San Diego Pares: Roster Trimmed, Requirement Reached

The San Diego Padres parted ways with three players this week, limiting their roster under the 40 player minimum required by Major League Baseball.

As A.J. Preller and the San Diego Padres move towards shaping their roster for 2017, the first step to take is to limit their roster under 40, as baseball requires by the conclusion of the World Series.

This week, the Padres followed through on this requirement, parting ways with three players to limit the roster to 38. To do this, San Diego elected to option infielder Jemile Weeks and right-handers Jake Smith and Jose Dominguez to AAA El Paso.

In response to the move, Weeks and Dominguez decided to decline the option, and become free agents instead. Smith, however, will join the AAA roster for now, and will likely compete for a spot come spring training.

None of these players contributed a whole lot to the major league club in 2016, so the moves seem logical.

Weeks played infield, but hit only .140 in 50 at bats. Smith and Dominguez did little on the mound, each posting ERAs of around five.

As for Preller, he continues work coming off of a 30-day suspension, and is already very busy. When commenting on the transaction, the general manager emphasized the routine nature of the move. But he also made it clear that there are numerous options moving forward.

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“Obviously in the next month, you’re going to see some of these roster-move type deals, as you bring guys off the DL,” Preller said. “You still want to be able to have some flexibility for waiver claims, if you go down that path. It’s kind of natural at this time of year.”

Cutting the roster down two below the minimum allows for future waiver claims. If this is an option Preller wishes to exercise, he must be smart in which type of player he claims. Youth should be emphasized, but still carefully selected, since there is an abundance of youth in baseball.

Next: Coaching Staff Reboot Underway

Most of all, the Padres’ front office must now take the next step. Now that they have filled the requirements, it would make sense to work on re-signing some of the team’s most important step. The long process to build the roster is underway, but it is only in its beginning stages.