3 Padres who don’t deserve to be on the 40-man roster

The San Diego Padres roster remains a work in progress. The offseason trade that saw Juan Soto join the New York Yankees certainly shook things up, and a number of holes remain with just little over a week remaining before pitchers and catchers report to Peoria for spring training.

The Friar faithful remain confident that president of baseball operations AJ Preller can work his magic and tidy things up around the clubhouse. While that may be a difficult task, Preller has proven time and time again that the Padres fanbase should expect the unexpected.

The Padres 40-man roster isn't maxed out, so there's no need to shove any players aside at the moment. But that doesn't mean that everyone currently occupying a spot is deserving of it. Which Padres players have no business on the 40-man roster? And will they upgrade if/when the time comes?

3 Padres who don’t deserve to be on the 40-man roster

RHP Logan Gillaspie

If the Padres are looking to trim the fat, Logan Gillaspie is certainly expendable. After beginning his professional career withe Milwaukee Brewers, Gillaspie was a minor-league free agent signing of the Baltimore Orioles back in 2021, and the right-hander made his major league debut the following year. Gillaspie pitched in 17 games for the O's that season and posted a respectable 3.12 ERA.

Gillaspie was retained by the Orioles heading into the 2023 season, but a poor showing saw him dismissed prior to the offseason. Gillaspie tossed nine innings in the big leagues for Baltimore last season, but was picked up by the Boston Red Sox off waivers. Boston then ditched Gillaspie before the offseason after giving him a shot with the Triple-A affiliate to close out last season.

The Padres picked Gillaspie up this offseason, hoping that perhaps he could latch on as a middle reliever. While that could still be a possibility, his stats don't suggest he'll be able to make that happen.

Gillaspie's 4.10 ERA in the bigs and 4.25 ERA in the minors seem to signal the 26-year-old is little more than depth piece who's easily replaceable. While there's room on the 40-man roster at the moment, as more players begin to sign contracts ahead of spring training, the roster crunch will become very real. Gillaspie should be one of the first players designated for assignment when the time comes.