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San Diego Padres opening day final roster: Meet all 26 players

SAN DIEGO – The roster is set and now the fun part begins.

The San Diego Padres on Thursday released manager Jayce Tingler’s opening day roster that will take the field at Petco Park this week for opening day. It features 14 pitchers, two catchers, five infielders, three outfielders and two utility players who likely will play multiple positions for the team as they look to unseat the Los Angeles Dodgers for the NL West crown and return to the playoffs.

Four-time All-Star Yu Darvish will be on the bump Thursday when the Padres open the season against the Diamondbacks followed Friday by left-handed former AL Cy Young winner Blake Snell. Both came to San Diego via trades this winter in a much talked-about offseason.

Other notable moves included a trade for Grossmont High alum Joe Musgrove, the signing of South Korean baseball prospect Ha-Seong Kim and a massive 14-year, $340 million contract extension for shortstop Fernando Tatís Jr. (Tatis also landed on the cover of this year’s MLB: The Show video game, the first Padre to grace a cover since Tony Gwynn.)

This year’s opening day roster includes:

Pitchers: Right-handers Yu Darvish, Joe Musgrove, Chris Paddack, Emilio Pagán, Mark Melancon, Keone Kela, Craig Stammen, Nabil Crismatt and Taylor Williams and left-handers Blake Snell, Adrian Morejon, Drew Pomeranz, Tim Hill and Ryan Weathers;

Catchers: Victor Caratini and Luis Campusano;

Infielders: Eric Hosmer, Jake Cronenworth, Ha-Seong Kim, Fernando Tatis Jr. and Manny Machado;

Outfielders: Wil Myers, Tommy Pham and Jurickson Profar; and

Utility: Jorge Mateo and Tucupita Marcano.

Not included on the opening day roster are catcher Austin Nola, outfielder Trent Grisham and starter Dinelson Lamet, all sidelined with injuries to start the year, according to the team.

Right-hander Mike Clevinger, who joined the team last fall in a trade with the Cleveland Indians, also is expected to miss the entirety of the 2021 season as he recovers from Tommy John surgery. The team re-signed Clevinger to a two-year, $11.5 million deal in November.

It was far from a quiet offseason at the team’s home ballpark, too. The venue played host to a first-of-its-kind COVID-19 vaccination super site operated by UC San Diego Health, which Gov. Gavin Newsom noted “inspired others all throughout the state of California.”

In total, the Petco Park site provided San Diegans more than 225,000 Moderna vaccines before closing earlier this month to clear the way for the start of the Padres’ season.