There’s a crazy story coming out of San Diego. You may not have heard this, but the Padres are experimenting with Christian Bethancourt as an outfielder — and as a pitcher.
A former Braves catching prospect with a strong arm who many expected to the answer behind the plate for the Braves for a long time, Bethancourt is becoming a super-utility player with the Padres.
His first two seasons in the majors were with the Braves in 2014 and 2015. He played in 73 games, all as a catcher. He was traded to San Diego on Dec. 15, 2015 for pitchers Ricardo Rodriguez and Casey Kelly. Last season the Padres used him behind the plate for 41 games, but he also played 12 games in the outfield (left and right) and one at second base, and the Padres used him some as a pitcher.
According to Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune , Bethancourt will spend time during spring training working on his pitching skills.
This experiment started last season when Bethancourt made two relief appearances. The first time he pitched two-thirds of an inning May 31 and later a full inning. Overall, he allowed one hit and no runs. He struck out one, but his control was an issue. He allowed three walks.
However, the Padres liked enough of what they saw to continue the pitching experiment in winter ball in his native Panama. According to Lin, Bethancourt’s fastball has been clocked as high as 98 mph, and he has a slider in the high 80s. Lin tweeted in October that Bethancourt was working on a change-up in winter ball.
Lin said that Bethancourt made seven appearances in Panama of one-inning each.
In 153 big-league games, Bethancourt has a .223 batting average with eight home runs and 46 RBIs.
The Padres likely will lose a lot of game this season with a patchwork roster. That could be just the recipe for Bethancourt to continue his hybrid role.
