With stars absent for the WBC, discover which five Padres are poised to shine and seize crucial spring training opportunities.
The San Diego Padres' spring training lineups will look much different for the next couple of weeks.
Big names such as Mason Miller, Xander Bogaerts, Manny Machado and Fernando Tatis Jr. are leaving to participate in the World Baseball Classic.
Wandy Peralta is another Padres player going to the WBC, so new manager Craig Stammen will have an opportunity to switch things around quite a bit until the stars return to camp.
AJ Cassavell of MLB.com named five players to watch for the Padres, with the others out of camp, and there are some notable names here.
At No. 5 is Jackson Merrill, and the 2024 National League Rookie of the Year runner-up smacked his first spring training home run on Saturday.
Here is Cassavell's five-player list:
- Sung-Mun Song
- Bradgley Rodriguez
- Nick Solak
- Samad Taylor
- Jackson Merrill
Merrill is obviously a star for the Padres, but the others are fighting for either a roster spot or playing time.
Song, who was signed this offseason to a four-year deal, came over from Korea and he played on the same team as former Padres infielder Ha-Seong Kim.
Stammen plans on using Song all across the infield and potentially in the outfield, although that is something a bit new for Song.
Rodriguez is a hard-throwing 22-year-old who dazzled in the short run last season. He pitched in seven games for the Padres, giving up just four hits and one run in 7.2 innings and striking out nine batters.
Rodriguez even made the postseason roster, and with Ron Marinaccio and Alek Jacob playing for Team Italy, and Miller and Peralta leaving as well for the WBC, Rodriguez could get plenty of opportunities to show why he should get a spot.
Solak and Taylor are less likely to get a spot due to the Padres' position players they have on the roster.
Solak played for Triple-A Indianapolis, which is in the Pittsburgh Pirates system, but he can play multiple infield positions as well as the outfield, so he could be a valuable piece.
Taylor is most likely competing with Bryce Johnson for the final outfield spot, and Taylor has hit well early on this spring.
Taylor was in the Seattle Mariners minor league system before being released.
Both Solak and Taylor are fighting for roster spots, and Rodriguez could also begin the year in Triple-A, although he pitched well and could be a back-of-the-rotation piece for Stammen as he gains experience and learns from others on the big league club.