Biggest surprises from Padres' roster cuts as Opening Day roster finalizes

The San Diego Padres Opening Day roster is essentially all set for the 2025 season. The Friars sent down a number of players who were teetering the fence of making the team or getting sent to the minor leagues.

With pitchers Yu Darvish and Matt Waldron on the injured list to begin the season, the Padres were forced to fill two vacant spots in the starting rotation. In what was a three-man race, it appears that Kyle Hart and Randy Vásquez won the jobs to begin the season. This means that Stephen Kolek will be sent to Triple-A El Paso, among other players who were in contention of landing on the Opening Day roster.

Biggest Surprises on the San Diego Padres Opening Day roster

Kolek had a decent outing on March 24 against the Seattle Mariners, allowing two runs in five innings alongside four strikeouts. It brought his spring ERA down to 2.60, but the Padres front office staff had their minds made up already, it appears.

Hart wrapped up his spring with a 9.39 ERA and seven strikeouts across 7 2/3 innings. Vásquez generated a 3.38 ERA in two starts, and also logged one save.

Another somewhat surprising move by San Diego was optioning catcher Luis Campusano to Triple-A. His likeliness of playing at the start of the year appeared slim, but now we definitely know that the Padres will run with veterans Elias Díaz and Martín Maldonado behind the plate. Campusano batted .214 in 28 at-bats this spring. Ideally, Campusano develops a little more on offense while in the minors.

Connor Joe was battling for a spot, whether it was in left field, at first base, or at designated hitter. He didn't have a bad spring, hitting .316 with four RBIs, but the Padres opted to go with Brandon Lockridge at the big league level. Lockridge stole seven bases and flexed five extra-base hits at spring training after playing in just 12 games last year.

Reliever Ron Marinaccio allowed 14 hits in 10 2/3 frames this spring, which didn't impress the decision-makers. He was sent to Triple-A after vying for a spot among a strong bullpen that includes Jason Adam, Robert Suarez, Yuki Matusi, and Adrian Morejon.