GLENDALE, Ariz. -- The Padres are not done adding to their offense. A cursory glance at their roster makes that clear enough, and team sources have indicated that general manager A.J. Preller remains active.

But speaking Tuesday from Cactus League Media Day in Glendale, Ariz., Preller sought to make this much clear: He’s bullish on his current roster, and he intends to give his prospects a path to big league jobs this spring.

If that means those forthcoming additions are fewer or smaller in scope than the baseball world anticipates... so be it.

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"We feel like we have some guys that are good players, and we like the open competition," Preller said. "I think guys are coming into camp with a chance to break with our club. We're looking forward to seeing how that plays out."

The Padres have a fine line to walk. They have holes on their roster and prospects in sight of the big leagues. They would prefer to keep opportunity available to those prospects. But they also need those prospects to be ready if they’re called up.

In other words, it's possible Jackson Merrill, Jakob Marsee and Graham Pauley are ready for that jump. But the Padres want to make them earn it.

To find that balance, Preller needs to add to his current offensive mix. The Padres have openings in left field, center fielder, at DH and on the bench. Based on Preller’s pronouncements, some of those vacancies will be filled internally.

But clearly not all of them. So how many additions is Preller still looking to make?

"I don't think it's about getting to a number," Preller said. "We have some guys in camp that we really like. We're going to see how they play out and how they fill out the team. Then we’ll keep looking to see what else is out there.”

Preller touted his offensive core as a solid enough foundation to mitigate concerns on the edges. If Fernando Tatis Jr., Manny Machado and Xander Bogaerts are performing at All-Star levels, it’s less imperative that the Padres get production from the 7-9 spots in their lineup.

Still, the Padres need to fill out that lineup somehow. There’s a strong chance those 7-9 hitters come Opening Day aren’t on the 40-man roster yet.

As things stand, the Padres have only seven roster locks among their position players -- Tatis, Bogaerts, Machado, Ha-Seong Kim, Jake Cronenworth, Luis Campusano and backup catcher Kyle Higashioka. Jurickson Profar, who is sorting through visa issues before he can take his physical and formally sign his contract, would make eight.

That leaves wide-open competition for at least five position-player spots -- and potentially as many as three starting jobs. Manager Mike Shildt called it “the most open camp” since he joined the organization prior to the 2022 season.

“It’s opportunity for some younger players and for some guys to get some chances,” Preller said.

That said, further moves are almost certainly coming. And probably soon. The Padres are in a bit of a time crunch. Their regular season begins eight days before the rest of the Majors, with a pair of games against the Dodgers in Seoul. The Padres fly to Korea on March 13, meaning they’ll need to have a relatively set roster two weeks before the rest of the Majors.

“It’ll definitely impact it, the timeline of speeding things up,” Preller said. “At this point it’s just been: Let’s prepare for the season. Let’s get the group in play.

“And let’s add to the roster if we can, and give Mike and his group as many options as possible.”

Worth noting
• Merrill’s Cactus League debut will come in the outfield, Shildt said on Tuesday. The team’s No. 2 prospect in the MLB Pipeline rankings, Merrill has spent nearly his entire career at shortstop. But without much opportunity available in the infield, Merrill is competing for one of the two current outfield vacancies. Still, Shildt made it clear that Merrill would continue to get reps at short this spring.

“Listen, we’ve got open competition [in the outfield],” Shildt said. “We also want to make sure we keep a guy that’s got a skill set to play in the infield that’s very high and proven, to make sure he doesn’t lose it. So it’s a balancing act.”

• Right-hander Yuki Matsui is slated to make his Cactus League debut in the opener Thursday against the Dodgers, Shildt announced. It’ll be Matsui’s first test against big league hitters, after he spent the past decade pitching for the Rakuten Golden Eagles in Japan, where he became one of NPB’s top closers.