Padres Call Up Infielder Carlos Asuaje
Source: Denis Poroy/Getty Images North America
Even after a busy weekend of roster moves, the Padres don’t appear to be done, as the team is reportedly calling up top-10 prospect, Carlos Asuaje, according to a tweet by Fox Sports’ Ken Rosenthal.
Source: #Padres promote infielder Carlos Asuaje. Corresponding move not known.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) May 22, 2017
The Padres have done quite a bit of roster reshuffling over the last few days to the point where it’s a little difficult to keep track of things. To catch up, last week the Padres claimed right-hander Jose Valdez off waivers from the Los Angeles Angels, who has since made a move to the Padres 25-man roster. In order to make room for Valdez on the 40-man, injured pitcher Christian Friedrich was transferred to the 60-day disabled list. Following the injuries to both Trevor Cahill and Jered Weaver, Valdez and Kevin Quackenbush were brought to the big league roster, putting the Padres at nine relievers.
Following back-to-back blowout losses at the hands of the Diamondbacks, the Padres claimed infielder Chase d’Arnaud off of waivers from the Boston Red Sox in hopes of shaking up the team dynamic. To make room for d’Arnaud on the 40-man roster, Carter Capps was transferred from the 10-day DL to the 60-day DL. This once again left the Padres with a full 40 players on their 40-man roster. That is until Luis Sardinas was designated for assignment on Sunday. Now the Padres have only 39 players on the current 40-man roster.
With the additions of both d’Arnaud and Asuaje, and the removal of Sardinas, the Padres now have 26 players on their 25-man roster, meaning the team will have to make one more move in order to make room for Asuaje. With nine relievers currently on the 25-man, it is almost certain that one of those players will be going back down to Triple-A, likely either Kevin Quackenbush or Jose Valdez. However, this doesn’t quite solve the Padres’ problem because the team will still need another starter for Thursday’s game in place of the injured Weaver. So it appears likely that one of the Padres’ position players, such as Carlos Asuaje, could only be up for a short period of time.
As for who is going to start in place of Weaver on Thursday, the Padres have several options. At the forefront of those options is either Walker Lockett or Dinelson Lamet. Lockett appears to be the likeliest option, given his place on the 40-man roster, although Lamet could theoretically be added to the 40-man given the opening that is there. Either Zach Lee or Jake Esch would be potential options, although both are currently on the disabled list. Tyrell Jenkins was another name that was being discussed, but he started for the Chihuahuas on Monday afternoon, which would put him out of the running for a Thursday spot start. Matt Magill pitched yesterday for the Chihuahuas, so maybe he could be an option on four days rest, although Lamet would seem more worthy of a 40-man spot than Magill at this point. The Padres could even do a bullpen game, although that appears less likely given how much the bullpen had to work in the Diamondbacks series.
So this leaves Carlos Asuaje as likely a temporary option over the next few days. The Padres will start a three-game series with the New York Mets on Tuesday, but Asuaje may only get two games to show what he can do before the Padres need another starting pitcher for Thursday. It remains to be seen who that will be, but if Asuaje can do enough to show he’s worth keeping around, the Padres will have to find someone else to move. There will certainly be more roster moves coming. Stay tuned.
Editorial and Prospect Writer for East Village Times. Twenty-five years young, Patrick has lived in San Diego for his entire life and has been a Padres fan nearly as long. Patrick lives for baseball and is always looking to learn new things about the game he loves through advanced stats.