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

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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.

LHP Jay Groome

Every manager would love to balance out their rotation with at least one left-handed starter, but if that means adding Jay Groome into the mix, Mike Shildt would be better off with five right-handed pitchers. While Groome may have broken the El Paso record for most strikeouts in a season during his 2023 campaign, he walked almost as many batters.

Groome may be the only left-handed starting pitcher currently on the Padres 40-man roster, but what good is that if he can't find the plate? The southpaw was woefully inaccurate in the minor leagues last season, and unless Groome is able to show major improvement in that area, he's got no place on the Padres 40-man roster.

After a successful stint in the minor leagues during the 2022 season, Groome's numbers from 2023 were horrific. The former first-round pick posted an 8.55 ERA in 30 starts at Triple-A with a 2.10 WHIP. Groome walked 112 batters in over 130 innings of work. A walk-rate of nearly 17% will not get it done in the big leagues.

Groome is out of minor league options, so if the Padres cut him loose, the lefty will have to pass through waivers and accept an outright assignment in order to remain with the organization. Groome was highly-touted prospect about five years ago, but after nearly doubling his walk total from a year ago, you'll have to squint pretty hard to see him maintain his spot on the 40-man roster.

OF Jose Azocar

Yes, Jose Azocar is one of only two outfielders currently on the Padres 40-man roster. But Azocar's performance in 2023 just wasn't good enough to warrant a prolonged stay. The hope among Padres fans is that Preller does enough between now and Opening Day to bolster the roster and be sure that Azocar isn't on the field during the Seoul Series.

Preller has done a nice job of shoring up the bullpen after the departure of Josh Hader, but the Padres' top executive has done very little to replace the losses of Juan Soto and Trent Grisham. While no one player is going to be able to replicate the production of both Soto and Grisham, Preller needs more than just a warm body patrolling the outfield at Petco Park alongside Fernando Tatis Jr. in 2024.

Azocar is a good enough defender that the Padres could hide him on club's Triple-A roster as a depth piece, but there's no need for Azocar to maintain a 40-man roster spot. The 27-year-old doesn't hit for average, he doesn't hit for power, and even lacks the ability to simply get on base.

The days of carrying a glove-first centerfielder are all but over, and Azocar's defense isn't good enough to even warrant that. Azocar has spent 10 seasons in the minor leagues, and aside from a 23-game stretch at Triple-A in 2022, he's never posted a collective OPS above .800. The Friars still have some work to do, and it starts by moving on from Azocar and upgrading the outfield.

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