By: @PadresConnect
Pictured: Padres #1 prospect C.J. Abrams fielding a ball while playing shortstop during Spring Training 2022.
At long last! As the final team buses are packed and gone from Spring Training complexes Major League Baseball's 2022 Opening Day is finally upon us!
Admittedly, there were some bumps along the road in terms of labor negotiations but no one is thinking of that now as our favorite team is getting ready to clash with the Arizona Diamondbacks tonight (04/07/2022) at 6:40pm PST. It's time to grab a snack, take a seat, and alert everyone to leave you alone for three hours once the first pitch is fired towards the plate.
Padres General Manager A.J. Preller has proven to keep himself busy all the way up to Opening Day. Now that catcher Victor Caratini and pitchers Chris Paddack and Emilio Pagan have been traded to Milwaukee and Minnesota respectively, the final Padres roster has shaken out like so:
Right-Handed Pitchers (11): Austin Adams, Nabil Crismatt, Yu Darvish, Javy Guerra, Pierce Johnson, Dinelson Lamet, Nick Martinez, Joe Musgrove, Craig Stammen, Robert Suarez, Steven Wilson
Left-Handed Pitchers (4): Tim Hill, Sean Manaea, Taylor Rogers, Blake Snell
Catchers (2): Jorge Alfaro, Austin Nola
Infield (7): C.J. Abrams, Matt Beaty, Jake Cronenworth, Eric Hosmer, Ha-Seong Kim, Manny Machado, Luke Voit
Outfielders (4): Jose Azocar, Trent Grisham, Wil Myers, Jurickson Profar
A Note on the Pitching Staff: It's interesting to see that the Padres chose to announce their pitching staff by handedness as opposed to exact role/position. One could surmise that the reason behind this is that AJ Preller, Bob Melvin, and the front office are, at this point, not certain of the roles each player with fill at the inception of the 2022 season. With Blake Snell still working his way back from a groin injury and Mike Clevinger landing on the injury list with knee soreness, there are some questions at the back end of the rotation for Padres manager Bob Melvin.
This could explain why the team doesn't want to commit to labeling certain players as exact "relievers" or "starters". With guys like Dinelson Lamet and Nick Martinez that can go either way depending on injuries and performance, it may be more of a group effort to start the season for the Padres rotation. Lastly, with Mackenzie Gore and Ryan Weathers on the precipice of a big-league call up, there are many ways that the Padres can let things unfold.
A Note on the Catchers: The Wednesday before Opening Day saw Victor Caratini get sent to Milwaukee. In his sole year with the Padres, Caratini left a lasting impression on Padres fans with his late game heroics and being Joe Musgrove's battery mate for San Diego's first no-hitter in franchise history. Nostalgia aside, it'd be hard to argue against choosing to move Caratini. Austin Nola and Jorge Alfaro (off a red-hot Spring Training) represent clear offensive upgrades over the Caratini/Webster Rivas tandem that San Diego trotted out for many parts of last season. Also, for a club looking to tread the offensive waters until Fernando Tatis Jr returns, nostalgia is not a luxury the Padres can afford despite having a $200 million dollar payroll.
However, given Nola's injury history and Alfaro's relative uncertainty, this may prove as the year where Luis Campusano can have a consistent opportunity to show what he can do at the Major League level if he is called up from AAA. While we are on the subject of promising Padres prospects...
A Note on the Infield: I don't want to get ahead of myself but the C.J. Abrams for All-Star Campaign starts now! All jokes aside, the big news, of course, is Padres #1 Prospect C.J. Abrams making the opening day roster. Slashing a line of .324/.359/.514 during Spring Training made him an undeniable offensive additive to the Padres bench. It appears as if though Melvin and co. are committed to giving Ha-Seong Kim first crack at SS in Tatis' absence and rightfully so seeing as Kim himself had a hot Spring Training as well. It'll be interesting to see exactly how Abrams is utilized and it'll most certainly rely on Kim's effectiveness early on at the plate.
In the last game of Spring Training, Abrams was played in right field. I know what Padres fans are thinking, are we really going to move another high-caliber prospect/player out of the infield and into the outfield for no reason other than absolute desperation? To the dismay of myself and Padres fans alike, I certainly hope that does not become a regular occurrence. However, the inclination is to expect to see Abrams inserted into the lineup to, one way or another, replace an underperforming bat whether that be Kim, Profar, or anyone else with some offensive question marks.
A Note on the Outfield: Jose Azocar making the roster is a slight surprise to many given he's relatively unheard of; however, the answer is simple: depth. It's no secret the biggest, glaring, gargantuan, obscene need for the Padres entering this season is quality outfield play and depth. Wil Myers (as he seemingly always is) was reportedly shopped around more than a lemonade at a baseball game this offseason and was reportedly close to being moved a handful of times. However, the longest tenured Padre will continue to hold that moniker as he enters his 8th year in San Diego. His .256/334/.434 line last year made it difficult to stomach his $22 million dollar salary, yet the team will need not only him, but also Trent Grisham, to provide offensive stability to an outfield that needs it in the worst of ways.
The Padres have no shortage of players the front office is banking on having "bounce-back" seasons in 2022. With Kim, Myers, Grisham, Nola, Snell, Clevinger, the newly acquired Luke Voit, and others the list is extensive. Which of these players will rise to the occasion? None of them? All of them? Can Bob Melvin help them get there?
Simply put, we don't know. No one does. Many people around the league think they know and have written the Padres off before the season started.
If, at this juncture, you find yourself being a friar not-so faithful we have this to say: speculation matters not.
We can give "takes" and yell our opinions but that doesn't make us Stephen A. Smith.
Fans, players, and analysts alike have been proven wrong over and over again; that's why we play the games.
Thank you for reading! Padres Connect exists for the purpose of providing analysis/insight, sparking conversation, and discussing the team we all love without agendas and without having to pay to subscribe. We believe Padres baseball talk should be accessible to everyone, inclusive, and serve as a supplement to following the game we know and love. If there's a topic you'd like us to dive into please shoot us a DM @padresconnect on Twitter or send us an email to padresconnect@gmail.com.
Comments