Hart joined the Padres last offseason after a dominant season in the Korea Baseball Organization in which he won the Choi Dong-won Award, the league’s equivalent to the Cy Young.
Hart struggled across 43 big league innings last year, sporting a 5.86 ERA. Nevertheless, the Padres brought him back on a $1 million deal this offseason, and he looks like a completely different pitcher this spring.
Hart has made five appearances, pitching 8.2 scoreless innings with seven strikeouts. He’s caught the attention of his manager.
“The way [Hart] has been pitching this spring training has put him in a good spot in that competition,” Stammen said. “He’s pitching great, probably the best that we’ve seen him as a Padre. And it’s kind of exciting to see a potential lefty in the pen, bulk inning kind of pitcher that can do a lot of different things.”
With the injury to Yuki Matsui, Hart could have a clear path to the Opening Day roster as a lefty in the bullpen.
Written by: Noah Camras
Full article can be found at: https://www.si.com/mlb/padres/onsi/san-diego-padres-news/3-padres-players-suddenly-making-strong-push-for-opening-day-roster