MESA, Ariz. — Brandon Lockridge has done virtually every possible thing he can to win a job as an extra outfielder for the Padres.
On the bases, at the plate, in the field. He only keeps getting better.
He was 2-for-3 with a stolen base and made several running catches in the outfield in Friday’s 5-1 victory over the Cubs. After beginning the spring 1-for-7 in three games, Lockridge has at least one hit in all but two of his past 15 games and is 15-for- 34 (.441) with four doubles and seven stolen bases in that time.
And he might not be on the opening-day roster.
The calculus in figuring the final roster spots involves trying to find at least one guy who has power and one guy who has speed and one guy who can bunt and at least one guy who bats left-handed and guys who can play different defensive poisitions capably. The Padres appear to have plenty of each of those things, plus veterans who have experience coming off the bench.
“This is the most competitive position player camp I’ve ever had,” Padres manager Mike Shildt said. “And at the end of the camp, it usually comes down to, like, picking your 26th guy between a guy or two or three. Now we’ve got legitimate 10 guys for, you know, four or five spots.
It actually might be more competitive than that.
It has seemed for about a week that at least five players might be vying for one job.
There are five bench spots available, including backup catcher. That will be either Luis Campusano or Martín Maldonado, with the latter seemingly favored by many in the organization for his defense and ability to handle a pitching staff but others saying Campusano continues to grow behind the plate and provides far more at the plate.
That leaves four spots. And three of them could already be spoken for, based on feedback from some of the people involved in the decision making that will be made in the next five days.
Left-handed hitter Gavin Sheets and Yuli Gurriel appear to be headed toward some sort of sharing of the designated hitter role at the start of the season. Both can slug, and Sheets plays first base and the corner outfield spots capably while Gurriel can play first.
Jose Iglesias is favored by many as the primary backup at second base, third base and shortstop, both for the at-bats he has taken this spring and his defense.
If that trio has locked up spots, that leaves Lockridge, Oscar Gonzalez, Connor Joe, Eguy Rosario and Tyler Wade vying for the final job.
An argument can be made for all. Rosario and Wade would be subject to waivers if they aren’t on the roster. The others can be optioned to the minor leagues.
For Lockridge, the biggest obstacle might be Wade.
They possess similar tools. Lockridge, who made his major league debut on Sept. 13, is the superior defender at three outfield spots. Wade has spent parts of eight seasons in the majors, and he started games at six positions last season while also establishing himself as a presence in the clubhouse.
And Wade, who was batting .162 (6-for-37) this spring, Wade appeared to have turned a corner in his ramp-up for the season by going 2-for-2 with a bunt single, a home run and a walk.
“I had some early adjustments in the offseason coming into camp,” he said. “When you work on new things in the offseason, you get into a game, you’re like, ‘Eh, I don’t know if that’s gonna work.’ So, like, you know, doing that, and then kind of reverting back to, like, old ways of good habits and then trusting the process that’s gonna work. And then over the last week or so, kind of getting back into where I wanted to be in the box. Today was the day where I was like, ‘OK, my work is good, let’s put it all together.’ And it kind of just, it all showed up today, which is rewarding. Because my work’s been really good. It was just a matter of time before it started translating.”
Four games remain in Cactus League play. The Padres have to get their regulars ready, but it seems each at-bat will be important for the players trying to round out the roster.
“Competition brings the best out of everybody,” Wade said. “It’s healthy competition. I think we all root for each other, which is really unique, because I’ve been in places where it’s similar to this and guys don’t root for one another. Because at the end of the day, we’re all a team, right? So everyone’s supporting each other, bringing the best out of everybody. And it’s part of baseball, man. There is always going to be competitions, and there’s the business side of things as well. So as long as we’re all pushing each other. And you saw last year — at the end of the day, everyone’s going to help us out at some point and have a big role. So if it’s not now, it’s definitely later.”
Vásquez’s final pitch
Two pitchers who will be in the Padres starting rotation might have worked every inning of Friday’s game.
First, opening-day starter Michael King threw five scoreless innings, allowing just one hit and striking out four. Then Randy Vásquez worked the final four innings, allowing a run on a homer and then just one more hit while also striking out four.
While Vásquez did not start the spring well, the Padres have raved about his last two outings.
“It was very similar to — even better, crisper than — the Triple-A game where he threw five scoreless,” Shildt said of Vásquez’s Friday outing compared to his previous one. “Controlled counts, both sides (of the plate). … Changeup was good. I thought he was really, really effective.”
The other two candidates for the final two spots in the rotation will pitch over the weekend. Hart will start Saturday against the Guardians. Kolek is lined up to start Sunday against the Diamondbacks.
There is one more spot available than the Padres planned for all spring because Yu Darvish has been shut down with elbow inflammation. They believe he can get better with rest, but the Padres will need an extra starter at least for a couple turns through the rotation.
Kolek has been highly efficient most of the spring, though he is also the least experienced and pitched out of the bullpen in 2024. Vásquez started 20 games for the Padres last season. Hart was signed in February after a season in which he won the KBO’s version of the Cy Young award.
“I’ve been super impressed with Hart, not knowing him coming in, great personality, hard worker, throws great bullpens, so I think that he’s a guy that’s gonna make that step up,” King said Friday after he threw five shoutout innings in a 5-1 victory over the Cubs. “Kolek, he’s almost been the one that I’ve been pushing for, because I feel very similar to him. He has started to sequence really well. He’s had a great spring. And then Randy was a guy for us last year. He had 20 starts. So you now have three really good pieces that are able to fill in for Darvish when he goes down. Obviously, we need a couple of them to step up. But we’ve got a ton of confidence in them.”
