The Padres will end their regular season on Sunday with a meaningless tilt against the Diamondbacks. But that doesn't mean San Diego will go into the winter quietly.
Instead, the Padres gave us some fun news on Saturday: They're considering turning catcher Christian Bethancourt into baseball's rarest brand of utility player -- that is, one who catches, pitches, and plays some outfield.
Christian Bethancourt has thrown two bullpen sessions. Padres exploring the idea of making him a pitcher/catcher/outfielder hybrid.
— Dennis Lin (@sdutdennislin) October 1, 2016
You might recall that Bethancourt pitched in two games earlier this season, showing a mid-90s fastball from a short arm stroke. We noted at the time of his first appearance that his future could well be on the mound -- especially if he continued to flounder at the plate. He hasn't done much to improve his career offensive marks, since he entered the final weekend batting .223/.253/.318 (a 57 OPS+).
The most interesting aspect here is how the Padres would intend to continue using Bethancourt on defense -- particularly in the outfield, where he made his first career appearances.
You might wonder why the Padres wouldn't just turn him into a full-time pitcher -- and it's a good question. The answer is, ostensibly, so he offers greater flexibility -- particularly in the late innings, when employing a pitcher who can play the outfield without embarrassing himself could come in handy.
So yeah, here's hoping the Padres proceed with this experiment. If only for the sake of novelty.