Padres Activate Three Players, Cut Two from 40-Man Roster

The San Diego Padres made several moves on Friday as they start to adjust their 40-man roster. This will be a common theme throughout the winter as the Padres look for that winning combination for the 2019 season.

The Padres made a litany of roster moves Friday, clearing space off of their 40-man roster in order to activate three players off the 60-day disabled list.

Left-handed starting pitcher Clayton Richard was among those activated, with the other two being right-hander Dinelson Lamet and outfielder Franchy Cordero.

In order to clear space on the 40-man roster, the Padres designated reliever Kazuhisa Makita for assignment and outrighted outfielder Alex Dickerson. Dickerson elected to test free agency and is no longer a part of the organization, and the team has seven days to trade Makita before giving him the choice of free agency or a minor league demotion.

Players are not eligible to be on the disabled list during the offseason and must be on the team’s active roster and 40-man roster. There were two open spots on the roster after Freddy Galvis and AJ Ellis became free agents, but a third needed to be cleared, hence the decision of designating Makita for assignment. After today’s moves and the waiver claim of infielder Greg Garcia from the Cardinals on Thursday, the team’s 40-man roster is currently full. 

Makita, a thirty-three-year-old submariner, was signed to a two-year, $3.8 million contract prior to the 2018 season, but struggled in his first taste of big league action. Over 35 innings pitched, he posted a 5.40 ERA accompanied by a 4.85 FIP. Makita struck out 9.51 batters per nine innings while walking 3.09 per nine, good for a 3.08 strikeouts-per-walk ratio. His numbers were dragged down by his seven home runs surrendered, as he was more or less a league-average reliever otherwise.

Dickerson, 28, is a Poway native who made his Major League debut with the Padres in 2015. He missed all of 2017 and 2018 due to various injuries, that included Tommy John surgery in March, but managed to suit up for the Padres for 95 games in 2015-16. Dickerson is a career .257/.331/.448 hitter, good for a .779 OPS and a 109 wRC+. With the emergence of Franmil Reyes in 2018, plus the overall corner outfield depth at the Major League level, the Padres decided Dickerson was expendable and not worth keeping around any longer. Hopefully, he will latch onto a team this offseason and make his way back to the Majors healthy.

Couple roster moves to set the stage for a busy month. https://t.co/Gi0hoWgVzb

— AJ Cassavell (@AJCassavell) November 2, 2018

It is sure to be a busy offseason for the Padres front office as they have multiple prospects to protect from the coming Rule 5 draft, all of which require 40-man roster spots. With a 40-man roster that is currently full, the Padres will need to make some tough decisions here in the near future as the roster is further trimmed. 

Ryan Davis

Born and raised in Vista, Ryan has been a Padres fan since birth. Currently attending Palomar College, Ryan is trying his hand at expressing his passion for baseball through writing. There is no better life than the baseball life.