Camp sights: James Shields brings some swag to Padres

NOTE: Paste BN Sports' Paul White, via car, causeway, plane and rail, will reach every major league camp this spring.

Follow his exploits on Twitter -- @PBJWhite- as he makes his way through the Cactus and Grapefruit leagues before imparting all you didn't know.

TODAY: San Diego Padres

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PEORIA, Ariz. – You couldn't help but notice James Shields.

The prime off-season addition to the Padres pitching staff was sashaying through the clubhouse modeling an electric mix of blue, green and orange from pullover to shoes – booty from a box sent by a gear manufacturer.

Some teammates giggled, others groaned and those closest to the pitcher shielded their eyes.

"We're going to have fun this year," says Shields, who signed a four-year, $75 million contract to fill a role similar to his previous one in Kansas City that resulted in a trip to the World Series.

Less noticeable but more significant to what Shields brings to the Padres took place the same morning on a bullpen mound behind the clubhouse.

Josh Johnson was throwing from a mound for the first time since his second Tommy John surgery – just 20 fastballs as part of the progression that the Padres hope will put him on a major league mound by mid-summer.

Among those watching were Shields and the rest of the San Diego rotation.

"We saw J.J. get on the mound, which is huge," Shields says. "All the starters just sat and watched him in the bullpen, which is awesome. I can't wait to see him come back."

Those 10 minutes one morning go well beyond the potential addition of a former National League ERA champion – Johnson had a 2.14 ERA over 244 innings in 2010-11 before the elbow issues.

"You need all five guys to go to the playoffs and win," Shields says. "You have to be a team, you have to be together and guys really have to have each others' back."

It's a process he was an integral part of in Tampa Bay, where the rotation was a tight-knit group with Shields the clear leader. It's continued there with the Shields role passed to David Price and now to Alex Cobb.

The small-group team building is starting on a San Diego team with plenty of new faces and that's clearly part of why Shields was signed.

"I don't really think of it as trying to come in and be a leader," he says. "If I can help guys out, guys can help me out, you have to build that kind of relationship. You have to be able to communicate and help each other out. That's my main focus."

Shields knows the leadership component is part of why he landed a deal that's at least worth considering as otherwise generous for a 33-year-old.

"I'm glad that people perceive me that way," he says. "I've been the same guy my whole career. Bottom line is that I want to win. I think there's a certain formula for winning and a lot of it has to do with being on the same page as everyone else and doing your part."

The Padres rotation could evolve through the season. Besides Johnson, there's also Brandon Morrow aiming to right an injury-plagued career and Cory Luebke coming off his Tommy John surgery. Ian Kennedy and Andrew Cashner are experienced hands and Tyson Ross still is emerging coming off an All-Star selection last year. Then there is the prospect collection of Matt Wisler, Robbie Erlin and Casey Kelly, plus Odrisamer Despaigne as a useful swing man.

Shields' sessions with fellow starters could get crowded. That's just more sharing.

"We're also each others' pitching coaches," he says. "We play catch with each other every day and maybe in a game someone might come up to me and say, 'Hey, what do you think about throwing this guy this certain pitch?' They might see something I'm not seeing out there. Then you have the friendly competition with each other to push each other, which is huge.

"We have high expectations of ourselves," says Shields, still experimenting with his freebies.

He spins and twirls in front of his locker in an orange top, one orange shoe and one green shoe – an outfit that would look at home on a University of Miami mascot.

Says Shields, "We're not going to tone it down."

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Jedd's ready

The Padres can stake a valid claim for winning the offseason. Not that anyone in San Diego is declaring that automatically translates to success this season, but the revealing point about a roster remake is what it really means.

Even as drastic and stunning as the Padres changes have been, newcomers will make up less than half the Opening Day roster. It could be around 40%, pending the final cuts and DL moves – and that's a significant and unusually high number.

But the point that often gets lost is that the majority of the roster remains. Those folks still will have a lot to say about the chances of the team that won the offseason doing something similar once the games are played on the field.

"I'll be in there somewhere," says second baseman Jedd Gyorko, who's gone from being considered a building block on a team building slowly to one of those overlooked incumbents on a suddenly chic pick as an upstart contender.

Adding the likes of Matt Kemp, Justin Upton, James Shields, Wil Myers and more will do that.

"Guys like that only make you better," says Gyorko, who has his own personal building to do. "They're going to be on base. There are going to be more opportunities to drive guys in. Even moreso, just to be able to work with them out on the fields and see how they approach the game. Those guys have been successful. They understand how to be successful in this game. That's something that I'm still trying to learn and fully understand."

It's the "other guys" the Padres have been counting on, like Gyorko, who really could make the difference in how quickly this team can challenge the Dodgers and Giants at the top of the division.

It's whether Gyorko can reverse the slide to .210 last season after a solid rookie year. It's whether first baseman Yonder Alonso is ready to play every day. Whether Cashner, Ross and Kennedy can be something approaching Shields' equals in the rotation.

"I need to be more consistent," Gyorko says. "That's always the difference between guys who come up, make it and stick. Everyone's talented. It's guys who consistently go out there and do it day in and day out."

One thing Gyorko already has seen has been the change in mindset that began during the winter frenzy.

"A lot of people have asked me what I was thinking sitting at home while all the news was being made," he says. "It's exciting, obviously. The first thing I thought was that this should be a pretty good team. That's some thump in the lineup. Obviously, getting all the people we did, the biggest thing was to keep the pitching and then add Shields. We had one of the best pitching staffs in all of baseball last year."

The feeling got even better once he was in spring camp.

"Everyone's optimistic at the beginning of the year," Gyorko says. "But I think in years past we were hoping that we would win. You can tell this year that this team expects to win. That's a big difference going into a season. It's a fine line, it really is."

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New life after New York

Yangervis Solarte is a major leaguer because a year ago the Yankees, of all teams, were scrounging the lists of Class AAA guys who regularly populate spring training lineups.

Eight seasons in the minors and nearly as many playing winter ball in his native Venezuela got him to Class AAA – for two full seasons in the Texas organization. And because he was closing in on his 27th birthday he was getting close to qualifying for unofficial "4-A" status – that unfulfilling limbo between solid at AAA and never getting a realistic chance in the majors.

"It was difficult," Solarte says of time in the Twins and Rangers organizations. "Before, it was hard for me because every year I think I play good but I don't know why they don't want to give me a chance. Last year, I signed with the Yankees and they gave me a chance."

Actually, they were in a bit of a bind. They had a suspended third baseman – that issue's been chronicled well enough.

Solarte hit .429 in the spring and made the team as a backup because he could play all the infield positions. Soon, he was outperforming veteran Kelly Johnson, hitting .336 two weeks into May.

He inevitably came back to the earth and his thud matched a Yankees swoon. They had lost five in a row and Solarte was hitting .073 over his past 14 games when he was suddenly sent to the minors.

"The Yankees are different," Solarte says. "They want the best team at that minute. They don't wait. Just one week I struggled and I don't know what happened. They trade me, but that's OK."

The trade came three weeks later, the deal that sent Chase Headley to New York. Indeed, it was OK.

"When he came to us, he brought some energy," says manager Bud Black. "We sort of changed our club in mid-stream. We had a different mix in the second half and we did go 36-31. He was a part of that, his versatility, his on-base skills. He hit for a nice average. He brings some offense and he brings a glove. It's a nice piece."

He hit .267 for San Diego, got most of the starts at third but also played second base, shortstop and left field. He's added first base this spring.

How regularly he'll play third this year depends on the performance of the less-versatile Will Middlebrooks. But, for all the front-line players the Padres have added since last season, they're still looking for versatility. Solarte will play often – somewhere.

Even outfielder Wil Myers has been working on adding first base to his resume in a National League game that demands lineup flexibility.

"He gives you the confidence to make a double-switch and not lose anything on defense," Black says of Solarte. "He gives you the switch-hitting component. We can move him around the diamond. Mentally, he's on board that. If he doesn't start a game, he's ready."

He's been ready for a long time.

Says Solarte, "If you're working hard, you can do anything."

GALLERY: Spring-training scenes