Sunday Brunch: The Padres Have Too Many Outfielders

With the acquisition of Matt Kemp at the one-yard line and the Padres looking for another bat (Justin Upton, Jay Bruce, Allen Craig) the Padres actually have a bit of a logjam in the outfield that isn’t going to be easy to fix.

Seth Smith was given a two-year extension last season. Cameron Maybin is back. Will Venable is still a Padre. Abraham Almonte could be an option off the bench. Rymer Liriano may not be ready quite yet. Top prospect Hunter Renfroe, was just added to the 40-man roster. You may notice I didn’t mention a name.

That name is Carlos Quentin. The oft-injured outfielder who when actually healthy can be a pretty good bat to have. All of those guys may not be on the roster.

The problem is that you can’t really move any of those guys to first base or third base where the Padres could certainly use an upgrade. Also the problem is that with the exception of Liriano and Renfroe, none of those guys really have any value to get the Padres something they need like an upgrade at first or third.

At least with Craig you could put him at first base to help alleviate that logjam.

Can you go with an outfield of Kemp in left, Venable/Maybin in center and Smith in right? Sure, but then you still gotta get rid of Quentin somehow. But, if Quentin is healthy and the Padres need power, he has to find a way to get in the lineup.

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It’s an interesting Catch-22 A.J. Preller finds himself in. One that should be resolved sooner rather than later.