Padres Continue to Narrow Roster

The Padres made five additional roster cuts today, but unlike the last set of cuts, the five players sent packing today had little or no shot of making the majors.

Pitching prospects Simon Castro and Wynn Pelzer were reassigned to minor league camp; both are likely ticketed for Double-A ball. Castro, arguably the system’s best prospect (I have him at #3), impressed enough in camp that the Padres are likely to skip him over High-A Lake Elsinore entirely.

James Darnell, Lance Zawadzki, and Chad Huffman were also sent down. Darnell, another top-5 prospect in the system, should start at Double-A as well. Zawadzki should be Portland’s everyday shortstop this year. Huffman, the only 40-man roster member cut, will return to Triple-A.

These moves leave the Padres at 42 total players: 35 guys on the 40-man and 7 NRIs. The roster is beginning to take shape.