3 Padres players who should have a reduced role in 2025, if they're not traded first

The San Diego Padres have a lot of work to do if they want to catch up to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL West. Though they finished just five games back in the division in 2024, the Dodgers have made a handful of moves to strengthen the roster ahead of next year. Unfortunately, the Padres are still mired in payroll trouble, in large part thanks to Diamond Sports Group going bankrupt and leaving the Friars high and dry in terms of local TV revenue.

Though the Pads won't be competing against the Dodgers for top free agent contracts, there are still a number of areas within the roster that need to be addressed ahead of the spring. On top of that, recent rumors have made it clear that the San Diego brass is considering trading Dylan Cease, which would be a major problem in its own right.

Cease is just one year away from free agency and while it looks like the Padres won't be able to extend him, and likely won't re-sign him next winter either, trading him now would create a massive hole in the rotation.

The team is already down righty Joe Musgrove, who will be out for the entire 2025 season thanks to Tommy John surgery that took place in early October. And with Yu Darvish quietly entering the twilight of his career, if Cease gets moved it'll place a massive burden on the shoulders of Michael King, who'll at that point be tasked with carrying the entire Padres rotation next year.

Despite all that, the Padres do have a number of strong prospects who should be knocking on the door in 2025. They likely won't be top of the rotation types to take over for Cease, but there are a handful of guys on San Diego's major league roster whose jobs ought to be up for grabs. The Padres need all the help they can get next year, and if there are more than a few guys in the majors failing to produce, this team won't stand a chance against the troublesome Dodgers in the division race.

With that said, there are at least three players who should see reduced time to begin the season in 2025. Unfortunately for the Padres, that list starts in an already weakened rotation.

Randy Vasquez is running out of time to prove he's a starter

It'll be a bitter pill to swallow, but the Padres might be best served to acknowledge the fact that right-hander Randy Vasquez might not be a viable major league starter. Acquired in the Juan Soto trade with the Yankees back in December of 2023, Vasquez struggled mightily with San Diego in 2024.

The righty made 20 starts with the Padres, limping to a 4.87 ERA with just 62 strikeouts in 98 innings. The main positive for Vasquez is that he did well to limit free passes, posting an above-average 6.7% walk rate.

On the other hand, his 14.1% strikeout rate was sixth-worst among all pitchers with at least 50 innings, and was in the 1st percentile among starters. He hasn't exactly been a big strikeout guy previously, especially recently, so there's not a ton of hope that Vasquez can take a big step forward without developing some kind of new pitch, or new approach.

If the Padres do trade Cease, it'll make it much more difficult to give up on Vasquez. He's still just 26 and it's within the realm of possibility that the Padres pitching lab can help him get things turned around. But realistically, Vasquez should be heading to the bullpen ASAP to see if that'll help him revive his potential.

AJ Preller did opt to grab former Orioles' prospect Juan Nuñez in the Rule 5 Draft last week, though the righty will likely be more suited for a bullpen role. Behind Nuñez, the Padres have guys like Omar Cruz, Ryan Bergert, and Jhony Brito who should be vying to steal innings from Vasquez in the early going next season.

The Padres should have a close eye on Vasquez from the get go. If they're unwilling to shift him to the bullpen ahead of Opening Day, they need to be quick on the jump to move him if things start going south for the righty, like they did in 2024.

The Padres need to find a solution behind the plate until Ethan Salas is ready

Like with Vasquez, it'll probably be difficult for the Padres to move on from catcher Luis Campusano. The righty was originally drafted in 2017 and he looked really good in the low minors, earning his way to the top-3 of a stacked Padres' farm system.

But while Campusano's future once looked bright, he hasn't found a way to put it all together at the highest level. Campusano looked solid in limited at-bats in 2023 but he fell apart last year, hitting a paltry .227/.281/.361in 91 games.

The advanced metrics all agree that Campusano's defense is rough. His blocking and framing metrics all took a nosedive in 2024 and while there were initially high hopes for him and his ability to improve enough behind the plate and stick there throughout his career, we now have multiple years of major league data that suggests otherwise.

FanGraphs' Steamer projections suggest that Campusano could see some drastic improvements in 2025. He does possess good plate discipline and he had some rough luck on batted balls last year, and it looks like the projections are trying to split the difference between his poor 2024 and his effective 2023.

That could be the case, and Padres fans certainly hope it will be. This team needs a strong backstop for at least another year, as top prospect Ethan Salas likely won't be ready to make his major league debut until 2026 at the earliest. Brett Sullivan is currently listed as the backup, but he's been bad at the plate in limited time in the majors. His performance in Triple-A last year gives us a little hope that he can turn it around.

Outside of Sullivan, the Padres do have Brandon Valenzuela in Triple-A, though he was awful after his promotion to El Paso in 2024. There aren't a ton of good options in free agency, and a James McCann signing or an Elias Diaz reunion likely wouldn't have much of an impact. But Campusano is running out of time to prove that he belongs on the roster. Another month or two of struggles at the plate should cause Preller to seriously consider what Campusano's future looks like in San Diego.

Defensive versatility is nice, but the Padres need someone who can hit

We might not like it, but it's at least understandable why the Padres want to bring Tyler Wade back into the fold. He's always struggled at the plate, and that was no different in 2024. He hit just .217/.285/.239 and he now has just seven home runs in 865 career plate appearances.

But the one thing Wade does offer is versatility on the diamond. He can play just about anywhere defensively, and while he's not a standout at any particular spot, there's definitely value in having a guy who can go give you innings basically anywhere you need them.

That said, Wade's bat is such a drag on this roster. He's now entering his age 30 season, so there's essentially no hope that he'll get things turned around. He's a decent guy to have on the roster, but the Padres can't afford to have his bat in the lineup each night.

We know that this team doesn't have a ton of money to spend in free agency, but there are absolutely better options out there — both in the free agent and the trade markets — that would give the Padres more oomph in the lineup.

The Padres got a look at infielder Mason McCoy in 2024, and it did not inspire confidence. Maybe someone like Clay Dungan would have similar problems at the plate in 2025. But continuing to run Wade out there is, at best, a Band-aid.

The likely departure of Ha-Seong Kim this winter leaves the Padres thin in the infield. If they have to deal with any injuries in the early part of the season, Wade is likely going to get the bulk of the work, or at least help fill the void as Mike Shildt rearranges the infield around him. If that happens, and the Padres have no choice but to lean on Wade as an everyday player, they won't have anyone to blame but themselves.