Padres: Three less obvious DH candidates for 2020

Tommy Pham primarily served as the Padres DH in spring training

Tommy Pham was expected to be the everyday left fielder this season, and that’s not to say he still won’t serve in that capacity. But I do have concerns that his arm – a partially torn UCL that Pham played through – is fully healed.

Pham, himself, indicated that if the Rays weren’t in a playoff race at the end of the 2019 campaign, he would have sat out.

“One thousand percent,’’ Pham told the Tampa Bay Times. “It’s frustrating. I’ve never played like this.’’

And while his .281 average in September suggested no impacts to his game, Pham had just one home run and a season-low .393 slugging percentage.

The condition of Pham’s arm will be one of the more interesting storylines when Spring Training 2.0 begins on Friday. He’s no stranger to the DH, primarily playing in that role back in March.

If his arm is not fully healed, moving Pham to DH keeps his plate discipline in the lineup while also allowing the opportunity for someone like Trammell or Cordero to have regular playing time.