Marcus Greene Succeeding, Thanks To Health, Stability

Stability has mostly eluded Marcus Greene thus far in his pro career.

There was the position change when he was drafted. Then the Tommy John surgery. Then the trade two months later. Then the shuffling between affiliates before he ever got a chance to get settled.

Now, finally, the 22-year-old Padres catcher has some semblance of stability for the first time. With it, Greene is showing what he can do.

Greene has been one of the biggest stars of the Australian Baseball League this winter, hitting .324/.339/.514 with six home runs (tied for the league lead) and 23 RBI (second) for the Adelaide Bite through Jan. 12. He has done that while posting a superb .992 fielding percentage and 32 percent caught stealing rate as Adelaide’s starter catcher.

“I’m thankful that I’m able to compete,” Greene said in an email. “It (was) a great feeling when I was asked if I wanted to come to Australia and play in the ABL and knowing I’m going to play. You know what’s asked of you, and you simply go do it. It’s pretty simple to get into a groove and enjoy the time a little better knowing day in and day out that you’ll be on the field competing in every ball game.”

Greene starred at Vista del Lago High in Moreno Valley, Calif., as a prep player, becoming the first player ever drafted out of the school when the Marlins took him in the 39th round in 2012. He instead went to New Mexico JC, where he worked as a left field/catcher/designated hitter and was drafted by the Rangers in the 16th round in 2013.

Immediately, he was tasked with becoming a full-time catcher, a difficult enough adjustment to make in pro ball. Just when he was getting settled and comfortable behind the plate—even earning Northwest League all-star honors in 2014 with short-season Spokane—Greene tore his ulnar collateral ligament in June 2015, which required Tommy John surgery.

From there, his career has been a whirlwind. The Rangers traded him to the Padres two months after his injury as part of a deal for outfielder Will Venable. A year of grueling rehab didn’t yield any rewards. Greene returned in 2016 to hit just .189/.268/.331 while committing eight passed balls and eight errors in only 38 games behind the plate. He was demoted from high Class A Lake Elsinore to low Class A Fort Wayne shortly after his return. To add insult to injury, he sustained a concussion toward the end of 2016 that put him back on the disabled list. It was the hardest year of a career that has never seen him play more than 58 games in a season.

“The numbers don’t lie. I was in a tough situation with different things going on in my life,” Greene said. “Personally. Spiritually. Tough to say, but on the field as well. One thing I never did through the process was lose sight of my vision nor did I fall under a rock and hide out during the tough times. I continued to work. I continued to be there for my team and create a good environment as I always would. No matter what.”

Australia has been a different story, however. With no pain, an everyday job and a consistent spot in the lineup, Greene has become a different player, the one the Padres thought they were getting when they acquired him.

“I don’t want say last year was a lost year, but he definitely missed significant time,” farm director Sam Geaney said. “Not just last year, but throughout his career he’s had a variety of ailments that have kept him off the field. So for him to embrace going down there and making up for lost time . . . I think it’s a testament for him to have the success he’s having. It’s very nice to see and a nice thing to follow as the offseason wraps up.”

For Adelaide manager Steve Mintz, who is a coach in the Rangers system and saw Greene when he began his career with Texas, it’s been a newfound aggressiveness that has led to Greene becoming a middle-of-the-order masher.

“Being aggressive more with pitches in the zone has been his key,” Mintz said. “He could maybe take some more walks when he’s ahead in the count, but I think being more aggressive with pitches in the zone he can do damage with instead of trying to chase when it’s really not there has been his biggest progress.”

Mintz, a former relief pitcher with the Giants and Angels in the late 1990s, has also been impressed with Greene’s work behind the plate, with one notable area the focus of his instruction.

“As far as defensively, catching, receiving, throwing, it’s all been pretty good,” Mintz said. “He works hard back there and his arm is a cannon. It’s definitely healthy.

“The one final thing we’ve really been concentrating on quite a bit is handling the pitchers and putting together good pitch plans and being able to follow those and remember them. A catcher’s got to have a good memory. That aspect, being able to handle pitchers, especially starters and getting them through 5, 6, 7 innings, is huge. Just being able to concentrate on pitch plans and follow them out is one thing we’ve really been working on with him, and he’s made a lot of progress.”

Praise and big numbers aside, the stability and success Greene is experiencing has given him the knowledge he can bounce back from anything, a powerful mental edge he was unsure of as recently as last fall.

“Baseball is such a mental sport that what I did to turn myself around makes me look back and smile at the chaotic times,” he said. “Being able to go through some things as I did builds character as a man and a ballplayer. That’s something that I will forever remember and know I can get through whatever is thrown at me.”

He is also hitting whatever is thrown at him in Australia, a welcome step forward in his baseball development and life.

“Playing in the ABL this far has really kept my hope and know that I do have what it takes to compete,” he said. “After a roller coaster 2016 everyone was probably thinking the same as me ‘This isn’t Marcus Greene’, but as the year progressed I continued to have confidence and here I am today.”