4 Padres players who've already proven they don't belong on roster after May 1

We are a dozen games into the 2025 regular season for the Padres. It's mostly been positive so far, as San Diego has rattled off nine wins behind some consistent play across the board.

However, there are some players who came into the season on a short leash, and they are already underperforming. It's a rigid business, and unfortunately, Elías Díaz, Yuli Gurriel, Kyle Hart, and Jason Heyward have already shown Padres fans that they should not be on the roster once the calendar reaches May.

These four Padres players have not held up their end of the bargain in 2025

Elías Díaz

The Padres currently have two aging catchers on their roster, and that was a major red flag coming into the season. Díaz was supposed to be the one who produced on offense, but through 28 plate appearances, he boasts a .505 OPS, zero home runs, and zero RBIs.

He is getting outpaced by Martín Maldonado, who is supposed to be the defensive catcher who can also be a leader in the clubhouse. Now that Maldonado is proving that he can hit, notching a home run and six hits through seven games, it almost makes Díaz obsolete on the roster.

Yuli Gurriel

Gurriel has been tough to watch in the early going. He's racked up six strikeouts in 19 at-bats, producing just two hits and an OPS barely over .300. There needs to come a time when the Padres front office accepts that signing Gurriel wasn't a great idea. He's been given his fair share of at-bats, and has come up short almost every time.

Kyle Hart

Once Yu Darvish and/or Matt Waldron come back to pitch for San Diego, it's likely that Kyle Hart's time in the rotation is over. To his credit, he hadn't pitched in the majors in a long time, and he probably needs more time to fully acclimate.

He had a strong debut against the Cleveland Guardians, allowing two runs across five frames, but his inability to get out of the first inning against the Chicago Cubs proved that he still has plenty of tinkering left to do. He just doesn't have time on his side.

Jason Heyward

The Padres showed their hand that they have plenty of outfielders waiting to be called up. When Jackson Merrill went down, it was Oscar González who was promoted to the bigs after a strong start in Triple-A. Let's not forget that Brandon Lockridge is also on the roster, and he hasn't seen much playing time yet.

Tirso Ornelas is another outfielder who will probably get called up this season. So with those three outfielders alone, who could all play consistently with the Padres, that leaves Heyward without much time on the field. While Jackson Merrill heals from a hamstring issue, Heyward can count on playing more, but once he is back, then Heyward's name shouldn't be in the lineup as often.