How Many Padres Are Left From 2014?

This off-season has been a whirlwind of trades and signings for the Padres and no doubt the most head turning off-season in franchise history. Change was needed, and boy did fans get what they finally asked for. There’s no guarantee that this will even work and A.J. Preller could look like a genius or set the franchise back years with less prospects. But who cares? The Padres have tried the “wait and see” scenario in the past and this offseason was loaded with prospects and now the friars focus on winning now!

Now that the deals have been made, let’s take a look at the current roster as spring training is near.

As Bill Center noted from Padres.com, the team has exactly 19 players left from 2014. 19! Now that’s an overhaul of fresh faces.

The pitching staff overall is the same minus newbies Brandon Maurer from Seattle and Shawn Kelly from the Yankees, big arms that can serve as backend starting potential but are scheduled to be bullpen boosts.

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Catchers are new, Derek Norris acquired from a trade with the Oakland Athletics and Tim Federowicz from the Dodgers should be backing up Norris for a few starts.

Infield will be a little different as well with Clint Barmes or Alexi Amarista in for the troubled Everth Cabrera, who is still unemployed at this time. The hot corner will be former Red Sox third baseman Will Middlebrooks, who looks to rejuvenate his career in San Diego.

Outfield is completely retooled and brand new. Matt Kemp, Wil Myers and Justin Upton are forcing out disappointing starters to the bench. An all right-handed bunch will hopefully keep Will Venable in the arsenal as a left-handed bat and Cam Maybin and Carlos Quentin look to beef up their trade value if they can stay healthy with not as many days to wear on their body.

So from the 2014 roster, nearly 21 players are gone, half of the roster. Looking at 2015 compared to last year is looking much prettier. Finally, the days of just acquiring a few bargain players in the offseason are done and the thought of contention has many friar faithful awfully excited, even if it is on paper.