Ranking the Padres 26-man roster on Opening Day
Mandatory Credit: Orlando Ramirez-USA TODAY Sports
After a long and, what some Padres fans would describe as, treacherous off-season, the 2025 Major League Baseball season is finally here.
With injuries to pitchers Yu Darvish, Bryan Hoeing, and Sean Reynolds, as well as the arrivals of free agents Nick Pivetta and Jose Iglesias, among others, the Padres’ Opening Day roster looks a little bit different than one might have predicted over the winter.
Here are all 26 players, ranked in order:
The Big 3
The Padres will go as far as these three take them. If they can stay healthy, this trio should all be All-Stars and in contention for some individual hardware at the end of the season. Tatis Jr. looked to be in 2021 form during the playoffs. If he can replicate that, he will be in the running for the National League MVP.
Merrill will try to avoid the famous ole’ “sophomore slump” after an impressive rookie season that saw him slash .292/.326/.500 with 24 home runs and 90 runs driven in. The center fielder also showed great athleticism both in the outfield and on the bases, with 16 stolen bases.
Machado is healthy and will likely hit a few milestones this season, including 2,000 hits and 350 home runs.
Pair of Aces
4. Michael King
5. Dylan Cease
The Padres acquired two starters in separate but closlely-tied trades during the 2023-24 offseason. With a year in San Diego under their belts, the duo of King and Cease come into contract year seasons looking to build off of solid campaigns that saw King finish 7th in the NL Cy Young award race after going 13-9 with a 2.95 ERA and 201 strikeouts in 173.2 innings.
One of Cease’s greatest and probably his most underrated assets is his durability. He has not missed a start since joining the White Sox rotation full-time in 2020. He had a solid 2024 campaign, striking out 224 batters to a tune of a 3.47 ERA across 189.1 IP. He also threw the second no-hitter in franchise history. The right-hander ended up finishing fourth in the N.L. Cy Young race.
The Sprinkler
6. Luis Arraez
The heartbeat of the Padres offense, Arraez’ ability to affect the game with his bat is undeniable. One could point to his three consecutive batting titles or his .369 career batting average with runners in scoring position, but what makes him so special his ability to always put the ball on play. For his career, Arraez has struck out just 194 times or 6.7% of the time. For context, Cincinnati Reds shortstop Elly De La Cruz struck out 218 times just last season. Putting the ball in play leads to sac flies, runners on base moving and opposing defenses being forced to make plays; all factors that lead to scoring runs.
The X-factors
9. Nick Pivetta
With six all-star appearances between the two of them, the Padres’ middle infield is certainly talented, but both Bogaerts and Cronenworth had disappointing halves last season that have dragged the team down with them.
Bogaerts hit just .219 with a disappointing .581 OPS in the first two months of the season (47 games) before going on the injured list (shoulder). He returned to hit .299 (.770 OPS) in the final 64 games of the season. The Padres’ chances will likely hinge on getting the latter from their shortstop.
Cronenworth slugged .430 in the first half of 2024 with a more than respectable .753 OPS while hitting 13 HR’s and driving in 55 runs. He plummeted in the second half (.650 OPS) and only left the yard four times in the final 61 games. While he doesn’t need to hit for power to be successful, the drop in his hard-hit rate was concerning. For what it’s worth, the Michigan alum had a solid spring, hitting .308 with four doubles.
In 8 MLB seasons, Pivetta has never had an ERA under 4.04. Yet his peripherals seem to indicate there is room for improvement. An optimistic yet realistic outlook could see a 12+ win season with 200+ strikeouts and an ERA under 3.50. This would significantly help a rotation that looks questionable on the back end.
Over after the sixth inning
10. Jason Adam
11. Robert Suarez
12. Jeremiah Estrada
13. Adrian Morejon
14. Alek Jacob
One of the underrated parts of this Padres team is its bullpen, particularly its back end. Robert Suarez, despite some struggles toward the end of the 2024 campaign, is a solid closer. Jason Adam is one of the best eighth-inning options in the league. Jeremiah Estrada has light’s-out stuff and has shown glimpses of being a potential closer of the future.
Finally healthy for a full season, Morejon has found a home in the Padres’ bullpen. Mike Shildt will be hoping that Morejon can fill a Tanner Scott-esque type of role, carving up tough lefties in high-leverage situations. Jacob is a promising young right-hander. His swing and miss stuff is not a fluke. He might bounce back and forth between the big league club and El Paso when Bryan Hoeing and Sean Reynolds eventually return, but his future looks bright.
Crafty veterans
15. Elias Diaz
16. Jose Iglesias
Picked up at the end of last season off of waivers, the Padres decided to bring back Diaz on a 1-year deal to be the team’s primary catcher. An All-Star game MVP two years ago. The Padres would love to get at least average defense and perhaps an OPS above .700 from him.
Iglesias will serve many roles on this team, whether it’s the “vibes” factor left behind from the departures of Jurickson Profar and Tyler Wade or his career .300 batting average against southpaws. Iglesias should start a lot this season against lefties and also come into games late as a pinch runner or defensive replacement.
Righty tighty, lefty loosie
17. Gavin Sheets
18. Jason Heyward
19. Yuki Matsui
20. Wandy Peralta
With a great camp, Sheets made the Padres’ Opening Day roster. The big first baseman/corner outfielder figures to get the majority of his playing time as a designated hitter. He has hit at least 10 home runs in all four seasons in the big leagues. Despite his immense power potential, Sheets has just a .657 OPS in the last three years. Like Sheets, Heyward figures to be in the lineup every day against right-handed pitching. He brings 15 years of MLB experience and five gold gloves to boot.
Matsui and Peralta (along with Morejon) are available out of the bullpen to attack strong lefties in a division full of them. From 2019 to 2023, Wandy Peralta had a respectable 3.47 ERA across 247 games pitched out of the bullpen, using his high roundball rates. He also struck out 198 batters during that time. That ERA jumped to 3.98 in 2024. It remains to be seen which version of Peralta the Padres are getting after an up-and-shown spring. Matsui had a solid rookie season, with a 3.73 ERA across 64 appearances out of the pen. He is best used in non-high-leverage situations.
On the bubble
21. Kyle Hart
23. Randy Vasquez
24. Omar Cruz
All four of the guys were announced their places on the team in the past few days, and some, if not all four, will likely spend at least some time in Triple-A El Paso this season. Hart and Vasquez will open the season as the team’s back-end starters. What the Padres will get out of them remains to be seen. Cruz will open the year as the long relief/mop-up man. He is also the only player on the team yet to make his Major League debut.
Acquired last year midseason for Enyel De Los Santos, AJ Preller may have found a diamond in the rough. Lockridge is one of, if not the fastest players in the organization. He figures to get a lot of stolen base opportunities.
Veteran leadership
25. Yulieski Gurriel
26. Martin Maldonado
A pair of former World Series champions with the Houston Astros, Gurriel and Maldonaldo have been around the block but possess plenty of experience and know what it takes to win. In an ideal world, younger players (e.g. Luis Campusano, Connor Joe, Oscar Gonzalez) will take their spots on the team at some point.
Al was born in Fresno, California with a passion for talking and writing about sports. The lifelong Padres fan covers sports for Fresno State for Fresno Sports Magazine. In addition to writing, he is a public address announcer at both the high school and collegiate levels.