Navigating the Padres' Lineup Possibilities Following Flurry of Signings

[Randy Holt]

For much of the winter, it was evident where the San Diego Padres needed improvement to their current roster. Such a statement held true for both sides of the ball, and while starting pitching grabbed much of the attention of the media and fanbase, building up depth in their lineup wasn't too far behind in terms of raw need. In the closing weeks of the offseason, A.J. Preller has largely managed to do that in the face of budget constraints and an uncertain organizational future. 

It began earlier this winter, when the team signed South Korean standout Sung Mun Song to a four-year deal. His versatility alone helped to extend the bench in providing support at multiple positions. While it took several weeks for additional supplementation of the roster, Preller was able to do so in the form of Miguel Andujar and Philadelphia castoff Nick Castellanos on a pair of one-year deals. On Monday, the team added Ty France on a minor-league deal for good measure (and Jose Miranda earlier this winter). It's a slate of players that complicates the overall construction but should help in areas where the Padres struggled in 2025.

Last year's lineup struggled to generate power. They ranked only 28th in the league in ISO (.138) and 29th in hard-hit rate (37.8 percent). Their barrel rate, at 7.5 percent, was also among the league's worst (27th). Each of those figures was a touch worse against left-handed pitching, too. So, it was about adding not only power to the mix, but power that could aid in production against southpaws. 

How each of those names translates to supporting the Padres in their specific areas of need remains to be seen. None of the players noted are barrel merchants, but each does offer more success against lefties in their career than right-handers. Even considering the nuance of lineup construction against the type of opponents the Padres will see in 2026, there's enough volume here to consider how things might look in general. 

We know what the majority of the lineup will look like to start the year. The "locks" are as follows: 

• Catcher: Freddy Fermin
• Second Base: Jake Cronenworth
• Shortstop: Xander Bogaerts
• Third Base: Manny Machado
• Left Field: Ramón Laureano
• Center Field: Jackson Merrill
• Right Field: Fernando Tatis Jr.

That leaves first base and designated hitter as options through which the team's new additions could rotate. Which automatically presents us with a complication: Gavin Sheets. 

Sheets had previously been indicated as the player with the first crack at serving as the everyday first baseman. Now, however, you have at least four names in the mix that either have experience at first base (Andujar, Miranda, and France) or are working at the position to hold it down on at least a part-time basis (Castellanos). To say nothing of the possibility that Cronenworth could bounce over from the keystone while Song gets work at second base. This is all to say that first base might not nearly be the lock that one might have expected upon Stammen's prior declaration. If anything, it only adds to the flexibility that could exist as part of the new-look depth. 

There are some key elements to note about each name, though. Sheets profiles better defensively at first, but is not a plus-defender anywhere in reality. The same is true of Andujar and Castellanos. The former has handled each corner on both the dirt and the grass, while Castellanos is working to handle the right-side corners. No matter what, though, you're not getting upper-echelon defensive work. The situation is a bit different with France, in particular, among the non-guaranteed contracts, but we can only work with things that offer a little more certainty.

As such, let's assume, for a moment, that the Padres are facing a right-handed starter. Each of Andujar and Castellanos have rather stark splits against said handedness. If the goal is to get Sheets in the mix, then the lineup might look something more like this: 

• Catcher: Fermin
• First Base: Cronenworth
• Second Base: Song
• Shortstop: Bogaerts
• Third Base: Machado
• Left Field: Laureano
• Center Field: Merrill
• Right Field: Tatis, Jr.
• Designated Hitter: Sheets

This scenario has plenty more nuance, however. If Stammen were inclined to rotate Machado into the DH spot, then you could get Song at the hot corner, Cronenworth back at second, and Sheets at first. Laureano doesn't have especially favorable splits against righties. Could this specific scenario be an area where Andujar or Castellanos — who at least offer a little bit of competence against right-handers — work into left field? We'll table that for now given how much it rides on in-season context. 

As for the configuration against southpaws, things might look more like this: 

• Catcher: Fermin
• First Base: Andujar
• Second Base: Cronenworth
• Shortstop: Bogaerts
• Third Base: Machado
• Left Field: Laureano
• Center Field: Merrill
• Right Field: Tatis, Jr. 
• Designated Hitter: Castellanos

Again, nuance exists. The goal here is to eliminate Sheets and his career 56 wRC+ against left-handers entirely from the equation. Could this be an area where Luis Campusano gets into the mix, either behind the plate or as a designated hitter? Could Song prove more effective against lefties than Cronenworth? Does one of Andujar or Castellanos have the edge to a defensive role over the other? 

There's a lot of questions to be answered. None of this considers a split-neutral Ty France or a possible resurgence from Jose Miranda, either. It's a lot of bodies to be sorted in order to gain some level of consistency with the lineup that is desired by most players. 

For what it's worth, FanGraphs has the primary seven spots in the lineup anchored by the respective names for no less than 70 percent of the work at each spot. First base, meanwhile, has Sheets getting in at a 55 percent clip, with Castellanos at 18 percent and Andujar at 10 percent. France and Miranda are thrown five and one percent, respectively, amid their non-guaranteed deals. At designated hitter, Andujar is projected for the most work (34 percent), followed by Castellanos (23 percent), and Sheets (15 percent). While these are based only on projections, it does help to support the idea that much of the rotation we see in the lineup will come from one of those two spots, with room for Machado bouncing into the DH role and Song's versatility also taken into account in the distribution. 

Ultimately, though, it's kind of the ideal problem to have heading into the spring exhibition season. The Padres will use February and March to answer these exact questions. Determining Song's role, the defensive competence of Andujar and Castellanos, and whether either of France or Miranda deserve a spot in the mix are of the utmost importance. From there, it becomes a matter of how first base and the designated hitter spot will be utilized, or if you're looking at more of a pure matchup-based situation. As much of this lineup is settled, the volume of intrigue in those remaining areas is exceeded only by the volume of players creating it given Preller's recent involvement on the transaction list.

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