Machado: 'It's awesome' to be back

SAN DIEGO -- Fans or no fans, cameras or no cameras, nine innings or five -- didn't matter to Manny Machado. The Padres' star third baseman played a game of baseball on Friday night, and that's precisely what he’d been dreaming of for 3 1/2 months.

"Now that we're actually putting all the work we've been doing aside, now it's time to just go play baseball," Machado said Saturday, after the team’s first intrasquad game on Friday night. "We saw it yesterday. It was fun, man. It was fun to go out there and play, see everyone joking around, see everyone trash-talking back and forth. That's the best way we're going to make each other better and hold each other accountable."

To that extent, right-hander Chris Paddack noted that Machado has already taken something of a leadership role. The two recently squared off in a simulated game, and Machado had some wisdom to offer afterward.

"I faced him my last outing, and something we discussed, for me, is being able to read swings in the at-bat," Paddack said. "Getting feedback from one of the top guys on our team is very crucial -- a guy that if he beats you, it doesn't matter right now."

• Paddack eyes Opening Day start, postseason

Most, if not all, intrasquad games will be closed to media and outside observers. No public stats will be kept. But sources said Friday's game was high-tempo and featured a healthy amount of smack talk. Machado confirmed as much.

"We're going out there, and we're playing," he said. "We're going to try to steal bases, we're going to try to drive in runs, play the game. We're going to be diving for balls. We're going to be sliding. We're not going to be taking it easy.

"I saw it yesterday, I thought guys might take it easy, but guys were sliding, trying to take other players out. It's just baseball. Once you step on that field, it's baseball."

Machado, however, acknowledged that it wasn't a no-brainer he'd be playing at all this season. He spent time assessing the health risks and devouring the league's safety protocols amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Ultimately, his desire to play won out, but he called for teamwide vigilance in navigating what he called "a tricky, tricky obstacle course."

"There's a lot of health issues you've got to worry about with family," Machado said. "And once the season starts there's a lot of travel and things that come into play. It's a tricky [question]. But at the end of the day, I wanted to play baseball. This is what I love. This is what I love to do. A lot of fans across San Diego have been begging for us to be playing baseball. So for us to be back out here -- it's awesome."

Padres likely to carry extra arms

Manager Jayce Tingler wouldn't get into specifics of how the Padres will fill the four extra spots on their Opening Day roster, but it's safe to expect them to go heavy on pitching. Rosters will expand to 30 players for the first two weeks of the season, then 28 for the next two, before reverting to 26.

"One thing to be expected is starting pitching probably isn't going to be built up to where certainly is normal this time of the year," Tingler said. "I think we can expect a lot of bullpenning throughout the industry. ... I would expect teams to carry extra pitching for those extra spots, at least the first two weeks."

Based on those comments, multi-inning relievers like Matt Strahm, Drew Pomeranz and Cal Quantrill (if he doesn't make the rotation) could play a pivotal role. But which pitchers might benefit from the extra spots?

Michel Baez and Luis Perdomo also fit the bill as multi-inning options, and right-hander Trey Wingenter has fully recovered from a Spring Training shoulder strain. It seems unlikely -- at least in the early stages of the season -- that starting pitching prospects MacKenzie Gore and Luis Patiño would open the season in the bullpen.

Prioritizing versatility

Outfielder Josh Naylor spent most of Friday's first workout at first base. Evidently that should be taken as a sign of things to come.

In a season with plenty of uncertainty about which players might be available on a given day, the Padres want to be ready for anything. That means making sure they've got every position covered with a backup and a backup for the backup.

"We have to have the ability to adapt because we don't know what's coming our way," Tingler said. "Players that are capable of playing other positions, we've got to work on it now. Not only with the COVID situation, with injuries happening in a short season, we believe we're going to have to adapt."

Tingler didn't get into the specifics of who else would move around the diamond. But it's safe to assume a handful of players might get looks in the outfield corners -- perhaps Ty France, Greg Garcia and Francisco Mejía, who have all spent time working there in the past.