With postseason tantalizingly close, Padres ponder roster decisions

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LOS ANGELES -- For the third straight day, the Padres wake up with a chance to clinch a postseason berth. They can do so before they take the field, if the Diamondbacks lose in Colorado. Or they can do so by winning Thursday's series finale at Dodger Stadium.

The sooner, the better. The Padres will have some crucial roster questions to sort out ahead of the postseason:

1. How many catchers -- and is Ethan Salas one of them?

Tuesday marked the first time Salas had ever been to Dodger Stadium. He strode to the plate as a pinch-hitter in the sixth inning -- and laced an opposite-field single. A day later, he earned the start -- and started a key fifth-inning rally with another single.

Salas is the youngest catcher in the big leagues in 35 years. But after some early struggles at the plate, he has recently looked like he’s up for the challenge.

“He can help us in the postseason,” manager Craig Stammen posited recently.

Given the workload Salas has received recently, the Padres are clearly serious about the idea of Salas on the playoff roster. If he is … would they then carry three catchers? There’s certainly plenty of benefit in doing so.

That was on full display on Wednesday night, when the Padres pinch-hit for Salas with Austin Hays, then had Freddy Fermin to finish the final few innings (with Luis Campusano's bat available on the bench). In the final few innings, three different hitters pounded out clutch hits from the No. 9 spot.

Then again, there are other considerations at play …

2. What’s the status of Miguel Andujar and Gavin Sheets?

Andujar has missed two months with a right wrist fracture. Sheets has missed a month with a plantar plate tear in his left foot.

Those are two quality bats the Padres could add to their bench -- even if it seems very unlikely that Sheets will be able to play defense. Both are nearing a return, per Stammen.

If the Padres could add them to the mix, it would make their lineup significantly more dangerous. Sheets mashes righties. Andujar mashes lefties. Suddenly, you’ve got the ability to pinch-hit in just about any situation.

But if they come back, that means somebody needs to give way on the roster. But who?

3. Who’s on the bench?

Here’s where the puzzle gets extremely tricky. You’d love to carry three catchers. You’d love to have Sheets and Andujar. You’d love the versatility of Sung-Mun Song and the speed-and-defense threat of Jase Bowen.

But you can’t have all of it. Let’s say the Padres carry 14 position players on a playoff roster. If you’re counting Sheets and Andujar, that’s 16 players for 14 spots.

Song feels likeliest to give way. Bowen seems like a necessity, given his usefulness as a defensive replacement (and a pinch-runner, too). So it might come down to the health of Sheets and Andujar. If you want to keep them both, that probably keeps Fermin (or Salas) off the playoff roster.

4. How would the Padres line up their rotation for a Wild Card Series?

Ideally, Michael King gets the ball for Game 1. He’s lined up to pitch Sunday’s regular-season finale, but would be bumped to Game 1 if the Padres have secured their spot in the postseason.

After that, it feels somewhat open-ended. The Padres traded for Robbie Ray and Casey Mize at the Deadline, likely envisioning postseason starts for them. But they’ve been mostly shaky since they arrived.

Meanwhile, Nick Pivetta has looked sharp in three starts since returning from the IL. He gets the ball tonight, and could be lined up to pitch Game 2, if all goes well. Walker Buehler will pitch one of the first two games against the D-backs this weekend. He could then be lined up for Game 3.

That feels like the likeliest outcome here: King, Pivetta, Buehler -- with the best bullpen in baseball backing them up.

5. How many in the bullpen? And who?

The guess here is that the Padres would carry 12 pitchers, including those three starters listed above.

Jason Adam was activated from the injured list on Wednesday. He joins Mason Miller, Adrian Morejon and Bradgley Rodriguez as the Padres’ highest leverage arms. Lefties Yuki Matsui and Kyle Hart seem to have earned their roster spots -- and provide valuable cover against left-handed hitters.

So … three more, then. The Padres would need to carry at least one more starter type -- as a long man in the event of a marathon game. (Remember, there’s no automatic runner in extras in the postseason.) Is Ray or Randy Vásquez enough? Or would they carry both?

If they carry both -- which I think is likelier -- it’s a decision between David Morgan and Wandy Peralta for that final spot. (Unless Mize would factor in somehow.) I'd give Morgan the edge, particularly after an outing like last night's.

In any case, it's quite a puzzle -- one the Padres would be happy to solve in the coming days.