Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images
Jake Cronenworth has turned a corner recently, just when the Padres need him most.
It certainly has not been a smooth season for the Padres. They have gone through spells of losing streaks and devastating injuries. Michael King, Yu Darvish, Jackson Merrill, Xander Bogaerts, Jason Adam, and Jake Cronenworth have all spent a chunk of time on the injured list.
On top of that, players like Merrill and Fernando Tatis Jr. have experienced down seasons. Ones that fall short of lofty expectations.
Yet, the Padres are squarely in a playoff spot. It’s almost time for “magic number” watch. FanGraphs gives the Padres a 99.1% chance to make the playoffs.
If the Padres are going to turn a playoff berth into a deep October run, they need some key players to step up. One player who has stepped up as others have fallen due to injury or bad performance is Cronenworth.
Bogaerts went down with a broken bone in his foot on August 29, leaving a gaping hole at shortstop. Jose Iglesias has been manning the position for the most part since the injury, sprinkled in with some Mason McCoy. Cronenworth actually played shortstop for the first time since 2022 on Sunday in Denver and even made a nice diving play.
Jake Cronenworth hasn’t played shortstop in THREE YEARS.
You’d never know it by watching this play 😳 pic.twitter.com/hCC1ENkNrm
— MLB (@MLB) September 7, 2025
While there is no word on whether Cronenworth will continue to get starts at shortstop in Bogaerts’ absence, he clearly shows competency.
Frankly, Cronenworth has been one of the most valuable players on the roster this season. The Michigan native has played three different defensive positions this year. Give him credit, as you never hear him complain or publicly declare where he prefers to play. He is the ultimate “whatever the team needs” kind of player every good team needs.
Not only is he providing defensive versatility as the roster experiences injuries, but he is also holding his own at the plate. In his last 20 games, he is batting .268 with a solid .825 OPS and 146 wRC+. His 18.7% walk rate during that timeframe is the third-best in the National League.
This is coming at a crucial time for the Padres. They just pulled themselves out of losing seven of eight games and have now won three straight. In those three wins, Cronenworth went 4-for-12 with just one strikeout and a team-high four runs scored. That includes the run that won the game in the 10th inning Monday night.
Cronenworth is already one of the all-time heroes in Padres history. No one will ever forget his two-run single in Game 4 of the 2022 NLDS that put the Padres ahead of the Dodgers on their way to winning that series and heading to the NLCS.
Three years later, he is providing a boost to a floundering team that still has their sights set on a deep run into October. If the Padres do indeed make a deep run through October, Cronenworth will likely be an active participant in that success.
Native of Escondido, CA. Lived in San Diego area for 20 years. Padres fan since childhood (mid-90s). I have been writing since 2014. I currently live near Seattle, WA and am married to a Seattle sports girl. I wore #19 on my high school baseball team for Tony Gwynn. I am a stats and sports history nerd. I attended BYU on the Idaho campus. I also love Star Wars.
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