Latest news with #JasonHeyward
Yahoo
22-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Padres make tough Jason Heyward decision amid injury problems
The post Padres make tough Jason Heyward decision amid injury problems appeared first on ClutchPoints. The San Diego Padres are hoping to get more production from their outfielders as the season approaches the halfway point. They have seen leftfielder Jason Heyward struggle with his offensive production throughout the season, and he was designated for assignment prior to the Padres game Saturday against the American League's Kansas City Royals. Advertisement While Heyward will no longer contribute to the Padres, the team reinstated right-handed pitcher Bryan Hoeing from the 60-day Injured List. They also optioned right-hand pitcher Sean Reynolds to Triple-A El Paso. Heyward started the season as the Padres' starting leftfielder. However, his offensive production did not warrant a spot on the roster. He had been on the injured list twice during the season and Heyward was slashing .176/.223/.271 with 2 home runs and 12 runs batted in. He struck out 20 times and earned just 6 bases on balls. The Padres had signed Heyward in the offseason with the hope that he would deliver reasonable offensive production to go along with his noted leadership and defense, but the Padres rarely received the kind of production needed to keep Heyward in the lineup going forward. Heyward continues to battle an oblique injury, and he could wait for a team to claim him after he recovers from the injury. Padres trying to track down Dodgers, Giants in National League West Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images The Padres have had aspirations of wresting control of the NL West from the Dodgers since the start of the season. They currently have a 40-35 records and find themselves 6.0 games behind the division-leading Dodgers. He also trail the second-place San Francisco Giants by 2.0 games. Advertisement The Padres have dropped seven of their last 10 games, and they saw the Giants add slugger Rafael Devers in a trade with the Red Sox, so it seems likely that general manager A.J. Preller would like to add a power bat of his own to bolster the Friars' outfield. That may explain the timing of the Heyward move. To this point in the season, the Padres have depended on Fernando Tatis Jr. , Gavin Sheets and Manny Machado for the bulk of the team's power hitting this season. Tatis leads the Padres with 13 home runs, while Machado and Sheets have each belted 12 long balls to this point in the season. The Padres need to demonstrate more power on a consistent basis if they are going to catch both of their division rivals in the second half of the season Related: Padres' Michael King provides confident injury update Related: Dodgers, Padres get suspensions after scuffle
New York Times
25-05-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Switching lockers and shaving mustaches, Christian Walker is trying anything to get a spark
HOUSTON — Lockers line both sides of the Houston Astros' home clubhouse at Daikin Park. The last one on the right is now empty, cleared of clothes, cleats, camouflage Crocs and the giant National League Gold Glove trophy that sat on a middle shelf. Christian Walker dressed, dwelled and debriefed there for the first 49 games of his Astros tenure. He sported a sub-.200 batting average and struck out 30.6 percent of the time across a stretch he would rather forget, so changing something only seemed logical. Advertisement According to Walker, conversations 'outside of me' conceived the idea to switch lockers. Crushing outs that carried exit velocities of 106.0 and 104.5 mph during the team's trip to Tampa Bay only convinced Walker to 'switch something up.' That Walker finished the entire seven-game road trip 4-for-27 furthered the thought. 'That wasn't me asking for it,' Walker insisted after Saturday's 2-1 win against the Seattle Mariners. 'That was a funny conversation that was happening. One of those baseball things.' 'But if there's an energy and feels like there's a vibe, then I'll support it.' Walker inherited the locker from Jason Heyward, who became the first Astros player to inhabit it since José Abreu: the last free-agent first baseman this franchise signed to a three-year deal. That Walker signed an almost identical contract and has authored such a similar offensive start has already prompted fear from a frustrated fan base. Only Walker can calm it — and he's attempting almost anything to do so. He is superstitious 'within reason,' but like most ballplayers, won't refer to it as such. 'I feel like I don't go out of my way, but if I throw a couple hits out there, I'll probably do a real similar routine,' Walker said. 'We call it routine, not superstition. But I think it's part of the game.' Walker wore a mustache for the first two games of this 11-day homestand, but shaved it after finishing with one single in his first eight at-bats. High socks made an appearance for Saturday afternoon's game against Seattle. A clean-shaven Walker struck two singles that traveled a total of 175 feet, a stroke of luck that may prompt a more permanent look. 'I'll do whatever I can to try to get the baseball gods' attention,' Walker said. The two singles inched Walker's batting average back above .200, but he still sports a .600 OPS. Only seven qualified American League hitters have a lower one. Walker still hasn't batted lower than fifth in Houston's batting order, a byproduct of limited options to replace him and the runway a veteran player deserves. Advertisement '(We're) keeping our conversations positive and I think mindset is important when coming to the ballpark, expecting to do well every single day,' manager Joe Espada said on Thursday. 'He's been a really good hitter for a very long time. It's all about the journey and it's a very long season.' It grows shorter with each passing game, a fact both Espada and Walker can't avoid. Memorial Day looms and, after it, the dog days of summer will arrive for a lineup still searching for any semblance of consistency. Yordan Alvarez's absence is crippling, but even with him available, the Astros' problems persisted. Houston's lack of power is apparent — a problem it signed Walker to avoid, but is still confronting anyway. Blaming Walker alone is absurd, though he has just four extra-base hits in his past 99 plate appearances. That Walker entered Saturday slugging .328 with a .404 expected slugging percentage portends at least some poor fortune, though that isn't a satisfactory explanation for everything. Hitting .137 against four-seam fastballs is concerning. So is just a .235 expected batting average for a player with an actual mark of .202. 'I'm really comfortable at the moment with how I'm preparing and the work I'm putting in before the game,' Walker said. 'I think when you're comfortable with the process, it makes dealing with the results a little bit easier. I feel like we're working on the right stuff. My head is in the right place.' No Astro has taken more at-bats with runners on base than Walker. He's slashing .204/.262/.344 when he does. Of Walker's 45 at-bats with a runner in scoring position, 25 have ended in a strikeout. Thirty-three of Walker's 57 strikeouts this season have come with a runner on base. Walker wears his emotions more viscerally than most players mired in such a miserable start. He maintains it is his 'edge' — a way to stave off complacency and not crater to any outside noise. Earlier this season, he acknowledged the pressure of signing a sizable contract and the difficulties in navigating it. Advertisement 'I'm hard on myself all the time, even when things are going well,' Walker said on Saturday. 'I hit two homers and it's like, 'Yeah, that's supposed to happen.' That's kind of been my edge, my chip on my shoulder. It's been wearing on me, but no more than usual.' Adding Alvarez back to the lineup may remove the microscope from Walker's every at-bat. Isaac Paredes' power surge and Jeremy Peña's resurgence already have done that, but for the Astros' lineup to actualize its potential, Walker must perform like the player Houston presumed it was getting. Perhaps clubhouse reorganization can help. Walker's belongings now reside inside the locker adjacent to his original one. Hanging inside of it after Saturday's game: the white wrestling belt awarded after each win to the team's hitter of the game. 'I can put my own personal numbers aside if the team is winning,' Walker said. 'It stings more when we lose and I feel like I didn't do what I needed to do to help the team. 'The guys have definitely had my back. We all have each other's backs. We've all been there, all had tough stretches. I think we're all our worst critic and it's good to know the support is everywhere.'
New York Times
19-05-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Padres' offense fueled them last season. Now, they're searching for it
SAN DIEGO — Almost three hours before Sunday's first pitch, Gavin Sheets patrolled left field at Petco Park, attempting to get his bearings. It had been several weeks since he made his first-ever appearance at that particular position in this particular building. Soon, he would receive his 10th career start in left. So, as he shagged fly balls ahead of a day game, the San Diego Padres' primary designated hitter welcomed the nearby presence of Jason Heyward, a five-time Gold Glove right fielder and, thus far in 2025, the team's primary left fielder. Advertisement 'To come out there today with me and be a part of that,' Sheets said afterward, 'it just shows the special player, the special teammate he is, and what he means to this team and this ballclub.' Heyward's purported value has been as intangible as it is measurable. The former Chicago Cubs stalwart and 2016 World Series winner signed a one-year, $1 million contract on the eve of spring training. Teammates and coaches say Heyward has brought a wealth of experience and a willingness to impart his wisdom. In left field, a relatively unfamiliar assignment, Heyward has supplied adequate defense as he approaches his 36th birthday. Meanwhile, inside the left-handed batter's box, he has provided reminders of the challenges the sport tends to pose for older players. The Padres defied modern convention last season, riding a contact-fueled lineup to October while getting a slew of timely swings from veteran additions Kyle Higashioka, David Peralta and Donovan Solano. In 2025, the club's efforts to again fill out an offense on a budget have yet to produce such promising returns. Yuli Gurriel was designated for assignment before April was over. Heyward, who is hitting .177 with an adjusted OPS of 42, sat out Sunday for the third time in four games — despite the Padres' facing a right-handed starter in every game. From his perch along the dugout railing, he watched as San Diego was swept for the second time in four home series. 'This is one of those things where the game tests you,' manager Mike Shildt said after a 6-1 loss to the Seattle Mariners marked the Padres' third consecutive game in which they were held to a single run. 'It actually paints an even clearer picture of when we're going well — which is a lot of the time — what we do to help us win baseball games.' The past month has seen a purported World Series contender regress in multiple ways after a franchise-best start. Since winning 14 of their first 17 games, the Padres have lost 15 of 28. Their pitching staff has gone from posting a 2.70 earned run average in the former span to logging a 3.85 ERA in the latter. Though the second number puts San Diego near the middle of the pack, the club's offense ranks closer to the bottom with an average of 4.14 runs per game since April 15. Take out a 21-0 demolition of the historically bad Colorado Rockies at mile-high Coors Field, and the aforementioned number would drop to 3.52 runs per game. Advertisement Three games against the Mariners indeed highlighted the contrast between the early-season Padres and the more recent version. The home team finished 0-for-21 with runners in scoring position. The Padres did not have to face injured top starters Logan Gilbert and George Kirby. Seattle still got the best performance of rookie Logan Evan's big-league career, a competitive outing from Emerson Hancock and his inflated ERA, and seven mostly dominant innings from Bryan Woo, one of the more talented pitchers in the majors. The visitors also got 9 1/3 innings of one-run baseball from a shutdown bullpen featuring former Padres reliever Andrés Muñoz. 'Everybody knows what they had,' said right fielder Fernando Tatis Jr., who hit a leadoff homer Sunday for the Padres' lone run. 'It was a matter of fact of them executing, and they did. So, tip your cap.' Nando has left the yard. — San Diego Padres (@Padres) May 18, 2025 Yet the Mariners also appeared to wield an edge in offensive firepower. In the three-game series, they out-homered the Padres by a 6-2 margin, with four players going deep at least once. On the other hand, San Diego's three best hitters — Tatis, third baseman Manny Machado and center fielder Jackson Merrill — combined to go 4-for-34. The collective slump amplified what can happen when the Padres' stars do not carry a top-heavy lineup. San Diego's only other home run in the series belonged to Sheets, who joined the organization shortly before Heyward, signing a minor-league deal after he was non-tendered by the Chicago White Sox. The Padres have since gotten more than expected; Sheets, who ended last season with a .660 OPS, has delivered six home runs and an .800 OPS. But his defensive utility is limited. Sunday, Sheets received the start in left field, Shildt explained, to give Machado a day at DH and veteran infielder José Iglesias his first start in 11 days. Then, during the Mariners' four-run fourth inning, Sheets lost his glove trying to make a play on a double off the wall. 'Not many people are making that play,' Shildt said. 'When (the ball) shoots past him, maybe that's probably not what you're looking for optically. But it wasn't like, 'Oh, my gosh, you should've had that play.'' Advertisement The Padres can stomach some defensive awkwardness in their search for more sustainable offense. Shildt, after Sunday's game, did not rule out the possibility that Sheets will receive more left-field opportunities. Iglesias might have earned more playing time with a two-hit showing, but a pair of singles merely bumped his OPS to .578. The Padres haven't gotten much more than that from their catching position, even as their left fielders have scuffled to the tune of a .517 OPS, fourth worst in the majors. Elsewhere Sunday, there were reminders that last season's offense represented an ideal confluence of established stars and newcomers. Higashioka, now catching for the Texas Rangers, is batting .235 with only one home run. Solano, who was not in the Mariners' lineup, is hitting .131. Peralta, a fellow 37-year-old, remains a free agent. The Los Angeles Dodgers released Chris Taylor, making him a hypothetical candidate to address the Padres' left-field woes, but the 34-year-old's underlying numbers are even worse than Heyward's. Of course, most teams would welcome the position the Padres find themselves in: still possessing baseball's fifth-best record despite weeks of largely uninspiring offense. The sweep by the Mariners brought what seemed to be an especially uncharacteristic series for Merrill, arguably the best center fielder in the sport. Merrill said after the finale that a wrap he had worn on his right hand was to cover a blister, but he declined to blame the annoyance for another hitless game. 'Obviously, it's frustrating. Like, it pisses me off, for sure. I'd love to hit,' Merrill said. 'When I'm not hitting, it's a little tough. But, you know, there's plenty of season left. Just got to relax, take it one day at a time.' Weeks from now, San Diego could approach the trade deadline with a greater sense of urgency. The Padres certainly could use more depth and increased firepower; their 23 home runs since April 15 put them near the bottom of the majors. (Take out the five they hit in their historic shellacking of the Rockies, and they would rank last in that category.) But the front office no longer wields as much prospect depth as it did a year ago before it traded much of that depth away. And the club's projected luxury-tax figure already sits above the second tax threshold. There could be significantly less flexibility this July. So, as they did last summer, the Padres must conjure more of the relentless, contact-driven attack that powered them to October. It remains to be seen whether this particular offense can replicate such production. The Padres, coming off the wrong end of a sweep, are counting on it. Advertisement 'We've won a lot of series, and we're going to continue to win series, but it just crystallizes you've got to throw strikes (and) you've got to execute with quality strikes and get your opportunities, especially with teams that have more consistent pitching,' Shildt said. 'But there's no concern on my part at all. Just get back to playing our game. We know what that looks like.' (Photo of Fernando Tatis Jr.: Orlando Ramirez / Getty Images)
Yahoo
02-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
MLB Wealth Transfer Drives Fierce NL West Competition
SAN DIEGO – The transfer of playing wealth from the American League East to the National League West is palpable, says veteran San Diego Padres outfielder Jason Heyward, who offered an acute analysis of the issue. An argument can be made that the NL West, with its investment this season of $1.25 billion in players and MLB-best four teams with a winning record entering Friday, is the best division in the sport. Advertisement More from 'That's fair,' Heyward said Tuesday night after his return from the injured list amid left knee soreness in the Padres' 7-4 victory over the division rival San Francisco Giants at jam-packed Petco Park. 'From the amount of money spent investing in the teams to the amount of guys who've played in postseason baseball, it's pretty top heavy.' The reigning champion Los Angeles Dodgers lead the league with $400.5 million invested in players for luxury tax purposes, but even the 6-25 Colorado Rockies have spent a 21st-in-MLB $145 million. The Padres, Giants and Arizona Diamondbacks have collectively spent $703.2 million trying to keep up with the Dodgers. It's created a highly competitive environment with the Dodgers, Padres and Giants each already having at least 19 wins. Advertisement 'It's probably the strongest I've seen this division in a while,' said Giants starter Robbie Ray, who also has pitched for the D-backs. To Heyward's point, the Padres have Manny Machado from the Baltimore Orioles, Nick Pivetta and Xander Bogaerts from the Boston Red Sox and Michael King from the New York Yankees. The Dodgers have Mookie Betts from the Red Sox. The D-backs have Corbin Burnes from the Orioles. The Giants have Willy Adames, who played for Tampa Bay's 2020 World Series participants. That's a transfer of $1.45 billion from the AL East to the NL West in long-term financial obligations via either trades or free-agent signings. And that's just a sampling. 'It's having seasoned vets mixing in with some up-and-coming young guys,' said Heyward, who played for the Chicago Cubs in 2016 when they won the World Series for the first time in 108 years. 'That's the route you have to take. It's about the character you build on the club, too.' Advertisement The AL East is still highly competitive, make no mistake about it, with the Yankees leading the AL in spending at $312.1 million, third in MLB behind the Dodgers and crosstown Mets, the latter of which is at $329.8 million. Toronto ($267.5 million) and Boston ($247.7 million) are not that far behind the Yanks, with the division as a whole spending a total of $1.1 billion. Tampa Bay is 29th in baseball at $102.9 million. 'You have to spend money to make money,' Heyward said, noting that the seven highest spending teams across the NL West and AL East are among MLB's top teams thus far this season in attendance and are all highly competitive. The Padres, who opened 12-0 at home and are 14-4 there after sweeping the Giants in a two-game series, have sold out 15 of their first 18 games at Petco. They drew 47,345 on Tuesday for the umpteenth Tony Gwynn bobblehead night—the gift that keeps on giving—the second-largest crowd in the history of a ballpark that opened in 2004 but has yet to host a World Series game. Advertisement It was the first time all season either the Giants or Padres had played one of their top division rivals as April turned into May. 'It's crazy,' Bob Melvin, in his second season managing the Giants, said. 'Usually, the first month of the season there's a ton of divisional stuff. It's weird, but it is what it is. The Padres are a good team off to a great start.' San Diego has been to the World Series twice since expanding into the NL in 1969, but it lost on both occasions—to the Detroit Tigers in 1984 and the Yankees in 1998. The franchise is 1-8 in Fall Classic competition, with all the home games having been played in its original facility—Jack Murphy/Qualcomm Stadium, a multi-purpose edifice in Mission Valley. This is the fourth season since the Seidler family began pouring money into the team. With the investment into star players and the goal of winning it all, Padres fans have bought in. And despite chaos in ownership since Peter Seidler died after the 2023 season, the spending continues. Advertisement Home attendance has risen from 2.1 million in 2017 to a club-record 3.3 million last season when revenue was $448 million, according to Sportico's MLB valuations. The Padres' total value is $2.31 million, way up from the $800 million the Seidlers paid John Moores when they purchased the club in 2012. After missing the playoffs 13 years in a row, the Padres have been to the expanded postseason three times in the past five years. Petco Park has become a destination ballpark. Melvin, surveying it from the third base side visitor's dugout pregame on Tuesday night, said, 'it's San Diego, you can't get any better than this.' Melvin managed the Padres for two seasons in 2022 and 2023 before moving on to the re-tooling Giants. His 2022 club suffered a five-game NL Championship Series loss to the Philadelphia Phillies, as deep as the Padres have gone in the playoffs since the 1998 World Series. Advertisement The current club is replete with players that have either won or gone to the Fall Classic elsewhere—Bogaerts, Machado, Heyward and Yu Darvish. 'Their body of work speaks for itself,' current manager Mike Shildt said after the Wednesday win. 'But we don't take anything for granted. We know who we are and how we play. This game is challenging.' The overall challenge will be surviving the NL West. Best of Sign up for Sportico's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
CNN
14-04-2025
- Sport
- CNN
San Diego Padres make history with series shutout of Colorado Rockies
It was a weekend of firsts for the San Diego Padres as their hot start to the season shows little sign of slowing – and it's hard to know which statistic to start with. On Sunday, the Padres became the first MLB team since the then-named Cleveland Indians in 2017 to hold an opponent scoreless over a series of at least three games with a 6-0 win over the Colorado Rockies. It was also the first time in franchise history that the team has achieved the feat. The series result also marked the first time the Rockies have ever been dealt a shutout in a series of three or more games, according to They say there's no place like home, and for the Padres and Petco Park that certainly seems to be the case. With the victory, San Diego moved to 10-0 at home, another franchise record. Additionally, the Padres became the second team in MLB history – matching the 1966 Cleveland team – to rack up six shutouts in the first 16 games of the season, all of which have come at Petco Park. The only other time a team has held its opponent to fewer than a dozen runs over its first nine home games happened in 1876, according to Opta – the first year of MLB. Veteran outfielder Jason Heyward said the key to the hot start is the Padres' ability to play as a team. 'I think, you know, no matter what the result is on any given day on both sides of the baseball, let's go up there, have our approach,' Heyward said after Saturday's 2-0 victory over Colorado. 'It's not gonna be perfect. Right? It's not always gonna work out the way you want. But it's following up with that approach and that process and we've been doing a great job I think since spring training in just falling in love with that.' Padres manager Mike Shildt reiterated his player's perspective on the positive clubhouse and stadium environment post-game. 'It's an unbelievably supportive place; it's a fun place that our guys love to play. I feel like we're playing with our fans and the support we're getting and, conversely, it's a really challenging place (for our opponents) to play. 'You know, it's a playoff-like atmosphere almost every game,' Shildt added. The camaraderie of the team is palpable and it's translating in the performances, especially with the pitching staff. The Padres are second in the league with a team ERA of 2.68 and their bullpen has an MLB-leading 1.51 ERA. Sunday's starter, Michael King, pitched the first complete game shutout of his career in front of a sellout crowd and became the first Padres starter to notch an individual shutout this season. 'These fans are incredible,' the 29-year-old said of the support. 'They show out and it's always fun to put on a show for 'em.' 'We got a lot of different approaches. I mean the Rockies just saw three different starting pitchers. You got a four-seam curveball guy in Nick (Pivetta), a lefty (Kyle Hart) with every pitch you have and really good command, and me as a sinker-sweeper guy,' King said of the pitching staff's versatility and dominance. The MLB-leading Padres (13-3) will look to record their fourth consecutive shutout tonight when they host the Chicago Cubs at 9:40 pm ET.
