Padres’ most underrated weapon might be buried on the bench

Going into the 2025 season, the San Diego Padres had a problem in left field. Jurickson Profar took off for the Atlanta Braves, leaving a vacancy in the outfield that was two-thirds complete with elite players in Jackson Merrill and Fernando Tatis Jr.

Then all of a sudden, Gavin Sheets had a hot start to the season, but he wasn't the strongest defender. The vacancy was still there, so San Diego went out and traded for two Orioles players capable of manning left field in Ramon Laureano and Ryan O'Hearn.

That's a lot of players carouseling through the position, but we are forgetting about a player who may have deserved better than what he's gotten. Bryce Johnson has barely been given an opportunity to play the outfield in 2025, but he's been terrific with the few opportunities he was given.

Does he have a spot in the lineup? Sadly, he doesn't, but manager Mike Shildt should not forget about him.

Padres' Bryce Johnson is unfortunately buried in crowded outfield depth

In 31 games, the 29-year-old has a 117 OPS+ this year, alongside an eye-popping .333 average. He batted 5-for-15 (.333) in June, then 10-for-30 (.333) in July, so the consistency is there. He is also a tremendous runner, so perhaps pinch-running opportunities will be Johnson's best bet of seeing playing time.

If Johnson was playing with the Padres earlier in the season, and was producing these numbers, then the club may have not traded for two players more than capable of playing every day in left field. Johnson is unfortunately a victim of timing, and he wasn't called up from Triple-A until June 16, but don't be surprised if his name gets called to play in a random August game. In that game, he'll have to make it even more difficult for Shildt to keep him out of the lineup.

But as it stands, Laureano, O'Hearn, and Sheets are the priority. It may be unfair to Johnson, so he'll just need to be ready whenever (if ever) he's penciled into the lineup.