Padres Spring Standout Should Go From NRI to Roster Spot

Logan Gillaspie entered San Diego Padres camp as more of an afterthought.

The right-hander was in camp as a non-roster invite, and was buried behind the depth of arguably the best bullpen in Major League Baseball.

Gillaspie knew he had to do a lot to show that he was a real option to break camp with the big league team. Fast forward a month, and that's exactly what he's done.

Gillaspie put himself on manager Craig Stammen's radar in early March after his second scoreless appearance of the spring.

“When you have depth, that means you have a lot of options to choose from. We saw (Monday), Logan Gillaspie and how he threw in that game," Stammen said, unprompted. "He probably wasn’t on all your guys’ list to make the Opening Day roster, but we have a lot of guys like him that are capable of doing things like that and have major league experience, that are able to get outs in big league games."

A week later, Stammen had more praise for the right-hander.

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

Gillaspie didn't allow a run over his first 8.2 innings of Cactus League play, striking out 11 with just two walks allowed. However, things came crashing down for him in his most recent appearance against the Texas Rangers, where he allowed nine earned runs over 2.2 innings with five home runs allowed.

That one appearance isn't indicative of his spring, though, and Gillaspie should get one more appearance in the coming days before the Padres have to make a decision. If he pitches well, he should all but lock up a spot in the Padres' Opening Day bullpen.

Gillaspie is a perfect candidate to fill the "bridge" role that Stammen has talked about this spring. With the uncertainty surrounding the starting rotation, the Padres need someone like Gillaspie who can take down multiple innings — potentially even up to four as they navigate the start of the season.

Logan Gillaspie career

Gillaspie went undrafted in 2017 and played in Independent Leagues before signing with the Milwaukee Brewers as a minor league free agent in 2018. He then signed with the Baltimore Orioles on a minor league deal in 2021 and debuted there in 2022.

He was claimed off waivers by the Boston Red Sox in September 2023, and then again by the Padres a few months later. He's been with San Diego ever since, pitching 11.1 innings in 2024 and seven innings in 2025. He had a 2.57 ERA across his three appearances last season.

Gillaspie is now looking for a more consistent role at the MLB level, and has earned that opportunity this spring. He deserves to go from non-roster invite to the Opening Day roster in what would be one of the biggest surprise stories of the spring for San Diego — but one they need right now as they deal with injuries to both their rotation and bullpen.

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