Both moves were expected. San Diego announced on Monday that outfielder Brandon Lockridge had made the club. Maldonado, Iglesias, Gurriel, Lockridge and Gavin Sheets would round out the bench and designated hitter position. That left no room for Rosario and Wade, neither of whom could be sent to the minors without going on waivers.

Rosario, 25, has taken exactly 100 major league plate appearances over the past three seasons. He’s a .245/.283/.500 hitter. He has hit five homers but struck out 34 times while drawing four walks. The righty-swinging infielder hit .200 with three homers but 16 strikeouts over 61 plate appearances this spring. He owns a .275/.362/.502 slash line in nearly 1200 career Triple-A plate appearances. There’s a decent chance he’ll land elsewhere on waivers.

Wade appeared in 90 games last season in a utility role. He hit .217/.285/.239 through 156 plate appearances. The Padres signed him to a $900K deal to avoid arbitration in his final year of control. That included a $1MM club option for 2026. Wade has more than five years of service time, so he could decline a minor league assignment while retaining that salary if he goes unclaimed. He hit .209 with one homer in 19 Spring Training games.

Meanwhile, left-hander Omar Cruz cracked the Opening Day bullpen. San Diego added him to the 40-man roster in November to keep him out of the Rule 5 draft. He’ll make his big league debut with his first appearance of the season. The 26-year-old southpaw worked 6 2/3 innings of three-run ball in Spring Training. He pitched mostly in a long relief role last year in the upper minors. Cruz combined for a 3.96 ERA with an excellent 32.3% strikeout rate over 86 1/3 innings between the top two minor league levels. He’ll provide a long relief option out of Mike Shildt’s bullpen with Bryan Hoeing and Jhony Brito each starting the year on the injured list.

Sullivan, 31, has appeared in 40 games and taken 103 plate appearances with San Diego over the past two seasons. He’s a .206/.243/.299 hitter with a pair of homers, a 22.3% strikeout rate and a 4.9% walk rate in that time. He’s delivered solid offense in Triple-A, however, hitting .287/.367/.497 with 24 homers, 47 doubles and nearly as many walks (11.1%) as strikeouts (11.9%) over the course of 732 plate appearances there.

Defensively, Sullivan has received shaky grades for both his framing and throwing. He’s shown some defensive versatility though, logging 723 career innings in left field, 694 at third base and 35 at first base in the minors (all in addition to 4547 innings behind the plate).

Now that Sullivan has cleared waivers, he’ll be in El Paso alongside the recently optioned Luis Campusano. They’ll be first up in the event of injuries or changes to the big league catching tandem of Elias Diaz and Martin Maldonado.

4:25pm: The Padres are returning Rule 5 pick Juan Nunez to the Orioles, reports Jesse Rogers of ESPN. Rule 5 players have to clear waivers before being offered back to their original club. It’s not clear if that has happened yet. Regardless, the Padres open a 40-man roster spot. If Nunez officially winds up back with the Orioles, he will not need to take a 40-man spot with that club.

Nunez, 24, is a right-handed pitcher who has worked both as a starter and reliever. Originally a Twins prospect, he was one of four players sent to the Orioles as part of the August 2022 Jorge López trade.

In his time in the minors, he has posted a large number of strikeouts but also plenty of walks. From 2021 to 2024, he tossed 230 2/3 innings across various levels with a 3.32 earned run average. He punched out 29.6% of opponents but gave out free passes at an 11% clip.

He started 2024 at the High-A level. He was shut down in May with a shoulder injury, limiting him to just seven starts on the year. That made him something of a surprise pick in the Rule 5, since he still hadn’t even reached the Double-A level. Per J.J. Cooper of Baseball America, he was slowed by that shoulder again to start camp. He eventually made four appearances in the Cactus League but gave out six walks compared to just four strikeouts.

Nunez was already going to have a tough path to breaking camp. He has no upper-level minor league experience and is coming off a mostly lost season. It certainly didn’t help that the shoulder problems carried over to this year and he struggled with his control.

The Padres also need to open a number of 40-man spots. They are planning to select the contracts of several non-roster invitees, with Jose Iglesias, Yuli Gurriel and Martín Maldonado reportedly all making the club. Nunez will open one spot. It also seems that Tyler Wade and Eguy Rosario are going to be removed, since both are out of options and aren’t going to make the Opening Day roster.

Kolek’s demotion is most notable, as it essentially finalizes the Opening Day rotation. Kyle Hart and Randy Vásquez will open the year as the respective fourth and fifth starters behind Dylan Cease, Michael King and Nick Pivetta. (Kevin Acee of The San Diego Union-Tribune wrote earlier this evening that the team was leaning in that direction.) There were two spots up for grabs with Yu Darvish beginning the season on the injured list as he battles elbow inflammation.

A 2023 Rule 5 pick, Kolek spent last season in the MLB bullpen. He posted a 5.21 ERA across 46 2/3 innings. While Kolek’s 18.5% strikeout rate was mediocre, he got ground-balls at an excellent 55.9% clip. He showed enough that the Padres built him back up as a starter this spring. Kolek had a good camp, pitching 12 1/3 innings of three-run ball with a 61.5% ground-ball rate.

That evidently wasn’t enough to leapfrog Hart and Vásquez on the depth chart. Hart, a 32-year-old southpaw, signed a $1.5MM free agent deal after spending last season in Korea. His four career major league appearances came with the Red Sox in 2020. Hart has given up eight runs over 7 2/3 Spring Training frames, but his 2.69 ERA in the KBO last year made it likely he’d crack the rotation. That was less clear with Vásquez, who started 20 games with an ERA approaching 5.00 for San Diego a year ago. He has recorded seven strikeouts with one walk over eight innings this spring.

Campusano was ticketed for Triple-A once the Padres tabbed Martín Maldonado to work as the backup catcher behind Elias Díaz. Assuming he spends at least 20 days in the minors, this will be Campusano’s final option year. It’s a make or break season for the former top prospect. Joe signed a $1MM free agent deal to work as the short side of a left field platoon with Jason Heyward. He’s been passed on the depth chart by Brandon Lockridge even though he hit .316/.469/.447 this spring. Lockridge, another righty-hitting outfielder, is a superior runner who’ll provide more athleticism on Mike Shildt’s bench.

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

Major League Signings

• RHP Nick Pivetta: Four years, $55MM (includes opt-outs after 2026 and '27 with conditional injury protection for the team)
• C Elias Díaz: One year, $3.5MM (including buyout of '26 mutual option)
• LHP Kyle Hart: One year, $1.5MM (including buyout of '26 club option)
• LF Jason Heyward: One year, $1MM
• LF Connor Joe: One year, $1MM

2025 spending: $11MM
Total spending: $62MM

Option Decisions

• SS Ha-Seong Kim declined $8MM mutual option in favor of $2MM buyout
• LHP Wandy Peralta exercised $4.25MM player option; deal includes respective $4.45MM player options for 2026 and '27

Trades and Claims

• Selected RHP Juan Nuñez from Orioles in Rule 5 draft
• Acquired RHP Ron Marinaccio from White Sox for cash

Notable Minor League Seasons

• Andrew Bellatti, Wes Benjamin, Trenton Brooks, Mike Brosseau, Austin Davis, Jose Espada, Logan Gillaspie, Moises Gomez, Oscar González, Niko Goodrum, Yuli Gurriel (will be added to 40-man roster), Jose Iglesias (will be added to 40-man roster), Reiss Knehr, Tim Locastro, Martín Maldonado (will be added to 40-man roster), Mason McCoy (added to 40-man roster), Luis Patiño, Gavin Sheets (added to 40-man roster), Forrest Wall, J.B. Wendelken

Extensions

• Signed SS Tyler Wade to one-year, $900K deal with $1MM club option for 2026

Notable Losses

• Tanner Scott, Jurickson Profar, Ha-Seong Kim, Kyle Higashioka, Donovan Solano, David Peralta (still unsigned), Martín Pérez, Nick Ahmed, Bryce Johnson (non-tendered)

The Padres faced a pair of injuries late last season that had a significant impact on their offseason. In August, Ha-Seong Kim injured his shoulder diving back into first base on a pickoff attempt. He underwent a season-ending labrum repair a few weeks later. Joe Musgrove left a start early in the postseason with elbow tightness. He required Tommy John surgery that'll cost him the entire '25 season.

Kim's injury was "only" expected to carry into the early part of this season, though it came with a nebulous enough timeline that it's possible he'll miss most of the first half. The Padres never seemed likely to meet the asking price to retain free agency's #2 shortstop. However, there's a decent chance they would have issued Kim a qualifying offer if he were fully healthy.

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Los Angeles Dodgers (98-64)

The Dodgers have already notched two wins over the Cubs in the Tokyo Series for 2025, and they did so coming off a season where they finished the year with the best record in baseball and went on to win the World Series over the Yankees in five games. The club’s core of MVP-caliber talent remains in place with Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts, and Freddie Freeman all set to once again anchor the lineup this year. Meanwhile, a pitching staff that already included Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow, and Clayton Kershaw has been bulked out further not just by Ohtani’s impending return to the mound but also the additions of Blake Snell and Roki Sasaki.

In the bullpen, the team’s solid late-inning mix of Blake Treinen, Alex Vesia, Michael Kopech, and Evan Phillips got a pair of major additions in the form of Tanner Scott and Kirby Yates, while the lineup is largely unchanged from last season with Hyeseong Kim set to replace Gavin Lux eventually and Michael Conforto stepping into the outfield in place of Jason Heyward. There are few clear places to nitpick a team that appears to be a clear juggernaut on paper, although the combination of Betts and Max Muncy on the left side of the infield figures to be below average defensively and the club’s strategy of stacking talented, oft-injured rotation arms always runs the risk of health problems.

San Diego Padres (93-69)

While many view besting the Dodgers as a mountain that’s near impossible to climb, it’s worth remembering that San Diego came within just one game of toppling them during the NLDS back in October. The Padres were restricted in their offseason activities by financial limitations, but the core of the 2024 club remains largely in place with Manny Machado, Jackson Merrill, and Fernando Tatis Jr. poised to anchor the lineup, Xander Bogaerts and Luis Arraez providing support and a front-of-the-rotation duo of Dylan Cease and Michael King who will be motivated to build on their excellent 2024 campaigns ahead of free agency this winter.

That’s not to say the club made no additions this winter, of course. The Padres waited out the market to sign talented right-hander Nick Pivetta to anchor the middle of their rotation alongside Yu Darvish, allowing them to make a splash on a tight budget. Other additions were less flashy, but could still prove valuable. While a supporting cast of Jason Heyward, Connor Joe, Jose Iglesias, and Yuli Gurriel may not look like much on paper, no one expected Jurickson Profar, David Peralta, and Donovan Solano to be as impactful for the club as they were last year. If the Padres are to win an NL West that got even more loaded this winter, they’ll need to hit on those dice rolls once again.

Arizona Diamondbacks (89-73)

While the Diamondbacks missed the playoffs by a hair in 2024 when they finished tied with the Mets and Braves for the final two NL Wild Card spots, the 2023 NL champions put together an excellent team in 2024. The Diamondbacks led the majors in runs scored last year, and many core pieces like Ketel Marte and Corbin Carroll are back for more this year alongside supporting veterans Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and Eugenio Suarez. The losses of Christian Walker and Joc Pederson will certainly sting, but Josh Naylor should help to make up for some of that lost production and it wouldn’t be a shock to see longtime top prospect Jordan Lawlar break into the majors this year, either.

The pitching side of things is where Arizona figures to improve the most over last year. Zac Gallen is now complemented at the top of the Diamondbacks rotation by a co-ace in Corbin Burnes, and Merrill Kelly and Eduardo Rodriguez should be able to offer far steadier mid-rotation production than they did in injury-marred 2024 campaigns. The club also enjoys a deep group of back-of-the-rotation options, with Brandon Pfaadt set to get the first crack at starting. Should injuries once again complicate matters, Ryne Nelson is one of the best sixth starters in the league and there’s nowhere for Jordan Montgomery to go but up after last year’s disastrous campaign.

San Francisco Giants (80-82)

The Giants enjoyed a reasonably strong offseason during Buster Posey’s first winter at the helm, but after finishing with a middling record for the third consecutive season it would take a lot of things going right for the club to make significant gains in the standings. The addition of a star-caliber shortstop in Willy Adames alongside Matt Chapman should make for one of the stronger left sides of the infield in the sport this year, but it would take a renaissance from Justin Verlander to even match Blake Snell’s production down the stretch last year. Meanwhile, the club has no established talent at DH and faces questions about the productivity of its outfield after Jung Hoo Lee’s debut season was sidetracked by injuries.

That’s not to say 2025 is a season without hope for fans in San Francisco, however. Verlander and Robbie Ray are both former Cy Young winners, and vintage performances from the duo in conjunction with Logan Webb’s ever-steady production could make an impressive front-end of the rotation. Young players like Heliot Ramos, Tyler Fitzgerald, and Patrick Bailey could build on solid 2024 campaigns and take further steps forward. And if they do so while the rotation plays up to its potential, it’s possible to see the Giants surprising this year.

Colorado Rockies (61-101)

While the division’s other four teams all have reasonable paths to contention this year, the Rockies would need to move heaven and earth just to get to .500 after a season where they finished 37 games back in the NL West and made no significant additions during the offseason. The club has a few potentially exciting pieces in place, with center fielder Brenton Doyle and shortstop Ezequiel Tovar creating an exciting up-the-middle duo, but the supporting cast leaves much to be desired.

The club traded its highest-ceiling offensive player, left fielder Nolan Jones, for utility man Tyler Freeman over the weekend. And exciting top prospects like Zac Veen and Chase Dollander remain in the minor leagues. Even a return to form from $182MM man Kris Bryant wouldn’t be enough to return playoff baseball to Colorado this year unless it was paired with strong performances from those aforementioned prospects in addition to veteran arms like German Marquez and Kyle Freeland turning back the clock to 2018.

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With four of the division’s five teams making an effort to get back to the playoffs this year, which club do you expect to come out on top? Will the Dodgers remain the league’s dominant force, or will they be overcome by a big season from one of their rivals like San Diego or Arizona? Have your say in the poll below:

Iglesias and Gurriel are both Article XX(b) free agents, and thus yesterday was the first opt-out date on their minor league deals.  It isn’t known if Iglesias or Gurriel actually enacted their opt-out clauses to force the Padres’ hand, but regardless, the two infielders will now be part of San Diego’s roster when the season begins on Thursday.

Iglesias only signed with the Padres on March 5, and the $3MM salary attached to his minors deal if he made the roster seemingly hinted that the team was always aiming to include him in a backup infield role.  Making the team officially locks in that salary, as Iglesias looks to have an encore to possibly the most remarkable season of his 12 years in the Show.

Signed to a minors deal by the Mets last winter, Iglesias was called up to the team in late May and proceeded to hit .337/.381/.448 over 291 plate appearances — far outpacing the career .277/.319/.382 slash line he’d produced in his previous 4043 PA.  A .382 BABIP played a hefty role in Iglesias’ career year, yet BABIP wasn’t as important an acronym as OMG, Iglesias’ song that became an instant hit with New York fans and became symbolic of the Mets’ turn-around season.

Gurriel will earn a $1.35MM salary for making the team as the 40-year-old prepares for his 10th big league season.  A winner of two World Series rings during his time in Houston, Gurriel has hit only .243/.297/.356 in 978 PA for the Astros, Marlins, and Royals over the last three seasons.  He hit well enough in the Padres’ camp, however, to work his way into the bench mix.

Manny Machado, Xander Bogaerts, Jake Cronenworth, and Luis Arraez are lined up San Diego’s starting infielders, and the latter two players are left-handed hitters.  That could provide an opening for the right-handed hitting Iglesias and Gurriel to grab some at-bats when a southpaw is on the mound, plus Gurriel could also split some DH time with Sheets (another lefty swinger).

The 38-year-old Maldonado also had an opt-out in his deal, and he’ll forego exercising that clause now that he has been tabbed as the Padres’ backup catcher behind Elias Diaz.  Maldonado has long been highly regarded for his defense and ability to work with pitchers, even as his offense has rarely even been average over his 14-year career.  Maldonado has a .203/.278/.344 slash line over 3449 career PA, and last season saw him crater out by hitting .119/.174/.230 in 147 PA with the White Sox.

Obviously San Diego is prioritizing glovework over anything Maldonado can or can’t produce at the plate.  It might also be a sign of how Luis Campusano’s stock has fallen, as the former top prospect struggled through a rough 2024 season and now looks to be starting 2025 in the minors.

Sullivan, 31, had a fairly unusual path to the big leagues. Selected by the Rays in the 17th round of the 2015 draft, Sullivan languished in Tampa’s minor league system for years before reaching minor league free agency prior to the 2022 season. At that point, he was signed to a major league deal by the Brewers to serve as catching depth for the club. His tenure in Milwaukee was short-lived, however, as he was included not long after in the trade that shipped Victor Caratini from the Padres to the Brewers. Now with the Padres, Sullivan remained on the club’s 40-man roster but was optioned to the minors for the entire 2022 season before he eventually made his big league debut in early 2023 as a fill-in option for Luis Campusano.

Since then, Sullivan has appeared in 40 games at the big league level across two seasons. In 103 career trips to the plate, Sullivan hasn’t exactly impressed with a slash line of just .206/.243/.299 (49 wRC+). That’s a far cry from his work at Triple-A, where he’s a career .272/.344/.453 hitter, but he makes up for it somewhat with a reputation for solid skills behind the plate despite the metrics suggesting he’s below average at both pitch framing and controlling the running game. Going forward, the Padres will have one week to trade Sullivan or attempt to pass him through waivers. If he clears waivers successfully, the Padres will have the opportunity to outright him to the minor leagues as non-roster depth.

Replacing Sullivan on the 40-man roster is McCoy, who the Padres non-tendered over the winter before re-signing him to a minor league deal not long after. Just over a week from his 30th birthday, McCoy has just 25 games at the big league level under his belt between the Blue Jays and Padres over the past two seasons. The Majority of that work came in San Diego last year, where he hit a paltry .204/.278/.245 in 57 trips to the plate across 19 games. While that’s a sample of just 19 games, McCoy’s modest .239/.318/.400 career numbers at Triple-A do little to suggest much offensive potential at the big league level, although he did manage to swipe 25 bases in the minor leagues last year. McCoy’s base stealing abilities and strong work with the glove at shortstop could make him a viable reserve infielder for the Padres this year, though he has fierce competition for that role in the form of non-roster veteran Jose Iglesias.

Darvish has been dealing with occasional bouts of elbow inflammation for a while now. He finished the 2023 season on the IL due to inflammation in that right elbow. In 2024, he missed time due to various issues. He had some neck tightness, a groin strain, an undisclosed family issue and some more elbow inflammation. He was limited to 81 2/3 innings last year.

Though Shildt downplayed the severity, it’s a somewhat concerning situation. Any injury to a pitcher’s throwing elbow is somewhat alarming. In the case of Darvish, the elbow problems are becoming somewhat frequent and he’s going to turn 39 years old in August.

The San Diego rotation has been an ongoing point of focus. Joe Musgrove required Tommy John surgery in October, blowing a big hole in the 2025 staff. That left them with a front three of Darvish, Dylan Cease and Michael King. They signed Nick Pivetta in the offseason to take a fourth spot.

That left guys like Matt Waldron, Hart, Kolek and Vásquez as contenders for the final rotation spot. But Waldron is on the shelf due to an oblique strain and now Darvish is out. That appears to leave two rotation spots for the Hart/Kolek/Vásquez trio.

Hart has almost no major league experience but dominated in Korea last year. He tossed 157 innings in the KBO with a 2.69 earned run average, 28.8% strikeout rate, 6% walk rate and 46% ground ball rate. That led to a deal with the Padres but he was slowed in camp by the flu. He only made his spring debut on Sunday, tossing three innings.

Kolek just made his big league debut last year, as a Rule 5 pick out of the Mariners organization. He stuck in the San Diego bullpen all year and posted a 5.21 ERA, though with better peripherals. His .359 batting average on balls in play and 64.3% strand rate were both on the unlucky side, so he had a 3.57 FIP and and 3.41 SIERA. He has been getting stretched out in camp and has a 2.19 ERA in 12 1/3 innings.

Vásquez had a 4.87 ERA over 20 starts for the Friars last year. He has only thrown four innings of official Cactus League action, having allowed two earned runs with three strikeouts and one walk. His last official outing was March 2 but he has been throwing on backfields and in sim games.

Bellatti has spent the past few years with the Phillies. He turned in a strong season in middle relief three years ago. Bellatti rattled off 54 1/3 innings of 3.31 ERA ball while striking out more than a third of opposing hitters. His numbers dropped off dramatically the following season. Bellatti’s strikeout rate fell to 22.1% while his ERA climbed by nearly two runs. That cost him his roster spot during the 2023-24 offseason.

Philadelphia ran Bellatti through outright waivers last February. He spent the entire season in Triple-A, where he allowed 5.48 earned runs per nine over 42 2/3 innings. He recorded a mediocre 20.8% strikeout rate and walked over 16% of batters faced. His fastball averaged 92.4 MPH, down two ticks from its 2022 level.

San Diego can assign Bellatti to Triple-A to begin the season. He’s out of options, so if he does pitch his way to the majors at any point, they wouldn’t be able to send him back down without running him through waivers.

“I’m incredibly appreciative of this opportunity to reunite with my Padres family,” the longtime MLB starter said in a press release. “San Diego has always held a special place in my heart. I’m a Padre through and through – from the moment I was drafted by the team until this very day, and I can’t wait to work alongside this talented group and contribute in any way I can to the success of this great organization.”

Peavy, 43, played more than half of 15-year big league career in San Diego. The Padres selected him out of high school in the 1999 draft. Peavy reached the majors three years later and broke through as an ace by 2004. The righty won the ERA title with a 2.27 mark over 27 starts that season. That kicked off a run of four sub-3.00 showings across five years. Peavy led the National League with 216 strikeouts in ’05. His 240 punchouts and 2.54 earned run average in ’07 were both best in the majors. He won the Cy Young and finished seventh in MVP balloting.

The Friars traded Peavy to the White Sox at the ’09 deadline. Over parts of eight seasons in a Padre uniform, he worked to a 3.29 ERA with just over a strikeout per inning. Peavy’s big career stretched for another seven years. He played for the White Sox, Red Sox and Giants through the 2016 campaign. The Padres inducted him into their organizational Hall of Fame in 2023.

Sheets, 29 next month, signed a minor league deal with the Padres over the winter. He had previously spent his entire career with the White Sox but was non-tendered by that club after the 2024 season. He had hit throughout his minor league career with Chicago and debuted in the majors with a good .250/.324/.506 line in 2021. But he then hit .227/.291/.368 over the 2022 through 2024 seasons. Given that he’s not a strong defender or baserunner, that production became untenable.

In camp with the Friars, Sheets has had a monster showing. He has stepped to the plate 49 times over 19 games and hit six home runs. It’s a small sample size but he has an eye-popping line of .311/.367/.756.

Opening Day is still a week away. The fact that the Padres have added him to the roster today suggests he likely had some kind of opt-out or upward mobility clause on his deal. Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune reports that there was some kind of clause in his contract that gave him a chance to leave for another club. With those huge numbers, the Padres didn’t want him to get away and have given him a roster spot today.

Getting added to the 40-man roster doesn’t guarantee Sheets a spot on the active roster. He still has one option year remaining and can therefore be sent to the minors as depth. However, the Friars are looking for affordable upgrades to their lineup.

After the 2024 season, they lost Jurickson Profar, Ha-Seong Kim, Kyle Higashioka, Donovan Solano and David Peralta to free agency. That left them short of a left fielder, an infielder, a catcher and a couple of solid role players.

But the budget in San Diego has been tight for a while. Last winter, that led to the Juan Soto trade. That deal bolstered the pitching depth and brought in Higashioka. Low-cost fliers on Profar, Solano and Peralta all worked out well, especially so in Profar’s case.

This winter, the budget has been tight again. While the heavily-rumored Dylan Cease trade hasn’t come to fruition, the club has tried to patch their holes without big spending. They gave a modest $3.5MM deal to Elias Díaz to bolster the catching mix. Connor Joe and Jason Heyward got a combined $2MM to platoon in left. As for the infield, Xander Bogaerts is going to move back to shortstop, freeing up second base for Jake Cronenworth and first base for Luis Arraez.

All that still leaves some room for guys in the designated hitter/bench bat mix. They have Tirso Ornelas, Eguy Rosario and Brandon Lockridge on the roster. Sheets was in camp as a non-roster invitee alongside vets like Jose Iglesias and Yuli Gurriel.

It might take a few more days for the whole picture to become clear. Gurriel and Iglesias also have opt-outs this weekend, so that will be something to watch in the next week or so. For now, the Padres have prevented Sheets from leaving and hope they have found another diamond in the rough.

Photo courtesy Allan Henry, Imagn Images

The three uniform opt-out dates on those contracts land five days before Opening Day, on May 1 and on June 1. With the regular season set to kick off next week, any Article XX(b) free agents who are in camp on minor league contracts will have the opportunity to opt out on Saturday, March 22. A player triggering one of these out clauses gives his current club 48 hours to either add him to the 40-man roster or let him become a free agent.

There are other ways to secure opt-outs in contracts, of course. Many players who don’t qualify for XX(b) designation will still have opt-out opportunities negotiated into their minor league deals in free agency.

The following is a list of 36 players who are in camp as non-roster invitees and will be able to opt out this weekend. Most were XX(b) free agents, but there are a handful of names who didn’t meet that requirement but had outs negotiated into their respective deals nonetheless. This is not a comprehensive list of all players with opt-out opportunities this weekend.

All spring stats referenced are accurate through the completion of games played Wednesday, March 19.

Astros: LHP Jalen Beeks

Beeks, 31, was a relatively late sign (March 7) who’s since tossed three spring frames — including two scoreless innings just yesterday. He logged a 4.50 ERA in 70 innings between the Rockies and Pirates last season. He struggled to miss bats last year but typically runs strong strikeout rates. Dating back to 2020, Beeks carries a 4.16 ERA in 192 2/3 innings. In Josh Hader, Bryan King and Bennett Sousa, the Astros already have three lefty relievers on the 40-man. Another veteran non-roster invitee, Steven Okert, has rattled off 8 2/3 shutout spring innings with a 14-to-2 K/BB ratio. Beeks might have long odds of cracking the roster.

Blue Jays: RHP Jacob Barnes, LHP Ryan Yarbrough

The 34-year-old Barnes logged a 4.36 ERA in a career-high 66 big league innings last season. He posted an ERA north of 5.00 in each of the five preceding seasons (a total of 115 1/3 frames). He’s been tagged for four runs in 5 1/3 innings this spring.

Yarbrough, 33, had a terrific run with the Jays to close out the 2024 season. Joining Toronto in a deadline swap sending Kevin Kiermaier to the Dodgers, the veteran southpaw posted a 2.01 ERA in 31 1/3 innings. He’s a soft-tosser, sitting just 86.5 mph with his heater, but Yarbrough can pitch multiple innings in relief and has a decent track record even beyond last year’s overall 3.19 earned run average (4.21 ERA in 768 MLB innings). He’s allowed three runs with and 8-to-1 K/BB ratio in 6 2/3 innings in camp.

Braves: RHP Buck Farmer, RHP Hector Neris

Farmer was already reassigned to minor league camp on Sunday, so there’d seem to be a good chance of him taking his out. The 34-year-old turned in a terrific 3.04 ERA in 71 innings for the Reds last year but was probably hampered by his age, pedestrian velocity and subpar command in free agency. With a 3.68 ERA in 193 innings over the past three seasons in Cincinnati, he should find an opportunity somewhere — even if it’s not in Atlanta.

Neris is still in Braves camp. He signed well into camp and thus has only pitched one official inning so far, which was scoreless. (Neris is pitching today as well.) He’s looking to bounce back from a 4.10 ERA and a particularly poor performance in save opportunities last year. Prior to his nondescript 2024, Neris rattled off a 3.03 ERA in 208 innings from 2021-23 between Philly and Houston, saving 17 games and collecting 67 holds along the way.

Brewers: 1B/OF Mark Canha, OF Manuel Margot

He’s had a brutal spring, but the 36-year-old Canha has been an above-average hitter every year since 2018, by measure of wRC+. He’s just 2-for-23 in Brewers camp, but he’s slugged a homer and walked as often as he’s fanned (four times apiece). Milwaukee has Rhys Hoskins at first base, but Canha could chip in at DH and offer a right-handed complement to lefty outfielders Sal Frelick and Garrett Mitchell.

Margot hasn’t hit well in a tiny sample of 35 spring plate appearances, but he’s outproduced Canha with a .250/.314/.375 slash. He’s coming off a dismal .238/.289/.337 showing in Minnesota, however, and hasn’t been the plus defender he was prior to a major 2022 knee injury. Like Canha, he could complement Frelick and Mitchell as a righty-swinging outfielder, but Canha has been the far more productive bat in recent seasons.

Cubs: RHP Chris Flexen

The Cubs reassigned Flexen to minor league camp after just 3 2/3 innings this spring. He was hit hard on the other side of town with the White Sox in 2024, though Flexen quietly righted the ship after an awful start. He posted a 5.69 ERA through nine starts but logged a 4.62 mark over his final 21 trips to the mound, including a tidy 3.52 earned run average across 46 innings in his last eight starts. Flexen may not bounce back to his 2021-22 numbers in Seattle, but he’s a durable fifth starter if nothing else.

Diamondbacks: INF/OF Garrett Hampson, RHP Scott McGough

The D-backs don’t really have a backup shortstop while Blaze Alexander is sidelined with an oblique strain, which seems to bode well for Hampson. He’s hitting .235/.333/.324 in camp and can play three infield spots and three outfield positions. He had a bleak .230/.275/.300 performance in Kansas City last year but was a league-average hitter for the Marlins as recently as 2023.

McGough was reassigned to minor league camp yesterday after serving up six runs in 4 2/3 innings of spring work. That wasn’t the follow-up to last year’s gruesome 7.44 ERA for which the 35-year-old righty or the team had hoped.

Giants: C Max Stassi, RHP Lou Trivino

Stassi is battling Sam Huff, who’s on the 40-man, for the backup catcher’s role while Tom Murphy is injured. The 34-year-old Stassi is hitting .300/.364/.700 with a pair of homers in 22 spring plate appearances. He’s a plus defender with a scattershot track record at the plate.

Trivino hasn’t pitched since 2022 due to Tommy John surgery and a separate shoulder issue. He also hasn’t allowed a run in 8 1/3 spring innings. (9-to-4 K/BB ratio). Trivino’s scoreless Cactus League showing, his pre-injury track record and his familiarity with skipper Bob Melvin — his manager in Oakland — all seem to give him a real chance to win a spot.

Mariners: RHP Shintaro Fujinami, RHP Trevor Gott, 1B Rowdy Tellez

Fujinami’s command has never been good, and he’s walked more batters (seven) than he’s struck out (four) through 5 2/3 spring innings. He’s also plunked a pair of batters. He’s looking to bounce back from an injury-ruined 2024 season but might have to take his first steps toward doing so in Triple-A.

Tellez has had a big camp and looks like he could have a real chance to make the club in a part-time DH/first base role, as explored more yesterday. Gott is on the mend from Tommy John surgery performed last March and won’t pitch until midseason. He’s unlikely to opt out.

Mets: RHP Jose Ureña

Ureña was torched for seven runs in his first 1 1/3 spring innings after signing with the Mets on Feb. 27. He bounced back by striking out all three opponents he faced in an inning this past weekend, but he hasn’t helped himself otherwise. Ureña’s 3.80 ERA in 109 innings with Texas last year was his first sub-5.00 ERA since 2017-18 in Miami.

Padres: 1B Yuli Gurriel, INF Jose Iglesias

Both veterans have a legitimate chance to make the club. Gurriel has had a productive spring (.296/.321/.519) at nearly 41 years of age, while Iglesias is out to a 5-for-18 start since signing in mid-March. Gurriel could split time at first and DH, lessening the need to use Luis Arraez in the field. Iglesias could see frequent work at second base, shifting Jake Cronenworth to first base and pushing Arraez to DH. The Padres probably wouldn’t have put a hefty (relative to most minor league deals) $3MM base salary on Iglesias’ deal if they didn’t see a real path to him making the roster.

Pirates: LHP Ryan Borucki

Borucki was great for the Pirates in 2023 and struggled through 11 innings during an injury-marred 2024 season. The 30-year-old southpaw has allowed one run in eight spring innings. His five walks are a bit much, but he’s also fanned 11 of his 33 opponents.

Rangers: SS Nick Ahmed, RHP David Buchanan, RHP Jesse Chavez, OF Kevin Pillar, RHP Hunter Strickland

Ahmed has more homers in 28 spring plate appearances than he had in 228 plate appearances in 2024 or 210 plate appearances in 2023. He’s popped three round-trippers already and slashed .286/.310/.607. With a crowded infield and versatile backups like Josh Smith and Ezequiel Duran, Ahmed might still have a hard time cracking the roster.

None of the three pitchers listed here has performed well in limited work. Buchanan had a nice run as a starter in the KBO in the four preceding seasons, while Chavez has been a mainstay in the Atlanta bullpen for much of the past few years. Strickland had a nice 2024 in Anaheim but signed very late and retired only one of the five batters he faced during his long spring outing.

Pillar may have the best chance of the bunch to make the team. He’s hitting .273/.333/.394 in 39 plate appearances. Outfielders Wyatt Langford and Adolis Garcia have been banged up this spring, so some extra outfield depth could make sense.

Rays: DH/OF Eloy Jimenez

Jimenez homered for the second time yesterday, boosting his Grapefruit line to .263/.300/.447. He’s coming off a dreadful season in 2024, but from 2019-23 the former top prospect raked at a .275/.324/.487 pace, including a 31-homer rookie campaign (admittedly, in the juiced-ball 2019 season). Durability has been a bigger factor than productivity. If the Rays can get Jimenez to elevate the ball more, he could be a bargain; he’s still only 28.

Red Sox: LHP Matt Moore, RHP Adam Ottavino

Moore signed on Feb. 20 and has only gotten into two spring games so far, totaling two innings. Ottavino has pitched four innings but allowed five runs. He’s walked five and tossed a pair of wild pitches in that time. Both pitchers have long MLB track records, but they’re both coming off lackluster seasons.

Reds: LHP Wade Miley

Miley underwent Tommy John surgery early last season and contemplated retirement upon learning his prognosis. He wanted to return to one of his former NL Central clubs in free agency, and the Reds clearly offered a more compelling minor league deal than the Brewers. He’s not going to be a realistic option until late May, and it seems unlikely he’d opt out while his rehab is still ongoing.

Rockies: RHP Jake Woodford

Woodford isn’t an Article XX(b) free agent, but MLBTR has learned that he still has a March 22 opt-out. He made his fourth appearance of Rockies camp yesterday, tossing 2 2/3 innings with an earned run. Woodford has allowed seven runs on 11 hits and three walks with five punchouts and a nice 47.2% grounder rate in 10 2/3 frames this spring. He has experience as a starter and reliever. The righty doesn’t miss many bats but keeps the ball on the ground and has good command. He’s a fifth starter/swingman who’s out of minor league options.

Royals: C Luke Maile, RHP Ross Stripling

Maile is a glove-first backup who’s had a nice spring at the plate but has done so on a team with a healthy Salvador Perez and Freddy Fermin. His path to a roster spot doesn’t look great. Speculatively, his former Reds club, which just lost Tyler Stephenson to begin the year, would make sense if they plan to add an outside catcher. Maile’s .214/.294/.329 performance over the past three seasons is light, but he’s already familiar with the bulk of Cincinnati’s staff. He’s a fine backup or No. 3 catcher for any club, Kansas City included.

Stripling notched a 3.01 ERA in 124 innings for the 2022 Blue Jays, but it’s been rough waters since. He was rocked for a 5.68 ERA across the past two seasons, spending time with both Bay Area clubs, and has been tagged for 11 runs on 14 hits — four of them homers — with just two strikeouts in six spring frames. He’ll likely need a strong Triple-A showing, be it with the Royals or another club, to pitch his way back to the majors.

Tigers: LHP Andrew Chafin

Chafin surprisingly commanded only a minor league deal this offseason and has struggled to begin his third stint with the Tigers. He’s been tagged for eight runs in four spring innings, walking six batters along the way. It’s a rough look, but the affable southpaw notched a 3.51 ERA in 56 1/3 MLB frames last year and touts a 3.12 mark across the past four seasons combined.

White Sox: RHP Mike Clevinger, INF Brandon Drury, OF Travis Jankowski

The ChiSox signed Clevinger for a third time late this spring and are trying him in the bullpen. He’s responded with four shutout innings, allowing only one hit and no walks while fanning six hitters. His 2025 White Sox reunion is out to a much better start than his 2024 reunion, wherein he was limited to only 16 innings with a 6.75 ERA thanks to elbow and neck troubles.

Drury could hardly be doing more to secure a spot with the Pale Hose. He’s decimated Cactus League pitching at a .410/.439/.821 pace, slugging three homers and seven doubles in only 41 plate appearances. He’s coming off a terrible 2024 showing with the Angels but hit .263/.313/.493 from 2021-23. It’d be a surprise if the Sox didn’t keep him.

Jankowski started the spring with the Cubs, was granted his release and signed with the Sox. The hits haven’t been dropping, but he has six walks in 25 plate appearances. The White Sox already have Michael A. Taylor in a fourth outfield role. Andrew Benintendi, who missed three-plus weeks with a fractured hand, was back in the lineup yesterday, making Jankowski something of a long shot.

Yankees: RHP Carlos Carrasco

With a nice spring showing and several injuries in the Yankees’ rotation, Carrasco looks to have a good chance at making the roster. Jack Curry of the YES Network already reported it’s “likely” Carrasco will be added this weekend. Carrasco has a 1.69 ERA with 15 strikeouts and seven walks (plus four hit batters) in 16 spring innings. He tossed five shutout frames yesterday.

This week, host Darragh McDonald is joined by Anthony Franco of MLB Trade Rumors to discuss…

• The Rays no longer having a deal to build a new stadium (2:15)
• If the league is pressuring Stu Sternberg to sell the Rays, but why didn’t they do the same with John Fisher and the Athletics? (6:40)
• The Rangers dealing with injuries to Jon Gray and Cody Bradford (recorded prior to the Patrick Corbin signing) (14:05)

Plus, we answer your questions, including…

• Who is a more likely trade acquisition for the Mets, Sandy Alcántara of the Marlins or Dylan Cease of the Padres? And who would command a larger trade package? (20:50)
• Should the Pirates trade one of their catchers? (24:20)
• How realistic is it that the Mariners have better offense than last year and are in position to use their prospects for deadline upgrades? (28:40)
• Should the Yankees try to plug holes with veterans or give playing time to younger guys? (34:25)
• The Tigers are trying Javier Báez and Spencer Torkelson at different positions. Are they trying to increase the trade appeal of these players or delude themselves into thinking they could actually provide value? (38:25)

Check out our past episodes!

• Lawrence Butler’s Extension, Gerrit Cole’s TJ, And Rays’ Ownership Pressured To Sell – listen here
• Jose Quintana, Luis Gil’s Injury, The Nats’ TV Situation, Salary Floor Talk, And More! – listen here
• Atlanta’s Pitching Depth, Iglesias, Jobe, Castillo, And More! – listen here

The podcast intro and outro song “So Long” is provided courtesy of the band Showoff.  Check out their Facebook page here!

Photo courtesy Bill Streicher, Imagn Images