Padres: Which non-roster invitees have best chance to make Opening Day roster

Who breaks through?

Of course, what most of you want to know is whether or not I think Gore or Patino will break camp with the big league club.

I’ve never thought that either of them will be on the Opening Day roster, and I still don’t believe that will happen.

However, if Gore were to put up lights out numbers in Spring Training, I think the Padres wouldn’t hesitate.

But he’d have to be absolutely dominating like Chris Paddack was in 2019 when he posted a 1.76 ERA in 5 starts and 15.1 innings with 24 strikeouts.

Paddack was two years older than Gore, but they both already have about the same number of Minor League innings.

Patino has virtually no shot, in my opinion. But it will be fun to see what he can do.

I’ve been raving about Esteban Quiroz all offseason and I certainly think he has a chance to unseat Ty France or Greg Garcia on the active roster if he puts together a good Spring.

You could probably throw Seth Majias-Brean (who spent time with the Padres last year) and Owen Miller in that same category.

Miller was great in Double-A last year but struggled in the Arizona Fall League. Still, he’s knocking on the door.

The outfield is already very crowded so it’s hard to imagine Abraham Almonte breaking through. But he’s currently crushing it in the Dominican League and has plenty of big league experience.

San Diego just recently brought in Jarad Eickhoff and if he puts together a good Spring I could see him inserting himself in the battle for the fifth spot in the rotation.

He’s more than shown in the past that he has what it takes to be a middle of the rotation pitcher. But he’s most likely just going to add depth.

The most likely candidate to crack the Opening Day roster is Kyle Barraclough.

A big reason why is it’s just easier for a reliever to replace a reliever, and Barraclough has the stuff to be a dominant Major League reliever and has been in the past.

He has a career K/9 of 11.4 in the big leagues and had an ERA of 3 or less in his first three seasons (2015-2017).

Walks have been the primary issue for Barraclough, but there is no questioning his stuff. If he finds his command and has a good Spring I could see him breaking through and making the Opening Day roster.