San Diego Padres: Edward Olivares shows he’s ready when called upon

Even though Edward Olivares was recently cut from spring training by the San Diego Padres, he proved he’s ready when needed.

Outfielder Edward Olivares was one of the casualties as part of the recent roster cuts made by the San Diego Padres, but he did everything he could during his time in spring training to show he’s ready whenever the big league team needs him.

We all know it’s a crowded outfielder for the Padres right now. And were it not, one could certainly make a case for Olivares being in the picture.

The 24-year-old picked up 7 hits in 18 spring training at-bats over 11 games with a double, a triple, and a home run.

Those are typically going to be good enough to get you a longer look, but that was not the case for Olivares this year.

But, to me, he’s at least proven that he should be one of the first players called up if a need arises in the outfield.

Olivares was signed by the Toronto Blue Jays out of Venezuela in 2014 and then was traded to the Padres as part of the Yangervis Solarte trade before the 2018 season.

He spent that 2018 season with the Padres High-A team where he hit .277 with 12 home runs and 21 stolen bases in 531 at-bats.

This past season he was even better at Double-A hitting .283 with 18 home runs and 35 stolen bases in 488 at-bats.

I really think Olivares is a guy who could be a 20-20 player at the big league level one day. It wouldn’t be surprising to see him become a .270 hitter with 20-plus home runs and 30-plus stolen bases one day.

He’s not getting nearly enough love among the future Padres’ outfielder, but if he keeps producing like he has been, it will be an unavoidable situation.

I would expect him to start the 2020 season in Triple-A. Again, if he continues to put up big numbers, I think we see him in San Diego sometime in 2020.