Gavin Sheets did the thing the San Diego Padres needed him to do in 2025: he showed up as a real, useful big-league bat. Career highs across the board (19 homers, 71 RBIs, 124 hits, 28 doubles, 145 games) don’t happen by accident. For long stretches, Sheets looked like one of those classic A.J. Preller value finds: a lefty who can punish right-handed pitching and give the lineup thump without costing you a fortune. It matters.
But so does the other part: the Padres can’t treat the DH spot like it’s set in stone, even for a guy coming off his best year.