San Diego Padres: Three players who need to have a good week

Abraham Almonte

One of my favorite stories on this roster, Abraham Almonte, has overcome a lot in his career. Dealing with the death of his father and struggling to cope with it, he’s been able to contribute in some fashion over the last few seasons with various teams.

He played 17 games for the Diamondbacks last year, slashing .290/.421/.548 and posted a .940 OPS over a much larger 94-game sample size with their Triple-A outfit.

I’ll cut right to it. It’s going to be extremely difficult for anyone not named Franchy Cordero and Taylor Trammell to crack the Opening Day roster. Some believe that Trammell is being rushed along, given he hasn’t played a single game at the Triple-A level yet. However, he’s performing very well in the exhibitions.

Almonte is slashing .318/.423/.682 with one double, two triples, and one home run – a grand slam – in nine spring games. With another solid week of play, there is the potential for the Padres to let him finish out the final week with the team, battling out a roster spot with Josh Naylor. If not, the Padres could use Almonte’s last option to start the year in Triple-A El Paso.

Speaking of options, expect Juan Lagares to be part of the next wave of cuts. He’s also out of minor-league options, so he’ll have to find a new home for the regular season.