San Diego Padres add more infield depth with Brian Dozier signing

The San Diego Padres continued to stockpile infield depth, as they signed Brian Dozier to a minor league contract on Sunday.

As the San Diego Padres look ahead to Opening Day, there are still a few questions on their roster. The biggest of those question marks is at second base, where Jurickson Profar is penciled in as the starter. However, his grasp on a starting role is seemingly tenuous at best, with Greg Garcia and Esteban Quiroz also battling to make the Opening Day lineup.

On Sunday, another name was added to the infield mix. The Padres signed former All Star Brian Dozier to a minor league contract, with the ever popular invite to the major league portion of spring training.

Dozier is not the same player he was in his heyday with the Twins. However, he still put together a relatively respectable .238/.340/.430 batting line with the Nationals last season, hitting 20 homers and 20 doubles. He can still draw a walk and make consistent contact, although his days of stealing double digit bases are behind him.

This signing may well put Profar on notice. The nominal starting second baseman for the Padres, he has not lived up to his former top prospect status thus far in his major league career. In fact, one could say that Dozier outperformed Profar last season, as his .218/.301/.410 batting line resulted in a lower OPS+.

Dozier certainly has an opportunity to seize the Padres’ second base job for himself. While Profar may be a favorite of general manager A.J. Preller, the pressure is on to win now. Should Dozier outperform Profar, it will be difficult to keep him out of the lineup.

As it stands, Profar may be best suited to a super utility role, akin to the one he played in Texas. He may never become the player he was expected to be as a Rangers farmhand, but Profar can still play a valuable role on a team looking to contend. However, that does not mean that he should be in the starting lineup everyday, unless everything finally clicks.

If not, the San Diego Padres may have found their backup plan in Brian Dozier. He may not be vying for another All Star berth, but Dozier can be a solid option for this season.