3 Padres players who won't be on the roster by June 1st
As we reach the end of the month of May, the San Diego Padres have yet to get going. At 21-26, the Padres sit in fourth in the NL West and are eight games back of the first-place Dodgers. Things have to get going quickly.
The talent is there. We know that. The players here, with few exceptions, are simply underperforming. Some of the players underperforming we're starting to lose a lot of patience with.
Roster changes are inevitable, and we'll see some before June arrives. I'd love to see a big shake-up, but that won't happen until closer to the trade deadline. In the meantime, smaller moves will be made. It's hard to envision these three players lasting here until June.
1) Padres utility man Brandon Dixon won't be on the roster by June 1st
With Manny Machado on the Injured List, Brandon Dixon got the call in his place. It's Dixon's second stint on the team this season. He's gone hitless in six at-bats since his recall, and has two hits in 18 at-bats overall.
Dixon provides a ton of versatility, with the ability to play first base, second base, third base, and both corner outfield spots. This comes in handy in a 162-game season, but if he doesn't produce, that versatility is rather meaningless. Dixon hasn't done anything of meaning at the MLB level since the 2019 season.
Dixon has options, and will continue to find his way up and down going from El Paso to San Diego and vice versa. He's a fine depth piece to have, but when Machado comes back, I'd imagine Dixon goes back down.
Machado could be back as soon as this weekend at Yankee Stadium. Even if that doesn't happen, it certainly sounds like he'll be back before June 1. If and when that happens, a position player has to go down. Dixon feels like the obvious odd-man out.
2) Padres pitcher Drew Carlton won't be on the roster by June 1st
Optional relievers are treated extremely unfairly. They bounce back and forth from Triple-A to the majors more than anybody, and are often overworked. Drew Carlton fits into this category. Eventually, a Padres starter won't give much length, the team will be behind by a lot, and they'll need someone to eat the innings. That will be Carlton's job.
The right-hander provided length when the Padres really needed it in a game earlier this month against the Royals. Seth Lugo got roughed up, allowing five runs in just two innings of work. The Padres called on Carlton to try and give them the length Lugo failed to give, and he came through.
In his three innings of work, he gave up two hits and struck out three without walking a batter. He kept the Padres in it, and San Diego nearly mounted a comeback. His reward for that outing has been sitting in the bullpen to wait for his next appearance.
Carlton has just that one appearance, and will eventually get sent down for a fresh arm. He won't necessarily deserve it, but that's how this game works.
The good news for him is he'll likely be back. Carlton will go up and down until the Padres can't manipulate that anymore. Hopefully he'll pitch well in his limited chances.
3) Padres pitcher Tom Cosgrove won't be on the roster by June 1st
Carlton going down wouldn't be the fairest thing in the world, but he only has one appearance this season. Tom Cosgrove going down would be way more unfair, but I can still see it happening.
The Padres left-hander has made eight appearances since his recall in late April and has pitched beautifully. In 7.2 scoreless innings, he's given up just three hits to go along with one walk and six strikeouts. The Padres couldn't have asked for more than what they've gotten from Cosgrove.
Again, this is an options game. Cosgrove has all of his options left, and while he's been great, he's practically a mop-up guy. His appearances have mostly been in low-leverage.
Cosgrove already has four games finished which for a random reliever is a lot. The reason is he's pitched a lot of eighth and ninth innings in games that were practically out of reach. These guys have value, especially when they're as effective as Cosgrove has been, but they're also easy to replace.
As a left-hander, it would be nice if Cosgrove got some meaningful work alongside Tim Hill against other tough left-handed batters, but this hasn't happened yet. Eventually the Padres will need fresh arms, and Cosgrove, like Carlton, is an easy arm to replace on the active roster.
With Nabil Crismatt nearing a potential return, one of these optionable arms will go down. Carlton will undoubtedly go first, but that leaves Cosgrove next on the chopping block.