The Padres announced a few transactions as they set their Opening Day roster. Rougned Odor and reliever Domingo Tapia both made the team, with San Diego formally selecting their contracts. The Friars also confirmed the previously reported addition of outfielder David Dahl to the 40-man. San Diego needed to create two 40-man vacancies. They’ve done so by designating righty Michel Báez for assignment and placing southpaw Adrián Morejón on the 60-day injured list with an elbow sprain.
Additionally, San Diego placed a handful of pitchers on the 15-day IL. Joe Musgrove, Robert Suarez, Drew Pomeranz and José Castillo will all start the season on the shelf.
Odor is entering his tenth season at the big league level. The longtime Ranger second baseman has bounced around the league over the past few seasons. He’s been a below-average hitter overall due to dismal on-base numbers but continued to draw interest thanks to some left-handed power. Odor appeared in 135 games for the Orioles last season, hitting 13 homers but posting just a .207/.275/.357 line in 472 plate appearances.
Signed to a minor league deal over the offseason, Odor impressed in Spring Training. He put together a .316/.422/.474 slash with a pair of homers in 38 at-bats. The career second baseman also saw some corner outfield action in exhibition play to broaden his defensive flexibility off the bench. He could join Dahl and Matt Carpenter in taking some right field work until Fernando Tatis Jr. returns from suspension.
Tapia, 31, inked a minor league deal over the winter. He threw 17 innings for the A’s last year, allowing 16 runs with more walks than strikeouts. While it wasn’t a particularly encouraging season, Tapia averaged around 98 MPH on his fastball and posted a 1.76 ERA in 30 2/3 innings with Triple-A Las Vegas. He nabs an Opening Day bullpen job in San Diego after tossing eight innings of two-run ball with 11 strikeouts and no walks this spring. Tapia still has a minor league option year remaining, so the Friars could bounce him between San Diego and Triple-A El Paso throughout the season.
Báez has pitched at the MLB level in three of the last four seasons. The bulk of that came in 2019, when he made 24 appearances. Báez pitched only twice in the majors last year. He threw 21 1/3 innings for El Paso, allowing an 8.44 ERA while walking a huge 16.7% of opposing hitters. The Padres will now have a week to deal him or put him on waivers.
Morejón is now officially out until the end of May. He returned from Tommy John surgery to make 26 appearances out of the bullpen last season. Elbow soreness cropped back up this spring, an alarming development considering that history. Initial imaging didn’t reveal any structural damage, with the club first calling the issue inflammation. Terming it a sprain — which inherently involves some stretching of the ligament — is a little more concerning and will keep him out of action for a while.
Has AJ Preller ever heard the word depth? The Padres are flashy but dangerously thin.
Meh, if more depth is needed mid season Seidler will green light it. That much is basically indisputable.
By that logic money is no object and they shouldn’t be pawing through dirt like this in the first place.
No argument from me there. It seems a bit silly to have five players on 9 figure contracts plus Soto and Hader and still be praying that Cruz’s eyes work or that Odor magically lives up to the hype from 10 years ago….
@dankyank. first place is right. That lineup is loaded with depth
I don’t think having Odor be the last man on the roster requires that he “magically lives up to the hype from 10 years ago”. The guy played well in the Spring, might as well and see if he carries the hot hand into the regular season as a bench bat
Considering Odor is only going to be on the roster for 20 days, there is no downside to selecting him. Once Tatis returns, either he or Dahl is DFA. .
I suspect the Padres will be a team whose bench is in flux all season. I’m not at all sold that Cruz and Carpenter have anything left in the tank, the Padres as it sits need one of those two in the lineup everyday.
It’s a shame that Profar has to have Boras as his agent, the dude loved playing in SD and he is better than the utility pieces they have right now. His ability to play 1B behind Cronenworth would eliminate the need for Odor, who will probably flame out by Memorial day.
You do realize that Kim is playing 2nd base and Odor is just a bench piece. Do some more research before mouthing off.
So they have a good starter and a negative value replacement. That certainly qualifies as thin in the depth department.
Odor is serving as a temporary back up to the back up, he’s third (behind all-star Cronenworth and Kim) on the depth chart at 2B. He’s also a temp 5th OF option until Tatis and Engel return. Odor beat out Batten and Dixon, and Ruiz is IL till July. They’re giving him a shot and his veteran experience was seen as a plus
And when Cronenworth moves to second, Cruz, another negative value player last season, starts at first. Again, thin.
Cruz won’t be the one at 1B when Cronenworth goes to 2B, they sit Kim against tough RH pitching, meaning Carp (L bat) plays 1B not Cruz (R bat).
According to Melvin, the plan is for Kim to get about 80-100 games at 2B, another 15-20 or so at SS.
Again, depth
That still leaves Cruz at DH, Carpenter’s current spot. This is all going off the team’s official depth chart, published by multiple sources
@skyline619- I know that Kim is playing 2b. I also know that Odor has not hit above .207 since 2018. Unless dude is pitching or catching, having him on your roster basically means you aren’t a world series team.
Cruz will not be at 1B. Carpenter will. 2.4 WAR last season. The opposite of thin.
@dank A lot of teams would like a Cruz/Carpenter DH platoon. But when Kim sits against tough RH pitchers and Carp is on 1b, Cruz may not DH, a L hitter like Dahl might instead. They have so many options and a wealth of positional depth.
Don’t tell people what to do.
A key is Campusano. If he can hit on the reg, Carpenter/Cruz demise won’t be an issue
The key is 4 guys with a legitimate shot at the MVP on the roster. Then the incredible depth of MLB caliber players.
Nellie hit a ball 114.5 MPH in his last game in spring training. I think he has more than a little left in the tank. Carpenter won’t replicate the 217 OPS+ he had with the Yankees, but he showed in spring training that he is still an above average hitter. Especially with the platoon advantage. Just don’t let him play in the field much please.
It’s a shame that Profar wanted $$$ instead of the $ he is worth. Has nothing to do with Boras. Padres got 4 utility guys for the price of one Profar.
Odor will either play well or be gone far sooner than Memorial Day. If he isn’t crushing the ball, he will be gone 2 days before Earth Day.
I wish my Yanks kept Carpenter. Believe it or not, I saw him all the way back to his AA Springfield (Cardinal) days. Not the most gifted, but no one ever outworked the guy.
Baez is still interesting. A team like the Reds or A’s would be smart to claim him and see if they can work some magic.
With all the DFA’s today there’s a chance he sticks with the org, but I agree some team should try and claim him.
I also agree, maybe they’re DFA-ing him now because they think there’s a shot he can sneak through with all the other transactions He’s got a good changeup and a decent fastball, so I still think he could potentially be a decent relief option even without a great breaking offering. Someone should claim him and see if he can figure it out how to translate that into success over a season.
I’m pretty surprised that they chose to DFA him over Angel Felipe or Tom Cosgrove. No offense to either of those guys, but neither has the prospect pedigree or MLB experience that he has.
Why would they DFA Tom Cosgrove when they literally JUST protected him from Rule 5 that’s the worst argument I’ve ever heard if they didn’t want him on the 40-man roster they would have never put him on at all not put him on and then taken him off 4 months later and risked losing him to waivers.
That was like four and a half months ago, they’ve made dozens of transactions since then and the roster composition is way different. There’s also a difference between being willing to risk losing someone in Rule 5 versus exposing someone to waivers on a day where most teams have a roster crunch.
I’m not even arguing that they should have DFAed Cosgrove, I’m just saying that I’m surprised that is has gotten to the point with Baez that they’re willing to lose him over those two because of how hyped Baez was coming up as a prospect.
You’re right. There is a difference between being willing to risk losing someone to Rule 5 versus risk losing him to waivers. If a guy gets taken in Rule 5 the other team has to carry him on the major league roster all season and if they don’t they have to give him back to you. If a guy gets taken on waivers the other team just has to clear a 40-man roster spot for him and then they can try to sneak him through waivers themselves the next time they need a 40-man roster spot. The threshold for putting a guy on the 40-man roster for Rule 5 protection is HIGHER than the threshold for putting him on outright waivers. Not lower. If they weren’t willing to risk Cosgrove getting taken in the Rule 5 draft there’s no way they are going risk losing him to outright waivers. It ain’t like he has done anything to hurt his stock in the 4 months since then.
That was 4 years and a global pandemic ago. Baez is a bust.
Well Baez cleared waivers so clearly DFAing him was the right call.
Only 7 players placed on waivers today. Most of the NRI spots went to guys being placed on the 60-Day IL. Most players on the IL in opening day history.
San Diego will take the lol title from the Mets this year. They won’t even make the playoffs.
Cool story bro
Guys like Odor and Dahl are place holders til Tatis comes back. When he and Engle join the roster two of Odor/Dahl/Azocar will be sent down/DFA’d
Pads may not make the playoffs but there is nothing saying the Mets do either
I’ll be watching the Mets just because they will either have an amazing (pun intended) rotation or Max/Verlander/Carrasco/Quintana all show up on the IL / finally gotten too old to get outs list and their replacements will take the Mets to the bottom ala Padres in 2021 when they had nothing to go with in August / September but scrap heaps.
I’m neither pro nor anti Met. Just a fascinating baseball fan scenario with their rotation.
So far 2 out of 4 on the IL
I just saw Verlander to IL – I hope my post didn’t cause it to come true!
I thought the Padres were trying to win.
All teams have a couple average or below average players. SD was built for a playoff run. Let the games begin and the barking end
Man, even the trolls pop out from under their bridge for Opening Day! LFGSD
AJ’s big international splurge in 2016 basically yielded the Padres nothing.
Really the only value that entire class ended up generating was via trades. Luis Patino, Tucapito Marcano, Jeisson Rosario, Gabriel Arias, Ronald Bolaños all brought back something in trades at least.
Kind of amazing how touted that class was to have it 6+ years later with basically zero MLB impact anywhere.
The trades that Marcano, Rosario and Arias were in are all complete losses for SD.
To be fair that entire international class has been a bust, not just the ones the Padres signed. Only ones that have made an impact so far are Luis Robert, Randy Arozarena and… idk maybe Lourdes Gurriel?
which says a lot since 30% of current MLB players are international free-agent signings
CN – and this is why I always wonder how some people raise all sorts of heck when prospects are traded for a proven MLB player. Everyone loves winning the prospect championship but such a high percentage of those hi level prospects never make it.
Dahl is a a good example – top 10 draft pick highly rated prospect and had 1 good year and now a “hanger on” / “maybe he can find it” guy.
I’ll take my chances that Soto returns to his 22 year old self than hoping the prospects that we traded – although I hope they all do well – become all stars.
Agreed. Two and a half years of Juan Soto is worth any four prospects from any single team. I’m not sure why Preller is one of just a few GMs who recognize that fact.
Perspective… Aaron Judge was a rookie at 25. How old is Soto now?
Musgrove to 15 day? That is not good. He was supposed to miss only one start. Now its 3. Games in April count, too.
He can come back as early as the 11th, so probably just 2 starts? Apparently they are being extremely cautious against the wishes of Joe to pitch now.
Ya know, envy and jealousy doesn’t look good on anyone!
Already projecting and the first pitch hasn’t been thrown…say what you want, everyone is entitled to their own opinions. But, ya know what they say about opinions!
I’ll be chillin at home in San Diego tonight watching the boys shine, sure the weather sucks today but the crowd will be electric!
Y’all can hate from whatever gawd awful place your from. Because I know it’s not America’s finest city, with America’s best ballpark and the MLB’s most deadliest lineup!
Hater’s gonna hate…The Brown and Gold gonna rake!
They’re getting taken to the woodshed. Pink hineys for everybody.
I mean… Getting pantsed at your home opener like that… embarrassing.
*you’re
People are harping on the 25th and 26th players on the Padre roster, one of whom will soon be replaced by Fernando Tatis Jr.
Meanwhile, the Dodgers have chaos in LF, CF, half their infield, and they just placed Another pitcher (Pepiot) on the IL.
The dodgers are trashing Arizona while the Padres are getting rolled. So there’s that.
*Fraudnando Tatis
Padres getting handled by Colorado. Lol.
The Padres. LOL!
Nevermind, I was wrong about everything! Time to fire-sale the whole team!
Lol, it’s 1 w/161 left! But, man…that was horribly embarrassing! I mean all the hype, all the trash I’ve been talking on here!
Don’t get me wrong, I’ll never stop running my mouth about San Diego and the Padres! But, I’ll be the first to admit when the boys get bootie blasted by a bottom cellar team and I’ve ran my mouth.
I’m having fun here Sand Dog. The 1998 Yanks started 0-3.
Then they got pissed off. The Padres have become the hottest ticket around. I was actually a season ticket holder in SD back in the Gwynn days. The perpetual fire sale crap was sickening. This is way better.
Marquez has a ridiculously good track record at Petco and against the Padres. No real shocker here.
Following with what should be our 4/5/6 instead of 2/3/4, it may be hard to get a split.
The tea pitching should start the reset after this weekend somewhat and get on track with Musgrove the following week. I’ll start worrying on April 21st if Padres aren’t winning then.
Damn auto correct – “The starting pitching should …”
Auto correct scares me when they apply it to 18-wheelers.
Talk about ‘Duel”… :-0
My favorite in person OPACY game moment last year was watching Odor sauntering around the base path after hitting a late inning game tying dinger against his old team Texas. His staredown in to the Ranger’s 3rd base dugout was of epic proportion. Adore Odor, a gamer!
I liked his Bautista-flip.
From some reason Colorado are the Padres cyrptonite…they will inevitably have their worse loss against them. Charlie Blackmon no matter how bad of a season he maybe having will hit for his season best against Padres pitching.
The pitching staff struck out 17 last night but gave up 17 hits and 7 runs, what!!!
But in Padres fashion they scored 2 runs! Xander had a legit debut 3-4 and solid defense. Soto, was ehh…hopefully tonight is a different story!
You definitely not wrong on Blackmon. Announcers said he was 3/38 (I think that we it) on opening days historically. He is old and being out out to pasture (finally) and he still kills Padres last night!
I’ve always thought it best to just hit him in the hip (a soft spot – no injury) every time on the first pitch and save the pitchers and extra base hits!
That guy Tapia needs to be on the roster all year
Was worried about team defense going into the season. Game 1 gave me little reason to think otherwise.
Padres losing again early.
In those clown outfits.
Col 4, SD 0.
It’s getting icky.