Padres set travel roster for Seoul Series trip

PEORIA, Ariz. -- The Dylan Cease trade threw a late wrench into the Padres’ roster planning for Korea. But on Friday morning, they formally announced the 31-player traveling squad for the Seoul Series.

Thirty of those players were on the team charter that departed Phoenix on Wednesday night. Cease, meanwhile, will join the club in Korea after he checked in at the Padres spring facility on Thursday, then took a flight to Los Angeles, with an eventual connection for Seoul -- where the Padres will open their 2024 regular season against the Dodgers on March 20-21.

• Dodgers set Seoul Series roster

Here’s the travel roster in full:

Catchers (3): Luis Campusano, Kyle Higashioka, Brett Sullivan

Infielders (7): Jake Cronenworth, Xander Bogaerts, Ha-Seong Kim, Manny Machado, Tyler Wade, Eguy Rosario, Graham Pauley

Outfielders (4): Fernando Tatis Jr., Jackson Merrill, Jurickson Profar, José Azocar

Starters (8): Yu Darvish, Joe Musgrove, Cease, Michael King, Jhony Brito, Matt Waldron, Randy Vásquez

Relievers (9): Robert Suarez, Yuki Matsui, Wandy Peralta, Tom Cosgrove, Enyel De Los Santos, Jeremiah Estrada, Woo-Suk Go, Stephen Kolek, Adrian Morejon

Gameday rosters will remain 26 players, so the Padres must make five further cuts before they face Los Angeles. But three of those players will remain part of the big league roster and wouldn’t need to be optioned.

Here are a few takeaways from Friday’s announcement:

1. Pauley, Rosario and Wade in the mix at third base

The most notable inclusion on the travelling roster was Pauley, the team’s No. 8 prospect, who posted a .314/.400/.486 slash line in 16 spring games.

But in the race for the starting job, Friday’s announcement brought little clarity. With Machado slated to start at DH, Wade, Pauley and Rosario were the three primary candidates to take his place. All three traveled to Korea, and all three are likely to make the 26-man gameday roster as well.

Offensively, the Padres’ only cuts were outfielder Óscar Mercado and infielder Brad Miller. They’ll take 14 position players to Seoul, and they might include all 14 on their gameday roster. If they go with 13, Sullivan, their No. 3 catcher, is probably the odd-man out.

2. The rotation race continues

King, San Diego’s No. 4 starter, has already been named as an option out of the bullpen against the Dodgers. Cease, meanwhile, is not expected to pitch against L.A., given that he’s been building up on a different schedule from the rest of the team. You can pencil him into the No. 3 spot.

That leaves one place available for Brito, Waldron, Vásquez and Avila, and that final place probably won’t be decided until after the Seoul Series. The Padres still have two rounds of exhibitions -- two games in Seoul against Team Korea and the LG Twins, then two more games against the Mariners, March 25-26 at Petco Park.

Presumably those four games will be used to settle the Padres’ rotation race. It also stands to reason that the team’s two starters for the exhibitions in Korea would be left off their gameday roster, given they likely wouldn’t be available.

3. A deep bullpen

With seven days between their second game in Korea and their first regular-season game stateside, the Padres will essentially be carrying a two-man rotation. That means they’ll carry a 10- or 11-man bullpen.

As such, don’t expect Musgrove and Darvish to work deep into those games -- especially considering the spot on the calendar.

“We’ve got to keep in mind that we’re still in the middle of Spring Training,” said Musgrove, who pitched 4 1/3 innings of one-run ball on Wednesday. “As much as we’d love to go out there and throw seven-plus, throw our own full game, it’s more important that we stay healthy.”

The Padres have the arms for it. Although, if they’re carrying 17 pitchers, they’ll need to trim at least four from that group before Opening Day.

Perhaps the most notable cut from Friday’s announcement: Luis Patiño, who was out of options, was not among the travelling party, meaning he’s expected to be designated for assignment.