Padres' Bethancourt makes team as MLB's 1st pitcher/catcher

Christian Bethancourt is one of four players listed as a catcher on the San Diego Padres' 2017 roster, but don't expect to see him donning the gear with any regularity this season.

Bethancourt, a catcher by trade, will work primarily as a reliever after transitioning to the mound this spring, but he'll also see some time as a catcher, an outfielder, and a pinch hitter. It's the culmination of a project that began last summer and has turned the 25-year-old into what is likely baseball's first true "super-utility player."

The Padres, however, view him as a reliever first and foremost - but a reliever who can help out at other positions sporadically.

"(He's a) pitcher," Padres manager Andy Green told A.J. Cassavell of MLB.com. "That's the way we're looking at him primarily right now. ... He gives us a flexibility that no other bullpen arm can do, which is pinch-hit capabilities, and cover the field capability."

Bethancourt's hybrid status is just one fascinating aspect of San Diego's interesting Opening Day roster, a group that also includes only three natural outfielders and all three of the team's Rule 5 draft picks.

Related: Padres' Opening Day roster includes trio of Rule 5 picks

Green expects to use Bethancourt in a variety of situations. One possibility could include the super-utility man entering the game as a pinch hitter before staying in to pitch the next inning.

Bethancourt hit .228/.265/.368 with six home runs in 73 games for the Padres in 2016 before an injury ended his season in late August. In the field, he played 41 games at catcher, 12 in the outfield, two each at designated hitter and pitcher, and one-third of an inning at second base.

The Panama native recorded one strikeout and didn't allow a run during his two turns on the mound last year, and his fastball topped out at 96 mph.