Jabari Blash named to Padres' Opening Day 25-man roster

The Blashwagon is rolling on into the regular season! Rule 5 draft pick Jabari Blash, who was selected by Oakland from Seattle for the sole purpose of being sent to San Diego as the player-to-be-named-later in the trade that sent Yonder Alonso and Marc Rzepczynski to the bay for Drew Pomeranz and Jose Torres, has been officially named to the Padres' 25-man roster. The tall, right-handed, power-hitting outfielder has already become a fan favorite during the exhibition season thanks to his towering drives, patience at the plate, and surname that was made for puns.

Blash hit four home runs and a double in 50 at-bats spread over 28 games of official Cactus League play, and added two more of each in Thursday night's exhibition game against the Padres' AAA affiliate, the El Paso Chihuahuas. He has not hit for a pretty batting average and likely never will, but that is not asked of or expected from him. As long as his power and patience remain in play at the major league level, he can get away with the kind of batting average that would see a, say, Callix Crabbe get waived.

How much playing time Blash will get during the regular season has yet to be addressed, as does what uniform number he'll be wearing. I certainly think they'll give him an upgrade over the 62 he's been wearing all spring.