Padres overhaul roster including anticipated September call-up of All-Star catcher

September has officially arrived and there has been plenty of speculation as to what moves we could see from the San Diego Padres once rosters expanded. Under the current rules, it was basically a certainty that they would add a bullpen arm to bring their pitching staff up to the maximum 14 players in addition to adding a position player.

While the Padres did make those moves, they also did a lot of roster shuffling in addition to them on Sunday with the biggest news being that Elias Diaz is joining the big league club, Wandy Peralta has been activated from the IL, and Nick Ahmed was signed to a minor league deal.

Padres News: San Diego makes flurry of roster moves including calling up Elias Diaz and reinstating Wandy Peralta from the injured list

Adding Elias Diaz was the most widely expected move here. San Diego doesn't bring that guy in to the organization unless they had plans to use him. With Luis Campusano struggling like he has, adding Diaz as a third catcher will be a big help despite the fact that Diaz hasn't had time to work with the Padres' pitchers yet.

Wandy Peralta coming back should be a nice boost to the Padres bullpen that could use another fresh arm. While Peralta's numbers in 2024 with San Diego have been underwhelming, he had two very solid seasons with the Yankees before signing with the Padres last offseason. Peralta was placed on the injured list in July with a groin injury and was widely expected to be activated this weekend.

In addition to those moves, the Padres also recalled Tom Cosgrove to give them another lefty in the bullpen, added veteran infielder Nick Ahmed on a minor league deal as some insurance for the final month of the season, and added Brandon Lockridge to their 40-man roster.

That is a lot more moves than roster expansion alone would cover. So, that meant some guys were going to get culled from the roster. Randy Vasquez failed to capitalize on his latest opportunity in the rotation and got optioned to the minors again. Designating Lake Bachar for assignment is a bit of a shame as he has thrown well this season, but San Diego may be hoping that he will make it back to the minors since he won't be eligible for the postseason with another club this year.

More Padres News from Friars on Base