PHILADELPHIA -- On Thursday, the Padres acquired Francisco Mejia, the best catching prospect in baseball. On Friday, they reiterated that Austin Hedges -- their current starter behind the plate and a one-time top catching prospect himself -- still has an integral role to play in the club's future.
On the surface, those concepts appear to clash. Padres general manager A.J. Preller doesn't see it that way.
"You can never have too many guys up the middle," Preller said. "You can never have too much catching.