SAN DIEGO -- Nearly three weeks ago, the Padres traded six prospects -- including two of their top eight -- to acquire Ryan O'Hearn and Ramón Laureano at the Trade Deadline. Laureano has been playing every day (and is mashing). O’Hearn, meanwhile, appears to be cast in a part-time role, sitting against left-handed pitching.
Monday night’s series opener against the Giants -- a 4-3 Padres loss at Petco Park -- marked the fifth time San Diego has faced a lefty starter since trading for O’Hearn. He has been on the bench all five times.
The lefty slugger still found a way to make a major impact, launching a pinch-hit two-run home run -- against lefty starter Robbie Ray, no less. That only further raised the question of whether O’Hearn should be starting every day.
“That’s above my pay grade, out of my control,” O’Hearn said. “I’m here to help out wherever I’m needed. I consider myself a team guy, for sure. I want to win with this team. Whatever they need me to do, that’s what I’m going to do.”
The lineup, as manager Mike Shildt is often quick to note, is a day-by-day proposition.
“Ryan’s done a nice job, and he is a great option off the bench,” Shildt said before the game. “It’s always going to be flexible. It’s going to be relative to the total picture of who we have on the club that day. Like every day, it’s always a question of who’s going to give us the best opportunity.”
There are two ways to view the O’Hearn question -- through the lens of the specific game he isn’t starting and through the lens of the bigger picture, where a trend has clearly emerged.
We’ll start with the former, which is easier to tackle. With Jackson Merrill battling a balky left ankle, O’Hearn was a candidate to start in left field, with Laureano sliding to center. Shildt instead opted for Bryce Johnson in center, keeping Laureano in left.
His justification? Nestor Cortes was on the mound. He’s prone to contact, and that contact is generally in the air. An outfield with Johnson in center and Laureano in left is the Padres’ best defensive outfield (with Merrill out, at least).
That left the DH spot as another option -- but on Monday, the Padres used Jose Iglesias at third base, with Manny Machado at DH. They’ve been looking for the opportunity to get Machado a day off his feet, and they chose Monday.
In a vacuum, those are sensible decisions. But the decisions aren’t made in a vacuum. By now, O’Hearn’s place on the bench against lefties is a trend, not a one-time thing. Which is what raised the question in the first place.
When Shildt was asked if O’Hearn could see more playing time against lefties -- or if he was merely viewed as a bench bat -- he flipped the question, asking, “Where would you have started him?”
As the manager, Shildt is the only one who can truly answer that question -- and after the game, he left open the possibility O’Hearn could earn starts against lefties. There are certainly options.
Against left-handed pitching, Laureano, Machado, Fernando Tatis Jr., Xander Bogaerts and Merrill (when healthy) are auto-starts. O’Hearn isn’t playing catcher, either. That leaves three spots that might belong to O’Hearn. Here’s the OPS against lefties (entering Monday), for the Padres’ options:
- O’Hearn: .812
- Iglesias: .741
- Johnson: .741
- Jake Cronenworth: .715
- Luis Arraez: .636
Those numbers don’t paint a pretty picture for Arraez, who has struggled mightily against left-handed pitching this season. The reality is, rightly or wrongly, the Padres value Arraez’s skill set and view him as an everyday player. Perhaps he would be dropped in the order against left-handed pitching. It’s unlikely he’d give way in the lineup.
But even if O’Hearn won’t start over Arraez, his numbers say he’s been better against lefties than Iglesias and Cronenworth, too. Instead, O’Hearn has spent the past three weeks as a platoon partner with Iglesias.
When Iglesias is playing the field -- giving another infielder a DH day -- that’s reasonable enough. But if the Padres are going to platoon with Iglesias (who hits lefties well), by the numbers, there’s a stronger argument the platoon should be Iglesias/Cronenworth or Iglesias/Arraez. Shildt clearly doesn’t view it that way.
One other point worth monitoring: Last year, amid calls for lineup changes, Shildt stuck with his lineup throughout the Dog Days, wanting daily stability. Then, as the calendar ticked to September, he raised Merrill in the lineup and dropped a slumping Cronenworth. Perhaps, he’d do something similar this year as October approaches.
That remains to be seen. But if indeed Shildt is waiting to make changes to the starting lineup, it comes with a daily cost.