3 Padres Players Suddenly Making a Strong Push for the Opening Day Roster

The San Diego Padres have some difficult decisions to make over the next two weeks as they finalize their Opening Day roster.

A few players are attempting to make those decisions even harder.

A non-roster invite infielder and two under-the-radar pitchers are having strong springs, inserting themselves into the Opening Day roster conversations. Here's a look into the three players' paths to the Opening Day roster.

Ty France

France, 31, joined the Padres on a minor league deal in February with an invite to spring training. The former Seattle Mariners All-Star and reigning American League Gold Glove winner at first base has impressed this spring, going 10-for-27 (.370) with four doubles, five runs batted in and an OPS of .952.

France is by far the best defensive first baseman in Padres camp, and will get opportunities at both second and third base to prove his versatility. With the injury to Sung-Mun Song, he's suddenly in the race to break camp with the team.

France also has leverage, as he can opt out of his contract on March 21 if he's not on the team's Major League roster. The way he's playing, there's a good chance he's on some team's Opening Day roster come March 26.

“If you can hit, we’ll find a place for you,” manager Craig Stammen said of France after a recent three-hit game.

In that case, it looks like the Padres will need to find a place for him.

Kyle Hart

Hart joined the Padres last offseason after a dominant season in the Korea Baseball Organization in which he won the Choi Dong-won Award, the league's equivalent to the Cy Young.

Hart struggled across 43 big league innings last year, sporting a 5.86 ERA. Nevertheless, the Padres brought him back on a $1 million deal this offseason, and he looks like a completely different pitcher this spring.

Hart has made five appearances, pitching 8.2 scoreless innings with seven strikeouts. He's caught the attention of his manager.

“The way [Hart] has been pitching this spring training has put him in a good spot in that competition," Stammen said. "He’s pitching great, probably the best that we’ve seen him as a Padre. And it’s kind of exciting to see a potential lefty in the pen, bulk inning kind of pitcher that can do a lot of different things.”

With the injury to Yuki Matsui, Hart could have a clear path to the Opening Day roster as a lefty in the bullpen.

Logan Gillaspie

Gillaspie, 25, likely wasn't on anyone's radar coming into camp as a non-roster invite. He made three appearances at the big league level last season, allowing two runs over seven innings for a 2.57 ERA.

This spring, he's been lights out.

Gillaspie has pitched 7.2 shutout innings, allowing just three hits and two walks while striking out eight. He suddenly has a real shot to break camp with the Padres.

“He just goes out there, competes his tail off,” Stammen said of Gillaspie. “A lot of energy, enthusiasm, throws a ton of strikes, gets a lot of outs. Outs are good.”

It now looks like Gillaspie could be getting outs for the Padres early in the season.

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