The San Diego Padres are gearing up for spring training with a mix of excitement and uncertainty surrounding their outfield situation. While Fernando Tatis Jr. and Jackson Merrill are set as cornerstones, the departure of Jurickson Profar leaves a significant void in left field.
Pitchers and catchers report to the Padres ’ spring training complex in Peoria, Ariz., on Feb. 12, leaving the team six weeks to whip the roster in shape for opening day. Even though Fernando Tatis Jr. was coming off a middling performance at the plate (.770 OPS in 2023), at least by the standards he set through his first three seasons in the majors (.965 OPS).
Tatis was also looking to build off a platinum-glove campaign in his first year in right field, but a bothersome quad injury slowed him in the outfield and, after imaging revealed a stress reaction in his right femur, he spent more than two months on the injured list, costing him a chance to start in the second All-Star Game of his career. Tatis returned from rest and rehab with a strong September (.868 OPS) and he carried that into an otherworldly postseason (4 HRs, 1.500 OPS over seven games) that helped the Padres get to within a game of advancing to their second NLCS in the last three years.Jackson Merrill began the season ranked No. 17 in Baseball America’s top-100 on the steam of his resume as a shortstop, moved to center field in spring training and earned both a trip to the All-Star Game and a second-place finish in NL Rookie of the Year voting (24 HRs, 90 RBIs, .826 OPS). Profar’s rise may have been even more unlikely as he finished 2023 dead-last in WAR after signing with the Rockies. He limped back to San Diego after his release late that summer, re-signed in February 2024 for $1 million and wound up starting in left field in the All-Star Game amid a career year (24 HRs, 85 RBIs, .839 OPS) in his Age 31 season. It was the 37-year-old Peralta who emerged as the most impactful during Tatis’ absence, hitting a useful .267/.335/.415 with eight homers in 91 games after the Cubs cast him aside.With Tatis’ $340 million deal running through 2034 and the 21-year-old Merrill still five years away from free agency, two-thirds of the Padres’ outfield is set for 2025. Merrill began last year hitting in the bottom of the order, but he moved in the middle of the lineup by the start of the postseason and figures to start 2025 hitting much closer to Tatis. Profar, however, signed a three-year, $42 million deal to join the Braves, leaving a giant hole in left field. The Padres have not as of yet replaced Profar and they have just two other outfielders on the 40-man roster (Lockridge finished 2024 as speed off the bench during the Padres’ postseason run, while Ornelas has yet to make his big-league debut. While Padres general manager will most definitely add to this corner of the roster in the coming weeks — Peralta, for instance, remains a free agent — non-roster invitees with at least some pedigree remain in the mix. Ornelas remains entrenched as the top outfield prospect in the system, one that’s poised to finally make his MLB debut this year. The 24-year-old Ornelas signed for $1.5 million as part of the Padres’ 2016-17 international spending spree, but he was only added to the 40-man roster last summer while logging career highs in homers (23), RBIs (89) and OPS (.864) in his third tour with Triple-A El Paso.
Padres Fernando Tatis Jr. Jackson Merrill Jurickson Profar Outfield MLB Spring Training 2025 Season
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