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  • San Diego Padres Free Agent & Trade Rumors, Notes, & Tidbits

    The latest San Diego Padres free agent and trade rumors, along with notes and tidbits about the team.
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    Steve Drumwright
    After entering spring training as a serious option to make the back end of the San Diego Padres' starting rotation, left-hander Marco Gonzales has been released while with the Triple-A El Paso Chihuahuas.
    The 34-year-old Gonzales missed the entire 2025 season after having flexor tendon surgery in September 2024. In the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League, Gonzales had 12 starts and one relief appearance, posting a 7.99 ERA over 47⅓ innings, with 18 walks and 36 strikeouts.
    His last outing came Saturday and was one of his best of the season. He gave up three runs, but only one earned, in four innings on a season-low three hits with one walk and two strikeouts. He also had four starts where he gave up six or more runs.
     
    Steve Drumwright
    MLB on Monday suspended San Diego Padres right-handed reliever Ron Marinaccio three games and fined an undisclosed amount for hitting Baltimore Orioles star shortstop Gunnar Henderson with a pitch in Saturday's game.
    Marinaccio is appealing his suspension, so will remain on the active roster until that is heard.
    Padres manager Craig Stammen was also suspended one game. Managers can't appeal, so Stammen will sit out Monday's series opener against the St. Louis Cardinals. Bench coach Randy Knorr will run the team instead.
    The incident came with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning.
    In the top of the fifth, Padres star shortstop Xander Bogaerts was hit in the left earflap of his helmet by a pitch from Orioles right-handed starter Trey Gibson. Bogaerts had to leave the game an inning later after feeling woozy. No penalty was issued to Gibson.
     
    Steve Drumwright
    Baseball's best closer will be away from the San Diego Padres for a few days.
    Right-hander Mason Miller was placed on the bereavement-family medical leave list Monday by the Friars, who called up left-hander Kyle Hart from Triple-A El Paso. Also, outfielder Bryce Johnson, who was designated for assignment Friday, cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A.
    The Padres open a three-game road series against the St. Louis Cardinals on Monday.
    Miller is second in MLB with 19 saves in 19 chances with a 0.37 FIP (0.90 ERA) after earning a four-out save in Sunday's 5-2 victory over the Baltimore Orioles. Miller, who fanned three Sunday, has 59 strikeouts in 30 innings, has an incredible 51.8% strikeout rate.
    Hart is with the Padres for a second time this season after making the Opening Day roster. In 12 MLB appearances and 16⅔ innings this year, Hart has a 3.35 FIP (5.40 ERA) with an 8.8% walk rate and 14.7% strikeout rate. At Triple-A, Hart has pitched 14⅔ innings over 11 games for a 7.36 ERA, with nine walks and 15 strikeouts.
     
    Steve Drumwright
    A freak occurrence has sidelined Freddy Fermin.
    The catcher was put on the seven-day concussion list Sunday by the San Diego Padres, who called up catcher Blake Hunt from Triple-A El Paso. Right-handed reliever Ty Adcock was designated for assignment to make room for Hunt on the 40-man roster.
    Fermin was injured in the sixth inning of Saturday's 9-3 win. As left-handed reliever Yuki Matsui was warming up, he spiked one of his pitches. Fermin turned his head as he attempted to stop it, but the ball ricocheted and hit him in the back of the head. He was removed from the game, replaced by Rodolfo Duran.
    Luis Campusano, the Padres' other main catcher, remains on the 10-day IL with a fractured big left toe.
    Fermin is the second Padre to currently be on the concussion list, joining second baseman Jake Cronenworth, where he has been since May 5. Fermin had been coming around with the bat recently, homering in three straight games. He has a .148/.243/.262 slash line with those three homers and 11 RBIs in 51 games.
    Hunt was slashing .289/.431/.533 in 15 games in the minors with three home runs and eight RBIs. His season was delayed by an oblique injury.
    Adcock was signed to a major-league contract in the offseason. An oblique injury in spring training sidelined him. In the minors, Adcock has a 7.15 ERA in 11⅓ innings over 11 appearances, with six walks and 15 strikeouts. He has appeared in 18 MLB games the last three seasons with the Seattle Mariners and New York Mets.
     
    Steve Drumwright
    One of the San Diego Padres' subtle offensive contributors will be sidelined for a bit.
    Designated hitter-third baseman Miguel Andujar was placed on the 10-day injured list Saturday by the San Diego Padres due to a strained left hamstring. Outfielder-DH Nick Solak was called up from Triple-A El Paso to take his place. The Padres had an opening on their 40-man roster after outfielder Bryce Johnson was designated for assignment Friday.
    Andujar injured his hamstring in Sunday's 7-3 loss to the New York Mets on a seventh-inning single. While he originally stayed in the game, he was removed, with Johnson pinch-running for him. Andujar did have pinch-hit appearances Tuesday and Wednesday against the Cincinnati Reds, replaced by pinch-runner Jase Bowen after drawing a walk Tuesday. It is the same hamstring that bothered Andujar earlier in the season.
    Solak is the fourth member of the Chihuahuas to come up in the past two weeks, joining outfielder-infielder Samad Taylor, outfielder Jase Bowen and infielder Will Wagner. Solak has a good track record offensively, but has been a liability defensively, particularly when he was playing second base. He has stuck to corner spots (first base, left field, right field) in recent seasons. This year at El Paso, Solak was slashing .333/.412/.512 with nine homers and a team-high 40 RBIs. His .333 batting average is the highest among players currently in the Pacific Coast League and has reached base in 17 of his last 18 games.
    Solak has 259 games of MLB experience since making his debut in 2019 with a career slash line of .250/.325/.369 with 21 homers and 93 RBIs.
     
     
    Steve Drumwright
    The San Diego Padres are riding with the new guys.
    Shortstop Xander Bogaerts was activated from the paternity list Friday, with a surprising counter-move: outfielder Bryce Johnson was designated for assignment. The Padres begin a nine-game road trip Friday with three games against the Baltimore Orioles.
    It would have seemed routine had the Padres sent infielder Will Wagner, the son of Hall of Famer Billy Wagner, back to Triple-A El Paso after he was called up Tuesday to replace Bogaerts, whose wife gave birth to the couple's third child. Two other choices might have even made sense with outfielder-infielder Samad Taylor or outfielder Jase Bowen, both recent call-ups.
    Instead, it was Johnson, the switch-hitting outfielder who was DFA'd after posting a .178/.229/.222 slash line with no homers and two RBIs in 32 games. The play of Taylor and Bowen, a pair of energy guys, has been solid thus far, in particular some noteworthy contributions by Taylor.
    Johnson, a good defender who can play any outfield spot, is the second player from the Opening Day roster who has been DFA'd, joining outfielder Nick Castellanos. There is a chance that if Johnson goes unclaimed, he could return to Triple-A.
    Steve Drumwright
    The San Diego Padres will be without their starting shortstop for the next few days.
    Xander Bogaerts was placed on the paternity list Tuesday, with the Padres calling up infielder Will Wagner from Triple-A El Paso.
    The paternity list allows a player to miss up to three days due to the birth of their child. The Padres continue their series against the Cincinnati Reds on Tuesday and Wednesday, then are off Thursday before beginning a road trip Friday against the Baltimore Orioles. It is likely Bogaerts will rejoin the team Friday.
    In 63 games, Bogaerts has a slash line of .231/.303/.356 with eight homers, 27 RBIs and nine stolen bases.
    Wagner, acquired from the Toronto Blue Jays at last year's trade deadline, has slashed .255/.381/.382 for El Paso with three homers and 12 RBIs in 30 games. The start of his season was delayed due to an oblique injury. In 79 MLB games with the Jays and Padres the last two seasons, the son of Hall of Famer Billy Wagner has a .256/.329/.346 slash line with no homers and seven RBIs.
     
    Sung-Mun Song is likely to start at shortstop with Bogaerts out.
     
     
    Steve Drumwright
    The San Diego Padres have lost a second key bat from a struggling offense.
    The Padres on Tuesday placed left fielder Ramon Laureano on the 10-day injured list due to inflammation in his right hip. Outfielder Jase Bowen was called up from Triple-A El Paso and will be making his MLB debut. Bowen's call-up had been reported Monday. Right-hander Nick Pivetta (right elbow inflammation) was transferred from the 15-day injured list to the 60-day IL to create room on the 40-man roster for Bowen.
    Laureano's slash line has plummeted to .203/.286/.374 with seven homers and 21 RBIs after a good start to the season, where he often batted leadoff. In May, Laureano posted a slash line of .133/.244/.280 with three homers and three RBIs. Laureano did not play in the series finale Sunday against the Washington Nationals.
    Bowen had a cycle in the opening week of the Triple-A season and a multi-homer game as well as an inside-the-park homer.
    The Padres enter the first game of a series against the Philadelphia Phillies with the worst batting average in MLB at .218.
     
     
    Steve Drumwright
    Looking for a jolt in their moribund offense, the San Diego Padres are dipping down into the minors for some help.
    Outfielder Jase Bowen is set to be called up from Triple-A El Paso by the Padres to make his MLB debut before Tuesday's series opening against the Philadelphia Phillies, ESPN's Kiley McDaniel reported Monday. A corresponding move to get Bowen on the 26-man and 40-man rosters will be needed.
    The 25-year-old Bowen has been one of the Chihuahuas' best hitters all season, posting a slash line of .292/.362/.600 with 13 homers and 36 RBIs. His 13 homers are second in the Pacific Coast League and his 36 RBIs are tied for the team lead with Mason McCoy. Bowen notched his 13th home in Sunday's 8-7 loss to the Albuquerque Isotopes. Bowen also has seven steals in 11 chances.
    Bowen ranks in the top five in the PCL not only in homers, but in slugging percentage (.362), triples (5), extra-base hits (29), total hits (57) and runs (48).
    The Padres rank last in MLB with a .218 batting average and next-to-last with a .656 OPS.
    An 11th-round draft choice by the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2019 out of Central Catholic High School in Toledo, Ohio, the two-sport star turned down a football scholarship to Michigan State, where he would have been a wide receiver, to sign. Bowen joined the Padres this offseason on a minor-league contract after becoming a six-year free agent.
    In spring training, Bowen tied for the team lead with four homers and drove in 11 while also stealing a team-high seven bases.
    Who Bowen takes over for is another question. The Padres could opt to send infielder Sung Mun Song back down to Triple-A. Song has been a backup and late-inning defensive replacement at second base since Jake Cronenworth went on the seven-day concussion list May 5. It is not known when Cronenworth might return. Fernando Tatis Jr., the Platinum Glove right fielder, has been starting most of the time at second base. Two other possibilities are in the outfield. One would be a simple swap of Bowen for Bryce Johnson, the current backup outfielder. The other would solve both roster issues: designating Nick Castellanos for assignment.
     
     
    Steve Drumwright
    Already sporting a very deep and very versatile bullpen, the San Diego Padres could be looking to strengthen that unit even more.
    According to a report by Dennis Lin of The Athletic, the Friars are on the lookout to improve the best unit on the team.
    That could mean strengthening the back end, which already has the best closer in MLB in right-hander Mason Miller. While Miller is coming off his first blown save of the season in a 5-4 loss to the rival Los Angeles Dodgers Tuesday, the only other reliable end-of-game options are right-hander Jason Adam and left-hander Adrian Morejon. There are also some softer spots in the relief corps in right-hander Ron Marinaccio and left-hander Yuki Matsui.
     
    Lin mentioned two possible acquisitions: left-handers Aroldis Chapman of the Boston Red Sox and Josh Hader of the Houston Astros. Due to both teams struggling this year, they could be available for cheap, although the Padres' farm system is not very deep in prospects.
    Entering Thursday, the Padres rank seventh in MLB in innings pitched by relievers at 200⅓ as well as ERA at 3.32.
    Miller has already had three appearances where he was called upon to get four outs, which is more than he had last year with the A's. In fact, Miller only went more than three outs twice before the Padres acquired him in a blockbuster at the trade deadline. He went more than one inning five times after joining the Padres.
    Adding to this possibility is the new ownership that is set to be approved by MLB in the next month in Jose E. Feliciano and Kwanza Jones, who could be looking to give president of baseball operations A.J. Preller room to do what he needs to do before the trade deadline.
     
    Steve Drumwright
    Infielder Jose Miranda, considered a long shot to make the San Diego Padres' Opening Day roster, was released by the team Tuesday. Miranda had a June 1 opt-out in his contract, per the San Diego Union-Tribune.
    The 27-year-old Miranda had been with the Triple-A El Paso Chihuahuas this season and had produced a .268/.308/.482 slash line with five homers and 26 RBIs in 28 games. The move was not that all surprising as there was no room for Miranda on the Padres' roster.
    First baseman Ty France earned the last bench spot in spring training and the Padres have not used infielder Sung-Mun Song, signed to a four-year, $15 million contract in the offseason, much since he was called up to replace second baseman Jake Cronenworth, who is on the seven-day concussion list.
    At Triple-A, he mainly played first base, starting there 15 of the 16 games he played there. Miranda only played five games at third base, his primary position when he was with the Minnesota Twins.
    Miranda had a solid spring training with a .304/.385/.522 slash line, a pair of homers and nine RBIs in 22 games.
     
    Steve Drumwright
    The Lucas Giolito era with the San Diego Padres is here.
    The Padres called up Giolito, a right-handed starter, from Double-A San Antonio to make his season debut with Sunday's start vs. the Seattle Mariners. Right-hander Alek Jacob was optioned to Triple-A El Paso to make room.
    Giolito was already on the Padres' 40-man roster after signing with the team April 22 for one year and $2.8 million. Since Giolito was not injured, he was optioned to the minors to get ready to join the rotation.
    Also, right-hander Jhony Brito began a rehab assignment at Double-A.
    The 31-year-old Giolito was the last of the major free agents from the offseason to sign and joins a Padres rotation that needs an upgrade. Following the injuries and setbacks to right-handers Nick Pivetta and Joe Musgrove, the Friars have mostly done fine in muddling through the first quarter of the season, but Giolito brings quality to the rotation.
    With the Boston Red Sox last season, Giolito posted a 3.41 ERA in 26 starts and 141 innings in which he had a 9.1% walk rate and 19.7% strikeout rate. Giolito missed all of the 2024 season following Tommy John surgery and didn't make his season debut until the end of April
    The Padres also had right-hander Matt Waldron go on the 15-day IL Friday with a right brachialis muscle injury. Waldron apparently had been dealing with the injury for the last few weeks but did not tell the team about it with his roster spot in jeopardy. Waldron replaced Pivetta, the Opening Day starter, in the rotation.
    Giolito made four starts in the minors, two with Low-A Lake Elsinore and two with Double-A San Antonio. Between the four, he pitched 17 innings and had a 4.76 ERA, allowing 11 runs (nine earned) on 18 hits with six walks and 18 strikeouts.
    Jacob came up Friday and pitched in Saturday's 7-4 victory over the Mariners, allowing two runs without recording an out. It was his second one-game call-up this year.
     
    Steve Drumwright
    Right-hander Matt Waldron will not be pitching out of the San Diego Padres' bullpen this weekend. Instead, he will be sitting on the injured list.
    The Padres on Friday placed Waldron on the 15-day IL with a right brachialis muscle injury. Right-handed reliever Alek Jacob was called up from Triple-A El Paso. The brachialis muscle is a muscle located in the upper arm under the biceps and the injury is typically called climber's elbow from its repetitive use.
    Waldron's spot on the roster was in jeopardy with the impending addition of right-handed starter Lucas Giolito, who signed with the Padres last month and is set to start perhaps Saturday, when he needs to be added to the MLB roster per language in his contract.
    Waldron started Tuesday's series opener vs. the Milwaukee Brewers, but gave up six runs on eight hits and two walks in 2⅔ innings. He then came on in relief Thursday, pitching two scoreless innings. Manager Craig Stammen said after Thursday's game that Waldron would be in the bullpen this weekend vs. the Seattle Mariners. In six games this year, two coming as the bulk pitcher following an opener, Waldron has an 8.49 ERA with seven walks and 22 strikeouts over 23⅓ innings. Waldron had replaced injured Opening Day starter Nick Pivetta in the rotation.
    Waldron is out of minor-league options, which is why his roster status within the organization is so precarious. This now keeps Waldron, who started the season on the 15-day IL following hemorrhoid surgery in spring training, in the organization for the foreseeable future.
    Jacob was up for a couple days in mid-April and appeared in just one game, throwing two shutout innings.
     
    Steve Drumwright
    The Alex Verdugo era with the San Diego Padres never had a chance to take off.
    The Padres on Monday released the outfielder. Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune said the left shoulder injury that Verdugo had sustained about a month ago will require surgery, which would sideline him the entire season.
    Verdugo signed a minor-league contract with the Padres at the beginning of March, perhaps with a chance to eventually contribute to the major-league roster. But that never materialized.
    The 29-year-old was released by Atlanta in July after posting a slash line of .239/.296/.289 with no homers and 12 RBIs. He didn't play in a minor-league game with the Padres.
     
    Steve Drumwright
    The dream of pitching in MLB is on hold, if not over, for San Diego Padres pitching prospect Humberto Cruz.
    The 19-year-old right-hander pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge related to transporting undocumented immigrants within the U.S. for money, according to a report Friday by the San Diego Union-Tribune. That report said the Padres believe Cruz has lost his work visa for 10 years, although he can reapply after five years by showing good behavior.
    Cruz is Padres Mission's No. 6 prospect.
    Cruz was arrested near the U.S.-Mexico border in Arizona in October after picking up a two individuals in exchange for money, $1,000 each. He had been working out at the team's complex in Peoria, Ariz., after having Tommy John surgery in late August. Cruz was signed out of Mexico in February 2024. The Padres placed Cruz on the restricted list in March.
    He was originally charged with a felony, but Cruz agreed to plead guilty in exchange for the more serious charge being dropped. In November, a judge sentenced him to 30 days in prison with credit for time served.
     
    Steve Drumwright
    The San Diego Padres are losing half of their catching tandem due to a broken toe.
    Catcher Luis Campusano was placed on the 10-day injured list Thursday by the Padres with a fractured toe on his left foot. Catcher Rodolfo Duran was called up from Triple-A El Paso and will be making his MLB debut tonight after 11 seasons in the minors. Duran is starting at catcher and batting ninth in the series opener against the St. Louis Cardinals.
    Right-handed starter Joe Musgrove (right elbow inflammation) was transferred from the 15-day to the 60-day injured list to make room for Duran on the 40-man roster. The move is simply procedural from Musgrove's perspective as he isn't close to returning to the active roster.
    Also, infielder Will Wagner was activated from the 10-day injured list and optioned to El Paso, where he had been on a rehab assignment following a strained right oblique in spring training.
    Campusano fouled a ball off his foot in Tuesday's 10-5 win over the San Francisco Giants. He has been a surprisingly significant contributor to the Padres' offense while splitting time with Freddy Fermin. Campusano has a slash line of .288/.362/.596 with three homers and 10 RBIs in 18 games.
    Campusano has had the reputation of an offense-first catcher, but with questionable defense. That second part hasn't shown itself through the first month-plus of the season.
    The 28-year-old Duran is in his second season with the Padres at El Paso. He has a slash line of .238/.356/.429 with four homers and 20 RBIs in 23 games this season. A year ago, he posted a .288/.344/.503 slash line with 16 homers and 73 RBIs in 86 games.
     
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