Miguel

Andujar

Miguel Andujar also hit his first homer today and still has 330 points of OPS on Castellanos (.830 to .493), so we’re not sure this is going to help much with playing time. Castellanos has started three of the Padres’ last 10 games, compared to seven for Andujar and five for Ty France. It still wouldn’t be much of a surprise if Castellanos is off the San Diego roster by Memorial Day.

Machado was removed from Monday’s game with a calf injury and sat out on Tuesday, but he’ll be right back out there on Wednesday. Miguel Andujar will play third again, while Nick Castellanos will start in left field and bat eighth, with Ramon Laureano getting a day off.

Andújar is now slashing .310/.375/.448 to start the season. He’s taking a more pull-centric approach this season and has changed his swing path a bit. The results have slowly started to come, as Andújar has gone 7-for-17 in his last five games. He plays most days in San Diego and has multi-position eligibility, so he’s a worthwhile add in deeper fantasy leagues.

It’s just a routine day off for Machado, who doesn’t get many of those. Miguel Andujar will start at third base with Nick Castellanos in the lineup at designated hitter.

Andújar had the day off on Wednesday and has been alternating games a bit with Nick Castellanos to start the season. Andújar has gone 2-for-12 to start the season, which is exactly the same as Castellanos. For now, nobody is running away with the job.

Castellanos is in the starting lineup for the first time as a member of the Padres. The 34-year-old vet will get the nod over Miguel Andujar, who will head to the bench against Jack Flaherty and the Detroit bullpen.

The Padres went with lefty Gavin Sheets at first base and Miguel Andujar at DH against Tarik Skubal on Thursday. Tonight, they’re switching to Ty France at first base and sticking with Andujar against Framber Valdez. It’s definitely not good looking for Castellanos, who flew out in his lone at-bat off the bench Thursday. The Padres have no financial obligation to him beyond paying him the MLB minimum, and with all being defensively limited right-handers, it just wouldn’t make much sense to keep all three of Andujar, Castellanos and France around for the long haul.

It’s not a complete surprise, but it is confirmation that Andujar, not Castellanos, will begin the season as the primary designated hitter. Andujar hit just .220/.305/.420 in spring, but he did have three home runs and a manageable strikeout rate. He’s a career .282 hitter in 467 MLB games and could have some deep league fantasy value if he’s going to hit in the middle of the Padres’ lineup. The rest of the Opening Day lineup is: Fernando Tatis RF, Xander Bogaerts SS, Manny Machado 3B, Jackson Merrill CF, Miguel Andujar DH, Gavin Sheets 1B, Ramon Laureano LF, Freddy Fermin C, and Jake Cronenworth 2B.

It figures to be a major league deal at the minimum, since the Phillies are already on the hook for the rest of the $20 million that Castellanos is owed. Castellanos seems kind of redundant with Miguel Andujar, another right-handed bat who shouldn’t do much other than DH, but the Padres can stick one in the field against lefties. Castellanos probably has the better chance of emerging as the regular DH.

There’s a mutual option for 2027. Andujar figures to be the primary DH for the Friars in 2026 and could also see time as a corner infielder and outfielder. He will probably bat low enough in the order to not be much of a threat for runs scored, but could be a useful NL-only player at the outset of the season.