San Diego Padres: Three best position battles to watch in Spring Training

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Spring Training games have finally arrived for the San Diego Padres and while the games don’t mean anything, there are several position battles to monitor throughout.

The offseason has concluded, and the San Diego Padres will look to improve off a 70-92 season last year. At the midway point, the team stood at 45-45, but the second half of the year proved to be disastrous as the team limped into the offseason with what seemed like more questions than answers.

That said, 2019 was filled with joyous surprises coming from the debut of Fernando Tatis Jr. on Opening Day – collecting two hits in his first three at-bats – while slashing .317/.379/.590 with 22 home runs and 53 RBI for the year. His rookie year was cut short due to a back injury, but the 21-year-old is ready for year two in the big leagues.

2019 also marked the first year of the Manny Machado era, and while it was a letdown in terms of how Machado has typically produced, he still produced a 3.1 WAR season with 32 home runs and 85 RBI.

Eric Lauer was the Opening Day starter for the Padres rotation, one that saw 16 pitchers all make starts and ultimately form what is considered to be one of the youngest and most talented rotations in baseball.

Heading into this season, there are still several positions that need to be sorted out after the offseason and dust have settled. Let’s look at three position battles that will be very exciting to watch as Spring Training unfolds.

Trade rumors aside, can Cal Quantrill take the spot from Joey Lucchesi?

Likely with the most to prove this spring, Cal Quantrill will kick things off on Saturday to open the exhibition games. He’s expected to pitch two innings, and, right now, he’s on the outside of the rotation looking in. Joey Lucchesi led the rotation with 163.2 innings pitched last year, and he’s the front-runner for the final spot in the rotation.

Quantrill, 25, has recently been linked to trade rumors with the Boston Red Sox and potentially another team, so his start on Saturday could mean something in terms of showcasing his talent to potential suitors. He tossed 103.0 innings with 89 strikeouts while posting a 5.16 ERA last year, and if not for a 10.90 ERA in September, Quantrill’s numbers would have been much better.

Outside of Lucchesi and Quantrill, another interesting name to watch is MacKenzie Gore. The hype surrounding this kid is real as everyone stopped to watch him pitch live batting practice against both Manny Machado and Fernando Tatis Jr. on Wednesday. Gore, 20, is expected to make his big league debut at some point this year, and with a spectacular spring, he could make a convincing case to be inserted into the rotation.

The Padres’ first-round pick of the 2017 MLB Draft posted a 1.69 ERA in 20 starts with 135 strikeouts in 101.0 innings while allowing a .164 average between two levels of the Padres’ minor league system last year.

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Regardless of when he makes his debut, teammates have already noticed his stuff:

“Pretty nasty,” Tatis said. “He’s got good stuff. Hopefully, he can keep it that way and help the team win.”

(Photo by Jason O. Watson/Getty Images) /

Can Jurickson Profar produce all year long?

Second base was a revolving door last year with 100-year-old Ian Kinsler logging the most innings at the position. All kidding aside, Kinsler was a stop-gap in what was expected to become Luis Urias‘ future home, but he was sent to the Milwaukee Brewers this offseason along with Eric Lauer.

Shortly after the 2019 season, the Padres acquired Jurickson Profar from the Oakland Athletics, and the 27-year-old posted terrible numbers last year. In 139 games, Profar logged a .218/.301/.410 slash line with 20 home runs and 67 RBI. He has some pop in his bat, but it appears that it’s all-or-nothing for him.

Greg Garcia played 74 games at second base last year and demonstrated the ability to get on base, but left a lot to desire to put the ball in play. He recorded a .248/.364/.354 slash line, so he was primarily a singles hitter.

The Padres are going to take a long look at Gabriel Arias this spring, but the 19-year-old only reach High-A ball last season and posted a .302/.339/.470 line with 17 home runs and 75 RBI in 120 games. He’d have to blow the doors off in Spring Training for him to have any consideration at second, so it’s likely going to be Profar’s job to lose.

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That said, it’s going to be interesting to see if any other candidates emerge, potentially from a trade?

Clarity is needed after the departure of Manuel Margot.

What Manuel Margot lacked at the plate, he more than made up for it in the field. The 25-year-old logged a .992 fielding percentage in center field last year but hit just .234 in 151 games. He was dealt to the Tampa Bay Rays in exchange for Emilio Pagan earlier this month, which leaves the Padres trying to make sense of what’s left at the position.

As part of the Urias and Lauer deal, the Padres acquired Trent Grisham, but he posted a .231/.328/.410 line with six home runs and 24 RBI in 51 games at the big league level a year ago. In the minors, he recorded a 1.010 OPS with 26 home runs and 71 RBI in 97 games, but it remains uncertain if that will translate to the big leagues in his first full season.

Franchy Cordero, to this point, maybe the biggest “what if” case as he’s played extraordinarily well at every stop of the minors but has a .240/.306/.431 line with 10 home runs and 29 RBI in 79 big league games. His defense in center, again to this point, has been questionable at best with a .957 fielding percentage in 41 games.

The Padres have recently been linked to trade rumors that could potentially acquire Nick Senzel from the Cincinnati Reds, and he posted decent numbers in his first season in 2019. He is projected to have a much higher ceiling than Cordero – and potentially Grisham – so I understand the appeal.

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We’ll see how things play out in Spring Training, and the catching situation is another position to monitor; however, there is a severe lack of talent at the backstop with only a trade likely providing support until Luis Campusano is ready.

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Spring Training games have finally arrived for the San Diego Padres and while the games don’t mean anything, there are several position battles to monitor throughout.

Trade rumors aside, can Cal Quantrill take the spot from Joey Lucchesi?

Can Jurickson Profar produce all year long?

Clarity is needed after the departure of Manuel Margot.

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