2 Padres players who are now on the chopping block after Jason Heyward DFA

The San Diego Padres made a difficult choice to cut Heyward, but the roster could use some more trimming

Andy Johnson

Pittsburgh Pirates v San Diego Padres / Orlando Ramirez/GettyImages

The San Diego Padres finally made the move they probably should have made a month ago, designating veteran outfielder Jason Heyward for assignment. While the move helps trim some of the fat off the Padres' roster, there are a couple more areas that need some cutting down, if we are being honest. Here are two more players whose roster spots should be at risk.

Jose Iglesias, infielder

The Padres signed Iglesias, hoping the veteran could repeat his magical 3.1 bWAR across 85 games with the Mets in 2024. While it seemed highly unlikely that Iglesias could maintain the nearly 6-WAR pace he played at last year, he could have at least been a valuable utility infielder.

Instead, he has looked completely lost for most of 2025. The veteran has a .565 OPS and has been worth -0.4 bWAR. His .232 batting average is over 100 points lower than his .337 average a year ago.

The 35-year-old is only owed $3 million this season, so the Padres would not lose much money if they cut him loose. There is also a decent chance another team could try to claim the veteran off waivers if San Diego opts to DFA Iglesias.

Tyler Wade, utility

It's hard to believe the Padres continue to trust Wade to start games in left field and center field, yet they are now on year two of the Wade experience. Wade was worth -0.7 bWAR in 2024 and picked up right where he left off in 2025, at -0.5 bWAR. He has just three extra base hits on the season, and sports a .270 slugging percentage.

The Padres must believe he is a better defender than the metrics say, or else they would not continue rolling him out day after day. However, if San Diego decides to swing a trade for an outfielder, Wade is the clear choice to go.

Andy Johnson

Andy is a contributor for Friar's on Base. He covers the San Diego Padres. He has previously written for the San Diego Vista, where he covered Sports, and currently works as the Editor-in-Chief of the Daily Evergreen newspaper in Pullman, Washington. He has been a fan of the Mariners since 2005 and a fan of the Padres since 2022 when he first visited San Diego and fell in love with the culture and the team.