Padres evaluating Nola after scary HBP, pondering catching depth

MESA, Ariz. -- Padres catcher Austin Nola exited Sunday’s Cactus League contest vs. the Cubs early after he was hit in the face by a pitch from Chicago reliever Michael Fulmer in the top of the fourth inning. Nola immediately received medical attention and remained fully conscious, as he was able to walk over to a cart, which took him from the field with a towel over his face.

Manager Bob Melvin confirmed after the game that the pitch hit Nola directly on the nose, causing excessive bleeding and considerable worry about the long-term ramifications. Nola was evaluated by team personnel at Sloan Park, with the team set to provide an update at a later time.

Prior to going down in the Padres’ 5-2 loss on Sunday, Nola had enjoyed a productive spring, batting .333 (9-for-27) with a .500 on-base percentage across 12 contests. Last season, the 33-year-old delivered just an 8.6% walk rate, but he has logged at least one base on balls in seven of his Cactus League appearances thus far.

For all of the offensive prowess that comes with the past All-Star appearances and Silver Sluggers that dot the heart of the Padres’ order, the catching position doesn’t offer a plethora of depth.

Nola has been expected to see the lion’s share of catching duties early in 2023 as Luis Campusano continues to get acclimated to the big league game. Ranked as highly as San Diego’s No. 3 prospect prior to the 2021 season, extra-base pop has long been Campusano’s calling card after producing a .511 slugging percentage in 162 games at Triple-A over the past two years.

But while Campusano’s playing time in San Diego has been sporadic dating back to his debut in September 2020, he has hit just .188 with a .510 OPS in 92 plate appearances.

Also in camp on a non-roster invite deal is veteran backstop Pedro Severino. The 29-year-old’s most recent extended run at the big league level came with Baltimore in 2021, where he slashed .248/.308/.383 with an 88 OPS+ across a career-high 113 games.

Brett Sullivan, who entered the game in Nola’s place, is also an option, having made 62 starts behind the plate at El Paso last year. Having just returned to Padres camp after his stint with Team Italy at the World Baseball Classic, Sullivan threw out his second attempted base stealer (in five tries) this spring in the eighth inning. While he went 7-for-19 with a pair of RBIs at the Classic, he has been away from the club and not able to catch many of the club’s primary pitchers with frequency.

“Very concerning,” Melvin said of the timing of Nola’s injury. “We tried to create a little depth, we brought some guys in -- Sullivan’s here, Severino’s here, Campy’s here. We’ll see what this looks like the day after tomorrow."

Nola has previously been snakebitten by injuries as recently as 2021 when he underwent three stints on the injured list, including surgery to repair a strained left thumb that ended his season prematurely.