San Diego Padres: Projecting 30-Man roster for 2020

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(Photo by Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images) /

The San Diego Padres could be one of the surprise teams in the shortened 2020 season

Hooray, baseball is back!!!

That was supposed to be the reaction, but major league baseball fumbled its way through the negotiation in re-opening the sport. The owners and players acted like a bickering married couple in counseling. Neither side respected the other’s concerns, which forced commissioner Rob Manfred to implement a 60-game season that is scheduled to begin on July 23.

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As part of the agreement, MLB will have a designated hitter in both leagues and the rosters were raised from 26 to 30 players. From the San Diego Padres perspective, the unfortunate hiatus from the coronavirus pandemic has made their pending roster decisions much easier. Now, players who were on the bubble at the end of spring training can come in and make a contribution in this shortened season. Who knew four roster spots would shake up the sport.

With summer camp already in progress, the look of the Padres roster won’t be decided until the final days before the start of the shortened season. Let’s project who could make the cut.

2020 Padres Starting Lineup

Fernando Tatis Jr. SS
Tommy Pham LF
Manny Machado 3B
Eric Hosmer 1B
Wil Myers DH
Trent Grisham RF
Francisco Mejia C
Franchy Cordero CF
Jurickson Profar 2B

No major surprises with the look of the lineup as the only concern for Padres manager Jayce Tingler is possibly flip-flopping Pham with Myers because of lingering effects from an elbow injury that occurred last season. However, if Pham is healthy, then he will patrol leftfield in Petco Park this summer.

Let’s assume that Tommy Pham is playing the field, the Padres outfield will be one of the most athletic in the majors. All three projected starters and Myers can play all three outfield positions if necessary.

This assures that the backup outfielders selected will be primarily used as a pinch-hitter or pinch-runner rather than a late-inning defensive replacement.

Garrett Richards #43 of the San Diego Padres (Photo by Norm Hall/Getty Images) /

With the lineup out of the way, here’s what the 2020 San Diego Padres rotation could look like.

Chris Paddack
Dinelson Lamet
Zach Davies
Garrett Richards
Joey Lucchesi

This is a solid rotation as Paddack is an ideal candidate as baseball’s “next great ace” and Davies is the perfect middle of the rotation starter. However, the Friars could have some concerns with Richards and if he can stay healthy to make all 12 starts this season. Even in this condensed format, Richards might find himself being subjected to a pitch count or innings limit-per-start as he hasn’t pitched more than 100 innings in the majors since 2015.

Lamet might be the key to the Padres success in 2020. We are two years removed from his Tommy John surgery, so no more talk of pitch counts or innings limits when he climbs the hill for a start. Now, Lamet must show the ability to consistently hit the high-90s with his fastball and throw a breaking ball that turns batter’s legs into jelly. If accomplished, then Lamet becomes the perfect partner for Paddack atop the rotation.

Kirby Yates #39 of the San Diego Padres (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images) /

Now, let’s look at what the San Diego Padres bullpen could look like this season.

Closer: Kirby Yates
Emilio Pagan
Drew Pomeranz
Craig Stammen
Matt Strahm
Jose Castillo
Luis Perdomo
Longmen: Cal Quantrill
MacKenzie Gore
Jerad Eickhoff

At the start of the shortened 2020 season, fans shouldn’t expect starting pitchers to be extended more than five innings in a contest. Thus, games will become a human chess match between the team’s bullpens. No issue with the top of the Padres pen as each pitcher has pitched effectively in their role in past seasons. And Tingler fully expects a victory when handing the ball over to Yates in the ninth.

It would be wise for the Padres to add these three starters (Quantrill, Gore, and Eickhoff) to the back end of their bullpen. All three pitchers can handle throwing multiple innings if that day’s starter struggles early in a contest. Ideally, Gore would not have been called up this season, but all bets are off because of the cancellation of minor league baseball.

The youngster needs to pitch to develop his overall game, but expectations need to be tempered by Padres fans. Clearly, Gore is the future that can help in the present. Other candidates that might be used in this role include Kyle Barraclough, Luis Patino, Jacob Nix, and Javier Guerra.

Josh Naylor #22 of the San Diego Padres (Photo by Norm Hall/Getty Images) /

What about the 2020 San Diego Padres Bench? Let’s take a closer look.

OF – Josh Naylor
OF – Juan Lagares
C – Austin Hedges
3B – Ty France
Utility – Greg Garcia
Utility – Jorge Mateo

Baseball will have a new look once a game heads into extra innings. In 2020, each extra half-inning will begin with a runner at second base. So, teams better have reserves who have good baseball fundamentals.