The San Diego Padres are playing under .500, are on a three-game losing skid, and occupy fourth place in the NL West.
This is a team that had World Series aspirations before the season started and reached the National League Championship Series last year.
They spend fortunes on Xander Bogaerts, Nelson Cruz, and other players.
They even got Fernando Tatis Jr. back from a suspension this year.
Things, however, have gone horribly wrong.
They designated infielder Rougned Odor for assignment on Tuesday.
They also optioned catcher Austin Nola to Triple-A El Paso.
Luis Campusano, who is considered the catcher of the future in San Diego, is returning from a stint on the injured list and that leaves no room for Nola.
The #Padres have made the following roster moves: pic.twitter.com/uwdlCmd2Ol
— San Diego Padres (@Padres) July 18, 2023
Every player has to win his spot on the field, and Nola has certainly done enough to lose his.
The 33-year-old veteran has a very poor .452 OPS with one homer in 52 games this season for the Padres, and Campusano has the potential to be much, much better than that.
In 154 plate appearances, Nola is slashing .146/.260/.192 with a 37 wRC+ and -0.9 fWAR (Wins Above Replacement).
The league-average wRC+ is 100, so Nola has been 63 percent worse than the average hitter in baseball.
That’s horrible even for a catcher.
The team is trying to shake things up roster-wise, and Odor and Nola being removed from the active roster could represent an improvement.
Nola still has time to put it together and resurface at some point this season.
For now, he needs a reset badly.
NEXT: Padres Make A Surprising Rougned Odor Decision
