Since there are so many changes to the Padres roster from last year to now it seems appropriate to address the issue of who will be on the bench for the team this year. Had it not been for the depth of the 2010 Padres bench they would not have gotten as far as they did during the season. Since the type of team that the front office has to build to play in Petco Park requires athleticism, speed, good defense and base running skills, it is doubly important to have a strong bench. You can’t get by with slow, elderly boppers on the bench for pinch-hitting duty.

These guys have to be able to play defense and not clog up the bases too much. Looking back on 2010 it seems obvious the team got away from the speed and base running approach that was so successful in the first half of the season. That led to a more traditional base-to-base type of baseball and less success overall. Some of that was due to injury but some of it was due to lack of production from the speedier guys on the team (Gwynn and Venable) and the need to acquire other (read: slower, older) players to play key positions.

We don’t really have any indication from the team at this point who will be the bench players for this season but looking at who is on the 40 man roster and who has been invited to spring training gives us a group to work from.

The lack of a reliable 3B to spell Chase Headley was a glaring shortcoming last season and I don’t think it will be realistic to think that Brad Hawpe will play as many games at 1B as Adrian Gonzalez has over the last few seasons. Shortstop Jason Bartlett will also need a backup that isn’t named Everth Cabrera as the plan is to have Cabrera play regular shortstop at the AAA level.

With that as a starting point, let’s look at who Jed Hoyer has added this offseason to fill those needs:

Kevin Frandsen-  6-0, 185lb,  R/R, 28 yr old, ’06-’09 with SF Giants, ’10 with LA Angels. Frandsen has seen limited duty for most of the time he has been in the major leagues and has spent quite a bit of the time in the minors during that time. He has always been a backup playing SS, 2B, 3B, 1B and the corner OF spots with a combined .243/.302/.335 line. He has only had 626 PA at the major league level. He is an average or less defender, has average speed and is not on the 40 man roster.

Gregorio Petit: 5-10, 195 lb, R/R,  26 yr old, ’08-’09 with the Oakland A’s in very limited duty. Began his professional career in ’03 rookie league and has spent ’07-’09 with Oakland AAA team then traded to Texas and played ’10 with the Rangers AAA team. His .257/.313/.343 line is for those 4 seasons. He has played SS, 2B, 3B at the AAA level. He has a total of 56 major league plate appearances and his minor league numbers indicate his most amount of games played are at SS but he has a high error rate at that position. He is also not on the 40-man roster.

Jeudy Valdez- 5-11, 155lb, R/R,  21 yr old. Has not advanced above the low A level in the Padres system and is not considered a viable option for the major league team. He was placed on the 40 man to avoid the Rule V draft and is a legitimate prospect for the future at 2B or as a 2B/SS utility man.

Andy Parrino- 6-0, 185 lb, S/R, 25 yr old. Played at the AA level in ’10 and had a terrific showing in the Arizona Fall League. He has a .253/.363/.373 line over 4 minor league seasons while playing at least one game at all positions except catcher. He is primarily an infielder with SS and 2B his primary positions. He is a doubles hitter and has good base running skills. Andy earned a spring training invite and is not on the 40 man roster.

Those are the available options to back up Bartlett at shortstop with Frandsen being the most likely candidate. Unless there are players added before the end of spring training this will be a fall off from Jerry Hairston Jr of last season.

Jorge Cantu- 6-3, 210 lb, R/R, 29 yr old, 7 seasons of major league experience with the last 3 being Florida Marlins ’08-’09 and ’10 split between the Marlins and Texas Rangers although he only appeared in 30 games for the Rangers. In ’08 Cantu played in 155 games, hit 29 HR with 95 RBI and had a .277/.327/.481 line. There was a fall off in both the ’09 and ’10 seasons and he played in 127 games last season between the 2 teams. For the Marlins he played primarily 1B and 3B while DHing during interleague. He also has some experience playing 2B but very little since ’06. His best defensive position is 1B but he possesses a below average arm. It is likely Cantu has a bench position wrapped up and is on the 40-man roster.

Jarrett Hoffpauir-  5-9, 190 lb, R/R, 27 yr old. Played in the St Louis Cardinals organization from ’04-’09 with a brief appearance with the Cards in ’09 (8 games). Selected off waivers in November of ’09 by the Blue Jays, playing 13 games at the major league level. Selected by the Padres in October off the waiver wire, Jarrett plays 3B, 2B and has played SS in the minor leagues. His natural position is 2B. He has played mostly at the AAA level since ’07 with a .285/.367/.428 line in his 7 minor league seasons. In his 107 and 108 games during the last 2 minor league seasons he has 14 and 16 HR respectively with 53 and 73 RBI. His primary position is 2B but is not a strong defensive player with 11,14 and 18 errors in 103-106 games played the last 3 seasons. He is on the 40-man roster.

Eric Patterson- 6-0, 170 lb, L/R, 27 yr old, Played in 7 games for the Cubs in ’07, 43 games in ’08 for the Cubs and the A’s, 39 games for the A’s in ’09 and 90 games between Oakland and Boston in ’10 as a 2B and OF. His combined ’10 total was a .214/.272/.406 line with good speed, 11 SB, 8 doubles, 5 triples 6 HR and 16 RBI in 187 AB. He is on the 40 man roster.

Oscar Salazar- 6-0, 195 lb, R/R, 32 yr old. Acquired by the Padres in July of ’09, Oscar has played in 140 games with a .251/.327/.393 line with 12 doubles, 2 triples, 6 HR and 38 RBI. He plays 1B, 2B, 3B and the corner OF spots and has served as the DH in a pinch. He is an effective pinch hitter and has a knack for getting the bat on the ball. He is on the 40-man roster.

Jesus Guzman- 6-1, 215 lb, R/R, Played in 12 games for the SF Giants in ’09, otherwise has played in the Seattle and Oakland minor league systems ’04-‘08 before joining the Giants organization in ’09,  ’08-’10 have been at the AAA level. For his AAA career he has played 1B, 3B and the corner OF spots while hitting .316/.372/.500 over 255 games and 1057 plate appearances.  He has 56 2B, 6 3B, 36 HR and 152 RBI over that period. His defensive numbers indicate an average defender during his AAA career. He was signed as a free agent and is a non-roster invitee to spring training.

Those would be the players to choose from for backing up the other infield positions and also provide some extra outfield help. Cantu would appear to have a position but spring training could bring some surprises.

Competition for the outfield bench spots appears to be between Chris Denorfia, Aaron Cunningham, Luis Durango and a long shot for Mike Baxter or Cedric Hunter. Hunter appears destined for AAA while Baxter had a late season call up with the Padres last year. Cunningham showed well last season in his time with the Padres but Chris Denorfia may have the inside track if the Padres want Aaron to get regular playing time. I am guessing the 5^th outfielder will be one of the other bench candidates who can also play the outfield. A good guess would be Eric Patterson or Oscar Salazar but Guzman has appealing power numbers and seems to be able to hit for average as well so it should be an interesting competition during the spring.

The backup catcher for Nick Hundley will be between Gregg Zaun and Rob Johnson. Johnson was the starting catcher for the Seattle Mariners at the beginning of last season but played himself out of the position with a .191/.293/.281 line over 61 games. He has yet to show that he can hit at the major league level and had 9 passed balls each of the last 2 seasons with limited action.

Gregg Zaun is 39 years old with 16 seasons of major league experience, playing in 28 games last year for Milwaukee and hitting .265/.350/.392 in 102 AB with 2 HR and 14 RBI. He has served as a backup or platoon catcher for most of his career. Zaun is not on the 40-man roster.

The other catcher on the 40- man is Luis Martinez, who played all of last season for AA San Antonio. Luis has the best defensive skills of any catcher in the system and his offense is beginning to catch up. He will start the season in AAA but will be available should the need arise. His .282/.368/.349 line last season impressed many insiders and he is one to watch closely.

The other non-roster invitees coming to spring camp are there to get their first taste of Padre major league experience ( Jason Hagerty, James Darnell, Logan Forsythe, Anthony Rizzo) or to provide depth to the roster (catchers Kyle Phillips and Guillermo Quiroz). I am personally intrigued by Quiroz, who has shown that he can hit at the AAA level but has never had more than a one game stint with a major league team (Jays in ’04 and ’05, Mariners in ’06, Rangers in ’07, Orioles in ’08, Mariners in ’09) while bouncing around in the minor leagues. He appears to rate out as a AAAA player.

If I had to guess at this point I would say that the 25 man roster will consist of 12 pitchers, 2 catchers, the regular starting seven (Hawpe, Hudson, Bartlett, Headley, Venable, Maybin, Ludwick) and 4 bench players. Of the options listed here there are many possible combinations to make up those 4 spots. Denorfia and Cantu seem to be probable locks with the last 2 spots up for grabs. My guess is Frandsen and Patterson but Salazar may earn his spot back with a strong spring. It should be fun to follow the competition and see how it all comes out.

Update 2/1/11- The Padres waived Oscar Salazar today to clear space on the 40-man roster. As mentioned above, Salazar was a member of the group of utility players who would be contending for bench spots. It seems the Padres are choosing to go with Cantu as their experienced bench help and go younger with their other options. Unless, of course, Jed Hoyer has more surprises up his sleeve. Stay tuned for more updates as the roster changes.