Gavin Sheets made the most of his return to the San Diego Padres, but that doesn’t mean he’s in line for a big playoff workload.
After missing a month, Sheets got back into game action at the perfect time and looked sharp enough to lock down a spot on the Padres’ Wild Card Round roster. He went 2-for-7 over the final two games of the regular season, and one of those hits was a 423-foot homer to center field in the finale.
Still, the matchup the Padres drew against the Chicago Cubs makes his path to regular at-bats pretty narrow. Chicago is built around left-handed pitching in this series.
Matthew Boyd gets Game 1, and he held left-handed hitters to a .586 OPS this season. The Cubs also have two more lefty starters in David Peterson and Shota Imanaga, plus two important southpaw relievers in Ryan Rolison and Caleb Thielbar.
That setup points Sheets toward a mostly limited role as a pinch-hitter.
It’s not really a knock on Sheets. His profile is what it is: a platoon bat.
This season, he put up a 33 wRC+ against lefties and a 116 mark against righties, which tracks with his career splits. He did start against Boyd in last year’s NL Wild Card Round, but he went 0-for-2 against the 2025 All-Star.
That night was part of a broader offensive collapse, though Sheets did his share of the damage with the rest of the lineup.
The bigger difference now is the roster around him. Back then, the Padres didn’t have enough bench pieces to match up well with Chicago’s starters, and that lack of flexibility showed up in the offense. This time, San Diego has more options, and several of them handle lefties better than Sheets.
Samad Taylor posted a 117 wRC+ against southpaws in 2026. Austin Hays was even better at 159.
Dustin Harris checked in at 87. And with three catchers likely to make the roster, including Ethan Salas and Luis Campusano as two offense-first options, there just isn’t much reason to expect Sheets to get many chances against left-handed pitching.
He still should get at least one start in the series against one of Chicago’s right-handed starters. But after that strong late-season return, the expectation should be modest: Sheets is on the roster, but he’s not likely to be a central figure in this matchup.
In Other News...
Craig Counsell's Game 1 Pitching Choice Says Everything About This Series
Craig Counsells first move for the Wild Card Series was a familiar one, with Matthew Boyd getting the ball for Game 1 against the Padres. It is the kind of assignment Boyd has handled before, and it fits the way the Cubs have leaned on him in recent October runs, making him one of the more trusted names in a short series where every pitching decision carries extra weight.
For San Diego, the matchup sets up immediately around right-hander Michael King, while Counsell also made clear that Kevin Gausman will be part of the pitching mix before the series is over. The combination points to a fast-moving, heavily managed matchup in which both clubs are trying to shape the early innings to their advantage, and the rest of the rotation picture still leaves plenty for the Padres to sort through as the series opens. [Read more 🡒]
Padres Just Gave The Cubs A Wild-Card Twist To Worry About
The Padres set their 26-man roster for the upcoming wild-card series against the Cubs, and the group comes with a few wrinkles that could matter right away in October. San Diego is carrying 15 position players and 11 pitchers, and the mix suggests a club trying to maximize flexibility for a short series while making sure it has enough depth to navigate matchup-heavy innings.
Joe Musgrove is back on the roster after missing the 2025 season while recovering from Tommy John surgery, and the right-hander is expected to work out of the bullpen after last pitching in the 2024 wild-card round. The Padres also opted to carry three catchers, while adding Andujar and Sheets and leaving Sung-Mun Song, Wandy Peralta and Randy Vasquez off the list, a set of choices that gives the Cubs a little more to sort through as the series gets underway. [Read more 🡒]
Cubs Wild Card Roster Sends A Clear Message To The Padres
The Cubs have set their 26-man roster for the Wild Card Series against the Padres, and the list offers a pretty clear look at how Chicago wants to attack the matchup. With 12 pitchers included, the club leaned into pitching depth while also making room for late-season acquisition Gabriel Arias, a sign that the roster was shaped as much by fit as by pure production.
Just as notable are the names left out, with Caleb Thielbar absent and Justin Steele still on rehab. Manager Craig Counsells approach points to a roster built around defense and long-term health, which can tell you plenty about how the Cubs see the series ahead. For the Padres, it is a reminder that the opponent across from them is choosing balance and flexibility, even if it means leaving a few recognizable pieces behind. [Read more 🡒]