For months, the conversation around the San Diego Padres has carried an unspoken assumption.
If money needs to come off the books — and all signs suggest it might — someone has to go. Manny Machado and Xander Bogaerts are too expensive and too entrenched. Fernando Tatis Jr. and Jackson Merrill are too young, too central, too symbolic of the future.
Which leaves Jake Cronenworth.
At least, that’s what logic says on the surface.
Cronenworth is 32. He’s not the flashiest name. His breakout season came years ago. His power numbers have dipped. And with five years remaining at a manageable $11.4 million AAV, he fits the profile of a player front offices often move when tightening belts.
Yet as spring training approaches, something hasn’t happened.
A.J. Preller hasn’t moved him. Not quietly. Not aggressively. Not at all.
In fact, despite rumors surrounding a potential franchise sale and financial uncertainty tied to the Seidler family, the Padres have largely stood still.
Aside from potential maneuvering around Yu Darvish, no major salary has been shed. Instead, Preller added Michael King and Sung-mun Song — depth pieces, not replacements.
That tells a story.
Cronenworth isn’t just staying because he’s affordable. He’s staying because the Padres don’t believe they can replace what he actually provides.
Statistically, his 2025 season didn’t scream resurgence. But it whispered something more important. His wRC+ returned to 117, matching his 2021 peak, and he walked more than at any other point in his career. The power drop continued, yes — but what replaced it was patience, stability, and a refined approach that ages better than raw pop.
On a roster growing older and thinner at the margins, those traits matter.
Cronenworth’s value becomes clearer when you look beyond the box score. He primarily played second base last season, but also logged double-digit games at shortstop and first base, posting a respectable zero Outs Above Average across positions. That kind of defensive elasticity is a luxury for deep teams — and a necessity for shallow ones.
The Padres’ bench remains unsettled. Sung-mun Song’s versatility is promising, but unproven in a full-time role. Gavin Sheets offers upside, but not certainty.
Cronenworth is the connective tissue that allows those gambles to exist without collapsing the structure.
This is why the idea of “selling high” doesn’t land the way it usually does.
Yes, there’s logic in moving a 32-year-old after a strong season. But logic changes when a roster lacks redundancy. Cronenworth may not raise the ceiling dramatically — he’s not a savior — but he raises the floor in ways that don’t show up in trade value charts.
And floors matter when everything else feels unstable.
The possibility remains that things could shift. If Preller lands a marquee infielder. If ownership pressures the front office to slash payroll before Opening Day. If spring training produces unexpected breakouts that suddenly make Cronenworth feel redundant.
But right now, none of that has happened.
Instead, the Padres are behaving as if they already made this decision long ago. Cronenworth isn’t the odd man out. He’s the safety net. The piece that allows everything else to wobble without falling apart.
In a winter filled with speculation about what San Diego might lose, the clearest signal so far is about what they refuse to give up.
Jake Cronenworth may not dominate headlines.
But removing him would create a hole the Padres quietly know they can’t afford.
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