adds to the excitement coming into spring training.”

Padres owner Peter Seidler hasn’t been afraid to add hefty contracts, and many fans expect nothing less than the franchise’s first World Series title. The team estimated 48,000 people turned out for FanFest on Feb. 4, waiting in long lines, sometimes for hours, for autographs and photos, and jamming a grassy knoll beyond the center field fence to hear players speak.

“You have to embrace it,” Melvin said. “It’s going to be there regardless. You have to understand that’s the position we’ve put ourselves in. That’s a good thing, right? . I think everybody here understands what the expectations are.”

Position players headed for the WBC aren’t due in camp until Thursday, but Bogaerts already was taking swings on Monday. He’ll play for the Netherlands before returning to the Padres to play shortstop, with Tatis slated to play in the outfield. Right-hander Yu Darvish, who signed a $108 million, six-year contract on Thursday, flew to Japan on Sunday for his country’s pre-WBC camp.

TATIS’ TEASE

Tatis posted a brief video on his Instagram story showing a locker full of Nike cleats and trainers. Adidas ended its deal with Tatis after MLB suspended him for 80 games on Aug. 12 after he tested positive for a performance-enhancing drug. Neither Nike nor Tatis’ agent returned messages seeking comment. Tatis hasn’t played since 2021. He was on the cusp of returning from surgery on his broken left wrist when he was suspended. The video also shows a Rawlings glove. Rawlings is owned by Seidler Equity Partners and MLB Properties. Peter Seidler is founder and managing partner of Seidler Equity Properties.

METS MUSINGS

Veteran reliever Adam Ottavino, who re-signed with the New York Mets for $14.5 million over two years, is looking forward to pitching for the U.S. in the WBC.

“It’s going to be cool,” he said in Port St. Lucie, Florida. “I played in ’09 for Italy and I always wanted another opportunity to play in it again. It was a really fun tournament for me that first time and I also knew that I wasn’t going to play for anybody but, you know, USA if I got the chance. It’s always been a kind of a dream. So excited to join the team and see if we can bring it home.”

Also in camp was outfielder Brandon Nimmo, who was re-signed at $162 million over eight years. “My work ethic doesn’t change. Who I am doesn’t change. What I expect out of myself doesn’t change,” Nimmo said. “I just get to focus on baseball and winning. And I’m really, really happy to be able to do that.”

The Mets, who won 101 games last season, were eliminated in the wild-card round by the Padres.

CORTES OUT OF WBC

New York Yankees left-hander Nestor Cortes will miss the WBC due to a strained right hamstring but hasn’t ruled out being ready for the start of the regular season.

“Came in on Wednesday and told the staff I was a little banged up,” Cortes said at the Yankees’ minor league complex in Tampa, Florida. “After long talks, obviously, the best interest was to stay out of it. The biggest goal right here is to get healthy and be ready for the start of the season. I think it’s something that’s definitely doable to start the season off healthy and in the rotation.”

GHOST RUNNERS HERE TO STAY

Starting extra innings with a runner on second base during the regular season is now permanent after being unanimously adopted by MLB’s 11-person competition committee on Monday. Used for the last three seasons during the coronavirus pandemic, the rule is known by some as “Ghost Runner” and by others as the “Manfred Man” after Commissioner Rob Manfred.

YOKOHAMA, Japan – Trevor Bauer apparently was shunned by every major league team, so he’s signed a one-year deal with the Yokohama DeNA BayStars.

Before about 75 reporters in a Yokohama hotel, he slipped on the BayStars uniform – No. 96 – on Friday and said all the right things. Not a single Japanese reporter asked him about his suspension in the United States over domestic violence allegations or the reasons surrounding it.

The only question about it came from The Associated Press. Bauer disputed the fact the question suggested he was suspended from the major leagues.

“I don’t believe that’s accurate,” he said of the suspension. “But I’m excited to be here. I’m excited to pitch again. I’ve always wanted to play in Japan.”

He said the suspension dealt technically with matters of pay, and he said he had contacted major league teams about playing this year. He said he would have been eligible, but did not say if he had offers.

The 2020 NL Cy Young Award winner was released by the Los Angeles Dodgers on Jan. 12, three weeks after an arbitrator reduced his suspension imposed by Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred from 324 to 194 games.

The penalty followed an investigation into domestic violence, which the pitcher has denied.

Manfred suspended Bauer last April for violating the league’s domestic violence and sexual assault policy, after a San Diego woman said he beat and sexually abused her in 2021.

Bauer has maintained he did nothing wrong, saying everything that happened between him and the woman was consensual. He was never charged with a crime.

Bauer joined his hometown Dodgers before the 2021 season and was 8-5 with a 2.59 ERA in 17 starts before being placed on paid leave.

Bauer said his goal with the BayStars was to strike out 200 and keep his average fastball velocity at 96 mph – hence his uniform number. He said he is also working on a better change-up pitch.

He said he hoped to play by mid-April – about two weeks after the Japanese season begins – and said he has been training for the last 1 1/2 years.

“I’ve been doing a lot of strength training and throwing,” he said. “I didn’t really take any time off. So I’ve had a year and a half of development time. I’m stronger than ever. More powerful than ever.”

Yokohama has not won a title in 25 years, and Bauer said that was his goal in the one-year deal.

“First and foremost, I want to help the Stars win a championship,” he said. “That involves pitching well. That involves helping teammates and learning from them. If they have questions – you know – share my knowledge with them.”

He also repeated several times about his desire to play in Japan, dating from a collegiate tournament in 2009 at the Tokyo Dome. He said playing in Japan was on his mind even before winning the Cy Young – and also immediately after.

“The Tokyo Dome was sold out,” he said. “I’d never played in front of that many people – probably combined in my life. In the United States, college games aren’t very big, so seeing that amount of passion. How many people came to a college game in Japan. It really struck me.”

He said he’d been practicing with the Japanese ball, which he said was slightly softer with higher seams.

“But overall it just feels like a baseball and the pitches move the same. The velocity is similar. I don’t notice much of a difference.”

Other teams in Japan have made similar controversial signings before.

Former major league reliever Roberto Osuna – who received a 75-game suspension for violating MLB’s domestic violence policy – signed last season with the Chiba Lotte Marines.

He has signed for this season with the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks.

In 1987, Dodgers relief pitcher Steve Howe, who had a career plagued with drug problems, tried to sign with the Seibu Lions. But he did not play in the country after the Japanese baseball commissioner disqualified Howe because of his history of drug abuse.

Bauer was an All-Star in 2018 and went 83-69 with a 3.79 ERA in 10 seasons for Arizona (2012), Cleveland, (2013-19), Cincinnati (2019-20) and the Dodgers. He won the NL Cy Young Award with Cincinnati during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season.

Spotlight turns to baseball and Padres’ weighty expectations

Trevor Bauer pulls on No. 96 for Yokohama’s BayStars