Padres Manager Seems to Confirm Outfielder Will Make Opening Day Roster

There is a little over a week before the San Diego Padres kick off the 2026 Major League Baseball season at Petco Park against Tarik Skubal and the Detroit Tigers. But before that happens, the organization is going through the process of cutting down the roster for Opening Day.

San Diego had a very interesting offseason compared to how the team has operated in the past. This group still has its core of star players on the roster, but the team brought in multiple under-the-radar guys to compete for spots.

The biggest questions across the roster are still within the starting rotation and the outfield. Manager Craig Stammen has been trying to navigate his first year on the job, and now he is looking to finalize the roster for Opening Day.

When discussing the roster, Stammen seemed to confirm that one outfielder in particular would be making the team. This would be Bryce Johnson, who has reportedly had the upper hand in making the team for most of spring training.

“We want to keep everybody fresh on the field, so we don’t want to run everybody out there for 162 [games]," Stammen said recently. "To think Ramón Laureano is going to play 162 games in left field is not realistic. So we got [Nick Castellanos] out there, [Gavin] Sheets can play out there, Bryce Johnson, several other guys.”

Johnson is a 30-year old veteran who has performed well so far in the spring with the Padres. So far, he has seen 42 at-bats, hitting .310 with two home runs, six runs batted in and two stolen bases with an OPS of .880.

The veteran has been with the Padres in each of the last few seasons, and he appeared in 55 games last year for the team. In that time, Johnson hit .342 with one home run, eight runs batted in and an OPS of .817.

Johnson has been competing for spots with Ty France, Jose Miranda, Jase Bowen and others. But he seems to be getting an Opening Day roster spot after a strong performance this spring.

The Padres are looking to be competitive again this season, even with them playing in the loaded National League West. Stammen has a lot of pressure on his shoulders to get this team going early on, so his Opening Day decisions will matter a ton.

San Diego ended last season with a record of 90-72, finishing second in the NL West to the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Padres did make the playoffs, but they were eliminated in the wild-card round by the Chicago Cubs.

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