Several Significant Additions Bolster San Diego Padres’ Roster

The San Diego Padres should be given credit for doing their best to improve a team that finished last season with a record of 79-83, a disappointing third place in the National League West.

As this new season begins, according to Spotrac.com, the Padres payroll is $209.872M. That’s an increase from the $179.764M the team spent last season.

Due to the shortened spring training, Major League Baseball is allowing 28-man rosters until May 1, 2021. MLB is making an effort to provide managers additional player options to keep their teams healthy.

Since last season, the Padres have undertaken a massive overhaul of their roster.

In their quest to improve, the Padres opened the season with several new players on their big league roster.

One of the most significant additions to the San Diego Padres is the signing of veteran manager Bob Melvin to shepherd the team from the dugout.

Most recently the manager of the Oakland Athletics, Melvin is a great communicator with his players and is highly regarded in baseball circles. He brings outstanding game management to his new team.

First baseman Luke Voit (trade), catcher Jorge Alfaro (trade), utility player Matt Beaty (trade), starting pitchers Sean Manaea (trade) and Nick Martinez (free-agent signing), outfielder Jose Azocar (free-agent signing) as well as relievers Taylor Rogers (trade) and Robert Suarez (free-agent signing) are new to the organization. In addition, the team promoted their standout top prospect, shortstop C.J. Abrams to their opening day roster.

The unfortunate wrist injury to star shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. has given Abrams his first big league opportunity. He will likely share playing time with He-Seong Kim.

While all the new players will be important to the ultimate product on the field, four of the newest Padres may play significant roles in the coming season.

Here are scouting snapshots of the most impactful opening day roster additions:

C.J. Abrams: shortstop/second base (age 21)

Left-handed hitting C.J. Abrams was The Padres 2019 1st round choice out of Blessed Trinity High School in Roswell, Georgia.

As the No. 6 player taken in the draft, Abrams received a $5.2M signing bonus.

Abrams is an elite athlete with a combination of outstanding bat speed, superb pitch recognition and power in his 6-2, 185 pound frame.

Abrams battled a fractured left tibia and sprained left MCL (medial collateral ligament) in his 2021 minor league season. He played just 42 games.

A very good contact hitter, Abrams has the ability to hit left-handed pitching, a skill that is difficult for a left-handed hitter. He also has a knack for making proper adjustments to the way pitchers approach him.

A five-tool player, Abrams does most things extremely well. He should be able to help the Padres with a very solid batting average, home run power from his increasing strength, a very strong throwing arm, superb range and footwork, and plus speed that could lead to stolen bases and extra base hits.

After watching Abrams play, this scout feels he is a Grade 60 player on a 40-80 grading scale.

That means he is an excellent player with the ability to participate in multiple All Star games going forward.

Luke Voit: designated hitter, first baseman (age 31)

Right-handed hitting Luke Voit was a 22nd round selection of the St. Louis Cardinals in the 2013 draft, out of Missouri State University.

In 2018, the Cardinals traded Voit to the New York Yankees, where he played for parts of four seasons. However, Voit had difficulty staying healthy with New York. He had a sports hernia, several knee bruises and bone issues, oblique strains, nagging foot issues, and more.

A powerful hitter, the 6-3, 255 pound Voit’s best season with the Yankees was 2019. He hit 21 home runs, drove in 62 runs, scored 72 runs and walked 71 times in 510 plate appearances, his most in the big leagues. As an aggressive swinger, he struck out 142 times that season.

In the pandemic shortened 2020 season, Voit hit 22 home runs, leading the major leagues.

Injuries took their toll again last year for Voit, as he made only 241 plate appearances. He didn’t begin his season until May 11, as he suffered from a small tear in his left meniscus.

In March of this year, the Yankees traded Voit to the Padres. The addition of the universal designated hitter made Voit very valuable to national league clubs. When the MLB lockout ended, the Padres struck quickly to add Voit.

Given the presence of veteran Eric Hosmer at first base, the Padres are likely to use Voit as their every game designated hitter.

Sean Manaea: right-handed starting pitcher: (age 30)

The Kansas City Royals selected Sean Manaea in the 1st round of the 2013 draft out of Indiana State University.

As the No. 34 player taken in the draft, Manaea received a signing bonus of $3.55M, well above the recommended $1.62M value for the pick.

Manaea pitched parts of six seasons in the Royals minor league development program. However, he never pitched for them at the major league level, as he was traded to the Oakland Athletics on July 28, 2015.

In his six years with the Athletics, Manaea fashioned a record of 50-41, with a composite 3.86 ERA and a WHIP of 1.20. Manaea averaged 7.9 strikeouts and 2.2 walks per nine innings.

A reliable starting pitcher, Manaea started 32 games for Oakland last season, a career high. He threw two complete games, a rare feat in MLB these days.

When it became known around the game that Oakland was looking to trade veterans for young, controllable prospect players, the quest to trade for Manaea was widely known. It was the Padres who struck the deal the Athletics liked. Manaea was traded for two young prospects.

Manaea is in the last year of his contract, and he can be a free-agent at the end of the season.

Oakland traded Manaea to San Diego April 3, 2022.

In his first start since joining the Padres, Manaea threw seven scoreless, hitless innings against the Arizona Diamondbacks on the road in Arizona. He was removed by Melvin after throwing 88 pitches.

Taylor Rogers: left-handed relief pitcher (age 31)

A twin-brother to major league pitcher Tyler Rogers (San Fransisco Giants), the Minnesota Twins drafted Taylor Rogers in the 11th round of the 2012 draft out of the University of Kentucky.

Rogers, 6-3 and 190 pounds, spent parts of five seasons in the Twins minor league development system. He spent 87 of his 99 appearances as a starter.

Rogers graduated to the big leagues in 2016, where he was used exclusively as a reliever. In parts of six years with Minnesota, Rogers saved 50 games. He saved 30 games in 2019, his career best. He was an All Star last year.

On Opening Day this year, the Twins traded Rogers to the Padres, along with outfielder Brent Rooker for right-handed starter Chris Paddack and reliever Emilio Pagan.

Rogers is expected to assume the closer’s role in San Diego, solving a glaring need for the club. He got his first Padres save in the game against Arizona started by Manaea.

Conclusions:

The San Diego Padres have ground to close if they hope to catch the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League West.

Padres Chairman Peter Seidler and general manager A. J. Preller have churned their major league roster with several important trades, free-agent signings and the promotion to the big leagues of highly regarded prospect shortstop, C.J. Abrams.

This scout got to watch the Padres live against the Arizona Diamondbacks in their season-opening series, when they won three of the four games played.

To this writer, perhaps the best addition to the team is new manager Bob Melvin, a 19-year veteran manager, fresh off finishing his 11th season managing the Oakland Athletics.

In addition to Abrams, four new Padres players form the nucleus of offensive and defensive additions the team.

Luke Voit offers the team a permanent designated hitter capable of ending the game with one swing of his bat.

Sean Manaea provides new manager Bob Melvin with a proven starting pitcher capable of going deeply into games and providing quality starts.

All Star reliever Taylor Rogers has a history of closing games effectively and efficiently.

From what this scout observed, the Padres are an improved baseball team with enough quality players to effectively compete in the National League.