Padres Appear to Make Surprising Last-Minute Change to Opening Day Roster

The San Diego Padres are making all the last minute roster tweaks they need before the impending 2025 season.

The constant shuffling is with the intention to put the best possible product on the field come Opening Day, but unfortunately comes at the expense of fringe roster players not knowing where they are going to be residing for most of the calendar year.

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Per Jeff Sanders of the San Diego Union-Tribune, right-hander Logan Gillaspie packed his things and left the clubhouse Wednesday afternoon.

Southpaw Omar Cruz, on the other hand, has a locker and is currently working out with the team.

Although rosters will be officially set Thursday, it appears that Gillaspie will start his season elsewhere as Cruz will begin the 2025 campaign at Petco Park.

RHP Logan Gillaspie packed his bag earlier today and exited the #Padres clubhouse.

Meanwhile, LHP Omar Cruz has a locker and is working out with the team right now.

Rosters will be set tomorrow morning.
— Jeff Sanders (@sdutSanders) March 26, 2025

This isn't the first sudden Padres roster move of the week, and with official lineups still to be finalized, it may not be the last.

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The Padres announced Monday evening that offseason acquisition Connor Joe, former top prospect Luis Campusano, right-hander and potential rotational pitcher Stephen Kolek, and reliever Ron Marinaccio were all optioned to Triple-A El Paso.

As for Cruz, he played like he was deserving of a roster spot this spring with four appearances and a start, which was good for a 4.05 ERA. The 25-year-old also shined in Double-A and Triple-A last season with a 3.96 ERA across 34 appearances.

Gillaspie, who is presumably not making the Padres to start the year, also had a nice spring sporting a 3.60 ERA over 10 innings.

The 27-year-old made nine appearances for the Padres last season, striking out seven but finishing his major league stint with 7.15 ERA.

Manager Mike Shildt spoke on how much talent has been displayed this spring, despite a finite number of spots.

“This has been a very, very competitive camp. All those guys have played their way onto a team that only has so many spots," Shildt said.

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For more Padres news, head over to Padres on SI.