4 San Diego Padres who are playing their way out of the team's 2024 plans

4) Austin Nola is playing his way out of the 2024 plans for the San Diego Padres

This is another rather obvious one, as Austin Nola has virtually sealed his fate when it comes to his future with this organization. Austin Nola isn't the main reason this offense has drastically underperformed. but he certainly contributed.

Nola began the year as the starting catcher, but after slashing .146/.260/.192 with one home run and eight RBI in 52 games, he was sent down to Triple-A El Paso. Nola has played in just eight games since going down, and has five hits in 27 at-bats in the minors.

The Padres don't have a clear solution behind the plate for 2024. Gary Sanchez is going to be a free agent. Luis Campusano, while good in a small sample this year, is unproven. Nola has two more years of team control but his monstrous struggles at the plate this season make him a candidate the Padres just can't take seriously.

It's possible San Diego keeps Nola around as depth I suppose, but they can't plan for 2024 with him being part of the active roster. It's more likely he's just non-tendered at this point.