San Diego Padres: Does LHP Travis Radke Make The 40-Man Cut?

How many Rule-5 draft eligible prospects will the San Diego Padres add to their 40-man roster?

Decisions, decisions, decisions. AJ Preller faces plenty of tough roster choices over the next few weeks, with a November 20 deadline for setting 40-man rosters in preparation of the Rule-5 draft quickly approaching.

With Freddy Galvis and A.J. Ellis now free agents, that puts 38 names on the 40-man, however, Clayton Richard, Dinelson Lamet, and Franchy Cordero all need to placed back on the roster after coming off the disabled list (Alex Dickerson also qualifies here but after missing two seasons, the odds of him returning to the roster are extremely low).

Chris Paddack, Anderson Espinoza, and Austin Allen are all likely to be added to the 40-man and as we mentioned a few days ago, third baseman Ty France also deserves a serious look in 2019. Let’s assume all of these players are added, that puts the total at 45.

The next question becomes, should the Padres protect younger prospects like Pedro Avila and Edward Olivares (both top-30 prospects)? And don’t forget, prospects who aren’t Rule-5 eligible but are on the cusp of breaking into the majors, including Fernando Tatis Jr. Logan Allen, Cal Quantrill, Andres Munoz, Logan Allen, plus more.

So many names, not enough spots!

Should the San Diego Padres add Travis Radke?

Let’s add another name to this equation, Travis Radke. Radke had an unbelievable year with the Fort Wayne TinCaps, earning mid-season and post-season All-Star honors. MiLB.com nominated Radke for the MiLB Relief Pitcher of the Year, unfortunately losing out to Matt Pierpont and Colin Poche.

The 6’4″ left-handed reliever appeared in 35 games for Fort Wayne, posting a 1.74 ERA and 0.79 WHIP in 57 innings of work. He allowed just 36 hits and finished with a K/BB ratio of 77/9.

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Radke also made stops in Lake Elsinore, San Antonio, and El Paso, logging 21.2 innings across all three levels and striking out 14, compared to five walks.

His final line, including all four stops: 2-5, 1.94 ERA, 0.88 WHIP, .196 opponents batting average, 91 strikeouts, 14 walks. He also converted 16 of 19 save opportunities.

He has continued his dominant season in the Arizona Fall League, allowing three earned runs on 10 hits in nine innings with a 12/6 K/BB ratio. Radke went 3.2 scoreless innings of relief in his last outing, without allowing a single walk.

Current left-handed relievers on the 40-man roster include Jose Castillo and Brad Wieck. Depending on how the starting rotation shakes out, there are also Robbie Erlin and Matt Strahm, however, both are going to make a strong push for rotation spots. If the Padres add Radke to the 40-man, he is a serious candidate to earn a bullpen spot in 2019.

With so many options, what do you do?