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.