San Diego Padres: Brad Wieck and Javy Guerra Join The Club

The San Diego Padres made a few roster moves on Tuesday afternoon, giving them 33 men on the active roster.

On Tuesday afternoon, the San Diego Padres announced a number of roster moves to expand their active roster to 33. Two of the more notable additions are LHP Brad Wieck and SS Javy Guerra. The mass movement of players from the El Paso Chihuahuas roster to the Padres roster was expected, once the Chihuahuas were eliminated from the Pacific Coast League playoffs.

Joining Wieck and Guerra in San Diego will be Kazuhisa Makita and Colten Brewer, who have both moved up and down between AAA and the pros for much of the season. None of these moves are game-changers, however, there is one bigger storyline here.

The time is now for Javy Guerra. The left-handed shortstop slashed .233/.269/.398 in 122 games with El Paso, recording 18 doubles and nine triples in the process. Guerra will never be known for his bat, especially at the major league level. However, the career .237 minor league hitter is known for his fantastic glove and smooth defensive abilities.

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One of the more hotly debated issues among Padres fans has been regarding the future of current shortstop Freddy Galvis. With an expiring contract looming, some fans have called for an extension, while most believe it to be a wiser move for the Padres to move on and find a new stop-gap option, while the team waits for top prospect Fernando Tatis Jr.to develop into a full-time major leaguer.

The obvious question becomes, are the Padres preparing to finally give Freddy Galvis some time off? The 28-year-old slick-fielding shortstop has yet to miss a start in 2018. If the Padres are planning to give in-house options first crack at the shortstop position in 2019, it may be time to give way to Guerra, allowing him to showcase his major league abilities.

Freddy Galvis is sure to demand more than a one-year, $3-4 million dollar deal in the offseason. He is entering his baseball prime and has routinely proven that he is one of the top defensive shortstops in major league baseball. However, outside of a few offensive surges, Galvis also leaves a lot to be desired at the plate. Replacing him with Guerra saves money (not like San Diego needs to be cutting costs, but why put money on the books they may not need to) and the team doesn’t lose much in terms of offensive production.

As for Brad Wieck, the left-handed reliever struck out 34 and walked just 9 across 18 innings in El Paso, converting both save opportunities presented to him. The 26-year-old will look to make his major league debut tonight as the Padres take on the Seattle Mariners.

First pitch for tonight’s contest is scheduled for 7:10 pm. Bryan Mitchell is slotted to take on Marco Gonzalez.