The Padres Minor Leaguer rooming with two Classic stars

This story was excerpted from AJ Cassavell’s Padres Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

PEORIA, Ariz -- Clay Dungan doesn’t have any big plans for Team USA’s pool play finale against Italy on Tuesday night.

“Probably just kick back on the couch and watch,” Dungan said.

He’ll have the house to himself, after all. His two roommates will be out of town -- squaring off against each other in Houston on one of baseball’s biggest stages.

Dungan, a 29-year-old Padres Minor Leaguer, was selected by the Kansas City Royals in the same 2019 Draft as fellow infielders Bobby Witt Jr. and Vinnie Pasquantino. The three have maintained a close friendship, even after Dungan was selected by the Padres in the Triple-A phase of the 2023 Rule 5 Draft. They're all roommates this spring.

Now, with Witt and Pasquantino starring for Team USA and Team Italy, respectively, at this month’s World Baseball Classic, Dungan and his wife have the house to themselves.

“Hopefully for a while,” Dungan laughed.

After Witt was selected at No. 2 overall in the 2019 Draft, the star shortstop purchased a house in Surprise, Ariz., near the Royals’ complex. Dungan, a ninth-round selection out of Indiana State, had been Witt’s roommate early in their time together in the Minor Leagues. He was invited to share Witt’s house during Spring Training.

That was 2021, and the two have been spring roommates ever since, even after Dungan joined the Padres prior to the ‘24 season. In baseball -- where lives can be uprooted without a moment’s notice -- players aren’t often afforded the chance to spend time with friends from previous organizations. But Dungan, Witt and Pasquantino have made it happen.

“It's awesome,” Dungan said. “We obviously don't get to play together anymore. So it's nice to at least be together for a couple months, and we’ll keep in touch throughout the year.”

Per Dungan, it’s a big enough house with four bedrooms and plenty of space. The roommate dynamics are what you’d probably expect from a bunch of dudes in their 20s after they get home from work.

“We don’t talk baseball much,” Dungan said. “We’re just good friends. We golf or play video games.”

Sports video games usually -- mostly NBA and NHL. Pasquantino typically destroys Dungan and Witt, so to balance it out, those two are allowed to use All-Star teams. Witt also has a chipping and putting green in his backyard, and the trio spends plenty of time there.

Dinner often falls to Dungan, whose specialties are steak, salmon and pork chops. He prefers using the grill.

“I usually cook,” Dungan said. “Bobby will do the air fryer -- and call it cooking.”

Each morning, Witt and Pasquantino make the short trip to Surprise Stadium and Dungan makes the slightly longer trek down Bell Road to the Peoria Sports Complex.

Dungan has been in big league camp the past two seasons. Last week, he was reassigned to the Minors and is likely to open the season with Triple-A El Paso.

Dungan is not on the Padres’ 40-man roster. He’s now spent seven seasons toiling in the Minors looking for a breakthrough. He’s agonizingly close at this point. It’s easy to envision his skill set helping a big league bench.

“I know what he’s about, I know what he stands for -- the work ethic, the being a great teammate,” said new manager Craig Stammen. “He checks all those boxes. It’s now: Can he buy into a being player who’s not going to be a 3-hole hitter in the big leagues? Can he be a player that does all the little things? … That’s what’s eventually going to get him to the big leagues.”

Stammen was a newly hired advisor in the organization at the 2023 Winter Meetings when the Padres selected Dungan. As it would happen, Dungan was at those Winter Meetings with his wife, who works as an agent. Moments after he was selected, Dungan met Stammen, general manager A.J. Preller and farm director Ryley Westman for the first time.

Dungan had played second base next to Witt in the Royals’ system, then shortstop after Witt reached the big leagues. The Padres, seeing a versatile role as Dungan’s clearest path to the Majors, added outfield to his duties. He’s thrived with it. Last season, Dungan started games at all three outfield spots, plus second, third and short.

“It can only help,” Dungan said. “I can play anywhere, and I can do what I can to help the team defensively and run a little bit.”

A left-handed hitter, Dungan posted solid numbers with El Paso last season -- a .273/.368/.448 slash line with 30 stolen bases. Most likely, it would take an injury -- or injuries -- for Dungan to get his shot in San Diego. But he has a path. So long as he’s a strong and versatile defender, a threat on the basepaths and a tough at-bat at the plate.

Hey, the Padres head to Kansas City for a series July 17-19. Wouldn’t that be quite a reunion?