PEORIA, ARIZONA – FEBRUARY 12: Manager Mike Shildt #8 San Diego Padres watches over practice during the daily workout at Peoria Sports Complex on February 12, 2024 in Peoria, Arizona. (Photo by Matt Thomas/San Diego Padres/Getty Images)
When asked about the process of assembling the Padres traveling party for the historic 2-game Korea Series against the Dodgers, San Diego manager Mike Shildt had a fantastic response:
"We'll travel and then we'll party."
The Padres have arrived in Seoul. Let the partying commence!
San Diego is allowed to bring 31 players with them to make sure they can get through two exhibition games and two regular season matchups against L.A. (the usual 26 will be active for the latter). Interestingly, right now the Padres active roster shows exactly 31 players and looks like this:
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PITCHERS (19):
Pedro Avila RHP
Jhony Brito RHP
Dylan Cease RHP
Tom Cosgrove LHP
Yu Darvish RHP
Enyel De Los Santos RHP
Jeremiah Estrada RHP
Woo-Suk Go RHP
Michael King RHP
Stephen Kolek RHP
Yuki Matsui LHP
Adrian Morejon LHP
Joe Musgrove RHP
Glenn Otto RHP
Luis Patino RHP
Wandy Peralta LHP
Robert Suarez RHP
Randy Vasquez RHP
Matt Waldron RHP
CATCHERS (3):
Luis Campusano
Kyle Higashioka
Brett Sullivan
INFIELDERS (6):
Xander Bogaerts
Jake Cronenworth
Ha-Seong Kim
Manny Machado
Tucupita Marcano
Eguy Rosario
Local
OUTFIELDERS (3):
Jose Azocar
Jurickson Profar
Fernando Tatis Jr.
However, as you may have noticed, this is not the group of 31 who made the international trip (Cease is making his way across the world separately because the trade was consummated after the team's flight left). Prospects Jackson Merrill and Graham Pauley earned seats on the plane but are not on the list because they're so early in their careers they don't have to be protected on the 40-man roster yet. Those two will have to be added before Game 1 on March 20.
So, there will be changes. Odds are Merrill and Pauley will replace a pair of pitchers. Shildt was asked if they would take 16 pitchers along to have all the necessary innings covered.
"That math seems about right," says Shildt. "Plus or minus one. Maybe plus."
Removing two names from the current list would put the pitching staff for the exhibition games at 17. It's most likely that two from the group of Estrada, Kolek, Otto, and Patino would be the odd men out.
When the club has to cut down to 26 for the real thing against the Dodgers they'll probably prune a few more pitchers, likely the two remaining names from above and potentially one more, along with Marcano and another position player (Rosario, Azocar, and Sullivan being the most likely candidates).
We've been wondering for a few months now what the Padres would look like. Now that the picture is clearing up, it sure looks like a playoff-caliber roster.
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