San Diego Padres: Are we giving up on Manuel Margot too soon?

It seems like a lot of people have written off San Diego Padres outfielder Manuel  Margot as an everyday player, but is that fair?

The San Diego Padres have made a serious effort to revamp the outfield this offseason bringing in players like Tommy Pham and Trent Grisham.

Now the outfield is one of the deepest positions on the team with as many as eight players battling for a spot on the Opening Day roster this Spring.

One name that seems to be getting lost in the shuffle is Manuel Margot.

A lot of people, including myself, have started to write him off this offseason as nothing more than a fourth outfielder and someone expendable in a trade.

Margot was the beginning of the rebuild in San Diego when they shipped Craig Kimbrel to Boston for him, Logan Allen, Carlos Asuaje, and Javy Guerra.

Guerra and Margot are the only two players from that trade left with the Padres.

Margot is set to make $2.475 million in 2020, his first arbitration season, and he’s under team control for three more seasons (including 2020).

In his first three-plus seasons in the big leagues he’s hit a combined .248/.301/.394 with 33 home runs and 50 stolen bases to go along with an OPS of .695.

The 25-year-old enters a pivotal spring training in his career as he needs to prove that he can be an every day player in the big leagues and not just a fourth outfielder/defensive replacement.

If he’s going to be part of the future of the Padres, now is the time for him to prove it.