Padres offseason notes No. 9
As of today, there are 15 days until San Diego Padres pitchers and catchers report to Peoria, Ariz. for their physicals prior to the start of Spring Training. This Saturday is Padres Fanfest and here is hoping that there will be some real news to discuss for the next offseason notes.
As of today, the last significant action for the Padres occurred in December with the signing of Sung-Mun Song and the re-signing of Michael King. Since then, Song has been injured and the Padres have signed a lot of minor league free agents.
International Class
As of Jan. 22, the Padres have signed 29 international players to contracts. Most are for less than $10,000 and don’t count against their bonus pool. At last count, according to MadFriars.com, the organization had about $1 million or more left to sign players before the window closes Dec. 15.
Other than the 16- and 17-year-old international players, there have been other free agents signed to minor league contracts.
Minor league free agent signings
IF Luis Verdugo – Older brother to Padres prospect Rosman Verdugo, he was in the Philadelphia Phillies organization in 2025 and with the Chicago Cubs organization from 2018-2024.
IF Carson Tucker – Played in the Pioneer league in 2025 and was not in a league in 2024. Originally with the Cleveland Guardians organization.
IF/OF Nick Solak – The 31-year-old has played 1B/2B/3B as well as outfield. He was in the Pittsburgh Pirates organization in 2025 and was with the Texas Rangers 2019-2022. His MLB slash line over parts of six seasons with four MLB teams – .250/.325/.369 in 259 games and 876 at-bats. He played in four games for the Pirates last year. Solak probably gets a spring invite.
IF/OF Samad Taylor – Taylor received a Spring Training invite. Recently DFA’d by the Seattle Mariners, Taylor had some MLB time with Seattle but spent most of the past two seasons in Triple-A. He is known for his on base skills and speed and is out of minor league options.
Preseason Prospect rankings released
MLB Pipeline, Baseball America and The Athletic’s Keith Law have all recently released their preseason rankings of the top MLB prospects. With the Padres farm system ranked in the bottom three of baseball, it should not be a surprise that their players are not well regarded.
Padres catching prospect Ethan Salas has been at spring mini-camp in Peoria since it started last week. Although he hasn’t played any significant time in 18 months, he is reportedly fully recovered from the stress reaction in his back that sidelined him almost all of last season.
Both Law and Baseball America list Salas as their only Padres prospect and he has dropped significantly in those rankings.
MLB Pipeline doesn’t list him at all and lists LHP Kruz Schoolcraft as the only Padres prospect on their list. He is listed at No. 88. Salas is not on the MLB Pipeline list of top 10 catchers in the minor leagues and is noted as only an interesting player to watch for the season. Although noting his Gold Glove caliber defensive skills and 20-plus home run potential, his absence from the game for so long has pushed him out of consideration.
Notable international player
Diego Serna, who will be playing under the name Diego Castelo, was highlighted in an si.com article by Gregory Spicer. Serna, 16, was signed for $1 million by the Padres out of Mexico and is only one of two left-handed pitchers ranked in the top 100 international free agents by Baseball America.
Spicer notes his advanced accomplishments and refers to him as the steal of the class. He could be the international player that debuts professionally in the US instead of the Dominican Summer League.
Mason Miller speaks
Padres reliever Mason Miller appeared on the Foul Territory program on Jan. 15 to discuss his offseason and plans for the new year. He stated his desire to remain in the bullpen for 2026 but specifically said that the decision is for this year and there is no decision about the future. The Miller interview begins at about minute 44:00.
Truck Day
Thursday was Truck Day for the Padres. It is the unofficial start of Spring Training for all anxious baseball fans. Every year the Padres put out a video of the day and this year was no different. With almost no news from the team to get fans excited, we will have to Keep the Faith and get excited for truck day until A.J. Preller gives us something else to talk about.
Randy Jones Celebration
The Padres hosted a celebration of life for Padres Legend and Hall of Famer, Randy Jones. The team announced that they will be wearing a number 35 patch on their uniforms this season to celebrate the life of the first real Padres star and the first Padre to win a Cy Young Award.
RJ was the first Padre on the cover of Sports Illustrated and about the only thing fans had to be excited about in those early years of Padres baseball. He was a great junk pitcher (sinker, slider) in the days when those pitchers were valued. His most proud accomplishment was pitching 25 complete games in his standout season of 1976, in which he won the Cy Young.
Part of what made him special was who he was off the field. RJ took his responsibilities to the team seriously after retirement and he did the same with fans.
Be it either Qualcomm Stadium or Petco Park, he could be seen walking around with sharpie in hand, always ready to sign and chat with anyone who greeted him. I had many conversations with him throughout the years and he even joined me and friends for a chat during dinner when he had his restaurant in Hazard Center.
RJ was special and will be missed.
Category: General Sports
