Padres pitchers and catchers reported to the Peoria Sports Complex on Thursday for what figures to be a much more reserved spring. Twelve months ago, much of baseball, including people in San Diego, was making grand proclamations about the “winner of the offseason.” Flash forward to the present, and the Padres have reverted to the role of underdog.

The annual sense of optimism may not be missing from these parts, but this year, the Padres are shying away from making any specific predictions.

“I think the vibe with everybody ... is we enter the season with no other thought but going out and competing and getting better every single day,” rookie manager Andy Green said. “If we can improve every day, there’s enough people in this clubhouse who have done enough in this game that we’ll be right in the thick of it.

“Our job is not to be the prognosticator. We’ll let everybody else in the game do that. We’ll let you guys decide what we’re going to be and where we belong. We’ll engage in the work and get better ever single day. I tell you, these guys don’t lack in confidence, they don’t lack for a desire to go prove themselves. It’s a different label this year than what the Padres had last year. I think these guys kind of relish that role, and we’re going to embrace it.’'


Despite fielding a roster with some big-name acquisitions, the Padres fizzled in 2015 and finished 74-88. This year, most projection systems have taken into account the losses of several starters and peg the team to have a similar record, if not worse.

“I think everyone has a goal of coming in and making a championship team. Nothing has changed from last year,” said right fielder Matt Kemp, who was among position players reporting early for camp. “We’ll go out, have a good spring and see what happens.”

Of departures such as Justin Upton, Craig Kimbrel and Ian Kennedy, Kemp said: “Those guys are irreplaceable, but we’ve got guys here who are capable of doing the job. There’s going to be a lot of competition here in spring training. Hopefully, guys are up for the challenge and are ready to come in and work.”

Almost all of the Padres’ pitchers and catchers invited to major league camp were on site Thursday to take physical examinations. The only exceptions were catcher Christian Bethancourt and left-hander Jose Torres, who are dealing with visa issues in their native countries of Panama and Venezuela.


Early-arriving position players besides Kemp include second baseman Cory Spangenberg; shortstop Jose Rondon; infielders Carlos Asuaje, Adam Rosales, Ryan Schimpf and Jemile Weeks; and outfielders Jabari Blash, Alex Dickerson, Travis Jankowski and Jon Jay.

When pitchers and catchers hold their first official workout Friday, they should be mostly in good health. New closer Fernando Rodney, who felt left hamstring tightness while pitching in the Caribbean Series, said he is returning to full strength.

“I feel very close, like, 85 percent,” Rodney said.

“We’re going to bridle him a little bit early on,” Green said of Rodney. “The guy’s done it a few times (with more than 12 years of major league service time, Rodney is the most experienced major leaguer in camp). We don’t need him out of the chute going 100 mph on Feb. 19 and 20.”


Elsewhere on the health front, Green said the plan is to allow right-hander Brandon Morrow, who had shoulder surgery in October, and lefty reliever Buddy Baumann, who recently had a “minor setback with a little back issue,” to build up gradually.