One day this August, Skip Schumaker volunteered a prediction about Trent Grisham, a Padres outfielder for all of 14 regular-season games. Despite the newness of a young player’s tenure, Schumaker felt he had seen plenty.
“He’s gonna be a really good center fielder, top-of-the-order hitter for a long time for us,” the Padres’ associate manager said.
The Milwaukee Brewers felt differently last November. Less than two months after Grisham committed a famous postseason gaffe, they traded him to San Diego. They cited their outfield depth as one reason. They could not have predicted that a pandemic would sweep the country or that Lorenzo Cain, a 2019 National League Gold Glove winner, would opt out of the 2020 season. Neither team could have foreseen any of that.
Still, the Padres had seen enough to be intrigued. Their history with Grisham dated back to his time as a top amateur. On Tuesday, their renewed interest continued to pay off,…
