Padres roster review: Will Wagner

by Jeff Sanders

WILL WAGNER

Position(s): Second base, third base, first base
Bats / Throws: Left / Right
2026 opening day age: 27
Height / Weight: 6-foot / 210 pounds
How acquired: Via trade with the Toronto Blue Jays in July 2025
Contract status: Made MLB debut in 2024; will not be arbitration-eligible until 2028 at the earliest
fWAR in 2025: Minus-0.3
Key 2025 stats: .224 AVG, .324 OBP, .279 SLG, 0 HRs, 7 RBIs, 15 runs, 17 walks, 28 strikeouts, 1 steal (55 games, 149 plate appearances)

STAT TO NOTE

.834 — Wagner’s OPS across parts of five minor league seasons with three organizations. He is a career .294/.394/.439 hitter who topped out at .938 in 65 games split between a rookie ball rehab, Double-A and Triple-A. Wagner has never hit more than 10 homers in a season or stolen more than nine bases.

Idle — The son of Hall-of-Fame closer Billy Wagner, Will Wagner actually began his career in his dad’s old organization as the Astros drafted him in the 18th round in 2021 out of Liberty University in Virginia. That, however, didn’t keep the Astros from trading their former pitcher’s kid in July 2024 as part of pieces needed to get LHP Yusei Kikuchi from the Toronto Blue Jays. Wagner was selected to the 40-man roster weeks later, made his MLB debut and hit .305/.337/.451 with two homers in 24 games before left knee inflammation ended his season in mid-September. The following year, Wagner made Toronto’s opening day roster only to be optioned out before the end of the April and then miss nearly a month with a foot injury. Wagner rejoined the Blue Jays in late June ahead of a hectic month. He was away from the team in late July to attend his father’s Hall of Fame induction in Cooperstown and then was traded to the Padres for minor league catcher Brandon Valenzuela days after returning from the restricted list. Wagner initially reported to Triple-A El Paso, where he hit .270/.333/.405 with two homers and 17 RBIs in 17 games ahead of his first call-up to San Diego. All told, Wagner’s numbers across two stints with the Padres (.369 OPS, 17 PA) paled in comparison to his 2025 Blue Jays numbers (.634 OPS, 132 PA). Wagner first replaced Jackson Merrill during his ankle sprain and later Ramón Laureano after he sustained a broken finger, but he did not get any starts as a Padre.

2026 OUTLOOK

Wagner’s extensive defensive history at third and second base would seem to put him in direct competition with new Korean infielder Sung-Mun Song in his first big-league camp with the Padres. Wagner has two minor league options left, so Wagner should see time in the majors at some point in 2026.