Seven Padres Sent Down

Sorry I’ve been out the last two days–college gets busy sometimes. I should be getting several articles up in the next two days to compensate.

Anyway, the Padres spring roster is officially down to 47 players today, as seven players were sent to the minors yesterday in the first round of spring cuts.

Catchers Michael Collins (who impressed in camp) and Mitch Canham were sent down, along with righties Jackson Quezada and Craig Italiano and lefties Aaron Poreda, Steve Garrison and Cesar Ramos.

With three big-league catchers already around (Yorvit Torrealba, Nick Hundley, and Dusty Ryan), Canham and Collins had no chance of making the roster. Italiano, Garrison and Quezada are lower-minors guys who clearly need more seasoning.

The two somewhat surprising cuts are Poreda and Ramos, who both saw action in the bigs last year.

I talked about Poreda’s horrific outing a few days back, and how it’s not representative of his true ability. He pitched well in most of the rest of the spring. I thought he should get a real look, but there’s no doubt he’s got plenty of stuff–control and secondary pitches, namely–to work on.

Ramos didn’t have the legitimate shot that Poreda did, but it’s still a bit surprising to see him cut this early, with 47 players (including 11 NRI’s) hanging on longer than he.

He posted a 3.07 ERA (and impressive 2.55 FIP) in 14 2/3 innings last year, showcasing a playable fastball and changeup and two nasty breaking pitches. Still, it makes sense he ultimately won’t make the roster; a 4.43 AAA FIP is nothing to get worked up about, particularly for a 25-year-old.

I’m wondering if the demotions have something to do with Clayton Richard’s struggles. Wade LeBlanc, Sean Gallagher, and Mat Latos have all thrown better than Richard this spring, which leads me to believe that Richard could get pushed to the pen, where he could excel. If Richard’s going to get a serious look in relief this spring, then Poreda and Ramos get pushed further down the lefty relief depth chart, and it makes more sense for them so get work as starters in minor league camp so they can be stretched out.

Still, it surprises me that someone like Josh Geer is sticking around longer than Ramos and Poreda.