Here comes the three-dimensional chess for the Padres, smack dab in the middle of a historic run of winning that has positioned them for the playoffs.
Because … they’re still waiting on the return of injured All-Star right fielder Fernando Tatis Jr.
Because … starting shortstop Ha-Seong Kim and his dependable glove sit on the injured list.
Because … converted shortstop Xander Bogaerts has found a comfy fit at second base.
So the chess piece-shuffling has become a bit of Tyler Wade, a smidge of Donovan Solano and a dab of David Peralta and Bryce Johnson.
When the Padres scooped up Triple-A infielder Mason McCoy on Wednesday, the guy with one big-league at-bat underscored that more fancy footwork could be coming.
The collective insurance policy for the Padres has become a mix of the proven and unproven, a veteran bat, a few experienced role players and some rolls of the hole-plugging dice.
They say you need every breathing piece of a 26-man roster and then some in baseball.
The Padres are finding out on the fly.
“We talked about it the day after the All-Star break,” said Wade, who started at shortstop Wednesday before an 11-4 beat-down by the Twins at Petco Park. “We need to treat every, single game like it’s a playoff game. I think everyone took that to heart and we’ve embraced it.”
The duct tape and bailing wire has come from the experience and flexibility of Solano, Peralta and Wade, along with their combined 30 years in the game.
Solano, 36, has played for the Marlins, Yankees, Giants, Reds and Twins. Peralta, 37, has laced them up for the Diamondbacks, Rays and Dodgers. Wade, 29, has adapted to similar roles with the Yankees, Angels and A’s.
Whatever “it” is, they’ve seen it before.
Solano sat until the fifth inning on Wednesday before launching a 391-foot home run to left-center field on a 95 mph fastball to put the Padres on the board. Coming in cold, grabbing a bat and driving a baseball is one of the toughest things in the game.
“He threw a … fastball by me on the first pitch,” Solano said. “I was late, so I thought, ‘Maybe he’ll throw me another fastball.’ So I was prepared for that. You have to get ready for any situation.
“You can’t be surprised. You need to be calm. You need to be ready and attack.”
As Padres manager Mike Shildt began to lift starters to dole out rest, the examples grew. Johnson, in left, erased Jose Miranda on a ball that one-hopped the wall by firing it to Luis Arraez at second. He later singled to drive in a run.
McCoy collected his first big-league hit.
The production continued, no matter how sure the outcome already seemed.
This has become something more complete and connected for the Padres — Wednesday’s mess not withstanding — compared to the head-scratcher in 2023. Roles not only are understood, but filled without the need for cringing.
That becomes amplified as the calendar melts.
If Tatis cannot return or stick, a playoff game against the Dodgers could begin with Johnson in right field.
“It’s funny, when I debuted back in (20)22, it was against (lefty Clayton) Kershaw,” said Johnson, who is hitting .218 but is .333 in a few at-bats against Kershaw. “… He’s a Hall of Famer, the best of the best. Who wouldn’t be excited to face somebody like that on a big stage?”
That’s the chess. What if this? What if that?
And these are the pieces.
Solano has been the most patient, along with the most productive. He’s hitting .307 with a healthy OPS+ of 122, a metric that gauges 100 as an average big-leaguer.
“I was concerned at the time: why they use me like that?” Solani said of getting spot usage with the Marlins when he was younger. “I want more playing time, blah, blah, blah. At the same time, I didn’t focus as well on my role.
“I was young. I changed my thinking.”
Wade’s situation shifted when Kim was placed on the 10-day injured list after jamming his right shoulder.
His approach, however, has not.
“I don’t have to switch (gears),” Wade said. “My routine, it’s built to be ready every single day, regardless of the role. I built that routine to make myself comfortable, whether I’m playing once a week, twice a week or every single day.
“It’s trial and error the last five years, but it’s something over the last two years I feel comfortable with.”
That includes working on a high-velocity pitching machine.
“I over-train my eyes to make sure that the game doesn’t speed up on me,” Wade said. “So when I got out there, velocity feels the same as if I was playing every single day.”
The Padres do not seem interested in moving Bogaerts back to his natural position of shortstop after settling in at second base.
“We have a guy that’s really comfortable and established in a role that he likes to do that he’s been very good at,” Shildt said. “I don’t think it’s fair to him or us in a very short window to bounce him back over to shortstop and move all our pieces around when he’s done such a great job.”
Wade is not Kim, a reigning Gold Glove player at the position. But he brings speed. Peralta is older, and sometimes it shows defensively. He’s sturdy enough, though, to register a 111 OPS+.
The chess continues.
So far, it seems the Padres have found enough of the right pieces.
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