Bench struggles in 2025

Spring Training games are upon us. Position battles, rotation battles, bullpen battles, and bench battles will all begin.

The Padres’ front office has not made the big splash that the Faithful is used to seeing seemingly every offseason, amidst an impending franchise sale by the Seidler family. There are payroll restrictions with some large contracts on the books for the 2026 season. A.J. Preller is certainly bound to be creative in finding ways to improve the team and give depth at the major league level.

In 2025, the Padres’ bench production was among the worst across MLB, with Martín Maldonado, Yuli Gurriel, Jason Heyward, Jose Iglesias, Brandon Lockridge, Tyler Wade, and Mason McCoy.

None of these players provided positive bWAR for the brown and gold in 2025. Center field was a black hole offensively as Jackson Merrill was placed on the 10-day IL three different times last year. With Manny Machado aging and needing more days off his feet, the third base position was often filled by Iglesias and his 66 OPS+ in 2025.

Familiar faces in camp

Infielder Will Wagner, son of 2025 MLB Hall of Fame inductee Billy Wagner, was acquired from Toronto at the 2025 trade deadline for San Antonio Missions catcher Brandon Valenzuela.

Wagner, in his limited 15 at-bats with the major league squad, recorded just two hits. He could be a valuable piece to the Padres during the season as he adds a left-handed presence in the batter’s box and his positional versatility. Wagner owns a .823 OPS in the minors over the past two seasons with Toronto and San Diego and is still only 27 years of age.

Gavin Sheets was a home run signing and a massive part of the Padres’ success in 2025. He tallied the third most RBIs for the Padres, tied with Tatís Jr. (71). The Baltimore native should slot into the everyday lineup versus right-handers, as he slashed .251/.324/.453 against them in 2025. However, with the newest additions to camp, he might not see much time against southpaws this upcoming season.

Mason McCoy, a glove-first infielder, is one who’s gained some playing time in the middle infield over his time with the club the past few seasons. In his 37 big league games with the Padres, he’s committed no errors in his 85 defensive chances. Mason is sleek with his glove, but his sub-500 career MLB OPS bat plays as a non-factor at this level.

Throughout his time in San Diego, centerfielder Bryce Johnson has shown his value as a late-inning defensive replacement and pinch runner. In 2025, Johnson did have some success at the plate with a .817 OPS. However, advanced metrics show he may have run into luck with his .446 BABIP. A.J. Preller and the front office will have a tough decision to make as Johnson has no more minor league options remaining on his contract.

Despite his forgettable 2025 year with the Padres, catcher Luis Campusano is likely to secure the backup catcher role to start the year.

Campusano failed to record a hit in his 27 plate appearances with San Diego in 2025. The catcher did show immense flashes at the dish, posting a 1.036 OPS with 25 home runs and 95 RBIs in the Pacific Coast League with the Triple-A affiliate El Paso Chihuahuas. Luis has zero minor league options remaining, so he must make the big league club or get designated for assignment. New Padres manager and former teammate of Campusano has spoken highly of him so far, saying “what he’s needing right now is an opportunity” at Padres FanFest in January. Shildt never quite gave Campusano a shot in his time at the helm.

Newest bench options

The Padres’ winter started as the club signed outfielder and first baseman Miguel Andújar to a deal for the 2026 season with a mutual option for 2027. Andújar does most of his damage against lefties. The right-handed hitter slashed .389/.409/.578 in his 90 at-bats against southpaws. He also has a put bat onto the ball very well, with his 86th percentile in Whiff % and 87th percentile in K%. If Andujar can post close to these numbers playing half his games at an unfriendly hitter park like Petco Park, he could receive solid time at the corner outfield spots, first base, and as a designated hitter.

After his fallout with the Phillies organization after ongoing issues, Nick Castellanos found his home to start 2026 in San Diego. Castellanos is owed $20 million this year; San Diego will be paying $780k, and Philadelphia will be billed the remaining $19,220,000. Turning 34 in March, the right-handed hitter posted an 88 OPS+ in 2025, with the worst OAA at -12 among qualified right fielders. With his declining play and lingering clubhouse concerns, Philadelphia decided to move on from Nick Castellanos, and now he’s in San Diego looking for a fresh start with an ultra-motivated group. Perhaps a change in scenery and a different role will unlock the plus WAR player that he once was.

Former Padre, infielder, and SDSU alum Ty France is back in Peoria at Padres camp on a minor league deal with an invite to big league camp. The 2025 AL Gold Glove Award winner at first base will have a chance to compete for a roster spot with his defensive versatility all over the diamond. France has not had an OPS above .700 since his days in Seattle in 2023, but a relocation to a familiar place with familiar faces in San Diego could do him well.

Left-handed hitting Sung-Mun Song was signed to the Padres on a four-year deal worth $15 million last December. In Song’s time in the KBO, he had not shown much promise with the bat until his 2024 campaign, where he slashed .340/.409/.519 with 104 RBIs in 142 games played for the Kiwoom Heroes. The same squad that beloved former Padre Ha-Seong Kim played for before jumping to MLB. Song followed up his strong 2024 campaign with a career-high 26 home runs and stole 25 bases. Recovering from an oblique injury from the offseason, he will have to work extra to get up to major league speed and help make an impact for a World Series push.

A.J. Preller signed a few position players with major league experience over the offseason to minor league deals to expand competition in Peoria and depth through the long season. Nick Solak, Samad Taylor, Pablo Reyes, and Jose Miranda are some names of players competing for a spot on the team. None of these players has any options to the minors and could find elsewhere to play if they do not make the big league club out of camp. They could very well sign back to the organization on a minor league deal if needed.

What could this mean?

Preller and company will likely carry 13 bats (maybe 14) on their initial 26-man roster for Opening Day in San Diego versus Detroit.

This means the starting nine, along with four or five bench spots. Bryce Johnson is projected to make the roster as a strong defender and speed guy. Andújar and Castellanos would also be frontrunners to start at designated hitter. Assuming he is in good health, Sung-Mun Song should be the backup infielder on the roster.

The Cactus League games this spring and practices in early Spring will give these fringe players the necessary in-game reps and opportunity to plead their case for the major league squad. The Padres will surely have much better success from their bench in 2026, in comparison to the disaster that was in 2025.

Angel Flores

Angel grew up a San Diego sports fan, following the Padres, SDSU athletics, San Diego FC, as well as the Chargers. He is currently a third year community college student, and will transfer to SDSU to pursue a career in Journalism.