Will Padres Address First Base Further, Or Should They Take A Volume Approach?

[Randy Holt]

The San Diego Padres made a pair of notable additions to their infield group last week, and both should have something to say about the team's first base conundrum. First, and probably more notably, they signed Korean infielder Sung Mun Song to a three-year deal. Later in the day, it was reported that they had signed former Minnesota Twins corner infielder José Miranda to a minor-league deal that includes a spring training invite. 

Song's addition will impact the team much more immediately and directly. Whether it leads to a trade of someone like Jake Cronenworth or simply takes the load off an infield group that needed some reliable depth, there is a multitude of ways in which he can be impactful for the 2026 team. Miranda, meanwhile, will have to work a bit more to take on the minor-league-invitee-to-impactful-role-player trajectory that we saw from Gavin Sheets last season. Regardless of either player's contribution in 2026, though, they each (in their own way) create a bit of mystery surrounding how the Padres may handle their one remaining vacancy on the infield dirt: first base. 

The 2025 Padres had six different players appear at first base. Luis Arráez was there for 117 games, trade deadline acquisition Ryan O'Hearn was in there for 27, and each of Jake Cronenworth and Gavin Sheets took reps on 13 occasions. Plus, Yuli Gurriel appeared four times and Connor Joe once early in the season. Of that group, only Cronenworth and Sheets remain. Arráez and O'Hearn remain free agents, with each of Gurriel and Joe finding themselves out of the organization early on last season. 

Including the two holdovers, the Padres now, technically, have five players capable of playing first base in their organization. Cronenworth handled first base duties in 2023 and a good deal of the time in 2024. Sheets profiles better at first base than he does in the outfield. While he only played second and third for Kiwoom last year, Song has some time at first to his name in previous years. Miranda was once Minnesota's first baseman of the future before falling off severely and grabbing only 36 plate appearances in 2025. Then you throw in Luis Campusano, whom the team might like more as a first base and designated hitter option even with his present status as the team's backup catcher. That's a lot of names, four of which are on the active roster. 

That opens up numerous possibilities as to how the team could handle the position heading into 2026. 

The simplest is that you have some kind of combination of Cronenworth and Song on the right side of the infield. Maybe that's Cronenworth at first and Song at second. Perhaps it's the other way around, especially with Song possessing a bit more power upside that serves as a prerequisite for the position. In that case, Sheets lands as your primary designated hitter and occasional corner outfield or first base fill-in, while Campusano plies his trade only as the team's backup catcher and gets in as the DH on occasion. In that scenario, Miranda isn't likely to be a factor on the major-league roster. 

However, should Miranda force his way in, things get a little more complicated. Maybe you've got a Miranda-Cronenworth-Song combination between first and second that is dependent on matchups. Or Miranda serves purely as a bench bat to fill in at either corner infield spot while Cronenworth and Song hold down the right side with more regularity. Sheets and Campusano then fight it out for some extra time as the designated hitter. It becomes more mouths to feed in the plate appearances game.

Of course, Cronenworth could be traded. Then you're likely looking at Song as the everyday guy at the keystone while Miranda and Sheets comprise more of a platoon situation between first base and designated hitter. Campusano maybe fills in on occasion, but those are your priorities. That scenario requires the most heavy lifting, as you not only have to have a theoretical trade of Cronenworth but also a hypothetical situation in which Miranda wins a roster spot in camp. 

Given that it's A.J. Preller we're talking about, there's also the looming chance that an outside addition still has yet to manifest. Paul Goldschmidt exists on the free agent market. Even if his bat isn't what it once was, he adds a stable glove — assuming his -3 Outs Above Average in 2025 was an outlier — and an intangible presence. Rhys Hoskins and his .237 career ISO figure are also out on the free-agent market. Neither would cost a ton, to say nothing of a fallen-out-of-favor trade for someone like Triston Casas in Boston. For what it's worth, Mark Vientos is reportedly also available, and Preller has reportedly already talked to the New York Mets on some level in recent days.

Essentially, the Padres now have two roads in front of them with respect to the first base position. They can either bring in a pure first baseman, with or without a Cronenworth trade, and maximize the flexibility of their current roster. Or, they can go with a volume approach and rotate out any of the options currently within their organization. With the composition of the current roster feeling incomplete, it's difficult to know which path is the "correct" one as of now.

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[Stuart Shaffer]

If Mr. Preller wants a FA 1B, the obvious choices to me are the tandem of Nathaniel Lowe (LH) and Goldschmidt (RH).  If he wants to trade, Vientos, despite his poor 2025 season, would supplant Goldschmidt in the platoon, and would cost less and presumably, last longer than one year.  The principle I hope Preller is using is that every addition he makes to the position player roster should be able to homer.  All three of these guys can.  Finally, if Miranda can stay on the field, he can hit.