SAN DIEGO-- One of the most important players of the 2024 San Diego Padres will be back in left field at Petco Park on opening day.
Unfortunately for the Padres and their fans, the popular Jurickson Profar and his ever-present smile will be playing for the Atlanta Braves, after signing a three-year, $42 million dollar contract in the off-season.
Filling the shoes of Profar following a career-best season in which he slashed .280/.380/.459 with a career-best 24 home runs is certainly no small task. The Padres hope the likely platoon between 15-year veteran Jason Heyward and 28-year-old Brandon Lockridge, named to his first opening day roster in the final days of spring training, will help fill the gap.
Just minutes before the Padres worked out at Petco Park, Lockridge was asked by a Padres staff member what song he wanted for his walk-up song. Lockridge, a country-music fan, chose "Here I Go Again," by Whitesnake. Even the simple task of choosing music was thrilling enough to remind him of the opportunity that awaits him and the pageantry that comes with opening day.
"It's a really great feeling, a lot of nerves that went into basically all of spring training," said Lockridge. "I'm just super thankful to be here with all of the guys, it means so much and I just hope to go out there and help the team win in any way that I can."
Lockridge made his MLB debut on September 13th, 2024, but remained with the team during their postseason run. He said the experience he absorbed during the playoffs made a difference as he competed for one of the final roster spots on the 2025 team.
"It went a lot into my off-season preparation," said Lockridge. "It's hard to describe the feelings of being here in the playoffs last year. It really gave me chills being in the dugout each night and watching our guys compete. We had such a great group last year and a lot of the same guys are back, so to tee it up on opening day with a similar group, we have high aspirations for the season and we're looking forward to it."
"I watched Heyward as a kid. It's pretty crazy to be locker mates with him right now. He's been great to me. There's so much wisdom in here and I'm just trying to soak everything in and take it all in."
Jackson Merrill, following his own sensational rookie season, says he sees a little of himself in Lockridge.
"I was pulling for Lock all of spring training." said Merrill. "It's kind of similar to mine last year, he was grinding his ass off and trying to get better every day and show that he belongs to be here. I thought he belonged to be here the whole time. You know the way he works, the way he gets after it, it's different and I'm excited to see what he does this year."