Snell solid in debut, promises to 'get better'

Clevinger reflects; 'that Cronenworth guy' flashes leather

March 3rd, 2021

PEORIA, Ariz. -- As spring debuts go, 's was almost flawless.

Donning Padres brown for the first time in Wednesday's 8-5 loss to the Brewers, Snell threw 15 pitches and worked his way quickly through his one scheduled inning. He struck out Brewers leadoff man Luis Urías, then walked a hitter but promptly erased him with a double play.

Solid, right? Not for Snell. Afterward, he expressed frustration with himself for his reaction to what he felt was a missed call. Snell said it affected his next pitch and he was kicking himself afterward for allowing it to do so.

"Once they call it a ball or strike, it shouldn't even matter," Snell said. "I should already be thinking about: 'What's next, what are we doing, how are we setting them up?'

“But I'm excited. First one's out of the way, a lot to learn, a lot to grab. I'll get better from it, I promise.”

Snell, of course, arrived in the December blockbuster that sent Luis Patiño and three other prospects to the Rays. After spending his first 10 pro seasons in Tampa Bay, Snell acknowledged, "It's definitely weird, I'm not gonna lie."

"But it's a good weird," Snell added. "I like my teammates a lot. I got comfortable here a lot quicker than I thought I would. It's just a really cool place to be."

And he’s off to a scoreless start.

“It was everything you wanted to see for the first outing,” said Padres manager Jayce Tingler. “Delivery repeated, the ball’s exploding out of his hands, the misses were small and the fastball was really, really good.”

Clevinger: 'Would've done it again'
By now, has had some time to reflect on the events that transpired late last fall -- his trade to the Padres, his subsequent elbow injury, his decision to try to pitch through it and the Tommy John surgery that followed.

No doubt, Clevinger wishes things had turned out differently. Because of that surgery, he's slated to miss the entire 2021 season. But even upon further reflection, Clevinger said he wouldn't have changed his approach to the injury and his desire to pitch in the playoffs.

"One hundred percent, would've done it again," Clevinger said. "There's a bunch of cool things that come along with playing in the big leagues. But there's nothing that's more fun than that postseason, where every single person's out there willing to die for the man next to him. ... That's why I want to play that game. There's no better stage."

The day his surgery was announced, the Padres also announced that Clevinger had signed a two-year extension, buying out his final two arbitration seasons and ensuring he'll be part of what should be a fearsome rotation in '22.

Clevinger watched from the sidelines this winter as the Padres added Snell, Yu Darvish and Joe Musgrove to an already solid group of young starters.

"We've got seven No. 1s over here, at least with a couple No. 1s in the making," Clevinger said.

More than most injured players, Clevinger has been an active participant in Padres camp, often scheduling his rehab around the throwing sessions of his rotation mates. He's genuinely curious about their processes and the pitches they throw. He's eager to offer input when asked.

Sure, Clevinger would love to be part of that group in '21 -- but he's clearly not one to dwell on his own misfortune.

"I don’t like looking at the glass half empty," Clevinger said. "I'm not that kind of guy. More, I'm just looking at what kind of beast we're going to be when I get back."

'That Cronenworth guy' does it again
Padres infielder drew headlines last season when he filled in for Eric Hosmer at first base and flashed some serious leather in an August series against the Dodgers.

Cronenworth was so brilliant defensively that Dodgers outfielder AJ Pollock joked that his team's strategy was "just trying not to hit it to that Cronenworth guy."

Asked earlier this spring whether he was still "that Cronenworth guy" after a brilliant rookie season, the 27-year-old infielder responded by saying: “In this lineup, I'm still 'that Cronenworth guy.’”

And he still plays a mean first base. Cronenworth made a brilliant diving snag Wednesday on a soft liner from Daniel Vogelbach to end the top of the third inning -- a 1-2-3 frame from righty reliever Craig Stammen.

Afterward, Tingler touted Cronenworth’s versatility -- and the fact that he’s a legitimately excellent defender at all four infield spots.

“He can play double-plus defense at a lot of positions,” Tingler said. “He knows the positions, he knows the game, he knows where he’s supposed to be. I don’t know exactly how you can quantify it.”

Video streams added
The Padres added five games to their spring broadcast schedule, announcing on Wednesday that they would stream those games on Padres.com. Here's the full list of online video streams for the spring, to go along with the 10 games already slated to be broadcast on FOX Sports San Diego:

March 11 vs. Cleveland, 12:10 p.m. PT
March 23 vs. Cincinnati, 1:10 p.m. PT
March 25 vs. Texas, 6:40 p.m. PT
March 26 vs. Seattle, 6:40 p.m. PT
March 29 vs. Colorado, 12:10 p.m. PT