PEORIA, Ariz. – Injuries could shuffle the deck, but it appears right-handers Mike Thompson and Kevin Cameron will land the final two spots in the Padres bullpen, and Paul McAnulty will gain the final bench job if he comes back as expected from a knee injury.
Cameron, drafted out of Minnesota's farm system in December, has impressed by inducing ugly swings with a hard cut fastball. In the Padres' 6-1 win yesterday over Seattle minor leaguers, Cameron threw a scoreless inning that lowered his ERA to 4.38.
“He's certainly in the mix,” General Manager Kevin Towers said. “He's one of those guys that has a lot of upside.”
The Padres have targeted Thompson, the No. 6 starter last year, as their long reliever. Thompson threw five scoreless innings against Arizona last night in a 5-3 Padres split-squad win.
McAnulty hasn't played since March 18, but manager Bud Black said he should be ready before Tuesday's season opener.
Grievance coming
Shortly after former Padres infielder Todd Walker cleared release waivers yesterday, Mike Weiner, general counsel for the players union, said the union, as expected, will be filing a grievance within a few days.
“Based on what we have learned to date, we believe the Padres' termination was not consistent with the uniform player's contract and the Basic Agreement,” Weiner said through a union spokesman.
Last month a three-person arbitration panel set Walker's salary at $3.95 million, deciding against the Padres' proposal of $2.75 million. The Padres released Walker this week, at a cost of $971,000 in termination pay, before the entire salary became guaranteed.
Hoffman the clubbie
A $6.5 million employee joined the Padres' clubhouse staff yesterday. Closer Trevor Hoffman pitched an inning in the afternoon game at Peoria, then donned the khaki-and-blue attire of a clubhouse attendant.
Notes
Shut out for three innings by Diamondbacks ace Randy Johnson last night, the Padres probably will get another look on April 18 at Petco Park.
That's when Johnson, 43, is tentatively scheduled to make his season debut after opening the season on the disabled list in his comeback from back surgery.
USDHS alum Carlos Quentin was to open the season as Arizona's right fielder, but he suffered a setback in his comeback from a shoulder injury.
He will open the season on the DL.
Tom Krasovic: (619) 293-2207; tom.krasovic@uniontrib.com
