Padres News: Latest Triple-A Call-Up Has Chance to Make Postseason Roster

Maren Angus-Coombs | Sep 26, 2024

David Richard-Imagn Images

Nick Ahmed is checking off the National League West teams one by one.

If he had a punch card, he'd only need one more before winning a free prize after the San Diego Padres selected his contract on Sunday afternoon.

“I’ve got one more team to knock off the list,” Ahmed said with a laugh on Sunday morning as he settled into the home clubhouse at Petco Park. “It’s been a wild last 12 months, but for some reason this division’s been home.”

NL West legendary traveling man:
Shortstop Nick Ahmed will be playing for his 4th NL West team in a year as he joins the San Diego Padres.

— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) September 22, 2024

Ahmed spent his first 10 years in the majors with the Arizona Diamondbacks before starting this season with the New York Yankees. After being released, he joined the Los Angeles Dodgers in July but played only 17 games before becoming a free agent. He later signed a minor-league contract with the San Diego Padres, making him eligible for the postseason.

The rest of the season will only get wilder for Ahmed because joining the Padres on Aug. 31 ensured his postseason eligibility. With Ha-Seong Kim needing more time than expected to recover from a shoulder injury, and the Padres still figuring out how to configure their bench for October, Ahmed has more than an outside shot of sneaking into a postseason 26-man roster spot.

To accommodate him, right-hander Jhony Brito was called up and moved to the 60-day injured list due to a right elbow sprain, while infielder Mason McCoy was placed on the 10-day injured list, retroactive to Sept. 19, with back inflammation.

Ahmed, a two-time Gold Glove winner, is expected to fill a similar role to McCoy, serving as a late-inning defensive substitute and occasional starter. McCoy initially joined the team from Triple-A El Paso to temporarily cover shortstop, but the Padres shifted Xander Bogaerts back to his original position to give Donovan Solano more opportunities in the lineup while Ha-Seong Kim is still on the injured list.

Ahmed posted a .232/.271/.300 slash line with two home runs and two steals across 221 plate appearances for the Giants and Dodgers. Since his last game on Aug. 18 in St. Louis, he has been in Peoria, Ariz., for the past three weeks, working on live at-bats and maintaining his defensive skills.

“It’s great,” Ahmed said. “Anytime you join a team that’s winning and in contention and got a chance to make the playoffs and do some damage in October, is a lot of fun. So, you know, had some other opportunities to go to different teams after the Dodgers let me go and just was obviously trying to target a team that had a chance to win and play in the playoffs.”

He added: “Great team. Really, really deep offensively. Pitching staff has obviously been upgraded a ton, but just a super-talented team. Love the way they play, a lot of energy, and just excited to be here and be part of it.”

Among the five NL West teams, only the Colorado Rockies haven't employed Ahmed (yet).