The Padres have signed first baseman Trenton Brooks to a minor league deal, in keeping with his transactions tracker at MLB.com. He’ll presumably additionally obtain an invitation to main league spring coaching.
Brooks, 29, has an extended minor league observe file exhibiting his sturdy plate self-discipline. Over the previous 4 years, he took 1,691 plate appearances on the farm with a 13.8% stroll price and 16.4% strikeout price, each of these being a lot stronger than common. Nevertheless, he solely hit 55 dwelling runs in that stretch, a reasonably mild tally for a primary baseman. Nonetheless, that led to a mixed .279/.383/.470 batting line and 119 wRC+ for that stretch.
He was lastly in a position to parlay that into a significant league debut in 2024, although he in the end received a really restricted look from the Giants. He was on the 40-man for lower than a month, stepping into 12 video games and slashing simply .120/.241/.120 in his 29 plate appearances. He was despatched by means of waivers unclaimed and outrighted off the roster, finally electing free company at season’s finish.
The Padres have Luis Arráez and Jake Cronenworth as first base choices, however Cronenworth could be overlaying second base if Xander Bogaerts goes to maneuver again to shortstop with Ha-Seong Kim now a free agent. The membership doesn’t have an apparent designated hitter in the intervening time, so there’s room for one more bat within the lineup. Arráez can also be a speculative commerce candidate since he’s getting into his ultimate 12 months of membership management with MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projecting a hefty $14.6MM wage subsequent 12 months, a notable expense for a membership with recognized budgetary limitations.
Brooks can present the membership with some higher stage depth on the place and attempt to drive his means again to the majors. If he manages to take action and finds extra success this time, he nonetheless has a full slate of choices and only a handful of service days. Which means he will be cheaply retained into the long run, which might be interesting for any membership however maybe extra so for the Friars as they’ve needed to reduce payroll lately.
