Constructing a team of players who have been both Padres and Braves

This is the fourteenth in a series of 29 combined teams, although there are liable to be a couple more expansion teams by the time I get around to finishing them all. I begin by utilizing Baseball Reference's Multi-Team Finder, then whittle the list of shared players down to a 25-man roster. In the case of the Padres and Braves there have been 80 guys who have played for both teams. As usual I focused on the players' peaks and entire careers, not just how they performed with the teams in question.

Starting lineup

(all statistics via each player's Baseball Reference page)

There are a few somewhat weak spots up the middle but Ross, Castilla, and Melvin Upton truly are the best of the few available options at their positions. Castilla spent most of his career at third base but began his career at shortstop and played there long enough to qualify here. Upton actually put up some decent numbers for Tampa Bay before it all fell apart for him in Atlanta, and could be used in a platoon with lefty Mark Kotsay whose versatilty gives him a spot as a reserve. As much as I wanted to start Ken Caminiti at third base, Graig Nettles' numbers and longevity just wouldn't permit me. The San Diego-born Nettles, who also attended high school and college in America's Finest City, edged out the 1996 NL MVP by virtue of hitting comparably for much longer as well as being a stellar defender.

Bench

There were several players who were very difficult to leave off. The durable McGriff negated the need for Wally Joyner or Derrek Lee rotting on the bench, as several other players on the roster have first base experience when the Crime Dog takes a couple innings off. I tried and tried to find a way to include the underrated Reggie Sanders but Ron Gant and his slightly less impressive offensive numbers eked him out by virtue of Gant's early-career experience as an infielder.

Starting rotation

Andy Ashby and Aaron Harang were right on the cusp but ultimately Dobson and Niekro seemed slightly more qualified. I certainly wouldn't find fault in someone preferring either of the snubs over either of the back-of-the-rotation guys I chose. Harang undoubtedly gets bonus points from many Padres fans thanks to his time at San Diego State University, much in the way Niekro's days at West Virginia's own West Liberty State College swayed me ever so slightly.

Bullpen

As much as I wanted to include Mark Grant, it just wasn't feasible. The reasoning behind carrying two lefties in the pen is that Hammond would serve as as a longman and spot starter thanks to his fairly neutral platoon splits. Davis, who was largely ineffective outside his Cy Young Award-winning season, did a better job of holding left-handed batters in check and would in turn be this team's lefty one-out guy.

That's my team. Who did I leave off who would make yours?