Padres Send Brandon Dixon, Julio Teheran and Tim Lopes to Minor League Camp

Mar 27, 2023 - 4:25 AM

After we learned Joe Musgrove was going to start the season on the IL, it seemed like Julio Teheran had a really good chance of making the team but that ends up not being the case. He, along with seven other Padres were notified today that they weren’t going to make the Opening Day roster.

Brandon Dixon, who was fighting for a bench spot, has been sent down to Triple-A El Paso. Drew Carlton, Moises Lugo, Tim Lopes, Alfonso Rivas and Pedro Severino were re-assigned to minor league camp.

It didn’t even look like Lopes had a shot to make the roster when camp opened but he opened some eyes, hitting .360 in 50 at-bats. He and Dixon should get every day playing time in Triple-A with Rougned Odor likely making the roster now, as he’s the only other bench infield option remaining in camp beyond Matt Carpenter, who’s viewed mostly as a platoon DH with Nelson Cruz.

Odor agreed to a minor league deal at the beginning of the month before many Padres infielders were about to head to different cities to participate in the World Baseball Classic. The 29-year-old is hitting .333 in 36 at-bats and has recently started taking reps in the outfield to increase his versatility.

Teheran has the option to opt-out of his deal with San Diego if another big league offer comes his way but it looks like he’ll be heading to El Paso. Brent Honeywell and Jay Groome look like guarantees to make the roster to fill in for Musgrove and Robert Suarez starting the year on the IL. One of them should be starting the fifth game of the season with the other being a long man in the bullpen alongside Nabil Crismatt.

Jose Lopez, who was acquired by the Padres in the Rule 5 Draft, was sent back to the Tampa Bay Rays after posting a 9.00 ERA this spring.

Are you surprised by any of these moves? Give your thoughts in the comments!