Going into the offseason, one of the Padres' biggest needs was going to be first baseman if both Luis Arraez and Ryan O'Hearn chose to depart in free agency. With that being behind us, it became one of the loudest issues on the roster behind starting pitching.
At the beginning of February, the Padres seemed doomed because they had made no moves to address the need. Jake Cronenworth is still on the roster, but the team would have preferred to plug him in at second base.
Fastforward to now, and the Padres have arguably three first basemen on their roster/in their farm system. The team signed Miguel Andujar to a one-year, $4 million contract on February 11, and that signing was followed by the change of scenery for Nick Castellanos on Valentine's Day. Finally, on February 16, Ty France was signed to a minor league deal.
Padres' first base traffic jam is creating a brutal decision they can't dodge
The bigger question now is who's going to share the platoon with Gavin Sheets at first base in 2026? Let's break down the slash lines from the three options and see how they stack up.
Miguel Andujar: .318/.352/.470, 321 at-bats, 125 OPS+
Nick Castellanos: .250/.294/.400, 547 at-bats, 88 OPS+
Ty France: .257/.320/.360, 444 at-bats, 88 OPS+
When looking at the offensive numbers, Miguel Andujar is the runaway favorite to be the first baseman on opening day. Twenty-five percent better than the league average hitter, with experience on the defensive side, is something you absolutely can't overlook.
When it comes to who is backing him up, Castellanos is the one on the major league contract and has a better track record when it comes to hitting.
France will likely start in the minors and have the opportunity to be brought up to the major league level.
Overall, there was a lot of concern at the beginning of February surrounding the first base position. But when you look at it now, Preller is going to have some difficult decisions to make on the roster because of how full the room is.