The Padres have told three veteran non-roster invitees that they have made the Opening Day roster. First baseman Yuli Gurriel (as per reporter Francys Romero), infielder Jose Iglesias (as per Jon Heyman of the New York Post) and catcher Martin Maldonado (as per Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune) will officially have their minor league contracts selected once the Padres clear three spots on their 40-man roster. Acee also reports that Gavin Sheets will be part of the active roster, after Sheets’ contract was selected earlier this week.
Iglesias and Gurriel are both Article XX(b) free agents, and thus yesterday was the first opt-out date on their minor league deals. It isn’t known if Iglesias or Gurriel actually enacted their opt-out clauses to force the Padres’ hand, but regardless, the two infielders will now be part of San Diego’s roster when the season begins on Thursday.
Iglesias only signed with the Padres on March 5, and the $3MM salary attached to his minors deal if he made the roster seemingly hinted that the team was always aiming to include him in a backup infield role. Making the team officially locks in that salary, as Iglesias looks to have an encore to possibly the most remarkable season of his 12 years in the Show.
Signed to a minors deal by the Mets last winter, Iglesias was called up to the team in late May and proceeded to hit .337/.381/.448 over 291 plate appearances — far outpacing the career .277/.319/.382 slash line he’d produced in his previous 4043 PA. A .382 BABIP played a hefty role in Iglesias’ career year, yet BABIP wasn’t as important an acronym as OMG, Iglesias’ song that became an instant hit with New York fans and became symbolic of the Mets’ turn-around season.
Gurriel will earn a $1.35MM salary for making the team as the 40-year-old prepares for his 10th big league season. A winner of two World Series rings during his time in Houston, Gurriel has hit only .243/.297/.356 in 978 PA for the Astros, Marlins, and Royals over the last three seasons. He hit well enough in the Padres’ camp, however, to work his way into the bench mix.
Manny Machado, Xander Bogaerts, Jake Cronenworth, and Luis Arraez are lined up San Diego’s starting infielders, and the latter two players are left-handed hitters. That could provide an opening for the right-handed hitting Iglesias and Gurriel to grab some at-bats when a southpaw is on the mound, plus Gurriel could also split some DH time with Sheets…
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