Samad Taylor finally got a Padres starting assignment on Sunday, and it came in left field with his paternal grandmother in the stands to see it. The 27-year-old was in the lineup for the first time for San Diego at 1:10 p.m. against the Mets, a small roster move that carried far more weight for him than a typical early-June game.
Taylor said the moment compared to his major league debut, but this one landed differently because of who was there. “My grandma’s my everything,” he said, adding that she is his last grandmother still living. He described their bond as lasting back to when he can remember, and called it “another day of baseball, but it’s a meaningful day.”
The family aspect was the part Taylor had been waiting on. Sheila Marshall planned to make the drive from Los Angeles after he learned he would start against a left-hander, and she got to watch him in person as a pro for the first time. Taylor had not played this close to home since debuting in 2023, and the setting gave an ordinary lineup card a personal edge that numbers alone could not capture.
There was also a practical reason the Padres turned to him. The Mets were using an opener ahead of left-hander Sean Manaea, and Taylor’s first start for San Diego came against a look that fit the matchup. He had reached this point with only two plate appearances for the Padres, a reminder of how quickly a meaningful family moment can arrive in a short stint.
That brevity is part of what makes the day stand out. Taylor was drafted out of Corona High in the 10th round by Cleveland in 2016, has bounced through four major league seasons and entered Sunday with a.200/.265/.253 line in the majors. He had been producing at Triple-A El Paso, hitting.319/.406/.500 with seven home runs in 51 games and nine steals in 10 attempts, but this was still the kind of game that can reset how a player is seen.
The Padres needed the spark, too. They had snapped a six-game skid on Saturday and were trying to take their first series since winning two of three from the Athletics at Petco Park from May 22 to May 24. Taylor batted eighth between Jase Bowen and Freddy Fermin, a spot that signaled trust as much as necessity, even if the bigger story was the one unfolding a few rows into the stands. For a player who has spent years building toward more steady major league footing, the next step is simple: turn one family milestone into a stretch that keeps him in the lineup.
