Predicting Padres' 2024 September call-ups with MLB rosters set to expand

September is upon us, and for San Diego Padres fans that means the home stretch of what has been an incredibly surprising and rewarding 2024 season is here. After losing so much last offseason, this Padres team has given hope that the long-desired deep playoff run is very much in the cards. Not only that, but the emergence of franchise cornerstone Jackson Merrill has been a joy to watch.

With August giving way to September, that also means roster expansion comes this weekend. While the huge swaths of players getting called up for the final month of the season is no longer allowed, September roster expansion does give San Diego one of their last opportunities to retool their roster in advance of the stretch run and hopefully the postseason.

What do MLB expanded rosters look like in 2024?

Previously, any player that was on a team's 40-man roster could be called up in September, regardless of position, to reinforce the big league roster. This often led to some really weird lineups and a million bullpen arms getting used as teams tried to give the roster regulars rest when possible (and it often made September games brutal to watch). These days under the most recent CBA, a team's active roster is expanded from 26 players to 28, and teams cannot have more than 14 active pitchers.

For the Padres, who currently have 13 pitchers rostered, that means we can expect the team to add one position player as well as a bullpen arm come Sunday. There are a number of options San Diego could consider here, but some of their more recent moves could be clues as to what they have up their sleeves.

The Padres adding Elias Diaz after he was sent packing by the Rockies was not an accident. While guys like Tirso Ornelas or Eguy Rosario are possible roster additions, adding Diaz as a third catcher with experience, especially as Luis Campusano's struggles on both sides of the ball, could be a good idea despite the need to make a 40-man roster move to pull it off.

As for pitching, there are multiple options here. Lake Bachar has racked up strikeouts in the minor leagues and recently earned a short call-up with the team. Given that he is already on the 40-man roster, he could have the inside track to give the bullpen a boost.

Francis Pena is an interesting non-40-man option with his 1.82 ERA down at Triple-A, but such a move would require some roster gymnastics ahead of time. Alternatively, San Diego could just activate Wandy Peralta and call it a day here. We'd probably lean on that happening for the sake of simplicity.

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