The forgotten piece of the Casey Mize trade could transform the Padres’ bench

When the San Diego Padres made their buzzer-beating trade deadline deal with the Detroit Tigers, nearly all of the media attention was on Casey Mize. The right-handed starter was in the midst of a career-best campaign and joined fellow trade acquisition Robbie Ray as the highlights of A.J. Preller's summer haul.

Unfortunately, Mize's debut didn't exactly go to plan, as the Diamondbacks lit him up for eight runs in just 3 1/3 innings, yielding a 21.60 ERA. Better days are surely ahead for the 2025 All-Star, but it was disheartening to see him struggle so badly right after the team surrendered top prospect Kash Mayfield (and Jackson Wolf) for him.

However, it's important not to lose sight of Gage Workman, who joined Mize on the flight from Detroit to San Diego. The 26-year-old infielder isn't going to impact the Padres' playoff chances to the degree that his teammate does, but he can aid the team significantly by providing reliable production off the bench.

Gage Workman can stabilize Padres' bench as healthy, big-time power bat

This whole saga feels eerily similar to the Mason Miller trade from last year, when everyone was focused on Miller and somewhat lost sight of JP Sears, the "other" player acquired in that deal. The all-universe closer has obviously been the star, but Sears has covered roughly 60 innings for the Padres since then, serving as the ever-valuable emergency depth for the starting rotation.

Workman should be able to serve the same function off the Friars' bench, starting in place of fatigued regulars while drawing key pinch-hit appearances late in games. He's already had success in the latter role, hitting a bases-clearing double in his third-ever plate appearance with his new team.

He's spent most of this season in the minors, hitting a robust .305/.366/.502 (128 wRC+) with 11 homers and 20 steals across 82 games. Unfortunately, he's been far less respectable in the big leagues, hitting below the Mendoza Line for his career while posting a 51 wRC+ this year. Most concerning is his gargantuan strikeout rate, which sits at 41.4% during his time in the majors.

And yet, despite that glaring flaw, there's some big-time talent worth buying into here. His exit velocity numbers are off-the-charts good, and he's crushed right-handed pitching throughout his lifetime in pro baseball. Considering the Padres rank 19th in wRC+ (98) against those pitchers this year, Workman can absolutely help the cause if he cuts down on his swing-and-miss habits.

But more important than anything listed above is the fact that he can finally bring some stability to the bench. The Padres have given tons of playing time to guys like Nick Castellanos, Jase Bowen, Will Wagner, Sung-mun Song, and Bryce Johnson this year; while some of them have been productive, there's been so much turnover on the roster because guys can't stay healthy or productive for extended stretches.

Workman may not be the fix to all that ails the offense, but a healthy body with big-time power is a godsend compared to what the Padres have been working with for most of 2026.

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