Through a lifetime around baseball, Jared Sandberg, the El Paso Chihuahuas' first-year manager, hasn’t been in circumstances quite like the one he’s stepping into for Tuesday’s opener in Round Rock.
On Sunday's media day, 48 hours away from the 2022 season, Sandberg had 15 players at Southwest University Park.
The rest of his team, whoever they may be, was 400 miles away in the Phoenix area playing spring training games as the San Diego Padres.
Major League Baseball’s off-season labor issues mostly didn’t reach the Triple-A level, but it did in this respect. Because Major League spring training was pushed back two weeks, roster decisions that affect El Paso are still being made.