Padres welcome back former Friar in trade to help out with hurting outfield depth

You cannot knock the San Diego Padres' front office staff for trying. Just midway through April, the Friars have made a second trade already in the 2025 regular season. As a way to reinforce the team's outfield depth, which is being crushed by injuries to Jackson Merrill and Brandon Lockridge, the Padres are welcoming back a familiar face.

San Diego traded away catcher Brett Sullivan to the Pittsburgh Pirates in exchange for outfielder Bryce Johnson, who was with the Padres during the 2024 season.

Padres trade for depth piece in Bryce Johnson to smooth over outfield injuries

Johnson, 29, spent 47 games at the major league level with San Diego in 2024, registering a .206 batting average, .524 OPS, and four RBIs. Though he isn't a spectacular hitter, Johnson has MLB experience at all three outfield positions, so his main job will be to fill the gaps when needed.

Johnson hasn't played in the majors this season, but tallied 10 games with Triple-A Indianapolis. He batted 2-for-25 with a double and three walks. The trade makes sense, considering that the Padres have a few-too-many catchers, excluding Sullivan. Dishing Sullivan for an outfielder is based on necessity, but he will be missed after spending three years with the organization.

Hopefully, the Padres won't need to rely on Johnson much to produce, with guys like Fernando Tatis Jr. and Manny Machado still raking despite all of the injuries stinging the rest of the lineup. They have even found production from Tyler Wade, who went 2-for-2 with a pair of walks and runs in Wednesday's victory over the Chicago Cubs to win the series. If the Padres can continue piecing together small amounts of production from these kind of hitters, they could remain afloat while Merrill is still on the shelf.