San Diego Padres: Three players entering make-or-break seasons

Franchy Cordero

Injuries have derailed any chance for Franchy Cordero to showcase himself over an extended period of time. He’s under team control through the 2023 season, but with playing time expected to be limited again in 2020, Cordero has to make the most of it.

The 25-year-old signed as an international free agent in November 2011, and his teammates know what he’s capable of. Unfortunately, none of that really matters if it doesn’t show up in the box scores.

He played in just nine games last year, 40 games in 2018, and 30 games the year before and has a .240/.306/.431 career slash line to show for it. He’s been widely known for his exit velocities, but, again, hasn’t had the chance to prove that’s not a fluke.

And now with the outfield becoming ever more crowded, Cordero is likely going to serve as the team’s fourth outfielder, unless Taylor Trammell‘s spring is enough to uproot him. Speaking of, through seven games, Cordero has a .200/.385/.200 line with two hits, three walks, and four strikeouts.

He needs to give General Manager AJ Preller a good reason to not dump him after the season like his predecessors in Renfroe, Franmil Reyes, and Manuel Margot.