Edward Olivares making it difficult for Padres’ to leave him off 30-man roster

It’s starting to look more and more likely that Edward Olivares will earn a roster spot with the San Diego Padres to start the 2020 season.

The San Diego Padres outfield has been a bit of a mess for a while now. They have plenty of capable bodies to play the positions — with maybe center being the exception — but finding that right combination has been a challenge.

That seems to be pretty clear now with Tommy Pham returning and looking great.

Pham, Trent Grisham, and Wil Myers will likely be the starting outfield on most nights.

That likely leaves two spots left in the outfield for the 30-man roster, and someone who has received a lot of buzz during spring training and summer camp that could grab one of those spots is Edward Olivares.

This article from AJ Cassavell of MLB.com gives some quotes from the team praising Olivares.

I wrote back in March that Olivares is showing he’s ready when needed as he hit .389 in 18 at-bats during the first spring training.

Wednesday night I was finally able to get my eyes on him again with the Padres finally streaming an intrasquad game.

The 24-year-old just has the look of a stud athlete. He’s not that big at 188 pounds, but he’s oozing with athleticism.

I’m still not exactly sure how strong of a defender he is in center, which is where I think he’s most needed.

At the end of last year, Taylor Trammell was starting in center for Amarillo with Olivares in right.

But I do know he has the speed and arm to stick in center. There is a chance the Padres 20th overall prospect according to MLB.com emerges as someone who could fill the center field spot for a long time.

And at this point, it seems pretty obvious that he deserves one of those final outfield spots on the 30-man roster to start the season.

Olivares is already on the 40-man so it wouldn’t be that big of a deal other than they’d be starting his service time clock.

But with the praise he’s receiving and the way he’s looked in games, I’m excited to see what he can do at the big league level in 2020.