Players added to major league roster
There are still some upper-level prospects available to help the San Diego Padres in 2026. President of baseball operations A.J. Preller traded multiple top players from within the team’s minor league system at the trade deadline in 2025, but there are still a handful close to major-league ready to help in the coming season.
Two of those are pitchers Garrett Hawkins and Miguel Mendez. Both were added to the 40-man roster before the Rule 5 Draft for the MLB Winter Meetings. There were many of the Padres minor league prospects eligible for the Rule 5 Draft this year, but these were the two the organization felt were closest to ready (and could be stolen by other teams in the draft).
While either or both could be seen in San Diego this coming season, Hawkins could be ready coming out of Spring Training. Mendez is younger and needs some more work with his command and control. At the least, they are both depth pieces who will be waiting in the minor leagues if the Padres need them.
Garrett Hawkins
Garrett Hawkins was drafted in the ninth round of the 2021 draft by the Padres. He lost most of the season to the pandemic and began his pro career in 2022 with Low-A Lake Elsinore and High-A Fort Wayne where he posted a combined 4.74 ERA in 92 innings pitched. All of his 21 games were starts.
Hawkins experienced forearm tightness after starting the 2023 season with High-A Fort Wayne and underwent Tommy John surgery, which kept him away from pro ball until 2025. Hawkins returned to Fort Wayne with a 1.43 ERA in 32 games and 44 innings pitched as a reliever in order to limit his innings. He was promoted to Double-A San Antonio for the remainder of the season and threw in 13 games for 16 innings and had a 1.69 ERA. His combined ERA of 1.50 ERA in 60 innings pitched gave him a 9-1 record with 10 saves, 80 strikeouts and 23 walks for a .138 average against.
Hawkins previously featured a mid-90s fastball with a gyro slider and curveball. After surgery, the slider became a sweeper and his fastball velocity now reaches upper 90s mph. During the 2025 season, Hawkins had a stretch of almost four months and 34 innings allowing no runs in Fort Wayne. He had a 30.3 percent K-rate in San Antonio after his promotion.
The biggest question that remains is whether the Padres will keep him as a reliever or stretch him out as a starter. Hawkins should come to Spring Training with a chance to make the bullpen if he is brought in as a reliever. That makes the most sense for the short-term as protecting his newly repaired elbow and building him up slowly seems the safest.
At 26, 6-5 and 230 pounds, Hawkins still has time to prove himself in either role and he has shown uncommon control and command for someone coming back from UCL surgery. If his success continues, a bullpen role awaits him when the team needs him. If the Padres make any trades using bullpen arms and a spot opens up, Hawkins could very well be next in line to join the team in 2026.
Dreaming on what he could be as a starter should probably wait until 2027 to explore.
Miguel Mendez
Right-handed starter Miguel Mendez, 23, was an international amateur signed in February of 2021 out of the Dominican Republic. He began his pro career in the Dominican rookie league and made his stateside debut in 2022. Mendez struggled with control over the 2022-2024 seasons with most of his time spent in Low-A Lake Elsinore.
In 2024 he began to improve his control with a 3.86 ERA in 82 innings pitched and 20 starts. In 2025, Mendez took a big leap with a brief showing in Low-A Lake Elsinore that earned him a promotion to High-A Fort Wayne after 3 starts.
In Fort Wayne, Mendez had a 1.32 ERA in 12 games with 70 strikeouts and 24 walks in 61.1 innings pitched. That earned him a promotion to Double-A San Antonio for his last six starts. It appears Mendez ran out of gas toward the end of the season and surrendered 22 hits in 22.1 innings but still had 30 strikeouts.
Overall, he finished 2025 with a 8-7 record and 3.22 ERA in 95 innings pitched with 118 strikeouts to 45 walks across his 21 games started.
Mendez featured a 91 mph fastball when he signed that was 94-95 mph by 2023. He now sits upper 90s and can hit 100 mph with a tight slider and plus-change. At 6-2 inches and 165 pounds, Mendez is wiry and could easily add weight and muscle to his frame as he develops.
He will likely start back in San Antonio to begin the season but could be starting depth after a little more experience in the minors. Hopefully his offseason program will result in added muscle and endurance as he works his way toward a full season as a starter and gets ready for a 2026 debut in the major leagues.
Category: General Sports
