Quote from David Jay on March 6, 2020, 1:01 am

Quote from MrPadre19 on March 5, 2020, 5:08 am

How long at the start of the season until we need a 5th starter?

Doesn’t Lucchesi have options left?

So....could we start the season with four starters and Cronenworth rostered as a pitcher?

Then let him start acquiring some innings.....won’t get 20 before we need a fifth starter but it would be a start.

As good as our Pen is why not list  Cronenworth as a pitcher anyway until he gets his 20 ip?
There are no restrictions on pitchers playing in the field or hitting.

 

The Padres open with seven straight games before their first offday, so they'll carry the full five-man rotation from the get-go.

Quote from MrPadre19 on March 6, 2020, 5:21 am

So if Cronenworth spends the year in AAA couldn’t we just bring him up late in the year(if not in contention) and put him in the BP to get the 20 ip so he could have the 2 way designation for next season?Does it work that way?

 

Quote from fenn68 on March 6, 2020, 8:36 am

Quote from MrPadre19 on March 6, 2020, 5:21 am

So if Cronenworth spends the year in AAA couldn’t we just bring him up late in the year(if not in contention) and put him in the BP to get the 20 ip so he could have the 2 way designation for next season?Does it work that way?

 

Could but don’t forget the need for 20 starts in the field (with 3 PA each) to earn the position player requirement. That too is probably achievable in 2020 if the Padres are out of contention and Cronenworth comes up ... is designated a pitcher but also plays 2B full time. If that is the route, an August 1 call-up is enough time and he would have the 2-way designation for 2021. Probably could maintain that designation going forward even as a bench player (if he does not hold 2B).

I have not read anything about “split qualification” where he could get the pitching requirement in 2020 then in 2021 add the position player requirement.

Not sure given his limited pitching over the past 4 years (since college) the Padres would want to burn one of the 13 pitchers just to qualify him as a 2 way ... keeping in mind they also want to develop some of the real pitching prospects.

Might be a better strategy to add him has a position player (at the beginning of a season)  ... get him the 20 position player starts and allow him to earn his innings in blow outs and extra innings. If the Padres are playing that well and he can’t get the 20 innings maybe they can change his designation on Sept 1 when the pitcher limit goes to 14 to allow him to work without restriction. If they play that long game in 2020 he could qualify before the end of 2020 (likely) and for 2021.

Of course, we have never seen Cronenworth on the mound ... all this discussion is based on hype and we have seen a lot of arms with excellent stuff and be ineffective. Sort of makes the AAA route or the extra inning / mop up route more logical to see how effective he really is.

Quote from Brian Connelly on March 6, 2020, 9:37 am

WAAAAYYYYYY too much time being spent trying to make Cronenworth a "2-way player"...  think MLB is trying to limit the designation to the Babe Ruth / Shohei Ohtani / Brendan McKay's of the world... not the Javier Guerra / Jake Cronenworth's

Quote from Cptjack on March 6, 2020, 1:12 pm

Quote from Brian Connelly on March 6, 2020, 9:37 am

WAAAAYYYYYY too much time being spent trying to make Cronenworth a "2-way player"...  think MLB is trying to limit the designation to the Babe Ruth / Shohei Ohtani / Brendan McKay's of the world... not the Javier Guerra / Jake Cronenworth's

That's the intent, but it's a self-fulfilling prophecy due to how advantageous additional arms are and the restrictions in place to limit those arms. Teams who don't try to get a 9th BP slot would be fundamentally ignoring all of the data that led them to increase their BP size and commit to shuttling players in the first place.

Quote from MrPadre19 on March 6, 2020, 1:57 pm

Quote from Brian Connelly on March 6, 2020, 9:37 am

WAAAAYYYYYY too much time being spent trying to make Cronenworth a "2-way player"...  think MLB is trying to limit the designation to the Babe Ruth / Shohei Ohtani / Brendan McKay's of the world... not the Javier Guerra / Jake Cronenworth's

He’s the example were using to discuss this topic.

Hes a more realistic 2 way player than Guerra.

 

Quote from fenn68 on March 6, 2020, 4:33 pm

Listening to Cassavell on the radio and his reporting is that there is no thought of Guerra as a two way player ... 100% RP going forward and likely to make the 26 man ... Padres really really like his upside.

As for Cronenworth, they see him as a middle INF but are working him on the side on his pitching. Cassavell confirmed that he really has not pitched virtually at all since college (4 years) until last season when he went 7 innings with 7 BB. Did not sound as though they are focused on making him a two way player. Guessing they are just setting him up to be the extra inning / blowout guy if he makes the 2020 squad. Should note that in 2021 if Cronenworth ends up splitting 2B with Miller and does the extra inning / mop up RP ... he might get the designation without “forcing” the playing time.

Quote from fenn68 on March 6, 2020, 4:39 pm

Cassavell also commented that France is still in the running for a roster spot to back-up 3B/1B ... maybe some 2B ... and be the “emergency catcher” freeing up the back-up catcher for PH duties if needed. I would add that he would provide a needed RHH off the bench that is probably better than the non-roster Lagares.

Still a ways to go to sort through the options.

Quote from David Jay on March 6, 2020, 5:52 pm

Remember that there is no need to designate Guerra a two-way player to have him pinch-run or pull a Waxahachie Swap at some point. Pitcher is the designation that's limited on the roster, so there are specific rules to be able to pitch without counting against the 13-pitcher limit. As noted, there is no chance the organization wants to have him serve as a two-way player.