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As I've gotten into the habit of doing each series the Padres play, I dusted off Baseball-Reference's multi-franchise tool, checked out the list of guys who have played for both the Padres and Diamondbacks, and constructed a 25-man roster. As usual, I went with career and peak numbers as opposed to how each player did with one team or the other, although from time to time I'll let my personal fandom take over and start Joey Cora over a Hall-of-Famer or omit Jack Clark altogether because screw that guy, that's why.
This was one of the easier teams to put together since there were so few bodies to choose from. Since the D-backs came into existence in 1998, the two teams have shared just 49 players, so I only had to trim less than half.
Starting lineup:
C- Henry Blanco
1B- Tony Clark
2B- Roberto Alomar
SS- David Eckstein
3B- Jeff Cirillo
LF- Carlos Quentin
CF- Steve Finley
RF- Reggie Sanders
It's never a good sign when Henry Blanco is your starting catcher, but there was exactly zero starting catchers to choose from and he was the best of the backups. Despite playing second base for the Friars, Eckstein gets penciled in at shortstop since that's where he started everywhere else. That, and there were no other shortstops in the mix. As for Alomar and Finley, they're both going to keep cropping up in these combined teams since they were so good and so well-traveled.
Bench:
C- Wil Nieves
1B/3B/OF- Russell Branyan
IF- Carlos Baerga
OF/2B- Scott Hairston
OF- Jose Cruz, Jr.
Xavier Nady and Geoff Blum were tough to leave off, but there was just no room for them. Too bad neither of them can catch.
Starting rotation:
Andy Benes
Ian Kennedy
Jon Garland
Jeff Suppan
Jason Marquis
It's not the most intimidating bunch of guys, but you've got to go with what you're given. The only other starter available is Shawn Estes, who falls short of even Marquis in both peak and overall numbers.
Bullpen:
Heath Bell
Joe Thatcher
Tim Worrell
Chad Qualls
Matt Herges
Craig Breslow
Micah Owings
As with the starters, this is another largely unimpressive, yet slightly better-than-average group. Heath Bell makes the team on the strength of his days in San Diego; Arizona fans don't remember him as fondly as we do. Micah Owings doesn't have that glowing of a track record, but I gave him the nod due to his double-versatility; he can relieve and spot start as well as play in the field and pinch-hit when the need should arise. That, and I just like him. Hey, it's my team.
That said, who would be on your team?