Key Padres player wasting away in Triple-A clearly deserves active roster spot

It's difficult to find fault with what AJ Preller and the San Diego Padres have done this season. Though the Los Angeles Dodgers are pulling away in the race for the NL West Division crown, the Friars are still in the playoff mix.

The front office pulled the trigger on a number of moves, both earlier in the season and at the trade deadline, that has San Diego looking like a World Series contender with a little less than a month to go in the regular season.

But there's always that one player that fans — and likely the front office — want to see more of. For the Padres, that is Eguy Rosario. Though the infielder broke camp with the Padres, Rosario has appeared in just 30 games for the Friars this season. But his recent exploits in the minor leagues certainly warrant a spot on the active roster.

Padres infielder Eguy Rosario is wasting away in Triple-A

Rosario has been seen as a depth piece in the minor leagues all season. In fact, had Manny Machado been fully healthy to start the season, it's quite likely that Rosario would have been left off San Diego's Opening Day roster. The 25-year-old was optioned back to the minors in early May after hitting .250/.294/.543, and has only made two brief appearances back in the big leagues since.

But Rosario has been crushing the ball down at Triple-A El Paso. The diminutive infielder owns a .267/.351/.546 slash line with 20 home runs and 67 RBI on the season. Though his number have slipped just a touch over the past month, Rosario has done enough to command a spot on the Padres roster (especially with expanded rosters).

But given the depth across the Padres' infield, it's tough to find a spot for Rosario. Jake Cronenworth, Luis Arráez, and Xander Bogaerts are obviously going to receive playing time over Rosario, and Donovan Solano has been clutch all season. With Ha-Seong Kim on the IL, one could make that case for Rosario to supplant Mason McCoy or Tyler Wade at shortstop, but most of the infielder's starts have come at third base this season.

The Padres have given Rosario a handful of starts in right field, so perhaps San Diego sees a path forward for the rookie in the outfield grass rather than the infield dirt. Either way, it's a shame that Rosario's success in the minors this season hasn't resulted in a call-up to the big leagues.

That said, it's quite the luxury for Preller and Co. to have a player of Rosario's caliber on standby in the event of an injury during the final month of the 2024 season. There's still a chance that the Friar faithful will see another appearance from Rosario before the regular season comes to an end, but he might be best suited preparing for 2025 at this point.

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