SAN DIEGO -- In mid-February, as the Padres approached the start of Spring Training, they made two Minor League transactions they figured might help their big league club soon enough. They signed the lefty-hitting Gavin Sheets to a Minors deal. Then, they did the same with the righty-hitting Yuli Gurriel.
In an ideal world, those two would hit their way onto the roster -- and possibly even into a solid platoon at DH.
Three games into the 2025 season, that ideal world has materialized.
In Thursday¡¯s opener, Sheets announced his presence with a game-tying pinch-hit home run, sparking a late rally. On Saturday, it was Gurriel¡¯s turn to come off the bench with a big hit -- a decisive, pinch-hit RBI single in the Padres¡¯ 1-0 victory over the Braves at Petco Park.
¡°You¡¯re talking about two quality guys taking really high-quality at-bats,¡± said Padres manager Mike Shildt. ¡°Sheets -- I just love his approach. He¡¯s balanced, not trying to do too much. He¡¯s already big and strong.
¡°And Gurriel¡¯s been a professional hitter for a long time in this league and before. So having the luxury to be able to go to a Gurriel in that situation, again, it¡¯s proof we¡¯ve got a lot of good pieces that can help us win games.¡±
Indeed, it¡¯s only been three games, but the Padres have already relied plenty on the depth of their roster, en route to the fifth 3-0 start in franchise history and the first since 2021.
Right-hander Randy Vásquez, for instance, was one of the last inclusions on the Opening Day roster. He might¡¯ve missed out entirely, if not for Yu Darvish¡¯s elbow injury late in camp. This was supposed to be Darvish¡¯s turn in the rotation, after all.
On Saturday, with a heavily taxed bullpen, the Padres needed a big effort from V¨¢squez. Sure enough, the right-hander delivered six scoreless frames against one of the sport¡¯s best offenses.
¡°I¡¯m just very satisfied that today I was able to be that piece -- to contribute, bring something to this ballclub and help us win,¡± V¨¢squez said through interpreter Pedro Gutierrez.
During their run to the ¡®24 postseason, the Padres consistently touted the importance of getting contributions from all corners of their roster. A year later, even if some of those players are different, the results look similar.
The Padres will say that¡¯s partly because they¡¯ve found quality players to fill out the fringes of their roster. But it¡¯s also because they¡¯ve found a blend that puts those players in the right positions to succeed.
¡°It¡¯s a good mix,¡± Gurriel said through Gutierrez, after he¡¯d notched his first Padres hit.
Jake Cronenworth started the seventh-inning rally with a line drive off the foot of Braves lefty Aaron Bummer. When it caromed into the visiting dugout, Cronenworth was awarded second base, and the Braves opted to walk Xander Bogaerts, bringing Sheets to the plate.
Gurriel was the obvious choice as a pinch-hitter, even if Braves manager Brian Snitker was always likely to counter with righty reliever Daysbel Hern¨¢ndez.
Sure enough, that was the matchup with two outs and the game on the line in the seventh. Hern¨¢ndez threw a quality 1-1 slider -- on the outside corner, just below the knees. But Gurriel shot it into left field, plating Cronenworth with the game¡¯s only run.
¡°I knew I had a lot of responsibility in that at-bat,¡± Gurriel said. ¡°I was able to contribute.¡±
That¡¯s been a theme throughout the entire roster. Gurriel stepped up. V¨¢squez stepped up. The entire Padres bullpen stepped up -- even with its three highest leverage arms unavailable after pitching in the first two games. Wandy Peralta, Alek Jacob and Adrian Morejon combined to work three scoreless frames in relief of V¨¢squez.
Meanwhile, the Padres also picked up a hobbled Manny Machado, who dealt with right calf tightness on Saturday. Machado says he¡¯ll be fine -- that he was merely dealing with cramps, and that he might return for Sunday¡¯s series finale. But he exited the game in the fourth inning.
The Padres were undeterred, getting the usual contributions from superstars and role players alike.
¡°It¡¯s just what we have built over here,¡± said Fernando Tatis Jr., off to a red-hot start to the season himself. ¡°The characters that we have brought in. Everybody¡¯s just checked into what we have been bringing as a team -- as an offense, as a defense. We work really hard in Spring Training.
¡°It¡¯s been only three games. But we have seen results.¡±