Outfielder Brandon Lockridge has made the Padres’ Opening Day roster, per AJ Cassavell of MLB.com. He will seemingly be the club’s fourth and final bench player, as it was reported yesterday that veterans Yuli Gurriel, Jose Iglesias and Martín Maldonado will be selected to take the three other spots.
As noted by Cassavell, a spot going to Lockridge will have domino effects for the six other players left in camp: Luis Campusano, Connor Joe, Mason McCoy, Oscar Gonzalez, Tyler Wade and Eguy Rosario. The first three of that group have options and seem likely to be sent to Triple-A. Gonzalez is on a minor league deal and can also be sent to the minors, though Cassavell notes that he does have an opt-out at some point during the season.
As for Wade and Rosario, they cannot be optioned and seem likely to be either traded or designated for assignment in the coming days. That would open up two of the three spots needed on the 40-man for Gurriel, Iglesias and Maldonado.
Lockridge, 28, made his major league debut last year. He only got sent up to the plate 12 times and produced a rough line of .167/.167/.417 in that small sample. Naturally, his minor league production has been better, with a combined line of .278/.357/.417 in the minors over the past four years. He also stole 122 bases in that stretch, including 46 in just 104 games last year. Defensively, he has plenty of experience in all three outfield spots. That makes him a solid guy for the bench, as he can serve as a pinch runner and defensive substitution. As a right-handed hitter, he could perhaps platoon with Jason Heyward in left field at times.
Wade, 30, has generally served as a light-hitting utility player during his career. He has a .217/.291/.289 batting line over eight seasons, production which translates to a 64 wRC+. But he has been able to steal some bases and bounce around the diamond, lining up at every position except first base and the battery.
He has just over five years of major league service time. The Padres tendered him a contract at the end of last year, avoiding arbitration with a deal that includes a $900K salary this year and a club option for 2026. The club presumably planned on having him back a multi-positional bench guy but they pivoted to Iglesias when he was unsigned in the beginning of March, so Wade will apparently be nudged out.
Assuming the club designates him for assignment and puts him on waivers, any club could claim if they were willing to take on that salary. However, since he has at least five years of service, he has the right to elect free agency and keep that money if he clears waivers. At that point, clubs would be free to sign him for the prorated league minimum for any time spent on the roster, with the Padres still on the hook for the rest.
Rosario, 25, has appeared in the past three major league seasons but has received a total of just 100 plate appearances with the Padres in those. His .245/.283/.500 line is pretty good but top heavy, as he has five home runs but a 4% walk rate and 34% strikeout rate.
That hasn’t really been a problem in the minors. Over the past four years, he has drawn walks in 10.9% of his plate appearances on the farm while getting punched out just 20.9% of the time. He has a combined .279/.363/.493 line in that time for a 115 wRC+. Defensively, he has played all four infield positions in addition to some corner outfield work.
It’s a decent profile overall. FanGraphs had him ranked as the #11 prospect in the system as of July. Baseball America gave him the #19 spot going into this season. Though he’s out of options, he will probably hold appeal for other clubs. He has between one and two years of service time, meaning he could be retained through the 2029 season if he sticks somewhere else.
Photo courtesy of Rick Scuteri, Imagn Images
Isn’t that the GMs job?
Yeah, why does Lockridge get to make up the team? Calling AJ meow…
I feel like the three veterans, two of which are over the hill with one foot out of the game, is a last ditch Hail Mary pass by the Padres hoping to keep the contention window open, even if it’s just a crack.
Players like Gonzalez and Ornelas had better springs than any of those players actually making the roster
I don’t know, I’m buying Jose Iglesias as a legitimate utility man, I’d even go as far to say that if they could get off Bogie’s deal that Iglesias would be a nice plugin until DeVries is ready. I don’t think there are any takers on Boegarts however, that contract is looking moldy.
I like Ornelas too, played well in Mexican winter league, .309/.426/.531 what stand out most is the OBP, he was hitting and taking walks with a little power
There are no takers for Bogaerts contract and won’t be for a long time (if ever)
If you seriously think a 35-year-old guy that couldn’t get a deal at all in 2023 and didn’t play in the majors and only played 85 games in 2025 starting in May after he signed on a minor league deal is a replacement for Bogaerts, then I don’t think we should be paying any attention to your comments.
This guy is the real deal lots of teams would like to have him on their squads
Surprised at the final roster construction, but I have every ounce of faith in all the players. Any offense we get from Maldonado would be great… but I’m not holding my breath during his ABs. Congrats Lockridge, and curious to see what happens with Eguy. Hopefully he can be retained, ridiculous K% not withstanding.
Eguy is either traded or lost on waivers. Hope he’s successful where he ends up.
Phone lines are open!
Nuñez gets returned and then traded for Eguy.
Hmmm, interesting maneuver LTC!
Eguy for Detmers.
@longtimecoming Thats not a bad idea, but I don’t know if Baltimore can roster Eguy. They’re not going to get rid of Jorge Mateo or Ramon Urias to make room for him and they have a crowded infield mix.
Probably more likely Eguy is traded to a non-contender who can afford to give him a longer leash this year to see what he is. Doubt they get much of a return from him given the fact that he’ll be on waivers to be claimed without giving up anything
The return value is before waivers, if there’s much at all. Waivers are (if I recall correctly) available in reverse order of the team rankings at the end of the 2024 season. Teams who finished in the top half who could use Eguy, might call AJP before he posts him on waivers. Teams like the White Sox or Rockies, don’t need to make a deal. They get first pick anyhow..
Oh I would definitely be holding my breath while closing my eyes and shotgunning a malt beverage during any Maldonado at-bats. I’m only looking out for your best interests Gwynny!
Glad one of us is! Happy ’25 ball season, Iggy!
Or some Wild Turkey 101 by the pint.
I have no faith in Iglesias, Heyward, or Maldonado. I watched them almost every day in camp. They were bad at every aspect of the game.
Rosario didn’t have ridiculous K% this spring. About MLB average for spring training.
Surprised they are cutting bait on Campusano.
I have come to the conclusion that the Padres need to trade Cease for a young MLB ready starter and a package of prospects. I was thinking the Reds might be a good fit but only if the Padres take back a contract to offset Cease’s 15M. That would be two seasons of Jeimer Candelario at 16M, which would be difficult to take on. But the Reds could make that pot sweet with a number of prospects. I don’t think they are coming off of Chase Burns but say a package of Chase Petty, TJ Sikemma, Sal Stewart and Will Benson for Cease and Campusano. That would be a nice trade, I think you’d have to include Candelario’s 2/32M though to make it happen.
No disrespect bwmills, but I would never do that deal or one even closely resembling that one. It’s top-shelf prospects plus MLB talent for Cease, or nothing. Gotta rock our socks off. Revisit plan at the TDL, record permitting.
I like those prospects, Will Benson’s power is legitimate. Sal Stewart is a nice contact hitter with first round pedigree. Chase Petty is a nice 3 and Sikemma a potential 4/5. If you could get Burns than to me it’s a no brainer but I doubt they’d trade him. Petty could be good though. Reds have a ton of pitching so I doubt they’d spend to add more but if you took Jeimer it would make sense.
Cease won’t bring a return like the Crochet deal. Will get more if you trade now. Baltimore’s rotation is looking pretty bad, they have no MLB ready pitching prospects though.
I could agree in principle to a deal centered around Basallo… and I’m fairly confident we could find additional suitable pieces from the Bird Bath in Baltimore. Highly unlikely to happen before now and early July, with any team.
I’d get Mayo over Basallo but need the pitching, have to get a couple pitchers. Twins make for an interesting trade partner.
How about Zebby Matthews, Matt Canterino, Luke Keaschall and Byron Chourio no relation to Jackson Chourio? That’s a haul.
Basallo, Povich, and McDermott. That is what Preller asked for at the Winter Meetings. The price has certainly not gone down.
I like that package, web. Twins package is weak; Zebby would get lit up like a Christmas tree in the NLW and the rest are a dice roll. Again, no thanks. BAL package is where it’s at.
Salas and a bag o bwalls for Basallo?
Nah brah. Hellz nah. You want both.
Maybe you mean metaphorically, but Campusano still has an option year. He’ll be in Triple A.
Tigers could use Eguy.
How much for the Olson in the window?
Oooh…too high a price for just Eguy but maybe part of a package.
We’re listening… hit us up, Bummer! Solid foundation for a real deal for both teams!
Man, how many people are making the Padres team anyway? Jeez…do they seriously have no one left from last season?
Unless you’re talking about just their position player bench, LF and C, just about the entire team is back from last season. Not too much turnover really
Tanner Scott
I like Lockridge, but surprised they let Wade AND Eguy go. Now the only utility IF is Iglesias, and he might start at DH or 1B often.
AJ Preller maneuvering for the #1 pick in the ‘26 draft. Getting ready to load up on prospects to supplement the Salas & deVries era.
Happy days are ahead, Friar Faithful!!!
…just got get past the shameful embarrassment of “25
Big fan of lockridge – got to watch him in the Yankees system – rooting for him.
As for Wade. Hats off to him for making a career for himself. So limited at the plate.
So does Iglesias. I guess his pathetic .192 BA with a .423 OPS is good enough to have to DFA Rosario. Iglesias couldn’t hit the ball hard enough to get it out of the infield all spring and he is going to be the player that pushes the Padres over the 2nd CBT threshold and forces them to DFA and lose Rosario on waivers? By contrast, 9 of Rosario’s 11 hits were for extra bases and his OPS was .752
The .143/.507 hitting Heyward was named the starting LF. Not a platoon player, the starting LF.
A 40-year-old RHB with an 82 OPS+ the last 3 seasons is in the lineup instead of a 32-year-old local-kid RHB with a 95 OPS+ the last 3 seasons.
For what its worth, both the AJ Cassavell and the Kevin Acee articles about Lockridge making the team say that he might start against LHP and could be the opening day starting LF since they face Sale that day, so that still could be a platoon in LF. I’m really hoping it is.
Iglesias hit .337/.381/.448 last year and has been worth at least 1 fWAR for the last 10 seasons that he’s played in the majors. I’m not saying he’s an all-star, but he’s not that bad of a bench option. Would I push my team over the 2nd tax threshold for him when I already have Eguy? Absolutely not, but he has at least had very recent success so rostering him is somewhat defensible.
The huge mistake here is rostering Yuli Gurriel over Rosario. That’s just inexcusable given how Eguy hits LHP and how bad Yuli has been over the past few years. Losing Eguy so you can roster a 40 year old who Eguy outplayed this spring is just awful any way you look at it.
Shildt said Heyward would be the opening day starter.
Iglesias played 85 games last season. He was signed to a minor league deal by the Mets and didn’t play a game until May. He missed the entire 2023 season because he sucked. Two minor league deals and not one day in the majors.
In 2021-2022 he had a .04 bWAR total over 255 games. In 2023 he didn’t play in the majors at all. In 2024 he played 85 games. From 2021-2024 he has a 100 OPS+. Exactly league average with the bat and a 1.2 average WAR which is 40% below average. Over the last 13 seasons he has a 1.4 WAR average and a 92 OPS+
.
A partial season in 2024 does not define who Iglesias is. The rest of his career, especially the last 4 seasons overall do. What do they tell us? He is a 35-year-old player that is a below average hitter with no power and plays average defense at 2B at his current age.
His .382 BABIP and far below league average EV and HH% last season tell us that he is likely to regress by 60-80 points in BA and over 100 points in OPS. The fact that he is 35 years old says that the regression may be greater than that. The fact that Iglesias got exactly one ball in play out of the infield in 26 PA in spring training is a really bad sign.
The Padres are not rostering Gurriel over Rosario. They are rostering Iglesias over Rosario. It is an even bigger mistake. Rosario outplayed Iglesias and can actually hit for power and occasionally take a walk. Losing Rosario for Iglesias is inexcusable.
They are rostering Gurriel over Joe. Joe outplayed Gurriel in camp and over the past 3 seasons and is 8 years younger. Joe will be in AAA and will eventually be called up. How many games will Gurriel lose the Padres in the meantime? Games in April mean as much as games in September.
AJ Preller has his sights set on the big prize… A useless high draft choice where he’ll select a future alcoholic and convict.
Who are you referring to?
Probably the guy that trashed a luxury suite at Petco with his buddies on the same day he signed.
Crikes is known as the worst “Padre” poster… and by far. He only post nonsense and defamatory drivel. Best to ignore.
Is he related to Tow? Haven’t seen Tow in a few weeks?
Tow married a gal from the outback and lives in Alice Springs, runs an Acacia herbal farm and follows Aussie football now.
Idk, idc
Let’s hope his new team wins a plethora of championships for him!
Glad he found his Sheila and hoping he is having a g’day mate. It’s all fair dinkum here!
@Gwynning
re: “Crikes is known as the worst “Padre” poster”
There’s always a nut in the bunch. 100% derogatory 100% of the time. NEVER informative or constructive. And a lot of the time, not ignorant, just wrong, and he knows it. Oh, now I recall. Crikes is what used to be known as a “professional troll”.
But, ending this post on a positive note, at least he’s OUR troll.
Would have kept Eguy over Gurriel and Ornelas over Hayward with Gonzalez Ornelas platooning and Lockridge giving Merrill days off to DH against lefties but ok
I wanted him to make the Yankees, so I could yell “Let’s go Brandon!” all night at the game. Good luck!
Lockridge makes sense to be on the team. Basically fills Wade spot but in the outfield. They needed to have a guy on the bench with some speed.
His bat seems to have a higher upside and really, the need the Ofer more than a utility shortstop right now.
@LT. I’m a little concerned about the lack of depth at SS/2B/3B. Iglesias is it unless they slot Gurriel as back up at 3B, but I don’t think he’s played that position this spring, or for a while
They pretty much had to keep either Wade or Lockridge for the late game elite pinch runner role. Lockridge will get some starts in LF for sure, and when not starting he’ll be available as a late game replacement defensive deer. With Lockridge in LF, Merrill in CF, and the Platinum Glove winner in RF, that’s quite a cast of gardeners. And Heyward, even at this age, isn’t bad either.
Overall, positions 2-9, I like the Padres defensively this year.
The Padres preemptively countering the Dodgers’ pitching upgrades by maximizing non-offensive WAR contributions. WAR undervalues speed/defense in small samples, but in a 162-game season, Lockridge’s 1-1.5 WAR projection (via ZiPS/Steamer approximations) could come 70% from baserunning and defense, not hitting. No one’s discussing how this move subtly redefines roster value: the Padres are betting that in a division where every game against LA could be a 2-1 nailbiter, a specialist like Lockridge tips the scales more than a jack-of-all-trades like Wade or a power-upside Rosario.
I don’t know how well or poorly the older vets will do, and I’m concerned about losing Eguy & Wade. However, I think a lot of the angst is not directed at Howard, Gurriel, Iglesias or Maldonado, as much as the painful memories of how poorly Nelson Cruz and Matt Carpenter did in 2023, and how it really cratered the offense for most of that season.
Then again, Preller’s front office just made a considerable, maybe risky bet on a bench made up of mostly older vets. So the fans concern isn’t uninformed, either.
Hope for the best. The Pads are committed, and we fans are behind them, have their back, 100%, right? (Up to about April 15th, when we’ll all simultaneously go berzerk if the Padres are like 3-12 and the vets are cumulatively batting about 0.083 with an OBP about 0.250.).
Padres need at least one these vets to have a good season. If they can good good production from two of them they will be in good shape.
I’m growingly perplexed by these final roster moves.
I can’t see Martin Maldonado reversing his decade-long slide at the plate, and frankly, declining defensive skills as well. I really don’t get him being on the team. And, I don’t have much confidence that 40 year old Gurriel will suddenly become positive WAR guy after 3 years of very negative WAR. And it was a real flyer on Sheets, who hit well in ST, but has never had a positive WAR season in his career.
Those 3 guys could be monumental flops and at the cost of Eguy Rosario, and the suppression of Joe (who at least is a positive WAR guy, and recently).