The San Diego Padres still have a lot to determine as Spring Training kicks off with their game against the Seattle Mariners on Feb. 20. Among the 28 non-roster invites the Friars extended, surely one of them will be the next Gavin Sheets – someone who will go on a tear this spring and surprise us all by becoming a major contributor to the big-league club. So, who are these candidates? Here’s two possibilities: one pitcher and one position player.
Marco Gonzales
While not the most inspiring offseason pickup by the Padres, there is a hopefulness surrounding Marco Gonzales’ return to the majors. In late August of 2024, Gonzales underwent surgery to repair the flexor tendon in his left elbow, which kept him out for the entire 2025 season. It’s hard to say exactly what is expected of the 33-year-old veteran as he enters his 11th season, but there are some interesting markers to watch for this spring.
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Percentage of pitches thrown for strikes
Gonzales has shown throughout his career that he has a fantastic ability to pepper the strike zone. Throughout his 10 seasons in MLB, his lowest mark was 62% of pitches thrown for strikes (S%). Since then, he has averaged 67%.
Padres fans may remember Dylan Cease as a starter known for his strikeout numbers (200 Ks in five straight seasons). But Cease’s career high in S% came in at 63%, four percent lower than Gonzales’ career average.
Now, obviously, anyone can throw it down the middle (if that was the measurement of elite pitching I could be on the mound). The important thing is being able to dance around the corners of the zone. That’s why pitchers like Cease are able to achieve high strikeout numbers where Gonzales has never reached more than 147 Ks (2019). But with the help of pitching coach Ruben Niebla, it wouldn’t be shocking to see Gonzales turn into the strikeout artist he seems poised to become in San Diego.
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Double play opportunities
That being said, an interesting stat to note with Gonzales is his ability to induce double play opportunities (GIDPO). In the seasons he made 30-plus starts (2019 and 2022), he managed to induce 134 and 105 opportunities, respectively.
To put that into perspective, Framber Valdez and Cristopher Sanchez (two of the best ground ball pitchers in the sport) have only managed to reach a max of 121 and 108 GIDPO, respectively.
Unfortunately, in 2019 Gonzales found himself on a Seattle Mariners team ranked 28th in defensive metrics, so only 22 of those 134 opportunities were actually converted into double plays. In 2022 the Mariners defense was quite good but seemed to be cursed when Gonzales took the mound, making crucial errors and again converting only 17 of 105 opportunities.
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Thankfully Gonzales won’t have that problem in San Diego. The Padres had elite defense in 2025, with a .991 fielding percentage. And with middle infielders Xander Bogaerts and Jake Cronenworth returning, it’s difficult to imagine the Friars being unable to provide defensive support for Gonzales.
Nick Solak
Who knew both of these candidates would come from the Pittsburgh Pirates? Nick Solak represents the Padres’ next-best option at first base, and (in my opinion) is ready for a Gavin Sheets-esque renaissance.
Solak decimated minor-league pitching in the Pirates’ system last year. He ended the season with a .332/.411/.492 slash line. But his time with the big-league club was far worse, going 1-for-11 at the plate. That’s obviously a small sample size, and he will get more opportunities this spring to prove himself. But there’s one particular stat of note.
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Splits versus lefties
Solak mashes against lefties. His career major league slash line versus left-handed pitchers is .255/.319/.394 compared to .182/.249/.251 against right-handers. That does include outliers like the shortened 2020 season and the meager 11 at-bats in 2025. But removing those doesn’t change the fact that, every single year, Solak has performed far better against lefties than righties.
*no plate appearances in 2023 and spent all of 2024 in the minors
Throughout his career, Solak has managed to produce incredible results against lefties (something the Padres have struggled with mightily in recent years). If he’s able to match or increase his past levels of production, perhaps Solak starts against left-handed pitchers — forming a platoon at first base with Sheets.
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Whether Gonzales and Solak can put it together remains to be seen. Neither of them have managed to so far in their combined 17 years of MLB experience. But however Spring Training shakes out for these players, the excitement is palpable with San Diego’s first game of 2026 fast approaching.