I unexpectedly got my first look at Khalil Greene last night. He was recalled from Eugene to replace Jason Bartlett, recently traded to Minnesota for outfielder Brian Buchanan. Here’s a quick rundown on his Cal League debut:

At the plate

• 2nd inning, one out, runner on second: Hustle RBI double past the second baseman. Free Double-Doubles for everyone in Section 110.
• 4th inning, one out, none on: Fly ball to warning track in right.
• 6th inning, no out, none on: Jams himself. Popup to shallow center.
• 7th inning, two out, runner on second: Fly ball to right. Just got under it.

In the field

• 2nd inning, two out, runners at first and second: Makes a nice stop on a ball hit to his right, bounces throw to first. E-6. A couple of scouts behind me make disparaging remarks about his arm.
• 5th inning, no out, none on: Jumping catch of line drive.
• 7th inning, two out, runner at first: On line drive into left-center gap, runner attempts to score from first. Greene makes strong throw from edge of grass to end inning.
• 8th inning, one out, runner on second: Ranges to his left and makes a good off-balance throw.

Overall he looked pretty good out there.

Speaking of trades (and this is old news by now), the Padres sent engimatic infielder D’Angelo Jimenez to the White Sox for minor-leaguers Alex Fernandez and Humberto Quintero. Apparently Jimenez had worn out his welcome in San Diego; he was given up for two guys who aren’t quite prospects. I wish Jimenez had gotten more of a chance at second base but those are the breaks. The Sox, meantime, have assigned him to Triple-A, where he’ll play shortstop.

So now the short- and long-term infield situation is wide open. Right now it looks like Phil "GM" Nevin is at third, Deivi Cruz at short, Ramon Vazquez at second, and Ryan Klesko at first. They’ve got a first baseman playing third, a utility guy playing short, a shortstop playing second, and an outfielder playing first. Not exactly what Brian Lawrence wants to see behind him.

As for the future, well, that’s pretty much a mess at this point. As long as Nevin isn’t at third, Cruz isn’t at short, and Klesko isn’t at first come 2004, the Pads should be in decent shape.