Campfire’s octopus, chorizo, and celery-root entrée.
Gage Forster
PEORIA, Ariz. — A handful of roster decisions loom.
One of particular local interest could be determined late Friday night and will certainly be decided by Saturday morning.
Ty France, who played at San Diego State and began his career with the Padres, can opt out of his contract Saturday if he has not been assured he will be on the active roster at the start of the season.
That forces the Padres to choose, ostensibly, between France and Jose Miranda by Saturday. Both are corner infielders. Both have major league experience. Both have had excellent springs.
The difference may come down to the fact Miranda can be sent to the minor leagues without his consent.
The risk for the Padres is that adding France to the roster guarantees him $1.35 million. He could agree before the season that the Padres could option him at some point. But if he has another team willing to put him on its big-league roster, he would not have motivation to agree to such a stipulation.
The roster spot is open because infielder Sung-Mun Song will begin the season on the injured list after aggravating an oblique injury two weeks ago. Song is swinging in the cage and could get in a game before spring ends and join the team not long after the season starts.
France, who won a Gold Glove at first base and batted .257/.320/.360 for the Twins and Blue Jays in 2025, entered Friday tied for the team lead with 14 hits this spring. Miranda had 13 hits.
“The biggest thing was just coming into camp and showing that I was myself and healthy and playing my style of baseball,” said France, who was an All-Star with the Mariners in 2022. “I feel like I did a good job of that. So it’s out of my control now.”
Starting pitcher Walker Buehler, who like France has more than six years of service time and can opt out today is he is not assured of being on the active roster, has made the team.
This was determined after he displayed a varied and effective pitch mix while allowing two runs on eight hits over 8⅔ innings in his past two Cactus League starts.
Buehler and Germán Márquez are expected to man the final two spots in the rotation to begin the season – after incumbent starters Nick Pivetta, Michael King and Randy Vásquez.
Buehler will be guaranteed $1.5 million in 2026 with the possibility to make as much as $4 million based on time on the active roster. Marquez signed a major league deal that guarantees him $1.75 million with the potential to make as much as $5 million.
The other pending decisions revolve around one bench spot and what might be one spot in the bullpen.
Indications from those familiar with the Padres’ deliberations are that outfielder Bryce Johnson is the favorite to make the team over Jase Bowen. Johnson hit .342 with a.383 on-base percentage for the Padres last season and is on the 40-man roster. Bowen signed as a minor-league free agent and excited the Padres this spring. They do expect he will be called up at some point.
With left-hander Yuki Matsui expected to begin the season on the injured list and Jason Adam trending toward being ready for opening day, there could be just one bullpen job available on the opening-day roster.
That competition appears to be down to Ron Marinaccio, Bradgley Rodriguez and Logan Gillaspie.
Gillaspie is a “bridge” relief option. And while the Padres have all but made it official that left-hander Kyle Hart will occupy that role to start the season, they might want extra protection early in the season as starting pitchers are ramping up. However, Marinaccio can also go multiple innings and is out of options, meaning he would have to be placed on waivers if he is not on the roster.
Rodriguez, 22, is a hard thrower who made his major league debut last season and has alternately been highly impressive and struggled with his command this spring.
If the Padres decide to slow-play Adam, that means two relievers can win a spot.
SANDY, Utah — SANDY, Utah (AP) — Sergi Solans had two goals and an assist, Diego Luna added a goal and two assists, and Real Salt Lake beat San Diego FC 4-2 on Saturday night to extend its unbeaten streak to six games.
Morgan Guilavogui scored his first goal in MLS and had an assist for Real Salt Lake (5-1-1). The 28-year-old designated player has five goal contributions in his first six career games.
RSL hasn’t lost since a 1-0 defeat at Vancouver in the season opener.
San Diego (3-3-2) has lost three in a row and is winless in five straight.
Luna opened the scoring in the fifth minute when he re-directed a misplayed pass by Duran Ferree, San Diego’s 19-year-old goalkeeper, into the net.
Moments later, Solans headed home a perfectly-placed cross played by Luna from outside the right corner of the 18-yard box to the back post to make it 2-0. Solans, a 23-year-old forward, flicked a header from the center of the area inside the right post and past the outstretched arm of Ferree to make it 3-1 in the 37th minute.
Guilavogui slammed home a first-touch shot to give RSL a three-goal lead in the 45th.
Marcus Ingvartsen scored a goal in the 14th minute and Anders Dreyer converted from the penalty spot in the 66th for San Diego.
Ingvartsen has five goals and an assist this season and has 10 goal contributions (seven goals, three assists) in 16 career MLS appearances.
Rafael Cabral had three saves for RSL.
Ferree finished with five saves.
___
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/soccer
When John Resnick opened Campfire on a quaint little street in Carlsbad, Calif., in 2016, some locals weren’t sure what to think. The coastal enclave wasn’t exactly awash in innovative, chef-driven establishments, so it was a shock to see the dining room consistently full. Early on, one woman wondered aloud to Resnick, “Where did all these people come from?”
It’s a moment he remembers vividly. “I was struck by her statement, because I think she was surprised that so many other people in Carlsbad were there,” Resnick says.
The rest of the culinary world would take some time to catch up to what was happening. In 2019, when Michelin expanded to rate restaurants throughout all of California—not just the San Francisco area—Addison was the only one in San Diego to earn a star. But since emerging from the pandemic, the region’s food scene has grown dramatically. Driven by outstanding farms, ingredients, a bumper crop of talented chefs, and a G.D.P. approximately the size of New Zealand or Greece, San Diego County has become one of America’s most underrated dining destinations.
Campfire’s octopus, chorizo, and celery-root entrée.
Gage Forster
Perhaps no single restaurant is a better emblem for this shift than chef William Bradley’s Addison, which opened in 2006. After landing his first star, Bradley knew he wanted more. To get them, he transformed his French-leaning fare to serve what he calls California Gastronomy, which combines the cultures of SoCal with impeccable ingredients and wildly impressive techniques, prizing flavor over flair. Michelin responded, awarding Addison a second star in 2022, and making it the first Southern California three-star restaurant just a year later. The accolade has created a halo effect, attracting culinary tourists from around the world.
Berry beet tartlets at San Diego’s three-star stalwart Addison.
Eric Wolfinger
“Earning three stars forces the global dining community to pay attention to a place that may not have been on their radar before,” says chef Eric Bost, a partner in Resnick’s four Carlsbad establishments.
Resnick recruited Bost, who spent time at award-winning outposts of Restaurant Guy Savoy, to run Jeune et Jolie, which he led to a star in 2021. They’ve since taken over an old boogie-board factory down the street and converted it to an all-day restaurant and bakery, Wildland. The space also hosts an exquisite tasting-counter experience called Lilo, which was given a Michelin star mere months after opening in April 2025. And as Resnick and Bost grew their successful Carlsbad operation, chef Roberto Alcocer earned a Michelin star for his Mexican fine-dining spot Valle in nearby Oceanside.
The stylish tasting counter at Michelin one-star Lilo in Carlsbad.
Kimberly Motos
About 25 miles to the south, another affluent coastal community is going through its own culinary glow up. In La Jolla, chef Tara Monsod and the hospitality group Puffer Malarkey Collective opened the stylish French steakhouse Le Coq. Chef Erik Anderson, formerly of Michelin two-star Coi, is preparing to launch Roseacre. And last year, Per Se alums Elijah Arizmendi and Brian Hung left New York to open the elegant tasting-menu restaurant Lucien, lured by the ingredients they’d get to serve. “A major reason we chose San Diego is the quality and diversity of the produce,” Arizmendi explains. “San Diego County has more small farms than anywhere else in the U.S., and its many microclimates allow farmers to grow an incredible range of ingredients year-round.”
Wildland’s spicy Italian sandwich.
Gage Forster
Chef Travis Swikard has also been a tireless advocate for the region’s ingredients since he returned to San Diego, his hometown, and opened Mediterranean-influenced Callie in 2021. There’s no sophomore slump with his latest effort, the French Riviera–inspired Fleurette in La Jolla, where he’s serving his take on classics like leeks vinaigrette and his San Diego “Bouillabaisse” with local red sheepshead fish and spiny lobster. Its food is bright, produce-driven, and attentive in execution, while the dining room maintains a relaxed and unpretentious style of service. And Swikard sees that approach cohering into a regional style with a strong network of professionals behind it.
“It’s really nice that we are developing our own identity, not trying to be like L.A. or any other market, just highlighting what’s great about the San Diego lifestyle and ingredients,” he says. “Similar to New York, a chef community is starting to develop where chefs are supporting each other. There is a true sense of pride to be cooking here.”
Top: In La Jolla, Lucien serves ocean whitefish with tomatoes turned into concasse, sabayon, and other expressions.
Little Debbie is officially expanding its doughnut range.
On April 14, the brand announced a new sweet snack: Chocolate Old Fashioned Donuts. The company says there was “massive consumer demand” for the original Big Pack Old Fashioned Donuts, which quickly became a top seller. Now, they’re just giving the people what they want.
The new snack is a chocolate old-fashioned cake doughnut finished with a sweet glaze and is launching in two formats:
The original, which includes six individually wrapped cake-style doughnuts with a vanilla glaze, first hit stores in June 2025 and, according to the brand, has been “consistently selling out.”
“We saw an incredible response to the Old Fashioned Donut we introduced last year,” said Scott Brownlow, Little Debbie’s brand manager, in a press release. We’re doubling down on what works and giving both loyalists and new fans an irresistible reason to head back to the store.”
Little Debbie’s Chocolate Old Fashioned Donuts are rolling out now to major retailers, grocery stores and convenience stores nationwide. As with the original Old Fashioned Donut, they become a permanent addition to the brand’s snack lineup.
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