SAN DIEGO -- The Padres broke camp in Peoria, Ariz., earlier this week without much left to settle on their Opening Day roster -- really just a place or two in their bullpen.
They finalized that roster on Wednesday, a day before their season-opener against the Tigers at Petco Park. Ron Marinaccio and Bradgley Rodriguez earned the final couple spots in that bullpen. Meanwhile, right-hander Yu Darvish was placed on the restricted list, which cleared a 40-man roster spot for Ty France and Walker Buehler to have their contracts selected. (Both were in camp on Minor League deals.)
Here's a look at the 26-man roster in full:
Catchers (2): Freddy Fermin, Luis Campusano
At long last, Fermin will get the opportunity to take over as the primary catcher after years of serving in a backup capacity in Kansas City. The Padres were impressed with Fermin’s ability to handle a new pitching staff on the fly last season, and they’re even more bullish on the idea of Fermin coming off an entire spring to work with this staff.
Still, Fermin isn’t the kind of catcher you ask for 130 starts. He’s more a 1A type. So who’s 1B? That's Campusano. The Padres mulled the possibility of adding another catcher to the mix. Instead, they're rolling the dice on a long-awaited breakout from Campusano, who was excellent last season at Triple-A, hitting .336 with a 1.036 OPS, despite some well documented defensive shortcomings.
Infielders (7): Manny Machado, Xander Bogaerts, Jake Cronenworth, Gavin Sheets, Miguel Andujar, Ty France, Nick Castellanos
The Padres' starting infield, at least against right-handed pitching, is clear enough: Machado, Bogaerts, Cronenworth, Sheets, from left to right.
From there, things get interesting. Andujar has always mashed against lefties. So has Nick Castellanos, whose first-base experiment went smoothly enough this spring. It's entirely possible that duo would start at 1B/DH against left-handed pitching with Sheets coming off the bench.
Sung-Mun Song was expected to serve as a bench option, capable of backing up anywhere in the infield. But he will open the season on the IL after his offseason oblique injury flared up during Cactus League play. That cleared a path for France, a Gold Glover at first base last season who is also capable of handling second. (Cronenworth can back up at short in a pinch.)
Outfielders (4): Fernando Tatis Jr., Jackson Merrill, Ramón Laureano, Bryce Johnson
Tatis, Merrill and Laureano comprise the obvious starting outfield, with Johnson capable of backing up at all three spots. Johnson won the final bench spot ahead of Jase Bowen and José Miranda, largely because of his defense and his outfield versatility.
In the meantime, Castellanos can cover both outfield corners whenever he's not DHing or playing first base. And Stammen has noted that he'd like to cycle some of his regulars through the DH spot, so it's possible Castellanos gets more corner outfield starts than you'd think.
Starters (5): Nick Pivetta, Michael King, Randy Vásquez, Germán Márquez, Walker Buehler
Right-hander Joe Musgrove will open the season on the IL after missing the entire 2025 campaign due to Tommy John surgery. Musgrove made one spring start -- an exhibition against team Great Britain -- but dealt with soreness in the aftermath and hasn't pitched since. The Padres have said all along they'd slow-play Musgrove -- with the intention of having him at his best down the stretch.
With Musgrove out, that left two places available at the back of the rotation -- places won by Márquez and Buehler. JP Sears, Triston McKenzie and Marco Gonzales were also in the mix for those spots. Matt Waldron (medical procedure) and Griffin Canning (left Achilles tear) will open the season on the IL, but could be back in the early stages of the season.
Pivetta gets the nod on Opening Day against Detroit, with King and Vásquez to follow. Stammen has yet to announce whether Buehler or Márquez gets the ball in Monday's series opener against the Giants.
Relievers (8): Mason Miller, Adrian Morejon, Jeremiah Estrada, David Morgan, Wandy Peralta, Kyle Hart, Bradgley Rodriguez, Ron Marinaccio
The Padres will open the season with both Jason Adam (left quad surgery) and Yuki Matsui (left groin strain) on the IL. On paper, it's still one of the best bullpens in baseball.
Miller will anchor the closer role, as he did for Team USA at the World Baseball Classic, where he punched out 10 of the 14 hitters he faced. Estrada and Morejon will serve as the primary setup men with Morgan and Peralta potentially bound to pitch in leverage spots as well.
With Adam and Matsui on the IL, that left three spots to fill. Hart was always a likely option, at least to replace Matsui, because he's a left-hander who can cover length. The final two spots went to the highly touted rookie Rodriguez, MLB Pipeline's No. 6 Padres prospect, and Marinaccio.
Because their 15-day IL stints can be backdated by three days, Adam and Matsui will be eligible to return on April 7.