Difficult decisions ahead as Padres decide bench spots
PEORIA, Ariz. — The meetings are generally long. The men assembled in an upstairs conference room for hours at a time discuss what they have seen and what they think they will see. On and on they go, night after night dissecting and disagreeing, as well as affirming.
Contrary to a narrative that has developed over the years, Padres president of baseball operations A.J. Preller invites input from the cadre of evaluators in his inner circle, plus manager Mike Shildt and the coaching staff. He actually demands it.
He promotes addressing players and situations from all angles. The only mistake is to not have something to say and to say it assertively.
Unanimity is rare when these men get together. In the end, however, there is solidarity. The aim is making the Padres as good as they can be.
There will be plenty of debates in the coming week. There always are as spring training winds down and the roster is whittled to its opening-day number of 26.
But this week, at the end of this camp, the group appears headed toward an uncommon number of strong opinions and split decisions.
Braves pitcher Chris Sale named Opening Day starter vs. Padres
ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) – The Atlanta Braves have named their starting pitcher for Opening Day.
On Monday morning, the Braves named left-handed pitcher Chris Sale the starter for their first game of the 2025 season against the San Diego Padres, which will air free on Gray television stations across the southeast.
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This will be Sale’s second season in Atlanta after being acquired from the Boston Red Sox in a trade after the 2023 season.
In Sale’s first season with the Braves, he recorded an 18-3 record as the starting pitcher. He led the league in strikeouts with 225, while only allowing 141 hits and 48 runs.
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In five starts this spring training, Sale has a 4-1 record, striking out 15 batters and allowing nine hits and six runs.
Opening Day against the Padres will be on Thursday, March 27 at 4:10 p.m. at Petco Park in San Diego.
