PEORIA, Ariz. \u2014 Jackson Wolf won his first big-league start.<\/p>\n
He was sent down the next day, traded nine days after that and has yet to pitch in the majors again.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s much more of a motivational piece than anything,\u201d Wolf said of his call-up. \u201cAnd it was so short-lived. Yes, you can say you did it, but it doesn\u2019t even really feel like you did it. It doesn\u2019t have that sweet feeling. You want to get there, and you want to stay there. You want to prove to everybody why you are a big leaguer.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can say you\u2019re a big leaguer because you had that one day. But when you say that, you can\u2019t really say it with your full heart when you know you were kind of just a little piece of that day. So to be a full-standing piece for the long term in San Diego, that would be much more fulfilling.\u201d<\/p>\n
The 26-year-old left-hander has surprised the Padres this spring by working himself to the brink of his goal.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think at the beginning, showing up, we probably weren\u2019t considering him,\u201d manager Craig Stammen said. \u201cAnd then sometimes people show you things that you weren\u2019t expecting or they show a level of confidence that it\u2019s like, \u2018All right, we can maybe see a future for this guy.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
What Wolf has done is likely not enough to beat out left-hander Kyle Hart or Logan Gillaspie for a spot in the Padres\u2019 bullpen as a \u201cbridge\u201d reliever who can work multiple innings in the middle of games. Hart and Gillaspie have more experience and are both pitching as well as the Padres have seen.<\/p>\n
But Wolf has put himself in that mix and made it clear he is an option during the season.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just want to get back,\u201d Wolf said recently.<\/p>\n
He was pitching in Double-A when the Padres called him up to start against the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park on July 22, 2023. He worked through a rain delay, allowed three runs in five innings and got the decision in a 14-3 victory. He arrived at the ballpark the next day and was told he was headed back to San Antonio. He received even bigger news a week-and-a-half later \u2014 that he had been traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates.<\/p>\n
He spent the rest of that season in Double-A before being reacquired by the Padres in a trade on April 2, 2024. He has over the past two seasons posted a 6.21 ERA over 192\u2154 innings in 48 Triple-A games (40 starts) and 3.49 ERA in 38\u2154 innings in 12 Double-A games (five starts).<\/p>\n
\u201cI would say consistency,\u201d Wolf said of why believes he hasn\u2019t made it back to the big leagues. \u201cI think (the Padres want) a piece (they) can know that is going to get it done with full certainty. \u2026 I don\u2019t think that they don\u2019t have confidence in me. It\u2019s more so, like, \u2018We want you to prove to us that you are a full long-term big leaguer and whenever we call your name you\u2019ll get it done.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
After starting the Padres\u2019 first Cactus League game and allowing two runs in 1\u2154 innings, Wolf has strung together 7\u2154 scoreless innings over his past five appearances. He is throwing more strikes, especially to get ahead.<\/p>\n
His past five appearances have come on two to four days\u2019 rest.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s getting more looks,\u201d bullpen coach Ben Fritz said. \u201cHe has different pitches, gives you a different look, and he commands it. And there\u2019s funk to it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Regarding the new role, Wolf said, \u201cWhatever the big-league team needs me to do to help them win. I just want to be with these guys \u2014 and not just in March.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bogaerts returns<\/p>\n
Xander Bogaerts rejoined the Padres clubhouse on Friday after a nearly two-week absence to play for The Netherlands in the World Baseball Classic. He did not travel to Mesa for the Cactus League game against the Athletics as he hit and participated in team fundamentals at the Peoria Sports Complex.<\/p>\n
He\u2019ll be back in a lineup for one Saturday\u2019s split-squad games, but he won\u2019t be playing nine innings.<\/p>\n
And it will take some adjustment as Bogaerts settles back into an exhibition setting after representing Aruba for four games in a charged environment.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat I know for sure; it\u2019s not that fun,\u201d Bogaerts said with a laugh. \u201c \u2026 \u00a0Spring training, do you need it? Yes, I do need it. But it\u2019s just something about the games. It\u2019s just harder, you know, because you have nothing (you\u2019re) playing for. You\u2019re trying to prepare, trying to get ready. It\u2019s just a different adrenaline. And playing against Venezuela, like we know we need that win (in) the first game. \u2026<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s none of that going on in spring training, so that part sucks.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bogaerts went 5-for-15 with a double, walk and stolen base in four games. Perhaps most important for his preparation for the season, the 33-year-old was playing nine-inning games in early March.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve been playing nine innings, so I feel good,\u201d Bogaerts said. \u201cI think that\u2019s one of the benefits that I\u2019ve had so far. \u2026 Didn\u2019t know how I was going to do it in the beginning, but, yeah, I think I feel good so far. Better than I thought.\u201d<\/p>\n
Adam update<\/p>\n
Jason Adam had hoped his next time facing hitters was in an actual spring training game.<\/p>\n
Instead, he will throw another simulated game before his scheduled Cactus League debut on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
The Padres are being cautious with the right-handed reliever who has been among the best setup men in the major leagues the past four seasons. Adam\u2019s 2025 ended when he ruptured his left quad tendon on Sept. 1 and had surgery.<\/p>\n
He has been throwing off a mound since early December. But he began doing agility drills after spring training started last month and fielding balls a few weeks ago.<\/p>\n
He still has time to make three appearances by the Padres\u2019 final spring game on March 23.<\/p>\n
Said Adam: \u201cMy goal is to be ready and let them make the decision.\u201d<\/p>\n
Back in the swing of things<\/p>\n
Sung-Mun Song took 25 swings off a tee on Thursday as he begins to ramp up activity. Opening day is less than two weeks away, but the 29-year-old Korean import is keeping things in perspective after tweaking his oblique a second time.<\/p>\n
\u201cObviously, it\u2019s the team\u2019s decision whether I\u2019m on the opening roster or not,\u201d Song said through interpreter Jun Yi. \u201c \u2026 Hopefully it\u2019s better than \u2026 whenever I got injured last time (in January), so hopefully I can recover fast.\u201d<\/p>\n
He added: \u201cI\u2019m definitely not in a rush since my oblique was injured two times. But if the body feels fine, (then) I can push myself.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"PEORIA, Ariz. \u2014 Jackson Wolf won his first big-league start. He was sent down the next day, traded…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":218753,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[181,1334,74,76,75,2611,127],"class_list":["post-218752","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-diego","tag-latest-headlines","tag-mlb","tag-san-diego","tag-san-diego-headlines","tag-san-diego-news","tag-san-diego-padres","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/218752","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=218752"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/218752\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/218753"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=218752"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=218752"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=218752"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}