El Paso Chihuahuas Announce 2018 Opening Day Roster
Credit: ElPasoTimes
The El Paso Chihuahuas, the Triple-A affiliate for the San Diego Padres, announced their Opening Day roster on April 2. The Chihuahuas will begin their season on April 5 at Las Vegas.
The roster carries 23 players total, with 12 of them being pitchers. Ten of those 23 players have experience in the majors. Twelve of the players on the roster spent time in Triple-A El Paso in 2017.
The pitchers on the roster are Jonathan Aro, Buddy Baumann, Colten Brewer, Chris Huffman, Brett Kennedy, Eric Lauer, Kyle Lloyd, Walter Lockett, Michael Mariot, Phil Maton, Trey Wingenter, and Eric Yardley.
That list is headlined by Lauer, who is ranked No. 13 on the Padres’ Top 30 Prospects list. Lauer spent time with Single-A Lake Elsinore and Double-A San Antonio last year. He is spending his first year with Triple-A El Paso, as he continues to make his climb to the Show.
Wingenter is ranked No. 21 on the Padres’ Top 30 Prospects list. He was drafted in 2015, and made his debut with the Chihuahuas during the Pacific Coast League Championship series against the Memphis Redbirds last September.
Baumann, Huffman, Lloyd, Lockett, Maton, and Yardley all were also with Triple-A El Paso last season. Entering the season for the first time are Aro, Brewer, Kennedy, Lauer, and Mariot.
Aro has two years of major league experience under his belt. He pitched for the Boston Red Sox in 2015, and for the Seattle Mariners in 2016. The Padres signed Aro to a minor league contract last November.
The Padres signed Brewer to a one-year contract last November. He previously spent time in the New York Yankees’ minor league system. He pitched for Single-A Tampa, Double-A Trenton and Triple-A Scranton in 2017.
Mariot was drafted by the Kansas City Royals in 2010 and stayed in their system until 2015. He was claimed off waivers by the Philadelphia Phillies before the 2016 season. He spent two years with the Phillies. The Padres signed Mariot to a minor league contract last November.
The position players on the roster are headlined by Luis Urias, the Padres’ No. 3 prospect. He led the Texas League in on-base percentage last season while playing for Double-A San Antonio. His time in El Paso could be short. He’s expected to be with the Padres at some point during the season. He’s the only position player on the roster who is a Top 30 prospect.
Travis Jankowski, who has been with the Padres for the past three seasons, will begin the season at Triple-A El Paso. Raffy Lopez was on the Padres’ Opening Day roster, and was with the team for one game before being optioned to Triple-A El Paso. Dusty Coleman spent time in San Diego in 2017. He will begin 2018 in Triple-A El Paso.
Javier Guerra and Franmil Reyes both played for Double-A San Antonio last season. Both players are on the Chihuahuas’ roster for the first time.
A pair of players with major league experience were signed to minor league contracts by the Padres during the offseason. Allen Craig was signed in January to provide first base depth in the minors.
Craig spent four seasons and part of a fifth with the St. Louis Cardinals. He was with the Cardinals during their World Series runs in 2011 and 2013. He was traded to Boston in 2014.
The Padres signed Shane Peterson to a minor league contract this past December. He has played for three MLB teams during his major league career: the Oakland Athletics, Milwaukee Brewers, and Tampa Bay Rays.
Another player signed to a minor league contract this offseason was Stephen McGee.
Diego Goris was with the Chihuahuas last season, and has played in 214 games with the minor league club. Nick Shulz also played for El Paso last season, and also spent time with Double-A San Antonio.
Tyson Ross was originally assigned to Triple-A El Paso by the Padres. He was called up to San Diego on April 2. The club has not yet announced who will go to El Paso.
Mike is the sports editor for the Fayette Advertiser, and has been with East Village Times since 2015. His work has appeared on Bleacher Report. He is an avid Padres fan who is keeping the faith and trusting the process.